Cambronne and Birch intersection closes for upgrades as the Hollygrove, Leonidas roadwork project moves forward

By |

Beginning on Monday (Feb. 1) and continuing through Friday (Feb. 5), weather permitting, Department of Public Works contractor Wallace C. Drennan Inc. will close the intersection at Cambronne and Birch streets to vehicular traffic as part of the Hollygrove, Leonidas Group A project. Traffic controls and signage will be in place; residents and commuters are reminded to use caution when driving, bicycling and walking near the construction site. Construction crews will close the intersection to remove and replace the entire intersection all at one time.

opinion

Viewpoint: Fluctuating Entergy bills frustrate consumers

By |

Understanding utility regulations is like playing chess. There are lots of parts and pieces – some players can control and others they cannot. Making the wrong move can lead to expensive consequences for consumers.  Many New Orleanians have been perplexed by the ever-changing fuel adjustment charges and other unanticipated costs that appear on their monthly bill.  

What’s a customer to do? After the demise of NOPSI, the City Council gave Entergy New Orleans the legal right to supply the city with reliable, affordable gas and electric power so that homes and businesses are relatively cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Entergy New Orleans is also a business that has a financial obligation to its investors to turn a profit.

schools

Ecole Bilingue plans expansion on St. Henry’s Church complex

By |

The Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orléans received City Planning Commission approval last week to increase its footprint within the St. Henry’s Catholic Church complex with the use of a building for its middle school. The private French immersion school occupies multiple buildings and courtyards within the church grounds for its early childhood, kindergarten, elementary and middle schools. To give the middle school students room to grow in a building of their own, the school wants to lease the Blessed Pauline building at 4219 Constance St. Plans show the interior will be renovated into four classrooms, a science and technology lab, a music room and three offices.

roadwork

Repaving and waterline work set to begin this month in St. Thomas area

By |

While the past year has taught us that the future is highly unpredictable, in New Orleans, roadwork will always endure. 

As roadwork has been classified an “essential activity,” infrastructure improvements have continued through the pandemic, though with modifications aimed at worker safety. On Thursday (Jan. 14) evening, the Office of Neighborhood Engagement hosted an online meeting to notify St. Thomas and Irish Channel residents about street milling and reconstruction work coming to their area. The $7 million project is officially called East Riverside/Garden District/Irish Channel/St.Thomas Group A.

With about $2.2 billion in funding from FEMA, and additional funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Roadwork NOLA oversees over 200 Department of Public Works and Sewerage & Water Board projects.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

City to provide updates on repairs to cemeteries

By |

A few months after the city padlocked the Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in September 2019, Garden District neighbors, tour guides and family members wanting to visit the graves of loved ones were asking questions. Sixteen months into the temporary closure for repairs, those question continue: Is anything happening behind the antique brick walls? When will the city unlock the gates and let the public in again? Neighbors could get some answers Tuesday (Jan.

transportation

Traffic advisory: Lane closures for sidewalk repairs begin Monday on St. Charles, South Claiborne

By |

From the Mayor’s Office
Beginning on Monday (Jan. 11), weather permitting, the New Orleans Department of Public Works’ contractor, Hard Rock Construction Co., will close a travel lane in the 2400 block of South Claiborne Avenue and a portion of the bike lane in the 7900 block of St. Charles Avenue to accommodate sidewalk repairs as part of a city bond-funded sidewalk improvement program. The closures will be in effect from 8 a.m. Monday through the end of the month. Residents and commuters are reminded to use caution when driving, bicycling and walking near the construction site.

Christmas

City releases information on holiday trash collection, Christmas tree recycling

By |

There will be no curbside trash collection on Friday, Dec. 25, in honor of Christmas Day, or the following Friday, Jan. 1, in honor of the New Year’s holiday. Curbside trash collection will resume on the next regularly scheduled collection day. For areas with Friday recycling collection, Metro Service Group and Richard’s Disposal will conduct special collection days.

Street Renaming Commission

Leonidas removed from list of streets to be renamed

By |

Carrollton area resident Katie Smith told the City Council’s Street Renaming Commission in a presubmitted comment last week that she looked forward to the day she could give her cross street as Mahalia Jackson Street instead of Leonidas. That day now looks less likely. The commission voted Wednesday to remove Leonidas Street, as well as Lakeview’s Walker Street, from the list of names to be replaced. The City Council created the Street Renaming Commission in June to identify the streets and other public places in New Orleans that were named to honor white supremacists, and to recommend replacement street names.  
Many of the streets that honor Confederate leaders were named in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as part of the “Lost Cause of the Confederacy” propaganda campaign.

city government

Street Renaming Commission to host meeting for recommendations, public feedback

By |

General Ogden, Palmer, Leonidas, and Calhoun are a few Uptown streets that may have new names soon. The City Council Street Renaming Commission — established to make recommendations for renaming streets, parks and places that honor members of the Confederacy and active proponents of segregation — will host a public meeting this Wednesday (Dec. 16) to discuss the findings and recommendations listed in its initial report. Here, the community can give additional feedback before the commission delivers its final report to the council in the coming weeks. The virtual public meeting will start around 4 p.m., immediately following the commission’s meeting that begins at 3 p.m. The meeting will be accessible via livestream on the council’s YouTube channel here  and on the council’s website.

transportation

City plans safer bike paths in Central City and Lower Garden District

By |

The Office of Neighborhood Engagement hosted a pre-construction meeting Thursday to inform Central City and Lower Garden District residents about bicycle infrastructure improvements coming to their neighborhoods. Construction on the project on the East Bank began in August 2020, and the Thursday meeting allowed residents to view the proposals for their area. The project will bring bike lanes and street redesigns to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from St. Charles Avenue to South Broad Street, Melpomene Street from St. Charles Avenue to Camp Street, Baronne Street from Calliope to Phillips Street, South Galvez Street from MLK to Erato Street, and South Broad Street from Fourth Street to Thalia Street.