city government

Viewpoint: Property taxes may rise in 2024 for many New Orleans homeowners

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New Orleans property owners in select neighborhoods — including Uptown areas — should anticipate paying higher taxes due in 2024 due to the increased valuation of properties in those areas, according to longtime Orleans Parish Assessor Erroll Williams.  Williams and his staff of in-house appraisers have spent the past year reviewing every parcel of commercial and residential property on the parish tax rolls. 

Louisiana law requires a re-evaluation on all properties once every four years. Because 2024 is a quadrennial year, Orleans Parish assessments for tax years 2024-27 will reflect market values as of Jan. 1, 2023. A similar review took place in 2019. 

State law now requires all tax recipient agencies to reduce their millage rates when a quadrennial revaluation results in an increase in taxable assessments, as is the case this year, according to an Assessor’s Office press release. This is referred to as a “mandatory rollback.” The intent of the rollback is to keep funding streams level for tax recipient agencies.

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Join Us for Senior Summer Tours 2023, hosted by Chelsey Richard Napoleon, Clerk of Civil District Court (sponsored)

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Join Us for Senior Summer Tours 2023, hosted by Chelsey Richard Napoleon, Clerk of Civil District Court! Highlighting “Summer Splash” Pontchartrain Beach and Lincoln Beach. Tours will be offered July 20, August 1, 3, 10. Reach out via email or phone for more information:  civilclerkresearchctr@orleanscdc.com or 504-407-0106

About the Clerk of Civil District Court’s Office for the Parish of Orleans:
The Clerk’s Office consists of two divisions – Land Records and Civil. Our Civil Division is where civil cases — such as personal injury, accidents, successions and foreclosures — are filed.

city government

Viewpoint: Dysfunctional city agencies make New Orleans the Big Uneasy

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Just call me F-23,931. Those are my unique numerals in the chronological list of citizens who requested an item number from the New Orleans Police Department in June 2023. I called the cops on June 25 because thieves decided to destroy the top of my car. After causing several thousand dollars of damage, the thugs got away with a few quarters and a pocket knife. Luckily, my insurance will cover the repairs.

city government

Roadwork ahead: Camp Street detour in Lower Garden District

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The eastbound travel lanes of the 1200 block of Camp Street will be closed from today (June 21) through July 17 to perform roadway repairs and restoration work as part of the Central City Group B project. During this time, traffic heading downtown on Camp Street heading will take a detour at Thalia Street. Drivers will be rerouted onto Thalia Street, then will continue onto Constance Street and be directed to take a left turn onto Erato Street, where traffic can return eastbound to Camp Street (see map). Signage and traffic control measures, such as barrels and fencing, will be onsite to direct drivers and pedestrians. Motorists are advised to use caution during this time, as road closures and detours will be in effect.

city government

Roadwork ahead: Lanes to close for repaving work on MLK Boulevard

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Drivers can expect intermittent lane closures on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from South Claiborne Avenue to Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard from Wednesday (June 21) through Friday of next week (June 30), as crews apply asphalt paving to the roadway. Motorists are advised to use caution during this time as the lane closures will occur across the closed parking and travel lanes. The street will reopen to traffic at 5:30 p.m. each day (see map.)

Signage and traffic control measures, such as barrels and fencing, will be onsite to direct drivers and pedestrians. Vehicles must be moved off the street before Wednesday at 7 a.m. The Department of Public Works asks that residents adhere to no parking signage on the streets. Vehicles parked in these zones will be ticketed and towed.

city government

Planning Commission rejects plan for Bohemia outdoor restaurant on Freret

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A proposed open-air restaurant complex on the Freret Street corridor received a thumbs-down from the City Planning Commission on Tuesday (May 23)

The large vacant lot on Freret and Upperline Street is envisioned as Bohemia Gardens, an outdoor recreational space with a bar and three restaurants featuring up-and-coming chefs, the developer told the CPC. In its report, the Planning Commission staff objected to the project’s design, stating it did not fit the character of the neighborhood. “The historical development pattern of the Freret Street mixed-use corridor is what makes Freret a vibrant and walkable neighborhood,” the staff states. “The proposed design strategy drastically departs from the character of Freret Street in that current layout of the structures breaks the rhythm and fabric of the street by not providing building facades to the edge of the sidewalk.”

The CPC asked the developers and their architect to bring the building facades to the sidewalk and combine the small structures into one larger building to anchor the corner of Freret and Upperline. After meetings with the CPC staff, a redesign and three deferrals, the Bohemia group had not brought the plans into compliance.

city government

Tulane University asking city for control over four Uptown blocks

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Tulane University is asking the city for control over four city blocks adjacent to its Uptown campus. The proposal requests “long-term leases for site control and access” to the four Uptown blocks and one block near the downtown medical school. The request took University Area neighbors, already rankled by parking and traffic congestion in the area, by surprise. Tulane spokesman Michael Strecker told Uptown Messenger that the university just wants to fix and maintain the Uptown streets. “None of these areas would be closed to the public,” Strecker said in an email.

Hoffman Triangle hosts Neighborhood Cares Day

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Taylor Park in the Hoffman Triangle hosted a Neighborhood Cares Day on Saturday (April 22) that featured a job fair, tabling from public health workers and community organizations, neighborhood cleanup teams, and clothing and food giveaways. As a DJ played music, attendees browsed brand-new clothing that was donated to Thrive New Orleans, collected free rapid Covid tests from Resilience Force NOLA, and mingled. Free neighborhood events like Saturday’s offer services to residents and a chance to meet people working for the city as well as connect with neighbors and community services. The well-attended event was organized by the Mayor’s office of Neighborhood Engagement, in partnership with District B Councilwoman Lesli Harris, Rebuilding Together New Orleans, the Hoffman Triangle Neighborhood Association, Thrive New Orleans, the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, Resilience Force NOLA, and local businesses. 

College students Milahni and Rylie (students at Xavier and Loyola, respectively) were volunteering and tabling for For Us By Us Market, a farmer’s market that features Black vendors. “I heard about it from my nutrition professor,” said Milahni, while Rylie heard about the event on Instagram.

Roadwork ahead: Camp and Washington to close for six weeks

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The intersection of Washington Avenue and Camp Street will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning Monday (March 20) at 7 a.m. The closure is expected to last about six weeks. Crews from Department of Public Works contractor Hard Rock Construction will be doing subsurface utility repairs. The intersection is scheduled to reopen by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 28. Traffic control measures such as barrels and fencing will be onsite to direct drivers and pedestrians. The $12.5 million Camp Street (Louisiana Avenue to Washington Avenue) Infrastructure Improvement Project calls for repairing and/or replacing sewer and drainage lines.

Roadwork ahead: MLK Boulevard to close for a week between St. Charles and Oretha Castle Haley Castle Haley

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Beginning Monday (March 13) at 7 a.m., will temporarily close Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from St. Charles Avenue to Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. The closure is expected to last for one week, according to the Mayor’s Office. Crews from the Department of Public Works contractor Boh Bros Construction Co. will be performing asphalt paving operations.