city government

City: Major funding awarded to elevate repeatedly flooded homes

By |

from the City of New Orleans

Today (June 12), the City of New Orleans announced the award of $12.5 Million in grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program. Those dollars will fund the elevation of more than 50 pre-identified homes in New Orleans that have experienced repeated and severe flooding. Twenty-two of those homes are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “Flood mitigation has to remain a constant priority for me and our residents as we learn better how to live with water,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “This is a huge win for the City of New Orleans.

city government

Coffee on your Corner series to tackle affordable housing

By |

The city is holding a Coffee on Your Corner session for District B on Thursday at the Fresh Market on St. Charles Avenue. The topic will be affordable housing in New Orleans. Coffee on Your Corner is a community meeting that brings city officials and representatives into neighborhoods to discuss specific issues of the day. “In an effort to accommodate residents who are less inclined to attend public meetings in the evenings outside of their communities, we’ve created Coffee on Your Corner to bring city government to you,” the city’s Office of Community Engagement states.

city government

City suspends parking restrictions as heavy rain moves into the area

By |

From the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness

Residents are encouraged to prepare for heavy rainfall and potential flooding through Friday, June 7. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected across the New Orleans region through Friday, some of which could cause heavy rainfall leading to ponding of water in low-lying areas and areas of poor drainage. Rainfall totals between 2 to 6 inches are expected across the area with locally higher amounts possible through Saturday afternoon. The greatest threat of flooding in the metro area is currently forecast to be on Thursday, June 6, with a “Slight” to “Moderate” risk of excessive rainfall, according to the National Weather Service. A Flash Flood Watch will be in effect in New Orleans tonight through Thursday evening.

business

Construction begins for coffee shop, retail space at former Shell station on State and Magazine

By |

By Jesse Baum, Uptown Messenger

Construction began on a new building at 6001 Magazine St. on Monday, June 3. The site will soon be home to four retail spaces, including a coffee shop, as soon as the end of this year. At a neighborhood meeting at Reginelli’s Pizza across the street from the construction site, developer Clay Cambre invited neighbors to engage with the redevelopment team and learn about the project’s progress at two Neighborhood Participation Program meetings on June 3 and 4. The new building will stand about 24 feet high, and will include a 17-space parking lot behind the structure, although the city did not require the additional parking.

city government

Mayor Cantrell denies Nyx a summer parade

By |

from the City of New Orleans 

The Krewe of Nyx proposed a second parade for the summer, but Mayor LaToya Cantrell denied the request, as it would mean using major public safety resources during hurricane season. Cantrell issued the following statement regarding the proposal:

“While I have the utmost respect for what Nyx has achieved as an all-women’s Carnival krewe — and I applaud them for their commitment to our children and our community — unfortunately I cannot support the addition of a summer parade,” Cantrell said. “Their proposed second parade places demands on our public safety resources in the middle of hurricane season, and it is not something our NOPD leadership is comfortable with. Their request has been denied, and the event will not proceed.”

The Krewe of Nyx rides through Uptown every Mardi Gras season on the Wednesday before Fat Tuesday.

business

Wellness center in Scandinavian Jazz Church approved by City Planning Commission

By |

Plans for a wellness center in the former Norwegian Seamen’s Church on Prytania Street won the approval of the City Planning Commission last week, despite a recommendation from the staff planners to deny a required zoning change. The center is the brainchild of Diana Fisher, Deborah Peters and Kendall Wininger, three sisters who live in the Lower Garden District. “The idea was born out of one sister’s need during a serious illness,” Peters told the City Planning Commission. “Her treatment required her to drive around town seeking help from different practitioners.”

They came up with a plan to bring medical practitioners and wellness activities together in one place to better promote healing. When the church, renamed the Scandinavian Jazz Church and Cultural Center after it lost its funding from the Norwegian government, closed at the end of 2018 and the property went on the market, the sisters decided it was the perfect spot for their venture.

city government

City has a plan for the 2019 hurricane season — and you should, too

By |

The city has a new evacuation plan in place for the 2019 hurricane season, which begins today and runs through Nov. 30. For the fifth year in a row, the season got ahead of itself, however. On May 20, the first named storm of the year, Subtropical Storm Andrea, formed in the Atlantic near Bermuda, according to the National Hurricane Center. The center gives 2019 a 70% probability for nine to 15 named storms, four to eight hurricanes and two to four major hurricanes.

business

Peaches on Magazine plans to bring historic Woolworth’s counter back to life

By |

By Emily Carmichael, Uptown Messenger

Peaches Records, a long-time stalwart of local music, is looking to try its hand at the culinary scene with the revival of the historic F.W. Woolworth lunch counter in its Magazine Street store. On Monday, June 3, the record store that helped give Cash Money its start will host a Neighborhood Participation Program meeting at Rosa F. Keller Library in Broadmoor. The meeting is part of a process to gain the city’s approval to serve alcoholic beverages, but Peaches owner Shirani Rea also hopes to use it as an opportunity to introduce the project to the community. The counter at the Peaches remains in its original location at 4318 Magazine St., a former F.W. Woolworth store. The counter was built in 1940, Rea said, but its historical significance dates to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

city government

Aerial mosquito spray planned for tonight

By |

The city’s Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control Board tonight will conduct adult mosquito abatement by plane in the area surrounded by the Jefferson Parish line, Earhart Boulevard and the Mississippi River. The treatments will be conducted from 7:30 to 11 p.m., weather permitting. Routine surveillance has indicated an elevated number of the Southern House Mosquito in these areas, triggering the treatment. The city uses the insecticide naled, sold under the brand name Dibrom, for aerial applications to control adult mosquitoes, according to the board’s website. Naled is the one of the most commonly used insecticides for aerial sprays, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which also states that only a small amount of spray reaches the ground.

city government

Repair work on Jeff Davis bikeway, sidewalk set for next week

By |

On Tuesday, May 28, the city’s Department of Public Works’ construction contractor, Hard Rock Construction, will close the sidewalk in the 700 block of South Jefferson Davis Parkway, as well as the bikeway bridge over the Pontchartrain Expressway. Signage and traffic control measures such as barrels will be onsite to direct bicyclists and pedestrians. “Residents and commuters should plan to travel at slower speeds and use caution when driving, bicycling and walking near this construction site,” a Mayor’s Office press release states. Crews will spend a few days removing and replacing a section of the concrete pathway in order to correct a low spot in the sidewalk that causes water to pool at the site, city officials said. The contractor will begin on Tuesday and work will be completed by Thursday, weather permitting.