Less than a week after announcing his administration’s plans for more than 100 projects, Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Monday signed a contract for another recreation effort.

The $1.7 million contract to renovate the Joe Brown Park was posted to the city’s website today. Also posted was the $23 million contract for a new riverfront park in the Bywater, which was signed at the end of June.

Landis Construction landed the big contract for the first phase of what’s officially called Reinventing the Crescent.

The work will start in the Bywater neighborhood, and eventually the 6-mile, $300 million linear park will stretch from Poland Avenue to Jackson Avenue.

Eastern New Orleans residents have been eager to see improvements at the 135-acre Joe Brown park, which sustained significant damages after Hurricane Katrina.

Karen Gadbois

Karen Gadbois co-founded The Lens. She now covers New Orleans government issues and writes about land use. With television reporter Lee Zurik she exposed widespread misuse of city recovery funds and led...