The proposal calls for the former Liberty Hardware Store to become retail on the ground level and a members-only club upstairs. Update: The Thursday City Council meeting where these loans were to be considered has been postponed. The matters likely will be taken up by the council Tuesday at 10 a.m. The oversized check Mayor […]
Category: Land Use
Posted inLand Use
City planners deny plan for borrow pit in the east
Developer John Cummings had plans for an eastern New Orleans neighborhood that involved building better levees. For the nearby residents, that was fine – they just wanted them built with someone else’s dirt. The residents prevailed Tuesday with the city’s Planning Commission, which denied Cummings a permit for a borrow pit, where clay would have […]
Posted inLand Use
'Just' compensation difficult to define in Detroit
The push to “shrink the footprint” in New Orleans — to slowly shut down badly blighted or hurricane damaged neighborhoods by banning development and rolling back public services — fell apart under howls of resident protest against the 2005-2006 Bring New Orleans Back plan. In the New York Times, Harvard Economics Professor Edward Glaeser described […]
Posted inLand Use
City releases HUD report, invites public comments
The federal government gave New Orleans more than $6.5 million to build or repair affordable housing last year, resulting in 63 rental rehabs and 150 blighted property renovations, according to the draft of a federal report released for public review this week. Another 81 blighted properties were expropriated using the federal grant money, according to […]
Posted inLand Use
Decrepit strip mall financed by taxpayer money avoids wrecking ball — for now
The Lake Terrace Shopping Center has found its way back before city officials again. When The Lens and our partners at Fox 8 News first reported on the gutted and stagnant strip mall two months ago, developer DKM Acquisitions had taken $162,500 in taxpayer money but had nothing to show for it. Owner and sole […]
Posted inLand Use
Senate action helps chances for New Orleans housing
Just a couple weeks ago, affordable-housing proponents had little hope that developments to replace the public-housing complexes torn down after the levee failures would materialize. A damning federal assessment of the Housing Authority of New Orleans stated that, “Two of HANO’s Big Four the former Lafitte and B.W. Cooper projects mixed-income deals are in jeopardy. […]
Posted inLand Use
Taxpayers donate property for homeless only to see it stagnate under non-profit
This Chippewa Street property that was donated to Galilee Housing sits still boarded up more than three years after the non-profit received it as a donation from the Housing Authority of New Orleans. At least the neighbors get some off-street parking from what some describe as an eyesore. By Karen Gadbois – Staff writer – […]
Posted inSquandered Heritage Vintage
WordPress and Tenacity
I have know for a few weeks that the series of reports done by Lee Zurik had been awarded the “duPont award”:http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/cs/ContentServer/jrn/1212612076307/page/1212612076272/JRNSimplePage2.htm but it was nice to see it announced today. I heard the announcment via Twitter via “@The_Gambit”:http://twitter.com/The_Gambit Nice to see new media spreading the news of old media around. I look forward to […]
Posted inSquandered Heritage Vintage
Cracking the eggs to make the Carrollton Avenue omelet
Work will begin this week on the resurfacing and sidewalk replacement on South Carrollton Avenue from Interstate 10 to St. Charles Avenue, a project expected to finish by August. The project also will bring a bike lane, handicapped-accessible curb cuts at each cross street, and new curbs along the 2.2-mile stretch of road. Though the […]
Posted inSquandered Heritage Vintage
No Power for the People
In a cost-cutting move, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin declared that all city buildings will be closed on Fridays. Supposedly, this will cut the city’s light bill and help the city meet its budget goals. Hizzoner’s announcement led to more than one wisecrack about the level of service available at City Hall even when it […]