NorthWest Carrollton

Does this mean we, the citizens can rest now?

· MORNING: Budget Hearing for Inspector General’s Office: November 27th, 9 am -12 noon, City Hall

· EVENING: Inspector General Robert Cerasoli will address the community: “Ethics in Public Service and The Inspector General Function”

A panel discussion will follow: Councilwoman Shelley Midura, Councilman James Carter, Loyola University President Kevin Wildes, Reverend Cornelius Tilton, Pastor Irish Channel Christian Fellowship, and David Marcello, Director of the Public Law Center, Tulane U.

Who: Inspector General Robert Cerasoli

What: To Speak to Community Leaders on “Ethics in Public Service and The Inspector General Function”

Where: Loyola University, Nunemaker Hall 3rd Floor Monroe Hall
(Parking: West Road Parking Garage. Right off St. Charles down West Road alongside Holy Name of Jesus Church)

When: November 27, 2007 at 7 p.m.

The Office of the Inspector General is an independent agency charged with preventing and detecting fraud, waste, and abuse in the expenditure of public funds. The office of IG is responsible for establishing a full time program of investigation, audit inspection and performance to review and to provide increased accountability and oversight of entities of city government and entities receiving funds through the city.

City Council-at-Large Candidates
UPCOMING PUBLIC FORUMS
October 4 Forum at Nunemaker Auditorium (Loyola University)
At-Large City Council Candidates Field Community Questions at Election Forum

The Election Forum is designed to provide the entire New Orleans community with information about the candidates running for the At-Large seat of City Council, allowing voters to make a more educated choice on October 20. The fo rum was organized because it is often difficult to access comprehensive information on City Council candidates.

Date and Time:
Thursday, October 4, 2007 ~ 7:00 pm
Forum is free and open to the public and news media
Location:
Nunemaker Auditorium, 3rd Floor, Monroe Hall, Loyola University
Free parking available in the West Road Parking Garage (enter from St. Charles Ave.)

Candidates:
(confirmed as of 09.25.07)

Diana E. Bajoie
Virginia Boulet
Quentin Brown
Kimberly Williamson Butler
Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson
Dyan French
Kaare Johnson
Joe Jones
Thomas Lewis
Malcolm Suber
Tommie A. Vassel
Cynthia Willard-Lewis

Moderator:
Lee Zurik, Anchor/Reporter WWL-TV

For additional information, go to:
http://citycouncila tlarge.blogspot. com/

Please contact us with information about upcoming election events so we can send out the latest updates!

October 11 Forum at Xavier University
COUNCIL-AT-LARGE FORUM ALLOWS VOTERS TO QUESTION
CANDIDATES IN CITY’S MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION

With the governor’s race not shaping up to be much of a contest, the most important ballot most New Orleans voters will cast in the October 20 election will be for the City Council-at-Large seat vacated by Oliver Thomas. The winner will assume the presidency of the City Council next year, and play a major role in the pace and direction of the city’s recovery.

To give voters the opportunity hear directly from the thirteen candidates about their visions and plans for the future of New Orleans, there will be a Candidate Forum on Thursday, October 11, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The Forum will be held in the Xavier University ballroom, and will be moderated by Roop Raj from WDSU-TV.

The Candidate Forum will be sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, the Committee for a Better New Orleans/Metropolita n Area Committee (CBNO/MAC), and Xavier University.

All thirteen candidates for the Council-at-Large seat have confirmed their attendance for the Forum.

For more info, contact:
Lea Young, League of Women Voters, (504) 289-1791
Nolan Rollins, Urban League, (504) 620-2332
Keith Twitchell, CBNO/MAC (504) 943-7970

October 16 Forum at Ben Franklin High School
COMMUNITY BASED ISSUES FORUM WITH CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

Tuesday October 16th, a nonpartisan community issues forum for all 13 candidates for the at-large city council seat will take place from 6 pm to 8:30 pm at the Ben Franklin High School, located at 2100 Leon c. Simon Blvd ( on the UNO campus). The emphasis of the forum will be on the issues involved in the recovery and rebuilding of the city, especially as the recovery affects flooded neighborhoods, dispersed citizens, low income and public housing residents, African Americans and other racial groups. The candidates will be questioned on a variety of citywide and neighborhood recovery issues.

This forum is being organized by the African American Leadership Project (AALP), and the Louisiana Unity Coalition, and is supported by the New Orleans Association of Black Social Worker’s, the Millions More Movement, the Neighborhood Rebuild ing Plans Collaborative, Rainbow PUSH Coalition , the NAACP, ACORN, and SCLC. A special feature of the community issues forum will be the participation and involvement of youth and their parents. The forum format will consist of an opening statement from each candidate regarding why they are seeking the seat, and their summary of their position on the major recovery issues.

For more information, e-mail wazuri@aol.com, or call 504-285-8969

At-Large City Council Candidates

Field Community Questions at Election Forum

On October 4 at 7:00pm a group of neighborhood associations and community organizations are coming together to host a forum for the candidates for the City Council’s At-Large seat. The forum will be held at Nunemaker Auditorium, 3rd Floor of Monroe Hall at Loyola University.

Candidates for the At-Large seat who have confirmed to participate in the forum include: Diana E. Bajoie, Virginia Boulet, Quentin Brown, Kimberly Williamson Butler, Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, Dyan French, Kaare Johnson, Joe Jones, Thomas Lewis, Malcolm Suber, Tommie A. Vassel, and Cynthia Willard-Lewis

Gail Masters Reimonenq, has been invited but have not yet confirmed.

The format for the Election Forum will be a panel discussion; candidates will be asked four to seven questions by moderator Lee Zurik, news anchor and reporter at WWL-TV. The questions were developed by the sponsoring Neighborhood Associations (see below) and will focus on community-wide priorities and concerns.

Sponsoring organizations include a wide range of Neighborhood Associations and community organizations from throughout New Orleans. Please see below for a complete list of sponsoring associations and organizations.

The Election Forum is designed to provide the entire New Orleans community with information about the candidates running for the At-Large seat of City Council, allowing voters to make a more educated choice on October 20. The forum was organized because it is often difficult to access comprehensive information on City Council candidates.

Sponsoring Organizations:

District B Coordinating Council

Member Organizations:

Baronne Street Neighborhood Association

Bouligny Riverside Neighborhood Assoc.

Broadmoor Improvement Association

Carol Condominium Assoc

Central City Renaissance Alliance

Coliseum Square Neighborhood Association

Delachaise Neighborhood Association

Downtown Development District

Faubourg Delachaise Neighborhood Association

Faubourg Marengo Neighborhood Association

Garden District Neighborhood Association

Garden District Security District

Irish Channel Neighborhood Association

Lower Magazine Street Homeowners Association

Mid-City Neighborhood

Organization

Milan Neighborhood Association

Napoleon & Claiborne Improvement Association

Neighbors United

Phoenix New Orleans (PNOLA)

St. Charles Avenue Association

Touro Bouligny Neighborhood Association

Additional Sponsoring Organizations:

Audubon Area Zoning Association

Audubon Riverside Neighborhood Association

Benroe Housing Initiatives P.C.

Carrollton Riverbend Residents Association

Central Carrollton Neighborhood Association

Downtown Neighborhoods Improvement Association

Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association

Gert Town Enterprise Economic Redevelopment,
Gert Town – Maryville Neighborhood Association,

Lafayette Square Association

Northwest Carrollton Civic Association

Zion City Neighborhood Improvement Association

Neighborhoods Partnership Network

Common Good

July 12, 2007

Eddie Jordan

District Attorney

1340 Poydras Street

Suite 700

New Orleans, LA 70112

Dear Mr. Jordan:

I am writing to you today to respectfully request that you resign from the office of Orleans Parish District Attorney.

I have no doubts about your intentions or your dedication or your character. By all accounts you are a fine man. But the job of District Attorney is an admittedly difficult one with heavy responsibility and requires more than most fine men are capable of. After the events of the last 48 hours, which have eroded the public�s confidence in your ability to carry out the responsibilities of the District Attorney, I am asking that you resign from office. An elected official�s legitimacy and moral authority to govern is derived from the consent of the governed. I no longer believe you have the consent and support from the public required to perform your duties adequately.

I do not know that there is any excuse for dropping charges against a quintuple murderer without a thorough exhaustion of all possibilities to prevent such a thing from happening. Months ago you and Superintendent Riley pledged to the City Council several reforms and improvements in your lines of communication to ensure that lack of coordination between your offices would no longer lead to dropped cases against those who pose serious threats to our public safety. It has become all too clear that you have been unable to hold up your end of this bargain. Mr. Jordan, you must know as well as any of your fellow New Orleanians the great urgency our city feels in combating the violent crime problem. We have lost the room for these kinds of error. I thank you for your service and your efforts as District Attorney, yet I maintain my request on behalf of my constituents that you resign your office as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Shelley Midura

CAL. NO. 26,522 - BY: COUNCILMEMBER
MIDURA - An Ordinance to provide for the
establishment of a Conditional Use to
permit an accessory parking lot in an
RD-2 Two Family Residential District, on
Square 343, Lots 9, 10 and 11, in the
Seventh Municipal District, bounded by
South Claiborne Avenue, Nelson, Dublin
and Dante Streets (Municipal Address:
8205 South Claiborne Avenue); and
otherwise to provide with respect
thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 24/07)

The following speech was read at the May 3rd City Council Meeting when the Accessory Parking Lot, CPC Report and BZA decision was endorsed by City Council. All Carrollton & New Orleans residents should be aware of what is taking place on this corner. Anyone interested in contacting our Council Representative, Shelley Midura, regarding this issue can contact her via Email at smidura@cityofno.com or via phone at 658-1010.

The board of NorthWest Carrollton would like to respectfully request that this matter be deferred until the next City Council meeting.

We want to believe that our issues and concerns can be addressed in a civil and organized fashion and be successfully resolved. Marc Robert has everything he needs to go ahead with the construction of his grocery store. This parking lot issue can be resolved as the primary development progresses. We are not attempting to “hold up construction” of the grocery store and resent the implication by Council Member Midura’s staff that this is the case. We have been consistently told that the grocery store and the parking lot were 2 SEPARATE issues. Now the implication is that one can not proceed without the other. Which is true?

We are simply working citizens who have repeatedly taken time off from their jobs to attend City Council meetings, CPC meetings and to meet separately with CPC and our Council member. We have been put through the grinder of city practices and protocols without the aid of the legal representation developers can afford and with very little assistance from anyone in city government on how to manage this maze. We have asked that the entire site plan for Roberts & Walgreens be developed holistically. It the fall of 2006 this it was even announced in the newspaper that would be the case. Yet there was a separate CPC processes for the primary Roberts development. The accessory parking lot at issue today was handled as multi-phase and convoluted conditional use grant, the CPC process and now this Council process. Walgreens has been handled separately because they agreed, under duress, to follow city ordinances. This is not the definition I have of holistic development.

1) More than a year ago during the many meetings and discussions held regarding the Roberts & Walgreens development we told Council Member Midura and Marc Robert that we were opposed to the conversion of residential property to commercial.

2) In the fall of 2006 Council Member Midura introduced a “Conditional Use” for this property “as an accessory parking lot”. The accessory parking was to be for employees only. This was done with out any discussions or notice to the citizens who had repeatedly communicated concerns over the intrusion of commercial space into the neighborhood, When the conditional use issue was first introduced we asked what we could do next. We were told “Nothing, it is done”. This was not completely true. It turned out that there was a CPC process. But even after the CPC process, what we were told yesterday makes it look like there really was nothing we could do to influence the process. Should ordinary citizens need lawyers to allow them to interact with the city government we elect and pay for?

3) In August of 2006, When the “compromise” was announced and Walgreens agreed, under duress, to follow the city’s zoning laws, a “design review board” was created. Never once, before yesterday evening, was any mention made of using this space as a storage facility. This design review board has not met consistently and has not addressed the concerns of the residents. It has only enabled the developers. It has been essentially a farce. We have only been asked what color lipstick we want on the pig. Although I’ll agree it appears that for the Walgreens & Roberts primary development it appears to be nice lipstick.

4) When the provisos were being worked for Roberts primary development we repeatedly told CPC that the citizens of the neighborhood were more inclined to grant Roberts waivers on the number of parking spaces required than to have this residential space used as a parking lot. We also indicated this at the meetings held during the initial Walgreens & Roberts placement discussions. This does not ever seem to have been an option.

5) At the April 10 CPC hearing on this issue there were a number of provisos attached to the use of this site as a parking lot. The space, that we are now being told will house a large storage facility, was referred to as green space. CPC report even goes so far as to recommend that this remaining green space be offered to the residential property owners impacted by the creation of a parking lot. No mention is made of a storage facility.

6) Immediately after April 10th CPC hearing we met with CPC and reviewed our remaining concerns over the accessory parking lot with them. We were told that these concerns were “minor” and could be addressed by Council Member Midura. We wanted this to be the case. We arranged a meeting with Council Member Midura last week. When we advised Ms Midura that the parking lot was to be used for both employee and customer parking, she indicated surprise. When we expressed our concerns regarding appropriate fencing and security on the “green space” no mention was made of a storage facility. We have repeatedly asked CPC, Ms Midura, Marc Robert, the design review committee to ensure that after hours this parking lot would be free of cars and secured. On Tuesday, because we had heard nothing from Council Member Midura regarding our concerns we respectfully requested that this matter be deferred. Yesterday in an afternoon phone call from Ms Midura’s staff one of our board members was told that the matter would not be deferred, our concerns were not going to be addressed in advance of this meeting and to add insult to injury that a storage facility, one not mentioned in any CPC report or to the design review committee, was to be built on the site

Given that, during our meeting with Ms Midura last week, we asked and she indicated it was possible to add an amendment which would cause the entire property under discussion today to be remideated back to green space should the Robert development prove non-viable; the last minute revelation of a storage shed was a bit of a shock. We want a grocery store. We do not want the intrusion of commercial space into the heart of a residential block. The space that we are now told will house a storage facility plunges like a knife into the middle of a residential block and abuts 5 residential properties. There are too many unresolved issues to charge ahead.

So again we respectfully request that this matter be deferred until the next City Council meeting. Council Member Midura was sent Emails this morning from the president of Central Carrollton Association and member of the design review board supporting our request and concerns. Ms Midura was also sent support from Claiborne-University.

I would also request that this Council cause CPC to issue a revised report including the revelations uncovered yesterday regarding use of the “green space” for a storage facility and this revised report be reviewed at CPC meeting before this issue comes before City Council. We want to believe that the CPC was sold a “pig in a poke” and may not have recommended for approval of the conditional use if they had known that the green space which abuts 5 residential properties would not stay green. We would prefer not to have to put lipstick on yet another pig.

A number of us have been hearing the rumour that Shelley Midura is giving up her seat on the City Council

This from Todays Times Picayune.

STICKING AROUND: One recent item in the political rumor mill has been speculation that Midura will resign her council seat to move to the Washington, D.C., area, where her husband and children have been living since Katrina.

The rumor, like others alleging impending political trouble for the District A council member, seems to have come from sources aligned with former Councilman Jay Batt, whom Midura defeated in May after a hard-fought campaign.

Midura denied the rumor, saying she has no intention of giving up her seat.

Here is a great photo of a proud Broadmoor resident at City Council.When we were told to watch the plans for our Neighborhood and to make sure they were being honored I am glad to see even the youngest of our New Orleanians is taking it to heart.

I saw Matt Mc Bride, the Hardest Working Man in Drainage at City Council as well.

We have copies of the Neighborhood plan on disc if anyone would like to see it let me know.

There are more planning meetings, and I will post the times and dates later.

Yesterday was an interesting day at City Council with many emotional issues coming forth. From Neighborhood Planning to the Inspector generals position.

There is a rundown of several of these issues at Think New Orleans

I would encourage you to go and leave comments there with your opinion about the myriad of issues facing us.

CAL. NO. 26244 BY: COUNCILMEMBER MIDURA
An Ordinance to temporarily suspend the requirement for a Conditional Use for accessory parking in an RD-2, Two Family Residential District, for the property located at the corner of South Claiborne Avenue and Dublin Street, only for the purposes of permitting this property to be used for accessory parking for the grocery store and drug store to be constructed on the square bounded by South Claiborne Avenue, South Carrollton Avenue, Dublin Street and Nelson Street; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

Passed by City Council 6-0 on October 5th, 2006

Shelley, you were told explicitly and repeatedly that our neighbors and your constituents in NorthWest Carrollton were vehemently opposed to the conversion of any residential properties to commercial. NorthWest Carrollton Board members were in your office on Monday October 2nd indicating that we were opposed to this.

We specifically and directly asked if any items associated with the development on the corner of Claiborne and Carrollton were going to be on the Oct 5th agenda and were told they were not. Please don’t tell me this was a mistake. Given 4 NWCCA board members were in your office on Monday, there was ample opportunity to advise us of your intent.

A neighborhood review board was established in August 2006 to review design of the commercial development on the corner of Claiborne and Carrollton. NorthWest Carrollton had to repeatedly ask for plans for the development to be provided to the review board and to our neighborhood. The board had only one meeting, last Tuesday October 3rd, and this at the insistence of NorthWest Carrollton. One of the concessions that NorthWest Carrollton had indicated it was willing to make was to allow a variance (fewer than required) on the number of parking spaces needed. Claiborne and Carrollton is NOT the corner of Magazine and Arabella. If decisions like the one you made last Thursday were going to be made without even allowing us the ability to respectfully disagree in the public format of a City Council meeting, what was the purpose of this board?

Given the events of this week, I’d like for you to explain to me how we are to trust you to represent us? As I see it we were lied to and intentionally deceived.
Fontainebleau has members who are colleagues of the developers for Roberts and Walgreens and a mid to high socioeconomic standing. NorthWest Carrollton has no such connections with the developers and a lower socioeconomic average status. So I’d also like for you to explain how this is not socioeconomic racism.
Ethical decisions are not always the easiest ones to make. It does not take the existence of a review board to know this. Children know this, which is why they squirm when they know they are doing something wrong.

The members of the NorthWest Carrollton organization deserve an explanation regarding your actions. Please tell me what to say to them on your behalf or I’ll have no choice but to tell them what I think.

Sincerely,
Jenel Hazlett
NorthWest Carrollton

Todays rally at the 17th Street Canal. Airline and Monticello.

This is a statement made by Carolyn Bell from Palm Air

On behalf of our Neighbors from Palm Air, HollyGrove, North Carrollton,
Gert Town,Broadmoor,Lakeview, Gentilly and Other Neighborhoods on the New Orleans side
of the 17th Street Canal,we want answers as to why our Neighbors on the Jefferson/Metairie side of the 17TH Street Canal are arming themselves with an elevated facade and the Orleans side is left defensless

Another issue which is puzzling is that the entire Canal is in Metairie, yet we are
told that it is Orleans Parish who is responsible for that side.
When you look at this elevation and pipes pointing towards your Neighborhood it is
quite alarming.

Peak Hurricane Season is approaching along with the Anniversary of Katrina, We feel
this is a time when all Parishes should be working together for an equitable solution
We cannot afford to be selfish,untrusting and unNeighborlyabout this problem
Each problem should be everyones problem.

We cannot afford to be hemmed into a City,to reexperience Death and destruction of
a Beautiful City such as New Orleans and other areas affected due to ineffective leadership and a Corp of Engineers which has been set up like an untouchable elusive
Ghost in the wind with Powers which have a negative impact on the Citizens, The City and other surrounding Parishes.

This City,Our Parishes,Baton Rouge and Washington D.C. have to devise a way to balance
equally the Distribution of Potential Innudation of water throughout our City

UPDATE FROM COUNCILWOMAN MIDURAS OFFICE

Monticello St. Drainage Canal –

The Councilmember has announced an outdoor townhall in Hollygrove with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Sewage & Water Board to address the communitys safety concerns over the Monticello St. drainage canal.

Your Councilmember will bring the Sewage & Water Board, Army Corps of Engineers and hopefully someone from Jefferson Parish to the community to get feedback directly from the nearby residents that will enable them to move forward on a plan with input from the neighborhood.

The townhall will occur Saturday, August 12th from 5-6:30pm at Mamie Conrad Playground in Hollygrove. The park is located at the corner of Hamilton and Olive St.

SHELLEY MIDURA needs our support on this volatile issue. When the Federal Funds are dispersed we want to make sure that the monies go where they are intended to go. Embracing Reform is vital. Please attend this weeks Council Meeting and show your Support. It takes a lot of support and personal conviction to take this issue on. Let her know it is important to you.

UPDATE Read what others have to say about this ethics issue, A special Thanks to Rene GiL Pratt and her special friends The Jeffersons for bringing this issue out in the open