NorthWest Carrollton

Well, I guess some New Years revelers decided to shoot off some fireworks and set this house on fire.

The Fire Chief told me that someone was arrested.

I grew up in the lower 9th Ward (Ward 9-Precinct 1) in a small, raised, clapboard house built in 1959. Everything except Jackson Barracks was “uptown” from us. Uptown was where “rich people” lived. So when I saw the beautiful brick houses shaded and surrounded by large oak trees (Lafitte, Iberville, etc.) I naively assumed that this must be where the rich people lived. The houses seem so much nicer, on so many levels, than mine, including being close to where the other rich people lived and cool places like Canal Street and the French Quarter.

I went to college at UNO (78-83) and daily drove past the “Desire project”. Never once did it cross my mind that rich people lived here. Desire was torn down and, preKatrina had already begun to be replaced by smaller single and double houses. In 2004 as I drove to UNO for graduate classes, New Desire was beginning to look like it could be a nice place to live.

I drive my daughter to school past CJ Peete. I look at these sturdy brick buildings surrounded by lovely oak trees and wonder just what it is that makes these buildings unredeemable. Our current house was built in 1929. CJPeete’s buildings were built in 1941. I know how solid the foundational construction is in these older buildings. I also know how fast we were able to get back in our home post Katrina because of these construction features.

I drive to UNO from my job at Chalmette Refining to UNO to pick my daughter up from her Japanese lesson, past “New Desire”. I look at how these new construction homes survived the ravages of Katrina, the Corps induced flooding and PostK neglect and compare them in my mind to CJ Peete and Lafitte. And folks, from my truck window, there is no comparison. CJPeete and Lafitte look like move in condition. New Desire homes look devastated and fragile in comparison and like they need much more work.

Anyone looking for easy answers and quick fixes should NOT be in New Orleans. Sure it sounds great to say tear it down and build a new one. But this is an easy answer and does not take into consideration or respect our history and the complexities of the situation. We need to stop the rush to demolition. We need to stop the dangerously hypnotic mantra and PostK desert mirage of “redevelopment”. We need instead to start talking to each other in real, open, meaningful venues, not shouting matches and not overly organized and facilitated into meaninglessness public meetings. We need to honor our past while securing our future and we need to realize that there are no easy answers. The answers that will serve us best take time and care; the same type of time and care that make our historic New Orleans buildings, be they CJPeete or shotgun in Black Pearl or a raised bungalow in Carrollton, valuable. If members of congress from California and Nevada can figure this out, then our local leaders should be able to as well.

Jenel Hazlett
I’ve been told by NWCCA’s Vice President, Karen Gadbois, that I need to blog more. Since I respect and appreciate Karen’s influence in my life more than I can say… I decided to listen to her advice. Look for future posts under the “President’s Rant” category.

From: “Scott Barron”
To: letters@timespicayune.com
CC: Subject: letter to the Editor
Date: Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:35:40 -0500

Gadfly?

Re: “Xavier planning for 21 demolitions,” Page B-1.
July 3, 2007

I would like to strongly disagree with the author of this article, for using the word “gadfly” to describe Karen Gadbois. The reporter uses this term to paint Karen as a neighborhood obstructionist, who is opposed to change, and is only trying to preserve the status quo. This
characterization is completely unfair. It is also, a surprisingly poor use of the english language, if used by a professional writer to describe Karen .

For the record, a gadfly is defined by the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as;
a person who stimulates or annoys esp. by persistent criticism.
There is a second definition but I will assume the author was not referring to; any of various flies (as a horsefly, botfly, or warble fly) that bite or annoy livestock.

Anyone who knows Karen, knows calling her a “gadfly” is both unfair and wrong. Karen has been a tireless advocate for the rebuilding of the Carrollton area. She has only looked to the best interests of the city, and has proven to be a very constructive force, in maintaining a positive rebuilding dialogue, in her neighborhood. When our political leadership sat down, Karen was willing to stand up and help lead. When the planning process began, almost two years ago, Karen dedicated herself to being a consistent advocate, for the smart growth New
Orleans needs. When the neighborhoods became aware that Walgreen’s was planning a new store, at Carrollton and Claiborne, Karen helped in the development of a plan that was
acceptable to both Walgreen’s and the residents of the area.

Karen Gadbois has proved, again and again, her commitment to the rebirth of our great city. She deserves, but never asks for, our thanks and gratitude. And, I am sure, she does not deserve to have the label of “gadfly” thrown at her. By doing so, the reporter seems to be looking to misrepresent her actions, and therefore belittle a great citizen of New Orleans!

Scott Barron
President, Claiborne University Neighborhood Association (CUNA)
New Orleans

Thank you Scott… and THANK YOU KAREN.

The following houses are on the City demolition list, they are all in the Boundaries of Northwest Carrollton

8500 Block of Pritchard Place

2939 Joliet

Fig Street

8400 Belfast St

next door 8404 Belfast

8501 Apple

To read more click here

I have been doing a lot of work on my other project Squandered Heritage

This house was under Fema review for demolition.

While there are many homes that are liable to be demolishes there are many that could be saved and returned to commerce.

Just a quick post to let everyone know that there is a proposal to demolish this house The house is located at 8300 Earhart. You can see the proximity to Carrollton Ave.

In order to create a Parking Lot and build a Dollar General
Much like this Stay Tuned

Thanks to Andy for pointing out that I had written General Dollar and not Dollar General

Find a place in your schedule for an informative Preservation Resource Center Welcome Home workshop, offered in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. All workshops are open to the public. Join our experts at our Warehouse District office on the following dates:

Wood Windows 101
Saturday, July 22, 10:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m.
Featured speaker: Jim Turner, Turner Restoration, Detroit, Michigan
Turner is making his fourth trip to New Orleans since Katrina. A window expert and member of the Presentation Trades Network, Turner has served as a volunteer advisor for the Preservation Resource Center and National Trust for Historic Preservation. At the workshop, Turner will show participants how maintain and repair historic wood windows with a live demonstration.

Careful Cleanup
Saturday, July 22, 1:30 p.m. till 3:00 p.m.
Featured Speaker: Dennis Livingston, Alliance for Healthy Homes
Many area residents have returned for the summer and are just beginning the cleanup process. Attendees can expect to learn how to safely remove water-damaged materials from homes, how to appropriately remediate mold in historic buildings, and the importance of retaining historic value of old homes by keeping architectural details in place, including re-working water-damaged historic wood material.

Roof to Piers
Tuesday, July 25, 5:30 p.m
Featured Speaker: Safety & Permits director Mike Centineo
Centineo will join the Operation Comeback staff for this popular workshop. Centineo will answer questions as well as discuss critical rebuilding topics such as roof assessment, materials, replacement and repairs, foundation types, elevations and repairs.

All seminars are held at the Preservation Resource Center 923 Tchoupitoulas Street. There is no charge for admission. For more information please call Maryann Miller at (504) 636-3046 or email mmiller@prcno.org.

this building is scheduled for demolition. I will post details tommorow

Also
This Information was passed on from the PRC

The owners/managers of the shopping center at Carrollton & the Expressway
(Carrollton Central Plaza Associates) have made application to demolish
much of the remaining retail buildings. The application will be considered by
the Housing Conservation District Review Committee on July 24 (10 a.m.,
Room 7E07 City Hall).

For more information about the proposed demolitions or to express an
opinion, please call me at 636-3046 or email me at mmiller@prcno.org, and/
or we invite you to attend the public meeting to make your neighborhood's position known.

The applications are listed as “3800 S. Carrollton Ave.” numbers “1, 2 & 3″ and specify areas to be demolished were leased by Daughters of Charity Health Center, Footlocker, Rainbow, Rentway, Subway, Wig World, and others. That’s about all the information I have from the applicant. If you’d like to contact them, their office is 835-8000 and when I last made contact (several months ago) it was with Rita Morici.