As 2008 ends, I am pleased with a few of the accomplishments that the Council and I have made this year. A few milestones include:

• Working to pass through the Council and then through city-wide vote a Master Plan ordinance;
• Working to expose wasteful spending in various departments such as Housing (NOAH), Office of Technology (crime cameras), Property Management (police station air conditioners), and Sanitation;
• Assisting the Downtown Development District in obtaining approval to start its own code enforcement initiatives;
• Changing state law to allow 7 residents to sue a nuisance property;
• Holding the first ever Sheriff’s sale to put property with outstanding health code liens back into commerce, thereby raising funds for the city and reducing blight.

In the next year, I hope to continue with a few large-scale reforms that have not yet been achieved including:

• Supporting a complete overhaul of our economic development model to a professional, non-political entity that fosters regionalization;
• Lobbying for state legislation to depoliticize the Sewerage and Water Board membership and require relevant professional experience (many people don’t realize that the S&WB is governed by state law. So real changes with the Board management is the duty of your state legislator. I encourage you to contact your state legislator to demand change, information below);
• Pressing the Administration to put more money into infrastructure improvements. The city receives significant federal money that historically has not gone to streets—and it should;
• Support complete overhaul of our city’s youth recreation programs (NORD) to provide quality programs to New Orleans kids.

In addition, I will continue to hold regular hearings to demand improvement of the various city departments, attend (or have staff attend) as many neighborhood and NONPAC meetings as possible, contact District B businesses to assess needs and provide resources and information, and focus resources, including NOPD, on particular problem areas to deter and solve crime. 

District B News

Crime: Crime continues to be our greatest problem. I have done what I can to assure that the NOPD is very well-funded, that relevant laws are clear, and to point out deficiencies and offer constructive solutions within the NOPD, which have not been well-received. Substantive change from this point must come from the Administration. As to the judiciary and the District Attorney’s office, I have high hopes. Our new D.A., most of our remaining judges and our newly elected judges appear eager to bring real improvement. I am committed to funding them as needed. Finally, I have worked creatively with neighborhoods and individual NOPD majors to identify particularly problematic properties and areas.

Another crime solution action that my office has taken is to follow particularly vexing crimes through the system. Information about an arrested person’s status can be found at http://www.opcso.org/, with the “inmate query” and “docketmaster” links. I highly recommend that your neighborhood become involved in tracking to conclusion crimes in your area. Contact the investigating detective/officer to obtain basic information, contact the District Attorney’s office to notify you before any magistrate hearings for bond setting, go to hearings, and let the D.A.s and judges know that you are watching this crime.

With regard to juveniles, please know that if he or she is arrested for committing a “crime of violence,” the information is public.

Grant funding: I am pleased that through the Harrah’s Community Support Grants that I have been able to focus the District B grants on children in need in underserved neighborhoods. Some of the recipients of the District B grants include: enrichment programs at two central city schools, the Taylor Park swimming pool, tutoring at Wilson School, after school and Saturday tutoring at a neighborhood center, Karate scholarships for 20 children at Green School, Art programs at another central city school.

Infrastructure: FEMA “patch” repairs have just begun. This work should greatly improve the streets in many of the areas in the city that flooded.

The Irish Channel streets project is almost complete and the Jefferson Avenue/Riverside project started recently.

Peniston Street reconstruction from Freret Street to Carondelet has been awarded to Fleming Construction ($4.1M for construction). This project started on July 7th and is estimated to be completed in May, 2009.

Recent Finances: I continue to work to assure that our funds are spent wisely. As I stated in my letter to the editor of the Times Picayune, part of government’s obligation is to provide services to the neediest of citizens. If we squander our funds, these citizens are hurt first and most as they are not able to privately fund things such as infrastructure, security, education and recreation for their children.

Housing:

• The demolitions of B.W. Cooper and C.J. Peete are complete. Many of the demolitions were done by local firms with local employees. These projects will be redeveloped into mixed-income, mixed-use communities. The building work should begin for both in early 2009.
• Most FEMA trailers have been removed from District B. If you are aware of a trailer that remains, please contact Greg Malveaux of my office and 888-294-2822. Please note that no FEMA trailer extensions are being offered through the office of Safety and Permits in District B.
• If you have a problem with a nuisance rental property, send the address and details to me and I will write to the owner – and have your neighborhood association do the same. Please send me specific information. If this property is Section 8 or owned by HANO/HUD, please indicate that. To locate a property owner’s information, see below.

Recent District B Happenings

Mid-City Town Hall Meeting:

We held a Mid-City town hall meeting on Saturday, October 25th at which the department of Public Works and ORDA presented information.

Gert Town Meeting:

We held a meeting on November 15th to discuss concerns and issues in this community, at which Officer Eddington of the NOPD attended, the Department of Public Works, and ORDA presented information.

Clean-ups:

My office staff and I participated in a clean-up around Guste Central City Academy. Our next clean-up is scheduled for Gert Town in December. Please contact Ruth Idakula of my office to volunteer.

Job Fair: My office has sponsored several job fairs that have assisted over 400 participants. We had 25 vendors and over 150 people gained employment from our efforts. Please contact Barbara Lacen-Keller of my office if you are an employer who would like to participate in upcoming job fair efforts.

Central City Come-Back Committee:

My office has worked with this Committee on several events including:

• Thanksgiving dinner
• Santa and the 6th toy & bike give away and Christmas dinner
• Community Health Fair and family day
• Night Out Against Crime

Katrina Memorial Dedication:

On August 29th, I participated in the Katrina Memorial Dedication and internment of Katrina victims. In addition, I helped dedicate the Pet Memorial, which is displayed in the lobby of Council Chambers.

Gert Town Community Center:

With our office’s help, this community center at 3117 Broadway was opened and dedicated on July 22nd

Youth March:

Our office co-sponsored the Central City Youth Against Violence march on June 21st to commemorate the death of Officer Nicola Cotton.

Helpful Information

• State Legislators:
   
  • Representatives
     
    • Neil C. Abramson
      District 98
      365 Canal Street, Suite 2740
      New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
      Office: 504-275-8051
      Fax: 504-568-3342
      Email: abramson@legis.state.la.us
       
    • Walter Leger, III
      District 91
      600 Carondelet Street, 9th Floor
      New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
      Office: 504-556-9970
      Fax: 504-556-9972
      Email: legerw@legis.state.la.us
       
    • Karen Carter Peterson
      District 93
      1215 Prytania Street, Suite 364
      New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
      Office: 504-568-8346
      Fax: 504-568-8405
      Email: larep093@legis.state.la.us

•  
  • Senators:
     
    • Edwin R. Murray
      District 4
      1540 North Broad Street
      New Orleans, Louisiana 70119
      Office: 504-945-0042
      Email: murraye@legis.state.la.us
       
    • Cheryl A. Gray
      District 5
      1100 Poydras Street
      New Orleans, Louisiana 70163
      504-568-2098
      Email: grayc@legis.state.la.us
       

• For most city problems, call 311
   
• Grass cutting and maintenance for Road Home properties: Contact Jack Iverstine for maintenance of these properties at 225-395-0777.
   
• District B office information:
  City Council, District B
  1300 Perdido Street, Suite 2W10
  New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
  Office: 504-658-1020
  Fax 504-658-1025
   
• Staff:
   
• Jason Abate – Chief of Staff
  Direct Line: 658-1021
  Email: jabate@cityofno.com
   
• Barbara Lacen-Keller – Director of Constituent Services
  Direct Line: 658-1022
  Email: blacenkeller@cityofno.com
   
• Ruth Idakula – Executive Assistant
  Direct Line: 658-1023
  Email: ridakula@cityofno.com
   
• Anne Redd – Senior Policy Advisor
  Direct Line: 658-1026
  Email: aredd@cityofno.com
   
• Theresa Becher – Legislative Aide
  Direct Line: 658-1028
  Email: trbecher@cityofno.com

Re-Entry Placards: Before new hurricane season, businesses may request a Re-Entry Placard via the City’s website at http://www.cityofno.com/.

Property information:

• Obtain property owner information on:
  http://www.OPBOA.org/
   
• Find property blight or expropriation status at: http://www.noraworks.org/

Thank you for allowing me to serve you and our city. I hope that I am a part of making this a great place for all New Orleanians, old and new, and that this will be a great place for future generations to live and work.