NEIGHBORS TO REMOVE INVASIVE SPECIES FROM BAYOU ST. JOHN ON JUNE 20 and JUNE 24

by

by Sara Beth Howard

NEIGHBORS TO REMOVE INVASIVE SPECIES FROM BAYOU ST. JOHN ON JUNE 20 and JUNE 24

Kayakityat ( http://kayakitiyat.com/ ) is hosting two events on June 20th and June 24th to remove the invasive water hyacinths from the north end of Bayou St John.

Please join your neighbors for some fun and help make a difference on June 20 and June 24

Tuesday, June 20th 12PM to 2PM
https://www.facebook.com/events/487442778269543

Saturday, June 24th 9AM to 11AM
https://www.facebook.com/events/1790765734586521

For more information, please visit the facebook pages above or contact Sara at
[email protected] , or call 985-778-5034 or 512-964-9499

WATER HYACINTHS ARE SPREADING RAPIDLY IN BAYOU ST. JOHN AND NEED TO BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY

CLICK ON THE MAP FOR A LARGER VIEW OF THE SPREAD OF WATER HYACINTHS IN BAYOU ST. JOHN

Late last Fall, water hyacinths were introduced into the north end of Bayou St. John.
In just six months, it has multiplied many times. It now lines the west bank of Bayou St John from Robert E Lee Blvd to Filmore Ave.
It moves with the wind, so parts have broken off and made their way to other parts of the bayou, likely even beyond the Filmore Avenue bridge.

According to the University of Florida, one plant can grow to cover an acre in one growing season!

This is a very prolific and dangerous invasive aquatic plant that is now threatening the health of Bayou St John. We must carefully manually remove every piece. If one tiny portion of a plant is left, it’ll will become a whole new reproducing plant. We must dispose of it in a place where it dies completely and cannot re-enter any waterways including storm drains that lead back out to Lake Pontchartrain.

This does not only threaten the recreational use of Bayou St. John but, the ecological health we’ve worked so hard to improve.

Kayakityat is coordinating two removal days within a week to in order to ensure the most thorough removal, ideally eradication. It will be up to all of us individually to remove plants as we see them pop up through-out the future.

DAY 1: 12PM to 2PM Tuesday, June 20th. The Barman’s Fund has graciously offered their services.
It is specially scheduled to accommodate service industry folks. Anyone is welcome to join! This will be the bulk of the removal; we’ll get the big obvious patches.

DAY 2: 9AM to 11AM Saturday, June 24th. This removal will be a bit more meticulous.
We’ll have to spread out and look for hidden patches and individual plants along the banks.

Each event will be followed by a swim in Lake Pontchartrain and a bit of lakefront chillin’!

We need the following supplies; any donations are welcome!

2 Pick-Up Trucks that can handle some weight. We need to transport the plants to a composting sight; it may take multiple trips.

Canoes. If you have one, bring it with you. They can hold more plants than a kayak.

Pitch Forks. 3 to 6 at minimum for removal from banks.
Nets with short handles for removal from boats.

Dump Site. Ideally, all this vegetation should be composted. If anyone knows of a business that will take it, let us know.

Anyone with experience removing water hyacinth or taking on similar projects, please share suggestions and/or equipment.

Those interested can contact Sara at 512-964-9499 or [email protected])

Are Delivery Trucks Causing Injuries at Esplanade and Mystery Streets?

by

Click on the photo for a larger view

 

Let me preface this post by saying this is NOT an April Fool’s joke.

The yellow Americans with Disabilities Act mat on the corner of Esplanade and Mystery is causing injuries.

One man tripped over the mat sticking up at Esplanade and Mystery and literally fell flat on his face which bloodied his nose and caused him to lose his glasses.   Karen at Terranova’s said an ambulance was called.

A woman wearing sandals caught her toe in the protruding mat and she bled profusely leaving blood on the corner.

Trucks delivering to Canseco’s warehouse door on Mystery Street appear to be sitting on and rolling over the ADA mat on the corner of Esplanade at Mystery Street.

Click on the photo above to get a better view of the large crack above the Americans with Disabilities Act mat at the corner of Esplanade and Mystery Streets.   The crack does not appear to be one caused by settling but by a large amount of weight pressing on the area.

Large bollards on either side of the mat could alleviate the problem of trucks rolling over and sitting on the ADA mat on the corner of Esplanade and Mystery Streets.

Please call 311 if you believe that this is a situation that should be immediately repaired.   I have called but, there is strength in numbers.   This really should be repaired right away.

Let’s Not Meet by Accident

by

photo sent in by Robert Thompson

Click on the photo for a larger view

 

Robert Thompson reported that at 7:30 a.m. this morning two folks met by accident at the corner of Broad and Esplanade.

Please slow down, the life you save may be your own.

***

info below gathered by Charlie London

 

Learn more about ways to reduce speeding in Faubourg St. John in the link below

http://peds.org/?s=speeding

Much of the threat to pedestrians comes from speeding cars. Fortunately, you’ve got plenty of ways to encourage drivers to slow down. Take action!

  1. Spread the word. Neighborhood websites, e-newsletters, Facebook Pages and twitter are all great ways to reach out.
  2. Use yard signs to remind drivers to slow down. Pick up signs at DRIVE LIKE YOUR KIDS LIVE HERE — or use plywood or laminated poster-board to create your own. Keep it simple.  Short messages and big letters work best.
  3. Set the pace. Driving at or below the speed limit forces others to do the same.
  4. Park your car in the street, and ask your neighbors to do the same. Narrow travel lanes prompt drivers to slow down.
  5. Install radar signs that show drivers how fast they’re going.
  6. Reduce speed limits. If the speed limit where you live is over 30 mph, ask transportation agencies to change it.
  7. Take back your street. Walk, ride a bicycle, sit on the front porch — and put some toys in your front yard.   Reminding motorists that streets are for people encourages them to slow down.

Bump outs like this one make crossing the street safer for pedestrians. And, in the middle of the street is a brick section with a gradual rise on either side. This helps slow traffic.
Bump outs like this one make crossing the street safer for pedestrians. And, in the middle of the street is a brick section with a gradual rise on either side. This helps slow traffic.

How a Dutch neighborhood pioneered an innovation now sweeping the globe

TRAFFIC CALMING HAS SWEPT THE WORLD over the past 20 years. It’s based on the rather simple idea that cars and trucks don’t have exclusive ownership of our streets. Streets are shared public space also belonging to people on foot and bicycles, in baby strollers and wheelchairs. Reminding motorists of this fact, traffic calming uses design features such as narrowing roads or elevating crosswalks to slow traffic and assert pedestrian’s right to cross the street.

This idea has altered the literal landscape of urban life in the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany and Australia as people move about their cities with more ease and pleasure—and it’s now taking off in other parts of the world.

bumpout1THE ORIGINS OF THIS INGENIOUS IDEA CAN BE TRACED TO DELFT, NETHERLANDS, where residents of one neighborhood were fed up with cars racing along their streets, endangering children, pets and peace of mind. One evening they decided to do something about it by dragging old couches, planters and other objects out into the roadway and positioning them in such a way that cars could pass but would have to slow down. Police soon arrived on the scene and had to admit that this project, although clearly illegal, was a really good idea. Soon, the city itself was installing similar measures called woonerfs (Dutch for “living yards”) on streets plagued by unruly motorists.

One can only imagine the response of city officials if these neighbors had meekly come to city hall to propose the idea of partially blocking the streets; they would have been hooted right out of the building. But by taking direct action, they saved their neighborhood and changed the face of cities around the world.
***

CRIME WAVE HITS AREA

by

Monday, January 23, 2017 was a sad day for the neighborhood. Three major crimes were reported on the same day in this normally quiet area.

NOLA.com reported that authorities found “what appeared to be a stocking tied tightly” around the neck of a woman whose body was pulled from Bayou St. John on Monday, January 23, 2017. The woman, possibly in her 40s, was discovered in the water near the 4000 block of Davey Street, police said. The investigation was initially called an “unclassified death” by police, but has since been listed as a homicide. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to homicide detective Barrett Morton at 504-658-5300, or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.


click on the photo for a larger view
Monday night, a neighbor on Crete Street found their truck missing as they attempted to use it to get to work the next morning.
Description of vehicle involved from the owner – Color: Black, Make: GMC, Model: Sierra, Year: 2003, Type: Truck, Other details: Crete Street near Desoto /Esplanade.


The owner also said the plate is a Saints Super Bowl license plate with the following numbers 27863. Faubourg St. John neighbor Doug Dunn owns the truck. Doug can be reached at 504-400-1148. The officer covering the case is Officer Eymard. Officer Eymard can be reached by phone at 504-658-5292 or by email at [email protected].


CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW

As a precautionary measure, take a couple of photos of your vehicle along with a photo of the license plate then keep it somewhere safe just in case.


click on the photo for a larger view
Also in the 1500 block of Crete Street on Monday, January 23, 2017, Tommy Lewis reported that a neighbor found the wheels missing from their vehicle.

If you feel uneasy about getting from your car to your home, why not have the Fair Grounds Patrol meet you there?

Have a gut feeling something isn’t right? Don’t second guess yourself,
call the Fair Grounds Patrol.

Call (504) 251-0276 or (504) 251-0111 and the Fair Grounds Patrol will meet you at your home to make sure you get in safely.

Enhanced NOPD Patrol

Mobile phone numbers of Enhanced Patrol officers:

(504) 251-0276
(504) 251-0111

As part of the ordinance allowing the New Orleans Fair Grounds to expand their operations to allow for slot machines the Fair Grounds is required to fund enhanced NOPD patrols in areas surrounding their facility. The patrol consists of two patrol cars operating 24 hours per day 7 days a week. The officers in the cars will have mobile phones and can be contacted directly by residents in the patrol area. The patrol area is defined as the area bounded by Desaix Boulevard to Moss Street to Ursulines Avenue to North Broad Avenue to St. Bernard Avenue to Desaix Boulevard.

Captain Scott, who leads the Fair Grounds Patrol says,
“The Fair Grounds patrol really helps to keep this area safer than non patrolled areas.”
Auto thefts top the list. Capt. Scott reminds everyone to please lock their vehicle’s doors.

The Fair Ground enhanced patrol began August 19th 2007.

Mobile phone numbers of Enhanced Patrol officers:

(504) 251-0276
(504) 251-0111

Please keep in mind that this patrol is in addition to regular police patrols. We should still call 911 in case of emergencies. After calling 911 it might make sense to call one of the numbers above.


Map of the Enchanced Patrol Area:

FairGroundsPatrolMap

Simple Crime Fighting Tips

Please use these tips to eliminate the opportunity for a crime in your home or on your street.

• Light Places Discourage Crime/Dark Places Encourage Crime: Leave a light on at your front and back door all night. Set timers on lights when you are away. Remove dead limbs and bushes from in front of windows. Report all street lights out as soon as you notice them. Call 311, and remember to get a service request number. When you call, give the pole number and the address of the house closest to the pole.

• Make sure you have your house number close to the front and back doors of your house.
Dark numbers on light trim are easiest to read. During an emergency, this could save precious moments.

• Install a peep hole in your exterior doors if you do not have glass around the door. NEVER open the door to a stranger. Call 911 if you are suspicious of a caller.

• Add deadbolt locks to all of your doors, particularly those with glass near the doorknob. Remove the key from the lock. If you want to keep a key close to the door for emergencies, make sure it is not reachable from the glass panels in the door.

• Make sure to notify your neighbors when you are going to be away. Set timers on both indoor and outdoor lights. Arrange for papers, mail and flyers to be taken in, and ask neighbors to place some trash in your super can and wheel it to the alley on trash day. Arrange for the lawn to be mowed while you are away. These simple steps can greatly reduce your chances of becoming the next burglary victim.

• If you have alarm systems in your car and home, use them. If you have an alarm system in your home, and you have a skylight, make sure to have the skylight wired to the alarm system. This is a new way of entering homes without being detected.

• Leave your emergency numbers with a neighbor, and leave a copy by the kitchen phone, if you have one.

• Do not leave lawn mowers, bicycles or baby strollers in the yard unattended. • NEVER leave your purse in a shopping cart at the market, in your desk at work unattended, or on the back of your chair in public. Not only will your money and credit cards be used, but you could loose your personal identity. Personal identity theft is the fastest growing crime in our area.

• Shred all documents that contain any personal information about you or your family members (bank statements, credit card receipts, etc.) to avoid being a victim of Identity Theft.

• Never take valuables to the Gym with you. Even lockers that are locked can be the scene of a theft.

• Check your surroundings before getting out of your car on your way into the house, and out of the house on your way into your car.

• Remove all valuables from sight in your car, especially GPS, iPods, CDs, cameras, laptops, purses and money. If you must leave something in your car, store it in the trunk. When valet parking, leave only your car key.

• NEVER leave your car running without you in it. Besides inviting a car theft, it is also illegal.

• If you witness a crime, write down the details as soon as possible, and keep the paper in a safe place. It could mean the difference between a conviction and an acquittal. Call 911 and read from your sheet.

• Get to know your neighbors. If you know who belongs on your block, it is easier to spot someone who does not belong. Report suspicious behavior to the police. If you suspect it is a crime, call 911. Use the words “Possible Crime in Progress.” Get involved in your community. Apathy is the partner of crime.

Police Ask Public to Provide Pedal Power for Children

by

The Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association, New Orleans Police Department and New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation donated 120 bicycles to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students at ReNEW McDonogh City Park Academy. December 15, 2016.

***

by Linda Landesberg

1a2016bikegiveaway

Here is a great idea for your holiday gift purchasing:
The donation of a bicycle for a child in the name of a friend or loved one.

Forget about the Mall….without even leaving your house you can give a personalized gift certificate to someone on your holiday list saying that a bicycle for a child was donated in his/her name. Much better and easier than those random office gifts!

Please consider donating $50 for a bicycle for a child.

For the last three years the officers in our 1st District New Orleans Police Department have raised money to purchase bikes for needy pre-K, K and first graders in the district. I am writing in hopes that you can help this year; may I persuade you to “buy” one (or two) of these bikes for a donation of just $50 per bike?

1kidonbikestockphotoEvery positive interaction these kids have with a New Orleans police officer makes a positive difference, it is a great program, and your assistance will ensure that it continues.

This year the 1st District is working with McDonogh City Park Academy in the 2700 Block of Esplanade, Below is correspondence from Officer Gill and Commander Ganthier with more information about the program.

This is a charitable donation, checks should be made out to the “New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation” or “NOPJF”  with “First District Bike Givaway” in the note.  We will provide you with a receipt.

Donations are being collected thru December 12th.
Call Officer Gill (504) 385.7221 to pick up your check made out to the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation with 1st District Bike Giveaway in the note section. If you need further information, you can also email Officer Gill at [email protected]

***
The note below is from Officer Kenny Gill

The First District is asking for donations of $50 to purchase bicycles for the Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade students at McDonogh City Park Academy. Below an appeal from The 1st District Commander for these bicycles. Please forward and verbally tell others in your neighborhood, friends and members in your association.

This is going to be our 4th year giving bikes to school kids. A different school is chosen every year. This year we are going to be very ambitious. 169 bicycles are needed for children at McDonogh City Park Academy in the 2700 block of Esplanade. Most of the students at McDonogh City Park Academy are very needy (but not all).

Our School Resource Officer got a head count of the Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Graders; 169 students/bicycles. As you can see, the classes are pretty large but we would like to try to and accomplish this with your help.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me.

Thanks,

Officer Kenneth Gill
504 385 7221

***
The note below is from N.O.P.D. 1st District Commander Hans Ganthier.
Click on the note below for a larger view in a PDF.

ganthierletter20162016donationletterforbicycles

2016bikegiveaway

HISTORY AFFORDS US MANY INSTANCES OF THE RUIN OF STATES

by

“History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy.”
~Ben Franklin 1774

***

There’s still time!  Please contact the New Orleans City Council regarding Short-Term Rentals (STRs). On October 20, the City Council moved one step closer to legalizing widespread STRs, but they still have to craft and pass an ordinance. The ordinance could be voted on as early as December 1.

Last month, with great disregard for public outcry, the Council voted to allow STRs in every neighborhood except the French Quarter, with no limits on density. The Council eliminated the “Principal Residential” Whole House Rentals category but then allowed whole house rentals as “Temporary” STRs for up to 90 days a year. With this, any and every house could become a de facto hotel and, additionally – there is no way our City will be able to enforce the 90 day limit. The Council claims they will work with Airbnb on reporting, and will pull electric meters for non-compliant operators! We must insist our City use the leverage they have now and craft reasonable, rational regulation instead of passing a weak law that invites abuse.

Furthermore, the Council opened up Commercial and Mixed-Use areas to STRs with no density requirements, meaning every apartment, condominium and commercial building can be turned into entire complexes of STRs with no owner/operator on site. This will devastate our neighborhoods and housing stock and goes against the administration’s own affordable housing initiatives.

The most rational way to regulate STRs is to require operators live on site, and that they have a homestead exemption in order to qualify for a permit. Councilmember Guidry attempted to put this in place last month and the amendments she put forward were narrowly defeated. We need your help reminding the City Council that people come before profits and that neighborhoods are for neighbors.

Please write the City Council and ask that they insist STR permits require homestead exemptions
New Orleans City Council Contact Information

Councilmember At Large Jason Williams  –  [email protected] / 658-1070
Councilmember At Large Stacy Head  –  [email protected] / 658-1060
Councilmember District A Susan Guidry  –  [email protected] / 658-1010
Councilmember District B LaToya Cantrell –  [email protected] / 658-1020
Councilmember District C Nadine Ramsey –  [email protected] / 658-1030
Councilmember Distirct D Jared Brossett –  [email protected] / 658 1040
Councilmember Distirct E James Gray –  [email protected] / 658-1050

Article courtesy the Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House

1440 Moss Street

New Orleans, LA 70119

HIT AND RUN BREAKS BACK OF BICYCLIST

by

Please write to [email protected] if you have any information or a photo of the license plate of the vehicle in the video below.

By Richard Rainey, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

A cyclist in Bayou St. John suffered cracked ribs and a broken back Tuesday (Sept. 27) when a white sedan hit her before speeding off, according to her attorney, Charlie Thomas.

A video from a nearby house shows a cyclist, who Thomas identified as Michelle Phillips, in the distance riding towards the Mississippi River on Esplanade Avenue. As she crosses Crete Street, a white sedan drives through the intersection, striking her to the ground before speeding off.

There is a stop sign on Crete at that intersection.

In the video, the driver passes in front of the house with the camera.

New Orleans police confirmed they responded to a call about a hit-and-run at 6:09 p.m. They arrived to find a cyclist had been injured.

Thomas said Phillips was rushed to a hospital by ambulance and treated for cracked vertebra and ribs. She was released Thursday.

The crash comes on the heels of an arrest in another hit-and-run on a cyclist earlier this month.

Rebekah Abernathy was struck from behind Sept. 12 as she traveled on Magazine Street in front of the World War II Museum. The driver, Michael Foley was arrested Wednesday after turning himself in.

Magazine and Esplanade both have dedicated bike lanes.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/09/video_cyclists_back_broken_in.html

GEAUX BLUE NOLA DAY SEPTEMBER 7th

by

GeauxBlueNolaDay2016sep07b1GeauxBlueNolaDay2016sep07a

geauxblue

Wednesday, September 7th – “Geaux Blue NOLA Day”

September 7th has been declared to be Geaux Blue NOLA Day by the New Orleans City Council and encourages everyone who lives, works, and plays in New Orleans to wear blue all day, and to adorn their homes and businesses with the color blue to demonstrate our appreciation for our New Orleans Police Officers and their families.

For More information visit our Facebook Page:
Geaux Blue NOLA DAY

Download A Sign

geauxbluenolagraphic

***

AND on Saturday September 10th –
“New Orleans 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb”

 

For More information visit their Facebook Page:
http://geauxbluenola.org/new-orleans-911-memorial-stair-climb/

climb911

The inaugural New Orleans 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb will be held on the morning of September 10, 2016 at 400 Poydras Tower to honor the sacrifice of fallen heroes. Following the climb, Barcadia Bar/Restaurant will host a Brotherhood Bash Block Party with local band Flow Tribe headlining.

Fifteen years after the collapse of the Twin Towers, the New Orleans 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb pays tribute to the 343 firefighters, 70 law enforcement officers, and nine emergency medical service (EMS) technicians that made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. Exclusive to the New Orleans event, the Stair Climb also honors the 137 Louisiana veterans who have lost their lives since 9/11.

“More than 25 Memorial Stair Climbs occur every year across the country, and I wanted an event here in New Orleans to help memorialize our fallen brothers,” says Event Director and Jefferson Parish Firefighter Neil Navarro. “It will be an inspiring experience and intense reminder of the sacrifice, dedication, and commitment required of those who serve and protect our communities.”

Registered climbers will ascend 110 floors, the height of the former World Trade Center Twin Towers. Each climber will bear the name of a first responder that perished at Ground Zero. Participating firefighters are encouraged to wear full firefighter gear during the climb.

Local Jefferson Parish and New Orleans firefighters and police have already committed to the inaugural New Orleans climb, and more are needed to register. Registration for climbers is open to active firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMS and military. Event volunteers are also needed and open to anyone ages 18 and up. Climbers and volunteers can register at www.neworleansstairclimb.com. We encourage you to be in that number! Proceeds from the event go toward the Louisiana Heroes Project, a non-profit organization that proudly supports Louisiana first responders, military, veterans and their families.

The New Orleans 9/11 Stair Climb is a sanctioned event of the Association of Memorial Stair Climbs, a 501(c)3 organization. Visit www.memorialstairclimbs.com to learn more.

For more information about the New Orleans 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, visit www.neworleansstairclimb.com or contact Event Director Neil Navarro, 504- 217-9893, [email protected] NEW ORLEANS WILL NEVER FORGET![email protected]

Help Feed New Orleanians – Buy Capstone Honey at Terranova’s

by

HELP FEED NEW ORLEANIANS

CAPSTONE is a non-profit in the Lower 9th Ward. Capstone is a small non profit that has taken previously blighted or vacant lots in the Lower Ninth Ward and developed them into productive gardens and orchards. Located in part of a food desert, Capstone grows and provides food at no cost to those who need it. Capstone also assists others in starting their own gardens or allows others to garden on their lots when space is available.

Your hive adoption and donation supports their mission to grow food on previously vacant lots and share it with those in need. It also supports other Capstone programs which empower others to grow their own food.

honey-capstone4textCAPSTONE Raw Honey is made from an assortment of local floral varieties. Capstone never feeds their honey bees high fructose corn syrup.
Capstone Raw Honey is only put through a strainer to ensure it retains all of its natural goodness. It is never ultra-filtered, heated, or diluted with high fructose corn syrup.

Each harvest is kept separate and each jar labeled showing the month and year of harvest. Each floral season gives our honey a unique color and flavor. It also contains different pollens from the different times of the year if you are using it for allergy relief.

terranovasWhen you think of a business that is always helping the neighborhood, who do you think of?

Terranova’s

When you think of a business where they try to make you leave with a smile, where do you think of?

Terranova’s

So, naturally, when you think of a business that would support a non-profit with the sale of honey, what business do you think of?

Terranova’s

Go buy some Capstone Raw Honey at Terranova’s today!

Terranova’s Superette  |  3308 Esplanade Avenue  |  New Orleans, LA  70119

***

Your donations of time, supplies, or money to Capstone will help make their projects successful.

If you would like to donate your time as a volunteer or arrange for your group to volunteer please contact Capstone and they will be glad to work with you.

If you have supplies or materials you would like to donate to Capstone please contact Capstone and they will make arrangements to accept your donation and utilize it to help our community. Some examples would be gardening tools, plants, seeds, construction tools or rebuilding materials.

Capstone is a 501 (c) (3) non profit and will gladly accept your financial donation.
You will be issued a non profit receipt to use as a tax deduction if you wish.
 
 
 

Capstone accepts PayPal

You may mail a check to:
Capstone118, Inc.
1641 Deslonde St.
New Orleans, La 70117

Capstone is a small non profit that has taken previously blighted or vacant lots in the Lower Ninth Ward and developed them into productive gardens and orchards. Located in part of a food desert Capstone grows and provides food at no cost to those who need it.
http://www.capstone118.org/

Faubourg St. John Discusses Short Term Rentals

by

The City Council is voting on short term rentals on October 6th.
Write to them and tell them you want to keep neighbors in your neighborhood.

 

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

***

***

no-air-bnb
 

YOU BETTER PAY ATTENTION OR
YOU’LL PAY A WHOLE LOT MORE

 


Short term rentals drive up rents.

The New Orleans City Council will vote on short term rentals on Thursday, October 6th.

fsjnalogo4fsjnadotorg
August 8, 2016

Director Robert D. Rivers
City Planning Commission
1033 Perdido Street, 7th Floor
New Orleans, LA 70112

RE: FSJNA Positions on Short-term Rentals

Director Rivers,

The Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association (FSJNA) would like to put on record our opinions regarding Short-Term Rentals in New Orleans. These opinions are based on the existing CPC study, research into how other cities in the country are handling the same challenges,  recommendations from other New Orleans neighborhood associations and,  our members.

FSJNA found there is a greater adverse impact to our neighborhoods from short-term rentals than we originally anticipated and that the number of housing stock used for short-term rentals has increased from what was observed in the 2015 festival season.

For the four types of Short-Term Rentals itemized in the existing CPC study:

PRINCIPAL RESIDENTIAL / “WHOLE HOUSE” – FSJNA is in complete opposition to this type and strongly believes the CPC was right to remove this option from the earlier report. This type of use has the most adverse effect on neighborhoods and residents. It removes valuable housing stock that could be used as affordable rentals or sales to primary residents, and artificially inflates home sale prices and property tax values.

TEMPORARY – We are against any whole home rentals, even if owned by an owner-occupant. We believe there is no practical way to enforce the proposed 30 day/4 times per year restriction.

ACCESSORY – Allow only a permanent resident owner to rent out spare bedrooms or additional units in a multi-family that he or she occupies, but he or she must occupy at least one of the units.

COMMERCIAL – FSJNA believes that the CPC must identify the types of commercial zones they will allow this use, not just all “Commercial or Mixed Use” properties. Additionally, FSJNA believes that ALL short –term rentals in Commercial or Mixed use zones should ONLY BE ALLOWED AS CONDITIONAL USE.

For Overall Short-Term Rental Options:

FSJNA supports requiring a permit number be associated with every online listing.

Fines for enforcement or taxation violations should be the cost of doing business or a minimum of $1000 per instance whichever is greater. Penalties for breaking the law must be very high to ensure compliance with any new zoning use and enforcement. They should also attach to the property, such as a tax lien, to ensure compliance.

FSJNA reserves the right to offer additional opinions to city agencies and City Council pending the results of CPC Staff draft ordinances and reports expected this summer.

Thank you for your consideration, we would be happy to work with you to offer our ideas about ways to ensure compliance and to ease enforcement. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Steve Mardon
President, Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association
[email protected]
(504) 486-8125

CC:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
***

SHORT TERM RENTALS

brinkman_j_lgby Emile J. Brinkmann

intlunionI am submitting these comments in connection with the City Planning Commission’s reconsideration of the issue of Short-Term Rentals (STRs) in Orleans Parish, and the City Council’s directive that a proposed zoning ordinance be drafted. As a point of background, I am the retired Chief Economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington and spent years running a research group dedicated to housing and housing finance issues. I have appeared on all of the major network and cable news shows, and have been quoted in newspapers through the US and other countries. Even though I retired and moved back to New Orleans two years ago, I am still the US representative on the executive committee of the International Union of Housing Finance, a 100-year old organization dedicated to housing issues around the world.

1strdestructionBased on my background, I cannot think of an action that would be more destructive to the fabric of our neighborhoods and the well-being of our homeowners than the legalization of STRs for the benefit of a few, thereby rewarding those who take advantage of a lack of enforcement to violate existing laws with impunity. In Part One of my comments, I will make three basic points about the negative economic effects on homeowners. In Part Two I will address comments that have been made to the effect that AirBNB, VRBO, and similar operations are like Uber and are merely part of the growth of the so-called sharing economy.

Part One
1) STRs fundamentally upset residential valuations by introducing unsustainable commercial valuations into residential neighborhoods.
We have already seen home prices in historically significant neighborhoods increase at rates far in excess of the local incomes needed to support those prices. A significant portion of those home price increases are due to ability of some of the properties to earn upwards of 20 percent to 25 percent return on investment through illegal renting. This is great news if you already own a home in one of these areas and will be selling soon. Because the Assessor’s Office has no way to separate out house sales for STR usage, this is great news if you are the city collecting residential property taxes based on values inflated by STR commercial use. It is bad news if you are trying to buy or rent in Mid-City, Treme, the Bywater, or other impacted neighborhoods in order to live in the city.

It is terrible news if you are a long-term resident with no intention of moving, but are now faced with an annual property bill driven up by the valuation effects of illegal renting.

The valuation and property tax problem will likely be exacerbated by the idea that the city can mitigate the negative impact of STRs by limiting the number allowed per block face. The owner of the first one on the block makes a killing, and the value of that property goes up. However, the other owners on the block not only have to deal with the disruptions caused by the STRs and the higher property taxes, they are precluded from selling at the higher STR-driven prices because no other STRs will be allowed on their block (assuming for the sake of argument that the city would actively enforce density limitations). Therefore, the idea that the negative impacts of STRs can somehow be ameliorated by reducing the permitted densities can actually make more people worse off from a valuation perspective.

Given the instability of this structure and the lack of equitable treatment in terms of valuation and who is allowed an STR and who is not, I do not believe density limits would survive legal or political challenges, and are therefore not a viable option to prohibition.

1neighborhoods4neighborsThe result is that if you are a New Orleans resident with no intention of selling and moving, you would not only face the prospect of having weekly fraternity parties next door, you get to pay higher property taxes for the privilege. The result is that if you are looking to buy, you risk over-paying and being underwater on your mortgage if something were to happen suddenly to impact negatively the STR business, as will be covered in the next point.

2) Short-term Rentals directly inject the business risk of tourism into residential neighborhoods.
keepneighborsHotel owners and operators are accustomed to the business risks associated with the travel and hospitality industry. These risks are reflected in their operational plans, capital investments, and equity and debt financing costs. They understand that in a recession, travel is disproportionately impacted as businesses cut back on discretionary travel as a first response. They learned in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks that terrorism can interrupt air travel, and that even when flights are restored, companies will impose travel restrictions on key personnel.

In New Orleans and other hurricane-impacted areas, they have learned that even the threat of a storm, with or without a mandatory evacuation, can cause their rooms to empty and disrupt operations for some time. (As a side note, would operators of STRs be required to maintain enforceable hurricane evacuation policies for their guests, or would responsibility for these visitors fall on the city?)

In contrast, the health of the hospitality industry has a more muted impact on the traditional residential housing market in New Orleans. Tourism is only one of the legs of the New Orleans economy, and there are other legs to support the New Orleans jobs market and home prices. STRs, however, directly inject the risk of the tourism market into every neighborhood of the city where they exist. Demand for houses and high prices exist when owners can earn high returns, but what happens in a downturn? What happens when tourism suddenly slows for one of any number of predictable and unpredictable reasons? What happens is what we have seen in other housing markets dominated by investors and speculators. At the first sign of a reversal, they sell with a vengeance, driving down prices and leaving the long-term residents suffering the consequences of rapidly falling prices and “For Sale” signs everywhere. If the properties are leveraged, they can sit for months and years as they work their way through the mortgage foreclosure (and probably bankruptcy) process, further depressing values.

Real estate speculation is a fact of life. Some people win and some people lose. When a strip mall goes bankrupt on Airline Highway, the negative consequences (other than to the property’s owners and lenders) are limited to having one more eyesore around town. When that speculation, however, is driven by STRs and is occurring in some of the city’s most important and historic residential neighborhoods, the negative consequences of a drop in tourism will go right to the hearts of these neighborhoods, and will be much more severe and widespread than any normal downturn.

3) Weekly bachelor parties are more than a nuisance. They represent a real loss of value for the neighbors.
Many of the comments presented to the CPC and the City Council on this issue have dealt with the horror stories of late night parties and the problems that occur when out-of-towners believe that they can freely extend the revels of Bourbon Street to the residential neighborhood where they have rented a house for the weekend. The problems go far beyond loss of sleep, frustration with the inability of an under-staffed NOPD to deal with noise issues, and the absence of a private right of action to move against the owners of the offending properties. They represent a real loss of value to anyone attempting to sell an impacted home to anyone other than an STR operator. (I do not know whether the failure to disclose a nearby nuisance STR in a real estate declaration has been tested in a Louisiana court, but I am fairly certain it would be actionable in other jurisdictions.)

The logical outcome is that once an STR opens on a block, the only informed sales that would not be negatively impacted by the existence of the STR would be those to another STR operator. As already noted, however, such a sale would be prohibited if density limitations were put in place as part of an attempt to make STRs politically palatable.

This points again to the utter fallacy of putting any faith in density limitations. The idea that the CPC and the City Council would not be inundated with requests for exceptions, and that many of those requests would be granted, simply ignores political reality. That assumes, of course that the many illegal operators of STRs would even apply for exemptions to the density limits. The reality is that the city has failed for years to deal with illegal STRs. Based on this history, it is reasonable to expect that any density limits would be ignored or gutted in a few years.

keepneighborhoodsIn conclusion, the adoption of a legal STR framework for residential neighborhoods, particularly for non-owner occupied structures, would have tremendous and largely irreversible negative impacts on the fundamental character of the city for years to come. Ignoring the quality of life issues, the economics alone will lead to a further hollowing out of the city’s full-time residents. Homeowners will see that the rational action is to sell. They would avoid both the higher property taxes and the risk of a speculative bubble bursting with downturn in the tourism industry.

Part Two
AirBNB is not like Uber
It has often been argued that AirBNB and similar operations are nothing more than Uber for houses, that they are simply one part of an irreversible movement toward a shared economy where technology brings together the buyers and sellers of various services. At their best, such arguments are facile and do not stand up to even a modest amount of economic scrutiny. At their worst, they are a bald-faced attempt to direct attention away from what is illegal activity by saying that it is no different from what everyone else is doing in other areas of the economy. In reality, the only similarity between Uber and AirBNB is that both rely heavily on computers and smart phones.

Uber is an example of what the Austrian-American economist Joseph Schumpeter described as “creative destruction”. The idea is that in a capitalist system, economic growth occurs when innovators put their money behind new ideas for goods and services. While the creative process is the key for creating new markets and new opportunities, it comes at the cost of destroying old products and services, and the capital invested in delivering those old goods and services.

A prime example is Blockbuster versus Netflix. Blockbuster invested huge sums in brick and mortar stores and an inventory of video tapes, and later DVDs, to fill the shelves in those stores. It had a large complement of employees to man the cash registers and stock those shelves. Along came Netflix with the idea that people could go to their computers, select what titles they wanted to see, and have the DVDs delivered a few days later by the postal carrier. Immediately successful, the service Netflix created began the destruction of the hundreds of millions of dollars Blockbuster had invested in its system. Later, when Netflix switched to streaming content, it effectively destroyed the capital Netflix itself had invested in DVDs and its mail order business.

In Uber’s case, it challenged the existing way of summoning a taxi, as well as introducing a model that matched supply and pricing to peak periods of demand. Uber was challenging the economic model of the taxi business, but, more importantly, it challenged the local regulatory framework for taxis that existed in each of the cities where it sought to operate. Its success has come in exposing and differentiating between those regulations that were necessary for the public’s protection and those regulations that merely existed to protect the status quo. After all, until Uber, the method of summoning a cab outside a hotel had not really changed since the 1800s. This is Schumpeter’s creative destruction process at work.

The key difference between Uber and AirBNB (and similar companies) is that there is nothing fundamentally illegal about the service Uber provides. Paying someone to take you in his or her car from Point A to Point B is not inherently illegal, provided appropriate licensing requirements are met. The only ones harmed by the Uber innovation are those invested in the old ways of doing business.

In contrast, AirBNB and similar services are providing technology platforms that offer services that are fundamentally illegal. The regulations of which AirBNB facilitates the violation are not there to protect capital invested in the hotel industry. Rather AirBNB is facilitating, for a profit, the violation of zoning laws that were enacted to protect individual homeowners from this type of commercial activity. If the only harm was to the established hotels and legal bed and breakfast establishments, it could be argued that AirBNB is just another example of Schumpeter’s creative destruction. However, the true harm and destruction is to the residents of the neighborhoods disrupted by the illegal short-term rentals. The residents of these neighborhoods do not have capital at risk in the hospitality industry like Marriott or Hilton. Rather the capital they have at risk is in homes that they trusted would be protected by zoning laws and the enforcement powers of the city government. It appears that trust was misplaced.

Therefore, AirBNB has nothing to do with Uber or Schumpeter’s growth through creative destruction, but is simply a case of making a fast buck at the expense of someone else by facilitating an illegal activity. The closest parallel to AirBNB is not Uber, but hiring prostitutes with Craig’s list.

Sincerely,
Emile J. BrinkmannNO-short-term-rentals

 

 

 

 

TODAY, Tuesday, June 14, at 1:30 p.m., the City Planning Commission will propose a CZO amendment to allow all categories of short-term rentals, and make short-term rentals permitted and conditional uses in all neighborhoods. The CPC Staff Preliminary Report makes these and other recommendations, and has little information on enforcement mechanisms to control and penalize illegal operators.
For information on today’s meeting and a link to the Preliminary Staff Report, please use the link, below – short-term rentals appear as agenda item 9.
http://cityofno.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php
Call the CPC at (504) 658-7033 before you go to make sure the vote will take place today and that there will be time for public input.
If you are able, please attend the 1:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, June 14 CPC meeting in City Council Chambers to voice your opinion. Thank you.

Preliminary Staff Report

Jay Brinkmann is the retired Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research and Education at the Mortgage Bankers Association where he worked on a wide range of issues impacting single-family, commercial and multifamily real estate finance. His team handled economic forecasting, responding to regulatory and legislative issues impacting the mortgage industry, and benchmarking the operational efficiency and profitability of the mortgage divisions of commercial banks and independent mortgage companies.

Jay is a native of New Orleans, but began his career on Capitol Hill as the press secretary to U.S. Rep. David C. Treen. He then served as Treen’s deputy chief of staff when Treen was elected governor. He worked in commercial banking at what was then Louisiana National Bank/Premier National Bank in Baton Rouge, and was on the business school faculty at the University of Houston where he specialized in financial institution regulation and energy markets. Immediately prior to joining Mortgage Bankers Association, he worked in the portfolio strategy group at Fannie Mae.

He has published articles on bank regulation and housing finance in various academic journals and on the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal and the American Banker. He was frequently quoted in print and electronic news outlets on real estate finance topics, has appeared on the news shows of all of the major broadcast and cable networks, and has testified before the US House and Senate banking committees. Jay holds a Ph.D. in finance from Purdue University, an MBA from Tulane University and a BA in International Affairs from The George Washington University. He currently serves at the US representative on the executive committee of the International Union of Housing Finance, a 100-year old organization dedicated to housing issues around the world.

He returned home as a full time resident to New Orleans in 2014 after a 40-year absence, intending to spend his time being a grandfather, and renovating an old home. He has instead found his time increasingly occupied by being a volunteer for various public policy and community service projects.

***

Lisa Amoss writes, “This is a problem that is rapidly spiraling out of control. While, in our post-Katrina recovery and rebuilding mode, we haven’t been paying attention, our neighborhood (and many others) have been invaded by short-term rentals and they are drastically changing our character and culture. I am NOT talking about neighbors renting out rooms in the homes they occupy, nor about anyone occasionally renting out the entire home they occupy for Jazz Fest while they are out of town. I am talking about developers coming in and buying up multiple houses, then renting them out as a business venture. These are hotels in residential neighborhoods. They are creating parking and noise problems on our residential blocks, and they are helping to drive up housing prices so that young families cannot afford to buy homes here any more. Our neighborhood is becoming increasingly occupied by transients who have no vested interest in keeping this a vibrant, diverse and safe place to live. If your block has not yet experienced this, there are many in FSJ that have. And it’s changing faster than you can imagine. ”

Cynthia Scott writes, “The ‘hotel’ on my block has now graduated to an events rental venue. Last week, for 3 or 4 days running, the space was rented to someone from Tales of the Cocktail for a daily party from early afternoon to 7 pm each day, with a DJ blasting extremely loud hip hop and other music and a constant stream of people being ferried from the CBD to the location via Uber. A week or two earlier the space was rented for the day to a HUUUUUGE (to paraphrase a certain candidate) birthday party which drew people from all over the city, with cars racing up and down our one-way street and parking in people’s driveways. They departed by sundown, so neither of these rentals could be considered a “home rental” by any definition.

An open letter to the Tales of the Cocktail Community regarding the effects of Short Term Rentals in New Orleans

Dear friends,

This open letter is not about Air…BnB as such, but about the challenge of supporting your industry and community amidst new paradigms of travel and tourism. When Tales of the Cocktail was founded, we deliberately placed the event in July, one of the most difficult months for our local economy, in an effort to help increase revenue for New Orleans’ many hospitality businesses and employees. The hotels, bars, restaurants and thousands of hospitality workers they employ have been grateful for Tales of the Cocktail, and we want to continue to do right by them. In this spirit, we write to you today to help raise awareness about the effect short term rentals, such as AirBnB, are having on residents, business owners, and event producers, like ourselves.

Bar manager at Erin Rose, and former CAP, Rhiannon Enlil was given a notice of eviction last week, after four years in her apartment because her landlord wants to list the property on AirBnB. This is by no means an isolated incident. There are now over 4,316 AirBnBs operating in New Orleans.

“There are a finite number of homes in this city, and the demand is high for workers and residents who keep the economic engine running. If you allow short-term rentals to eat away at that supply, the appeal to live and work in this city diminishes. All of the visitors who use short-term rentals, who want to eat in our restaurants, listen to our live music, drink in our bars… who will serve them if we in the service and entertainment industry cannot afford to live here?”

Rhiannon Enlil
Erin Rose
Newly evicted tenant

This issue is also having a significant impact on the hotels and licenses B&B’s in New Orleans. Hotels are one of the longest standing harbingers of hospitality. They employ hundreds to thousands of people, provide insight and infrastructure to guests, and work with event organizers to facilitate events that would otherwise not be possible, such as Tales of the Cocktail. Every tasting room and seminar we facilitate is done so in a hotel, and it’s hard to imagine where else we could possibly produce so many events within one week. Because of our longstanding relationships with these hotels, we’re able to negotiate special rates for Tales attendees year after year. Hotels are experienced in the practice of hospitality, and legally qualified to accommodate our guests, whereas short term rentals, which are illegal in New Orleans, fundamentally upset residential valuations by introducing unsustainable commercial valuations into residential neighborhoods.

In this spirit, we encourage you to stay with one of our partnering hotels (or even another local hotel if you prefer), but please avoid staying at an AirBnB or other short term rental property that is not legally sanctioned to operate in New Orleans. Each short term rental takes revenue away from our own hospitality industry; if the hotels are operating below projected capacity, staff hours get cut, and employees get laid off. Tales of the Cocktail is one of many organizations in New Orleans working to have these illegal rentals addressed by our city government, but in the meantime, we encourage you to consider the matter for yourself. Everyone wants the best deal they can find, but sometimes the best deal results in an exceptionally rotten deal for everyone else. We employ you: help us keep locals in their homes and guests visiting our city in the many beautiful and hospitable hotels and B&Bs New Orleans has to offer. Thank you for your time and consideration. If you support this effort, please share this post.

Respectfully,

Tales of the Cocktail

Thank you to our partnering hotels: Hotel Monteleone, Royal Sonesta Hotel New Orleans, Ace Hotel New Orleans, AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon, Bienville House, Bourbon Orleans Hotel, Dauphine Orleans Hotel, Hotel Le Marais, Hotel Mazarin, MOXY NOLA, Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, W New Orleans – French Quarter.

***

“Venice, whose world-famous canals are constantly in a precarious condition because of the environment, is now seeing some 22 million visitors per year, which dwarfs the estimated 55,000 people who actually live there. And while many Venetians rely on tourists filling hotels, going for gondola rides, and eating in restaurants to stimulate the local economy, it’s clear that some people would rather the travelers go home.”

The effects of “over visiting” in Venice is reaching a boiling point, so much so that residents are posting signs telling tourists to go away. An independent study projects by 2030 there will be zero locals living in Venice.

http://www.cntraveler.com/story/venice-locals-to-tourists-go-away?mbid=nl_082016_Daily&CNDID=31819853&spMailingID=9388026&spUserID=MTMzNDg1MTk2ODkzS0&spJobID=981661951&spReportId=OTgxNjYxOTUxS0

***

WHEN WILL THE PUBLIC DEMAND THAT OPEN SPACE BE LEFT OPEN?

by

DEMAND THAT OPEN SPACE BE LEFT OPEN

by Keith Hardie, Jr.

70% of those who use public parks use them for passive purposes. But municipalities too often look at parks as vacant unused land that needs to be developed and programmed. Our own master plan warns against this kind of thinking:

City Park in New Orleans
City Park in New Orleans

“Cities that give up park land end up regretting it. A robust network of green space and parks is a critical asset for quality of life and urban success. It helps retain existing residents and attracts new ones.  When cities looking for “free land” establish other public facilities on park land, they are chipping away at the community’s overall inventory of park land.  Often, it is more costly or otherwise more difficult to acquire new park land. For this reason, it is important to make sure that, at a minimum, the city maintain a commitment to keeping the same overall amount of park land that it has at present.”     Master Plan, Vol 2, Chap 7. p 15.

But, despite this language, our parks continue to be threatened by development and overprogramming. That’s why we need to amend the Master Plan to put language in Chapter 14 (the one that everyone agrees has the force of law) to stop commercialization and development in our parks.  We need parks for residents, not parking lots and “attractions” for tourists.”

article below by Charles A. Birnbaum President & CEO, The Cultural Landscape Foundation

 Has the time come to refine how we measure the value of historic parks like  Audubon and City Parks in New Orleans?

What about the irreplaceable historic and cultural values that are embedded in these places?

The Trust for Public Land’s annual ParkScore® Index ranks land owned by regional, state, and federal agencies within the 100 most populous U.S. cities—including school playgrounds formally open to the public and greenways that function as parks. The ranking criteria includes acreage (park acreage as a percent of city area), facilities and investment (spending per resident), and access (the number of residents within a ten-minute walk). However, the measure of acreage doesn’t take into account parkland and open space lost to new construction within a park. Consequently, the measure of overall acreage may not be affected by new construction within a park, but the amount of actual open space is.

2016-07-28-1469742382-6535805-map1973.jpg 2016-07-28-1469742413-7806175-Map2000.png

Audubon Park, New Orleans, LA, showing loss of public open space.

In New Orleans,  open space in Audubon Park today only accounts for about one third of the park; it’s a sliver around the park’s periphery, along with some other limited interstitial space. City Park could soon lose eight acres to the Children’s Museum expansion. That’s a quantitative and qualitative difference that needs to be measured, particularly as it affects many residents’ quality of life.

City Park in New Orleans
City Park in New Orleans

With the renaissance of cities, and more and more users taking advantage of our municipal parks, when will the public demand that open space be left open? Will we draw a line in the grass that says municipalities can no longer repurpose meadows for museums and trade pastoral parkland for parking? Will we declare that parks held in public trust—especially masterworks designed by great landscape architects—are not free for the taking?

The majority of our park users—more than 70%—use public parks for passive enjoyment. These vulnerable spaces are living, connective tissue composed of soil, rock, trees and lawn; but more than that, they tell our stories as a community and a nation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-a-birnbaum/the-obama-library-is-goin_b_11248112.html

Faubourg St. John Neighbor Making a Difference

by

oliverwise

Congratulations to Faubourg St. John neighbor Oliver Wise for working every day to make city government more efficient for the residents of New Orleans

• Innovation: Launched the City of New Orleans’ first performance management and data analytics office with the mission to use data to set goals, track performance, and drive results across City government

• Analytics: Launched NOLAlytics, an initiative to leverage data science and behavioral economics to improve results to New Orleans residents
• Strategy: Spearheaded development of a City-wide strategic framework articulating organizational goals, objectives, and strategies
• Performance management: Built an enterprise-wide performance management system to track achievement of goals outlined in City’s strategic framework

City of New Orleans Earns Highest Honor in Performance Management for Third Time
The City of New Orleans announced that it has received a Certificate of Excellence for superior performance management efforts from the International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA) Center for Performance Analytics™. The certificate program assesses a local government’s performance management program and encourages analysis of results by comparing to peers and gauging performance over time.

Of the 52 jurisdictions honored overall, New Orleans is among the 34 receiving the Certificate of Excellence – the highest level award. Certificates are awarded at the levels of Achievement, Distinction and Excellence. The City received a Certificate of Distinction from ICMA’s Center for Performance Analytics™ for its work in performance management in 2013, and a Certificate of Excellence from ICMA’s Center for Performance Analytics™ for superior performance management efforts in 2014 and 2015.

“Upon taking office in 2010, we made a commitment to dramatically improve the accountability, transparency and performance of city government by setting goals and tracking our progress so that our residents could hold us accountable like never before,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “I want to thank the International City/County Management Association for this honor and for recognizing the City of New Orleans as a leader in performance management.”

In January 2011, Mayor Landrieu created the Office of Performance and Accountability (OPA) to implement a performance management system for the City, where the analysis of data is used to promote better results and to demonstrate the public’s return on investment for their tax dollars. OPA coordinates the development of the City’s strategic framework, uses performance measures to track progress towards the goals in the strategic framework, reports the results in ResultsNOLA reports and STAT meetings, and reviews results to understand what’s working, what’s not, and to identify solutions for improvement.

“Our goal is to promote better City services through data-driven management decision-making and accountability to deliver results for our residents,” said Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin. “Once again, our aggressive work is being recognized on a national stage.”

“It is an honor to receive the International City/County Management Association’s Certificate of Excellence as validation of our hard work,” said Oliver Wise, Director of OPA. “We are working every day to make city government more efficient for the residents of New Orleans.”

Performance management aids in cost reduction, program prioritization, and quality improvement. It also encourages accountability and transparency.

“The certificate program recognizes communities that have demonstrated leadership in continuous improvement and community engagement using performance analysis,” said ICMA Executive Director Robert J. O’Neill, Jr. “Performance analysis is an integral component of professional local government management, and jurisdictions meeting the certificate qualifications serve as examples for other governments to follow.”

Criteria for the Certificate of Excellence include:

  • Reporting of performance data to the public through budgets, newsletters, and/or information provided to elected officials
  • Data verification efforts to ensure data reliability
  • Staff training
  • Use of performance data in strategic planning and operational decision-making
  • Sharing of performance measurement knowledge with other local governments through presentations, site visits, and other networking
  • Commitment to tracking and reporting to the public key outcomes
  • Surveying of the both residents and local government employees
  • Effective and timely reporting.

About ICMA

ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide. The organization’s mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build better communities.  ICMA identifies leading practices to address the needs of local governments and professionals serving communities globally – providing services, research, publications, data and information, peer and results-oriented assistance, and training and professional development to thousands of city, town, and county leaders and other individuals and organizations throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA’s members affect millions of people living in thousands of communities, ranging in size from small towns to large metropolitan areas.

About the Center for Performance Analytics

ICMA’s Center for Performance Analytics is dedicated to helping local governments use performance information to better the lives of the people they serve.  The Center encourages the use and public reporting of comparative performance data in a positive, continuous-learning environment in order to foster organizational cultures that deliver results that matter.  For more information on the center, please visit icma.org/performanceinsights external link.