BlightStat Revisited

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by Charlie London
blightstat-revisited
I took a new job about six months ago that no longer allows me to attend the BlightStat meetings on a regular basis as I once did. It was great to see the movers-and-shakers again today that keep fighting blight in our city.

The folks pictured above are the unsung heroes that, like you,
are passionate about moving New Orleans forward.

The Code Enforcement Department continues to lead the pack with over 1,000 inspections each month. The new land asset management application is far superior to the old computer system. The Code Enforcement Department was heralded for their continued vigilance in the fight against blight.

The Technology Department noted that while the virtual private network used by the inspectors is not providing the service expected, one of the features negotiated for the current technology contract allows for unlimited technical support. The problem is being worked on as you read this.

If you haven’t taken the time to check out data.nola.gov … you should. Surf around data.nola.gov and you’ll be amazed at the information you’ll find. The City of New Orleans Technology Department is working hard to dispel any misconceptions that New Orleans might be behind the times.

The Law Department also uses the land management asset application.

new-lot-next-door

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority has a new lot next door program which will be released soon. Expect a press release from the City soon! NORA will be using online expressions of interest in properties for the new lot next door program. Those expressions of interest will be collected this May through August. The program will soon be available at NORAWORKS.org Properties will be sold at market value from September through December of this year.

The BlightStat team continues raise expectations and lead the nation in an idea that was developed right here in New Orleans. The results of their efforts will be felt for generations to come as New Orleans rises once again to become the “Queen of the South”.

Keep the faith… you’ll see.

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April 12, 2013

NORA releases list of properties for expanded Lot Next Door Program

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and City Council is pleased to announce the release of the list of properties for the amended Lot Next Door Ordinance. The City Council adopted Ordinance 29,397 on February 21 and the Mayor signed it into law on February 25, 2013.

Beginning today, NORA will publish the list of available properties in The Times-Picayune. The list is also available on NORA’s website www.noraworks.org and at data.nola.gov, the City’s official data catalog.

Eligible Lot Next Door buyers MUST notify NORA of its intent to purchase a Lot Next Door property by completing an Expression of Interest (EOI) form. The EOI form will be available on NORA’s website www.noraworks.org beginning May 1, 2013 until August 1, 2013. The deadline to complete an expression of interest (EOI) form is August 1, 2013. Submitting an expression of interest does not guarantee a purchase.

In order to be considered for the Lot Next Door Program you must share a common boundary to an eligible Lot Next Door Property and meet all other eligibility requirements. For more information regarding qualifications and eligibility please visit NORA’s website www.noraworks.org and click on the Lot Next Door tab or contact the Lot Next Door Program Office at 504.658.4422.

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The New Orleans City Council voted Thursday to authorize demolition of several dozen blighted and dilapidated buildings throughout the city owned by the Housing Authority of New Orleans. The list includes properties in all five council districts.

HANO had requested permission to demolish all the buildings.

Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell originally filed a motion to allow demolition of several properties in District D, but other members then asked to add HANO properties in their districts as well — “hitching our wagons to yours,” as council President Stacy Head told Hedge-Morrell.

The final list comprises:

District A: 1715, 1723, 1727 and 1735 Cambronne St.; 1738-40 Gen. Ogden St.; 2115-17 St. Ann St.; and 8718-20 Willow St.

District B: 2331-33 Annunciation St.; 1421-23-25 and 5312 Constance St.; and 2118-20-22 Danneel St.

District C: 1815-21 Ptolemy St.; 1500-14, 1508-14, 1524-30 and 1532-38 Hendee St.; 1814-20 Lawrence St.; 717 De Armas St.; 2427 Ursulines Ave.; 1916 Roman St.; 1927 Mandeville St.; 2522 N. Rampart St.; 1814-20 Bayou Road; 2023 N. Robertson St.; 1319 Montegut St.; 600, 601, 615, 616-20 and 621 France St.; 4100-14 and 4200 Royal St.; 1112 N. Rocheblave St.; and 4319 Chartres St.

District D: 2500, 2501, 2524, 2525, 2600, 2601, 2624 and 2625 Bartholomew St.; 2123-29 Painters St.; and 3013 Mandeville St.

District E: 1501-03, 1505-07, 1509-11 and 1515 Benton St. and 4727 Ray Ave.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/04/city_council_approves_demoliti.html#incart_river

Go Eat at the GROW DAT Farm

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GrowDat-logosent in by Robert Thompson
The Grow Dat farm in City Park (by the underpass at I-610) is an interesting project and will give us a chance to enjoy the cooking of Faubourg St john resident Gary Granata. Gary also
serves as president of local Slow Food Initiative. Go eat Friday, March 8, at the nonprofit urban farm for local high school students, with music, art and a menu with lighter options alongside the fried fish. More info at:
http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2013/02/28/a-nontraditional-lenten-fish-fry-on-tap-at-grow-dat-youth-farm

article below by Ian McNulty
The Lenten fish fry is a long-running tradition in New Orleans, but not all of these events follow a traditional script. For instance, one coming up next Friday, March 8, won’t be held at a church but rather at a nonprofit urban farm for local high school students, with music, art and a menu with lighter options alongside the fried fish.
The local/healthy food advocate Slow Food New Orleans is hosting this one-night fish fry at Grow Dat Youth Farm, a youth development program operated from City Park with acres of crops and a facility built from stacked, repurposed shipping containers.

The chef Don Boyd, founder of the nonprofit Café Hope, and local Slow Food chapter president Gary Granata are preparing the food along with Moscow 57, a New York entertainment company founded by Ellen Kaye, whose family ran the legendary Russian Tea Room in Manhattan for close to 50 years. Granata and Kaye have been collaborating on pop-up food, music and art events and decided to join forces for a one-of-a-kind fish fry at Grow Dat.

Guests can either buy individual dishes at various stations set up around Grow Dat’s campus or partake in a seated meal served in courses at a “captain’s table” on a balcony overlooking the scene. The menu includes a garden salad, fried catfish over coleslaw, vegetarian gumbo z’herbes, pistachio shrimp kebabs, vegetable kebabs and fish kebabs, sour cherry rice, rose petal and mint yogurt and gelato and sorbetto from La Divina Gelateria. Beer and wine will be for sale.

The night is also billed as an “urban salon” with singer/songwriter Kayte Grace, the Moscow 57 Band, artists including Emilie Rhys and local writer Elsa Hahne, author of the new cookbook “The Gravy—In the Kitchen with New Orleans Musicians,” all participating in the event.
Admission is $5 (free for Slow Food members), and individual food tickets are $5 each. The seated meal is $50. The fish fry is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2013/02/28/a-nontraditional-lenten-fish-fry-on-tap-at-grow-dat-youth-farm

New Orleans Rail Gateway Program

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CLICK HERE for the February 9, 2012 article in the Times Picayune.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Federal Railroad Administration will conduct and open forum meeting on upgrades to New Orleans Rail Gateway Program in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

Wednesday, 6-7:30 p.m., Joseph S. Yenni Building, Council Chambers, 1221 Elmwood Park Blvd., Elmwood.

Notice is hereby given that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Federal Railroad Administration will conduct open-forum public meetings for:

State Project No. H.005168
Federal Aid Project No. DE-9208(500)
New Orleans Rail Gateway Program
Jefferson and Orleans Parishes, Louisiana

A public meeting will be held tonight:

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Joseph S. Yenni Building
Council Chambers
1221 Elmwood Park Boulevard
Jefferson, LA 70123

The purpose of the public meeting is to present an overview of the New Orleans Rail Gateway (NORG) Program and the study process for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate environmental and related impacts of upgrading NORG and infrastructure in Jefferson and Orleans Parishes; and to provide an opportunity for all interested parties to express their views. All comments received during the public meetings and written comments post-marked within ten (10) calendar days of the meeting will become part of the official public record. If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may mail your comments to the address listed below.

New Orleans Rail Gateway
c/o The Hawthorne Agency, Inc.
818 Howard Avenue, Suite 300
New Orleans, LA 70113

Interested persons or their representatives are invited to be present at the above time and place to review the study materials and will be afforded an opportunity to express their views concerning the information presented. Information on the Program can also be viewed at http://www.dotd.la.gov/administration/public_info/projects/NORG/.

For more information and to download a map of the proposed project, please visit the link below:
http://www.dotd.la.gov/administration/public_info/projects/norg/

CLICK HERE for the February 9, 2012 article in the Times Picayune.