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There is a shortage of affordable rental units in the city of New Orleans.
More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is suffering from an acute shortage of housing that has nearly doubled the cost of rental units in the city, threatening the recovery of the region and the well-being of many residents who decided to return against the odds. Before the storm, more than half of the city’s population rented housing. Yet official attention to help revive the shattered rental home and apartment market has been scant.
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FEMA is evicting people from their trailers, they say it is time to close the parks.
According to a schedule released by the agency, all of the "group sites" will be closed by the end of May. FEMA's list of soon-to-be-shuttered parks affects about 6,400 people living at more than 50 sites.
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The agency has been careful not to attribute park closures to concerns about formaldehyde, which has been found at dangerous levels in some trailers. In a "Frequently Asked Questions" flier released Wednesday, a question asked: "Is FEMA closing parks because of formaldehyde?" FEMA answered: "Trailers were intended as short-term housing solutions. Rental resources are increasingly available in Louisiana and are more appropriate for long-term housing."
Testing of local units was scheduled to begin this month but has been postponed. It should begin "very soon," Josephson said.
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Nagin administration officials could not be reached for comment, but in the past mayoral staffers have emphasized that they don't support emptying Duncan Plaza until housing is found for residents of the small tent city.
Jeffrey has more, though it is unrelated.
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Demolition of public housing projects will begin on December 15th.
The Housing Authority of New Orleans on Thursday approved more than $30 million in contracts for citywide demolition of vacant brick buildings at five developments, part of its sweeping plan to transform New Orleans public housing.
Demolition will begin Dec. 15, said HANO spokesman Adonis Expose, but no specific plans were announced Thursday.
HUD announced in June that it would demolish the city's four largest developments, St. Bernard, Lafitte, C.J. Peete and B.W. Cooper to make way for "mixed income" neighborhoods.
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Renovation has not been examined as an alternative to demolition or as a solution to the housing shortage.Tellingly, neither housing agency has closely examined alternatives to demolition, like renovating some buildings in the complexes and replacing others. Although the Housing Authority of New Orleans says that modernizing existing developments would cost more than building new housing, it has yet to release cost breakdowns or the source of the figures. John Fernandez, an architecture professor at M.I.T. who examined all four of the complexes, has suggested that the extent of the storm’s damage has been overstated.
Because the projects were built with such sound structural integrity.
Solidly built, the buildings’ detailed brickwork, tile roofs and wrought-iron balustrades represent a level of craft more likely found on an Ivy League campus than in a contemporary public housing complex.
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A number of organizations and individuals are planning to stage protests and trying to spread the word given the impending demolition of public housing in spite of the shortage of cheap rental units and the absence of a one-to-one resident return pledge. From New Orleans Indy Media:
To stop HUD’s bulldozers and to stymie the government/corporate ethnic cleansing machine thousands of determined anti-racists and progressives will be needed on the streets of New Orleans in December. For this to happen anti-racists and friends of the working class from all walks of life and all corners of the county will have to come to New Orleans in December.
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SCLC pledged a boycott of New Orleans because Council is investigating corruption.
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The Times-Picayune should talk about racial bias where it is actually occurring. I don't believe "ethnic cleansing" is too strong of a phrase. Where are you on this one SCLC? (I hate you now)
The Times-Picayune should talk about racial bias where it is actually occurring. City council is "white" now and that's a big deal? This city voted by not voting.
Let me reiterate my opposition to the impending public housing demolition plans.
Let me iterate my support for the direct action protests that will attempt to block demolition.
Are New Orleans progressives united against this? Is it an outrage to YOU? If we're going to kick and scream in baited breath about our frustrations with the racially polarizing politics of this city, the way politicians use it as a wedge to divide us, we must also kick and scream and raise hell when the racism is blatantly apparent; let us use it to unite us. These are our neighbors! They deserve to live here!
This link has information about direct action protests, financial pledge options, and contact info.
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