Lakeview Survey Shows Majority of Residents Returning
Yunji de Nies
April 3, 2006, 9:31 PM CDT
NEW ORLEANS -- Quinn Eagan wanted to come home so badly, instead of waiting the
water to go down, he got a boat and broke into second floor.
"We crawled in and tied the boat to the baby grand piano to come in and get our
clothes," Eagen said.
Now, he and his family are coming home for good. While the water is gone, there
are still plenty of reminders.
"Instead of marking how tall your kids are as they grow up on the wall, we're
leaving the water stains up here so you can see how high the water got," Eagan
said.
Eagan is one nearly 1-500 Lakeview neighbors planning to return. In a newly
released survey, the Lakeview Civic Improvement Association found 73% of 2023
households they polled say they are definitely coming back.
"The numbers are much better than we thought they would have been when we
started this," Glenn Stoudt of the The Lakeview Civic Improvement Association
said.
Stoudt helped to conduct the survey. It shows that only 12% of neighbors are
leaving and 15% still have not decided. Stoudt says that is surprisingly good
news.
"I think it's probably human nature to look around you and say how could 1500
people look around and say they're returning to this? You know, it's not
pretty," Stoudt said.
The Lakeview Civic Improvement Association conducted the survey over the last
two months using the Internet, postal service and leaving a survey on every
Lakeview house. Although they still have not heard from 75% of former residents,
they believe they now have enough data to prove that the majority of this
neighborhood is coming back.
"It's human nature to expect that the people that will respond early and faster
will be the people that will more than likely be coming back. And we recognize
that we haven't reached everyone but we reached enough people that we feel like
the numbers are valid," Stoudt said.
The numbers may also inspire neighbors who have not decided one way or another
to come home. Quinn Eagen says that is a big reason his family is ready to be
the first ones back on their block.
"Hopefully when they drive by and see a house that has kids outside playing in
the yard, in the grass," Eagen said, "They'll say you know, it can be done and
we're gonna go back."
The Lakeview Civic Improvement Association is still hoping to get more feedback
from neighbors. To fill out a survey, go to www.lakeviewcivic.org.
The Lakeview Civic Improvement Association will unveil the first version of the
District 5 neighborhood plan for community feedback. The meeting will be held at
11AM on Saturday April 8th at Mt. Carmel High School in Lakeview.
