P.O. Box 24378 New Orleans, LA 70184 504.324.2270
Lakeview Civic
Improvement Association Holds Press Conference
NEW ORLEANS, LA (June 20, 2008) – Lakeview Civic Improvement Association (LCIA)
held a press conference today at Gulf Coast Bank, located at 848 Harrison Avenue
in New Orleans, to give an update on various items affecting Lakeview.
Freddy Yoder, Vice President of the LCIA, discussed the findings from the
recently completed property surveys including up-to-date statistics on the
number of residents and businesses that make the Lake Area their home.
Of the 7,001 parcels of land surveyed, Lakeview currently has 2,756 homes
occupied, which represents a population of 9,646 residents. “Since July 2007
alone, Lakeview has seen a 30% increase in the number of families that have
returned to the area,” Yoder said. “That means that 821 more families or 2,874
residents are now calling Lakeview home once again since July.”
Additionally, 905 homes are currently under construction and represent almost
13% of the total parcels in the area. With the addition of these homes under
construction, the total of families back in Lakeview will climb to 3,661 or
12,814 residents representing 52.2%. Most are expected to be finished
construction in the coming months. The number of vacant lots seems to be holding
steady and makes up 27.64% or 1,936 parcels of property. Homes that are under
the watchful eye of the blight committee make up 20% or 1,405 houses. This
number has decreased by 20% or 320 houses from the previous survey in July.
Lakeview Property Surveys July 2007 May 2008
TOTAL PARCELS 6,984 100% 7,001 100%
LOTS 1,895 27.1% 1,935 27.6%
HOMES 5,089 72.9% 5,066 72.4%
Occupied/Renovated 1,935 38.0% 2,756 54.4%
Under Repair/Construction 1,429 28.1% 905 17.9%
No Action 1,725 33.9% 1,405 27.7%
“We really feel that these surveys are very important in telling the world that
Lakeview is back and improving daily,” Yoder said. “The decision has been made
to conduct these surveys on a quarterly basis and continue to share our findings
to the community.”
“Our schools are coming back very strong with 2,835 students registered for the
2008-09 session. This number represents 69% of the pre-Katrina school population
of nearly 4,000 children,” Yoder said. “Additionally, the Hynes Elementary site
will soon be under construction and will be able to relocate back to Lakeview,
further increasing the availability of neighborhood education.”
Eight churches representing various faiths have also re-opened their doors since
Katrina and there are approximately 5,000 people in attendance each weekend.
Another topic covered by the LCIA was the reinstatement of the Lakeview
Infrastructure Committee (LIC). Formed immediately after Hurricane Katrina, this
committee worked hand and hand with the City of New Orleans to identify
infrastructure issues. Now, the LIC is working with the city to assist with
several projects. The projects that are currently under design or out for
construction include:
· Repair of streets and sidewalks throughout the Lake Area along with all other
areas of New Orleans. The areas of total repair throughout the city are over
17,000 locations,
· Completion of resurfacing of Robert E. Lee,
· Near completion of Phase I of Fleur De Lis,
· Plans are nearing completion and should be out to bid by the end of 2008 on
Phase II of Fleur De Lis,
· Renovations of the old post office location will be underway shortly. The
postal service has set-up a temporary site adjacent to the existing site,
· Under the submerged road program, the resurfacing of Marconi Drive has begun.
Also under the submerged road program, a portion of Harrison Ave. will be
overlayed,
· The Department of Public Works will install a new water line on Harrison Ave.,
which should eliminate some of the settlement problems that have been occurring,
· NORA, under Dr. Blakey, will fund a portion of reconstruction of Harrison Ave.
between Canal Blvd. and Orleans Ave.,
· Construction of bicycle and jogging paths along Wisner Blvd. have begun and
will be completed shortly,
· The Department of Public Works has restored the majority of the street lights,
red lights, street signs and regulatory signs in the Lake area,
· Projects are out to bid to regrade the alleys in the Lakeview area,
· The Department of Public Works has flushed out and cleaned the majority of the
drains and main trunk lines. They will start the final process of cleaning the
last of the drains in the Lake Area shortly,
· The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board has been successful in drastically
reducing the water leaks and sewer issues in the Lake area as well.
Dr. Tim Ryan, Chancellor of UNO, discussed the development of the Lake Area
Business Development Association that will be comprised of businesses in the
entire lake area.
“Today, we have 144 businesses up and running in the Lake Area,” Ryan said.
“This means that this area is a viable tax generating area that can sustain a
large residential community.”
The 144 business are made up of 22 restaurants and coffee shops, 13 medical
services and an array of other stores including banks, dry cleaners, fitness
centers and pharmacies.
Also, since the storm a new endeavor has begun. The Harrison Avenue Marketplace,
similar to a local farmer’s market, has held 10 monthly events that have an
average attendance of 2,800 people and about 220 vendors. Typical vendors
include arts & crafts, food & beverage, non-profit associations and support
services, schools and universities, and churches.
“The Marketplace is yet another success story from our area,” Ryan said. “It
allows residents a chance to reconnect with neighbors and also support local
vendors in a casual environment.”
Additionally, this market is different then other farmer’s markets in that it
has received no government funding except for waived permit fees and all funding
is from private business grants, art association grants, advertising
sponsorships and vendor fees.
In January, the LCIA Board met to set our top priorities for 2008 and
established a committee structure to address each of those priorities. A total
of 15 committees have been created or existing committees expanded with over 135
Lakeview residents volunteering their time and talents on these committees.
These 15 committees have been working diligently on various topics and have
increased membership by nearly 250 members so far in 2008. “The LCIA is the
largest civic association in the state of Louisiana,” said Al Petrie, president
of the LCIA, “and our goal is to increase our membership by 1,000 members in
2008.”
In April, LCIA began a transition with the Beacon of Hope organization to assume
responsibility for certain roles led by them and projects they had established
since their arrival in Lakeview two years ago. The Beacon and their neighborhood
Administrators did an excellent job of assisting our residents by providing a
wide variety of services that were not available in our neighborhood after the
storm. They coordinated the efforts of thousands of volunteers who helped in the
recovery process and also began several very successful programs including the
Harrison Avenue Marketplace and the Lakeview Seniors Program.
“The Boards of the Beacon of Hope and LCIA agreed that it was the right time for
LCIA and its expanded committee structure to assume the roles and
responsibilities held by the Beacon. LCIA and all Lakeview residents are very
appreciative of the major efforts of Denise Thornton and the Beacon
Administrators and the Beacon staff that benefited all of us,” Petrie said. “We
would not be at our current stage of recovery without them. The Beacon of Hope
organization will now focus its attention on Gentilly to use the experience they
had in Lakeview to help Gentilly residents.”
The top 10 2008 priorities include:
develop a compact with NORA to determine how Road Home properties will be
maintained and disposed of,
interact directly with city agencies to remediate blight,
employ technology to improve communication with all residents,
encourage economic development in Lakeview and market the benefits of living in
our community,
continue the restoration and maintenance of our green spaces,
increase the number of family activities in Lakeview,
expand efforts to increase neighborhood safety,
monitor compliance with Lakeview zoning district regulations,
re-establish a neighborhood liaison/outreach program through the Block Captain
Network, and
preserve and protect the historic districts and landmarks of Lakeview.
“Nearly six months into the process, we have made excellent progress with all of
our committees,” Petrie said. Some key results include:
NORA Committee has just begun contacting residents about interest in buying
properties under the Lot Next Door Plan. At this very early stage, there already
is over 30 property owners who have expressed interest. A list of Lakeview NORA
properties is on the LCIA web site, www.LakeviewCivic.org along with a form to
complete if there is interest in the program. Town hall meetings are planned for
this summer to further discuss what will happen with the approximately 600 Road
Home properties in Lakeview.
Blight Committee has been working with City agencies since last fall to seek
ways to have blighted properties remediated. They have developed a number of
unique approaches that resulted in major progress. Connie Uddo will discuss the
Committee’s actions in greater detail.
Communications Committee has begun a membership drive that has resulted in over
200 new members since March. A major goal is to develop an email database of
Lakeview residents that will allow us to keep all residents informed of key
issues facing our neighborhood. Membership signup is easy through our web site.
The new Economic Development and Marketing Committee, headed by Dr. Tim Ryan
from UNO, has some of the most exciting tasks of any of the committees.
Green Spaces Committee has been active well before the new committee structure
was established in January. Over the last 24 months, it has privately raised
over $200,000 that has been invested in purchasing trees and shrubs and planting
them with volunteer labor in green spaces. Canal Boulevard, Milne Boulevard,
Argonne Boulevard and West End Boulevard have been transformed by the
Committee’s efforts. In total over seven miles of neutral grounds have been
replanted so far with over 1,200 trees and 2,500 shrubs. It is expected to be
complete with replanting all neutral grounds in Lakeview by this fall.
To combat the number of blighted properties in Lakeview, a Blight Committee was
formed and is working with members of City Hall including Winston Reid, head of
the City’s Blight Team and Wes Taylor, head of the City’s Environmental Team.
“Thus far, over 200 properties have been surveyed and found not to be in
compliance with the city’s new blight ordinance #26. Letters have been mailed
and hearings are slated to take place in the next 60 days,” said Connie Uddo
Blight Committee Member.
An additional 300 properties have been identified and sent to City Hall for
follow up and inspection.
Because the city is in the process of building up their inspector base,
administrative staff and supervisors for blighted properties, a new initiative
is being tested with Taylor’s office.
LCIA members will work as the “eyes” for the inspectors for grass, debris and
weed issues. The members will photograph the properties in question and route
these to Taylor’s office. This has been tested with 15 properties and results
will be shared at an upcoming newsletter.
Additionally, a “call team” has been established for residents to telephone the
addresses of properties in question. “In a very short time, we were quite
overwhelmed with calls and are in the process of calling neighbors back,” Uddo
said.
A question and answer session was held at the conclusion of the press
conference.
Important numbers and websites:
Lakeview Civic Improvement Association
PO Box 24378
New Orleans, LA 70184
(504) 324-2270
www.lakeviewcivic.org
Lakeview Civic Improvement Blighted Home Call Team
macardinale@bellsouth.net
Beacon of Hope Resource Center
145 Robert E. Lee Blvd., Suite 210
New Orleans, LA 70124
(504) 309-5120 office
(504) 324-0487 fax
www.lakeviewbeacon.org
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