Neighborhood-wide meetings: first Monday of every month, 6:30 PM at Grace Church, 3700 Canal. More events.
I’ve written a very rough sketch of some ideas for the recovery of Mid-City. To emphasize that these are my own views, not endorsed by MCNO, I have published them on my personal website. I invite your comments.
Kimberley Marshall offers an extended meditation on what the Bayou Boogaloo means for Mid-City, and other goings-on in our neighborhood.
The process for chartering Dibert School is ongoing. If you are interested in enrolling your child or if you would like to contribute to the opening of the school in one of many areas (from boards to PTA to volunteer labor, etc.), please join the CharterDibert discussion group.
More pix here. If you’ve got Boogaloo pix online, feel free to add a link in the comments section.
The latest news regarding development is that The Home Depot bought the Winn-Dixie on N. Carrollton. They have applied to open a temporary store in the existing building while building a big box in the back. Since the site is zoned light industrial already, I was told by someone at the city planning commission that there is not likely to be any citizen input. Can you imagine the traffic?
The Mid-City portion of the city council’s planning team will meet next on Saturday, June 10 at 10am. The meeting will be held at Grace Episcopal Church 3700 Canal St. There is a parking lot in the back on Cleveland. Bring your wish list. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
The Second Annual Lafitte Corridor Rail Hike was a screaming success!
On Sunday, May 21st, eighteen of us hiked about three miles from Armstrong Park to Canal Boulevard, right through Mid-City following the old Norfolk-Southern rail line. The Louisiana Institute of Film Technology is building a film studio on a key parcel of this land, and they’re including a bike path, which we hope will add momentum to our efforts. We plan to build a three mile bike path and linear park that will connect Armstrong Park to City Park and ultimately make it possible for people to walk or ride all the way from the river to the lake. Watch the MCNO website [mcno.org] for more information about how you can join the Friends of Lafitte Corridor (FOLC) and help make it happen!
You can also see pix of this grand event taken by Michael and Bart.
If you’re interested, please join the FOLC discussion group.
Mid-City Art Market, Art in the Heart of New Orleans, will celebrate its 2 year anniversary in a different location ONE TIME ONLY on Saturday, May 27th. In conjunction with the Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo, the market will be set up on N. Jeff Davis between Bienville and Bayou St. John. It will return to its home in City Park’s beautiful Botanical Gardens on Saturday, June 24 from 10:00am-4:00pm and the last Saturday of each month.
This month’s market on Saturday, May 27th near Bayou St. John will be held from 10:00am-6:00pm. The market is home to wonderful local and regional artists selling jewelry, painting, pottery, glass, funiture, metal, photography, textiles and accessories to rejuvenate your home and spirit with beauty.
At the market you’ll find “Home is where the heart is-Mid-City-I’m Home!” signs for sale as well as the MCNO Tshirts featuring Rock n Bowl, Brocatos, Liuzza’s, City Park and the Canal St. streetcar. The Bayou Boogaloo Posters, by artist Jane Brewster, will be for sale, also. You can find Jane and her beautiful watercolors at the Mid-City Art Market.
Beauty-It’s what we offer at the Mid-City Art Market!
Check out the 2 full page color ads in GambitWeekly for more information or visit our website: www.midcityartmarket.org.
Come out, support and buy LOCAL!
Sponsored by Mid-City Neighborhood Organization and GambitWeekly.
Future Market Dates:
June 24 July 29 August 26 September 30 October 28 November 25
Kendra Frank recently visited New Orleans and spent a good bit of time in Mid-City. Read her story.
Poster by Jane Brewster.
The festival will be held on the banks of Bayou St. John at Orleans Ave. on Saturday, May 27 from 10 am on. There is no admission. The Mid-City Art Market will also be in that location for one day only. We need volunteers! Check out the schedule of great music!
If you missed the presentation on Mid-City and the Lafitte Corridor last Wednesday, now you can watch it online via Google Video.
UMKC Presentation: Lafitte Corridor & Mid-City
The quality of the video is not great, and the audio is marred by a big ventilation humming noise, but the ideas are worthy of consideration.
You’re invited to join the 2nd Annual Hike of the Lafitte Corridor, which passes through Mid-City, on Sunday, May 21st. See b.rox.com for more details.
The New Orleans City Council has hired some consultants to help develop reconstruction plans for 50 neighborhoods heavily flooded by Hurricane Katrina [more info]. Each team of consultants will hold at least three community meetings in each planning district. The first planning meeting for Mid-City appears to be set for Saturday May 20th at 10:00 a.m. at the Audubon Senior Center – 3425 Audubon Ct.
Personally I’m astonished that a) I’m only learning about this event now, a few days in advance, and b) the meeting is located in Gert Town, and c) there seems to be no information about this meeting even on the nolanrp.com website put together in support of this planning process, and d) that’s election day. But this could be an important meeting, so concerned Mid-City residents are encouraged to attend.
MCNO is proud to unveil the offical logo for the Bayou Boogaloo, by local artist Jane Brewster with assistance from Elena Reeves.
The festival will be held on the banks of Bayou St. John at Orleans Ave. on Saturday, May 27 from 10 am on. There is no admission. The Mid-City Art Market will also be in that location for one day only. We need volunteers!
Please note, all times are tentative and subject to change, so please take this schedule with a grain of salt!
Mid-City “Bayou Boogaloo” — May 27th, 2006
Scheduled Performers:
- 11:00 – Rudy’s Caribbean Funk Band (Caribbean)
- 12:00 – I Tell You What (Blues)
- 1:00 – Bust (Soul)
- 2:00 – Gringo du Choro (Brazilian)
- 3:00 – All Star Quartet featuring Walter Washington and James Andrews (Jazz-Blues)
- 4:00 – Lynn Drury (Folk-Rock)
- 5:00 – Big Chief Monk Boudreaux with Delta Funk (Indian Funk)
- 6:00 – The Revealers (Reggae)
- 7:00 - Billy Iuso & The Restless Natives (New Orleans)
- 8:00 – Anders Osborne (Roots/Rock)
Casa Samba (Afro-Brazilian) parades along Bayou from 12-2 pm
Mid-City is coming back. Here’s further evidence:
I just had lunch at a new restaurant that’s opened in Mid-City. In fact, they just opened today. The place is called Minnie’s Catfish Corner, and they are serving the most delicious catfish this side of Middendorf’s.
They’re located at 3735 Ulloa St, on the corner of Tulane Ave. and S. Cortez. No phone, cash only. For more information and a full menu, check out their website at www.minniescatfishcorner.com.
The American Institute of Architects‘ Regional and Urban Design Committee is having their Spring Roundtable here in New Orleans.
They will be conducting a neighborhood assessment and re-planning “charette” from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 13th.
A charette is a “collaborative session in which a group of designers drafts a solution to a design problem.” This charrette will focus on Planning District 4, which encompasses Mid-City as well as the Seventh Ward, Bayou St. John, Tulane/Gravier, Treme, Gert Town, the Fair Grounds and more (see map).
So, if you’re an interested resident of District 4, please come by the Intercontinental Hotel (444 St. Charles) this Saturday and participate.
Liuzza’s on Bienville is open again — well, just the bar. No food yet. They say the kitchen might open in a month. But you can stop by for a frosty mug of beer and some good fellowship from 4pm until late, Tuesday through Saturday. Cash only!
Play some Bob Marley on the jukebox for me.
Mid-City Neighborhood Organization is pleased to welcome the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Department of Architecture, Urban Planning & Design, to Delgado Community College on Wednesday, May 10th, 2-4 p.m. to present the findings of their feasibility study of the Lafitte/Choupic Rails-to-Trails bike path and park project. We are also pleased to host Billy Fields, native New Orleanian now in Washington, D.C. with the National Park Service’s Rails to Trails Conservancy.
This session is a precursor to a larger presentation the students will present on Thursday, May 11, 6-8 p.m. at the Basin Street Station. Students from the University of Missouri-Kansas City will present their work on heritage tourism, housing resettlement and neighborhood economic recovery, including ideas for Mid-City, the Lafitte Corridor and Tremé.
Please RSVP to Amy Lafont for Wednesday afternoon
504-416-9766 / amelia.lafont [AT symbol] gmail.com
Get ready for the runoff! There will be a candidate forum for City Council District B (which cuts through part of Mid-City) and At-Large (which includes all of Orleans Parish) on Tuesday May 9th, 7pm, at the Ashé Cultural Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley. It’s sponsored by fifteen (!) neighborhood organizations. Get the details here.
Hat tip: Adrastos