Mid-City Neighborhood Organization

We are gearing up for our big free community BBQ on Monday, July 2 (6:30 PM at Grace Episcopal, 3700 Canal). I hope you’ll be able to make it. The main idea behind this event is to broaden the circle of inclusion, to foster a sense of community in the Mid-City neighborhood.

Our goal is to get a flyer to every occupied household in Mid-City. However, our Block Captains do not yet provide coverage for all of the Mid-City neighborhood. Therefore we are organizing a brigade of volunteers to distribute flyers in the areas we don’t cover too well yet.

In short, WE NEED YOUR HELP to distribute these flyers around Mid-City. Mostly we will focus on the area between Banks and Pontchartrain Expressway.

TIME: Saturday June 30, 10 AM
PLACE: Banks and Jeff Davis, by the statue of Jose Marti

We will spend a couple hours distributing flyers. If people are interested, we may meet again for lunch afterward.

Mid-City Neighborhood Organization will host a meeting with Dorsey Development on Thursday, July 5th at Grace Episcopal Church, 3700 Canal Street, 6:30p.

Everyone interested in hearing Dorsey’s plans for a self-storage in the Cemeteries is welcome to attend.

The lot in question is the vacant lot on the Lakeview side of City Park Avenue at Canal Boulevard, where a gas station was located about 10-15 years ago, next to Canal Blvd Automotive, on the same block of Canal Boulevard as McNulty’s, the Bulldog and Dolly’s Deli.

This is the second open meeting with Dorsey Development and Cemeteries’ residents, LCIA, MCNO and other residents of Mid-City and Lakeview. The concerns already voiced to Dorsey are: the need for a low-traffic business, keeping the area clean and trash-free, security and the building’s appearance and height.

The lot is zoned C-1 General Commercial. For an understanding of the zoning, here’s the link to the city’s web site.

On that web page, there’s a map of the intersection with the zoning overlay. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see a link “General Commercial”. Click that link.

(Yes it’s a lot to read and understand.)

Please share this meeting notice with your friends and neighbors who are not on these email lists.

This proposal has sparked a lot of emotion. We hope that the meeting will help answer everyone’s concerns.

You can now download the form for reporting suspected criminal activity for the 3rd District here:

 http://mcno.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/3rd_district_hot_sheet.doc

Both the 1st District & 3rd District Hot Sheets are on their own page on this site.  Go to the navigation bar on the right and find Police Hot Sheets.  Click there and you’ll find these in Word format.

A story in today’s Times-Picayune gives some useful information about another school opening in Mid-City.
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We’re having a big community BBQ and you’re invited!

July 2, 2007 at 6:30 PM
Grace Episcopal Church, 3700 Canal Street

We’ve been having community meetings on the first Monday of each month for quite some time now. We thought it would be a nice change of pace to have a cookout this time and not talk about the big serious issues that usually occupy us these days. We hope this will also bring out some new folks.

If you are interested in helping to organize the event, please contact Dawn Loebig at 504-495-7904.

We will also be organizing a flyer campaign to help promote this event. Stay tuned.

The Mid-City branch of the New Orleans Public Library is now open at 330 N Carrollton (corner Conti).

The library’s hours are 10a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon. through Thursday and Saturday (closed Friday and Sunday).

The library’s Internet connectivity is still being worked on and will hopefully be connected soon. But meanwhile, stop in and check out our library! Sit and relax with some great books. DEFINITELY, bring your kids and let them enjoy the books in the children’s room. And don’t overlook one of the best resources in the library — the staff! — always feel free to ask them for help.

Update: Our new branch library is hosting its first children’s event this Thursday, June 21, at 10:30. Staff from the Louisiana Children’s Museum will involve kids in a story reading and craft. This is for young kids, age approx. 3-6.

For more information, call the library (483-7750).

Pass the word around to people with young kids!

The following list of helpful phone numbers and information is adapted from a mailing from Councilmember Stacy Head.

Debris Removal:

Homeowners should take their storm-related debris to one of the citizen drop off- sites for disposal. These locations are: 2829 Elysian Fields between 8 and 5:30pm or Crowder Blvd. at the I-10 Service Road between 6am and 5:30pm.

If you are unable to bring the debris yourself, call 311 to schedule an appointment to have the debris picked up. It should be removed within approximately 21 days.

Illegal Building:

If you notice that building construction is taking place that looks sub-standard or potentially outside of zoning laws, contact 658-7200 to report the problem and demand an investigation.

Illegal Dumping:

If you see anyone dumping illegally, please get as much information as you can, such as license plate numbers, and contact the Sanitation Department at 658-3800.

Street Lights:

Report any dark street lights to 1-800-ENTERGY.

Traffic Signals:

The Department of Public Works is now creating a punch list for missing or incorrect signage, lamps out, fixtures turned or missing. Please assist by providing such information to 311.

Illegally parked cars:

To have an illegally parked car towed, call 658-8100 until 11pm.

Pot Hole Repairs:

You can report pot holes by calling 658-2299. Please have the address of the location or the intersection where the pot holes can be located.

Public Schools:

Check out this guide to the confusing world of New Orleans Public Schools.

Click on the following link to get a form for reporting suspected illegal activities in your neighborhood:

http://mcno.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/hot-sheet.doc