Mid-City Neighborhood Organization

The 2007 Best of New Orleans awards, published in this weeks Gambit Weekly, demonstrates that Mid-City truly is the Heart of New Orleans! Overall, 16 Mid-City establishments & attractions took home a total of 32 First, Second and Third Place awards. This is an outstanding feat and a testament to our rebuilding. Congratulations to all our businesses and thank you for being here.

- Finn McCool’s 1st Place “Best Neighborhood Bar”; 2nd Place “Best Location to watch a Saints Game outside the Superdome”, 3rd Place “Best Jukebox”.

- Liuzza’s 1st Place “Best Neighborhood Restaurant”; 3rd place “Best Place to Get a Cold Beer”

- Juan’s Flying Burrito 1st Place “Best Cheap Eats”, 2nd Place “Best Place to Get a Margarita”, 2nd Place “Best Mexican Restaurant”

- Mona’s 1st Place “Best Menu for Vegetarian’s”, 2nd Place “Best Mediterranean Restaurant”; 3rd Place “Best Cheap Eats”

- Angelo Brocato’s 1st Place “Best Place to Get Ice Cream”; 2nd Place “Best Dessert” for their Cannoli; 3rd Place “Best Place to get Pastries”

- Parkway Bakery 1st Place “Best Roast Beef PoBoy”, 2nd Place “Best Shrimp PoBoy”, 3rd Place “Best Oyster Po-Boy”

- Mid-City Art Market (now New Orleans Art Market) 1st Place “Best Art Market”

- City Park 1st Place “Best Tennis Court”; 2nd Place “Best Place for Family Fun”; 2nd Place “Best Place to Get Married”, 3rd Place “Best Place to Bike”; 3rd Place Best Golf Course;

- Crescent City Steakhouse, 2nd Place, “Best Steakhouse”

- Venezia’s 2nd Place “Best Italian Restaurant”

- Rock N Bowl 3rd place “Best Place to Dance to a Live Band”

- Lola’s 3rd Place “Best Latin American Restaurant”

- Doson Noodle House 3rd Place “Best Vietnamese Restaurant”

- Mandina’s 3rd Place “Best Place to Get Gumbo”; 3rd Place “Best Soup” for their Turtle Soup

- Cafe Degas 3rd Place “Best Place to get Creme Bruleé”

- Pandora’s 3rd Place “Best Snoball Stand”

Many changes have taken place with our public schools in Mid-City, and here is a brief overview as to what will be happening in our neighborhood as we begin the 2007-2008 school year:

John Dibert Elementary
Dibert is set to reopen on September 4th, once again as a pre-K through 8th school in the Recovery School District. The new superintendant of the RSD, Paul Vallas, determined that Dibert will be a cluster center for non-English speaking students in the RSD, as Mid-City has historically had a large Spanish-speaking population. He has also said that he is determined to keep class size reduced to 20 students. That would bring the total student population down from 415 to 300 students, a number that better fits the facility. There are also plans to move the 7th and 8th grade students to Thurgood Marshall in October. Keith Bartlett will continue as principal, and he can be reached at Kbneworleans@aol.com. Cardillia Lamb will be the principal of the Middle School at Thurgood Marshall when it opens.

Warren Easton High
Warren Easton began the school year on August 8th, and will continue to teach students in grades 9-12. Easton will again be run by the Warren Easton Charter Foundation, with Alexina Medley as principal. More information can be seen at the Warren Easton website. We would still love to find a way to purchase the block of land that is for sale next to Warren Easton on Canal Street, so please let us know if you have any creative ideas.

Capdau-UNO Early College High
Thurgood Marshall’s building will be shared by two charter schools, and we would like to welcome them into our neighborhood. The largest of the two will be the Pierre Capdau-UNO Early College High. They are starting with approximately 250 students, half in the 9th grade, and half in the 10th. They plan on adding an 11th grade the following year, and a 12th grade the year after that. They will be led by principal Shannon Verrett, and are set to open on September 4th. Principal Verrett can be reached at sverrett@uno.edu.

NOLA 180
Thurgood Marshall will also be used temporarily by NOLA 180, a group chartering the Langston Hughes Academy. The plan is for them to move back near the Fairgrounds into modular buildings at some time in October, though Principal John Alford said it might be over the Christmas holiday. Once they move back, then the 7-8 grade students at Dibert will move to Thurgood Marshall Middle School, governed by the RSD. For more information, concact John Alford at (504) 274-3626 or jalford@nola180.org. You can read more about Principal Alford at this recent article in New Orleans Magazine.

Esperanza
Esperanza is the Spanish word for “hope.” UNO, not the University of New Orleans as with Capdau-UNO, but UNO as in United Neighborhood Organization based in Chicago, will be operating this school with about 260 students grades K-8. Jacob Perez is the principal. Principal Perez has said that there is hope to make Esperanza a community center especially for our Spanish speaking neighbors in New Orleans. More information on United Neighborhood Organization can be found at www.unocharterschools.org. You can reach Jacob Perez at (504) 251-1008.

Fisk-Howard
There is still no word on what will become of the heavily damaged facility at Fisk-Howard. We are hoping to have a new pre-K-6th school built there. You can voice your opinion by going to this site and leaving comments. This facility matches quite well with the criteria needed for a new school in Council District B.

This Saturday, August 11th, MCNO’s Education Committee will be hosting a brainstorming session to find ways that we as a community can help improve our public schools. We’ll be meeting from 10-11 AM at John Dibert Elementary School at 4217 Orleans Avenue, and all are invited to attend. For further information, call Michael Homan at (504) 377-7284.

The next Mid-City neighborhood meeting is Monday August 6th, 6:30 – 8pm @ Grace Episcopal Church, 3700 Canal St. The agenda is:

1. 1st & 3rd District Police Captains update on Crime
2. Update on 2007 Legislative Session from Dist 94 Rep Nick LoRusso
3. Presentation by 1st & 2nd District Tax Assessors on 2008 Tax Assessment process (we are awaiting confirmation from the Assessors)
4. Breakout Session – Small Groups work on Committee Issues.

The doors open at 6:15pm for informal networking.

Please join us!

Tuesday, August 7, is the National Night Out. In Mid-City we know of at least four events. You’ll want to consult our zone map to make sense of these locations.

• Zone A – Mid City Yacht Club (440 S. St. Patrick) will host a Zone-wide event. St. Patrick Park is across the street so feel free to bring the kids and dogs. They will have a grill and will be cooking hot-dogs. If anyone would like to bring a side dish it would be appreciated. Contact MJ Sauer for more information mj@urbanvisionproperties.com 504-251-3045 cell
• Zone B – 200 Block of South Alexander will host a Zone-Wide event – Potluck – Contact cbgannon@bellsouth.net for more information
• Zone B – Intersection of S. St. Patrick & Palmyra for surrounding blocks – Potluck – Contact booliebumpskie@yahoo.com for more information
• Zone D – Hosted by Ms. Alene Peake, 6:30 pm 4501 Toulouse St. (Corner of N. Murat)
• Zone G – 200 Block of South Pierce Street will host a Zone-Wide event – Potluck – Contact vbviolet@aol.com for more information
• Zone M – Parkway Bakery & Tavern will host a Zone-wide event

If you are planning an event please let us know by posting a comment.

There is a Mobile Medical unit in Mid-City every Friday morning, from 10am – 2pm, at the corner of Jeff Davis & Canal, in the parking lot of the (abandoned) Walgreen’s.

There is a doctor onboard for sick care and they also do medical screenings.

They may provide a pre-natal unit in the near future.