Mid-City Neighborhood Organization

A treat — not a trick!

Our Mid-City branch library’s hours will be extended beginning this coming Monday, Nov. 5.

New hours will be:
Mon., Tues., and Thurs.: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Wed.: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sat.: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
(closed Fridays and Sundays)

A neighborhood meeting will be held Saturday, Oct 27 at 12 noon at Bayou Coffeehouse (326 N Jeff Davis) to discuss a request for zoning variances at 118 S Jeff Davis.

Discovery Kids, Inc operates a daycare center at 128 S Jeff Davis. They are seeking to expand the facility to 118 S Jeff Davis. Four variances are being requested:

1. Allow a daycare center within 300 ft of an existing daycare center
2. Waive two of the three off-street parking spaces
3. Waive the requirement to enclose a front yard parking space
4. Waive the requirement for an on-site drop off zone

Because of the variances, this is also a conditional use. The City Planning Commission voted to disapprove the variances. One nearby neighbor opposed the variances at the CPC meeting. The matter is to be heard by the City Council on November 1st.

The MCNO Board voted to support the variances provided 13 conditions were met. Seven conditions were proposed by the City Planning Commission staff (#1-7); six additional conditions were proposed by MCNO
(#8-13).

1. Rear yard shade device to code
2. Play equipment located above a soft surface to code
3. Minimum 6 ft opaque fence around play area
4. Trash storage area enclosed with minimum 6 ft fence
5. Participation in a litter abatement program
6. Remove and landscape an 8×18 ft section of paving in front yard
7. Curbside drop off zone, subject to approval by DPW
8. The owner to lease two additional off-street parking spaces
9. The owner to provide an off-street drop off zone or provide van service
10. Hours of operation at one daycare center be limited
11. The owner cannot further expand daycare in the block
12. The owner cannot apply for any other conditional use in the block
13. The conditional use cannot transfer to a new owner/tenant

Discovery Kids agreed to all of the conditions. Since then, additional nearby neighbors have expressed opposition and asked MCNO to reconsider its support. MCNO and Councilmember Head are seeking neighborhood input on this matter.

MCNO Board Members Doug Pease and Brenda Napolitano will be facilitating the meeting.

If you are unable to attend, and have specific issues you would like to raise, please leave a comment.

Mid-City resident Mr. Brock writes the following:

Myself along with others have notice a growing number of ant homes on the Jeff Davis bike path. I walk my dog every morning on Jeff Davis. Today I notice a larger number of ants homes up and down Jeff Davis. This creates a large problem, from our dog, to people standing too long in one area trying to talk to one another and child trying to play. Therefore I am ask for your help on Saturday October 27 @ 8am! I am looking for volunteers to help me purchase ant killing powders and spray, then help with placing the powder and spraying on the ant homes.

We will be meeting at 8am on Jeff Davis & Bienville.

If your interested in volunteering/ or donating ant killer powder or spray on Jeff Davis at 8am, please call me Brock at 504.758.6899

Voodoo Fest has provided a hotline number for neighbors to call to report nuisance issues associated with the Voodoo Fest this weekend. The number will be manned 24 hours for the 3 days of the Festival (starting today).

The number to call is 504.658.8100

This should be used to report illegal parking, blocked driveways, and other nuisance activities (noise, litter).

As always, if there is an emergency crime issue, call 911.

Additionally, the festival organizers have agreed to expand their trash pickup to include City Park Avenue and the bayou, and will have crews that will be dedicated to those areas.

Come out and enjoy some neighborhood fun next Friday night! This is sent on behalf of The Bayou Boogaloo festival organizers:

The Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo Festival is a free music festival, held each Spring on the banks of Bayou St. John. In order to keep the festival FREE, a fundraiser will be held on Friday November 2nd @ 7pm, at Studio 3 ( 3610 Toulouse St behind the American Can).

The fundraiser is themed around the Mexican festival “Día de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead), and will celebrate with Mexican food and drinks, live music and a festival atmosphere. Current food donors include Juan’s Flying Burrito, and Tacqueria Guerrero. Admission is $40 per person, $75 per couple, and $300 to reserve a table for ten.

Online ticket purchase should be available in the next couple of days. For now, mark your calendars, line up your babysitters, tell your friends!

This press release was sent to us by Kaye Florane:

CITY PARK’S BIG BASS FISHING RODEO & FISHTIVAL

We’re coming’ back too! Yep, March 29th, 2008 will mark the return of City Park’s Big Bass Rodeo and Fishtival. This traditional and long-standing rodeo of 61 years will include a competitive fishing rodeo, food, music, educational exhibits, raffles with tons of fishing tackle prizes, silent auctions, Mardi Gras toss of fishing tackle items for kids and much more. We invite adults, children and groups to come on over and fish the rodeo. Since Hurricane Katrina’s devastating blow to City Park, numerous restorative efforts such as new pumps, a fresh water well and fish restockings by La. Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries has once again made fishing a viable sport in the Park.

As we resurrect the Big Bass Rodeo and Fishtival, we need your help. We lost everything in the hurricane, fishing poles, gift prizes, weighing scales, you name it. Your tax-deductible donation will support this event and help the park continue making improvements for fishing and other recreational activities. We also offer several underwriting packages for businesses.

Donations can be made online at:
neworleanscitypark.com/donate.html (Be sure to type in or select fishing rodeo to dedicate funds to the rodeo. If you would like more information about donating or sponsorship, please contact Kaye Florane, Rodeo Chairman at rkflorane@cox.net.

Come on out and catch a good time (and fish)!

You’re invited to an afternoon barbecue hosted by Miles Trapolin of the Mid-City Housing Committee, on Saturday, November 10. All you have to do to enjoy good eats and drinks is donate a few hours of your time the morning before the barbecue.

You see, the Housing Committee is staging a survey of the 350+ demolition candidates within the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization boundaries to determine their current status (demolished, renovated, reoccupied, or not) and whether or not the community supports their demolition or salvation. They’ve merged all the available demolition lists, and are mapping the addresses and dividing them into sectors.

They seek 16 volunteers, each of which will take a sector of approximately 25 houses and help evaluate them. This sector can be near your home or any other address you provide. You will be given a simple form to fill out that indicates whether or not a particular house meets or fails a set of criteria. You will also be asked to provide addresses for homes not on the list that you think should be.

As many of you know, too few blighted houses have been torn down and too many salvageable ones have gone by the wayside. This survey will enable us to determine, at a glance, where we stand. From that point, we will be better able to negotiate with the city to make Mid-City even stronger and better.

PLEASE donate a few hours of your time to assist with this effort. It can be a fun family effort, or an interesting morning spent with friends. We are planning to make a morning of it on Saturday, November 10, beginning at 9:30am at Bean Gallery. That will be followed by a barbecue get-together at Miles Trapolin’s house.

If you cannot donate time that morning, we can provide a list before then and you can turn in the results that day or beforehand. If you cannot do a full sector, we can give you half, or even better, you can find someone to split it with.

This is your chance to do something really important for your neighborhood, to express your opinion on a weighty matter, to meet more members and concerned citizens, and to have a great time doing so.

If you can participate, please email Jennifer Farwell at crescentlady@farsight.biz or Miles Trapolin at miles@trapolinlawfirm.com.

Neighborhoods Partnership Network is sponsoring a forum which will try to answer the question “How Can We Participate Effectively in Our Neighborhood Schools?” The forum will take place at Warren Easton High School, 3019 Canal Street, on Wednesday October 24th from 6-8PM. Participating education advocates include: Karran Royal (Oak Park Civic Improvement Association), Hal Brown (Board Chairman of NO College Prep), Shakoor Aljuwani (St. Luke’s Homecoming Center), as well as MCNO. For any questions, call NPN at (504) 940-2207.

Mid-City residents are familiar with the work of local artist Madeleine Faust. She made the distinctive “Mid-City” sculpture at the corner of Carrollton and Canal.

Now Mid-City Neighborhood Organization has commissioned Madeleine to design a neighborhood sign utilizing some of the elements from her sculpture. In collaboration with neighborhood volunteers on the Communications Committee, Madeleine worked through several iterations and finally came up with this bold and beautiful design:

With grant money from Mercy Corps, we hope eventually to fabricate several signs. Then we will need to call for more volunteers to help install them at key locations around the neighborhood.

The Mid-City Housing Committee is moving its monthly meeting to this Saturday, October 20, at Bayou Coffee House, located at 326 N. Jeff Davis Pkwy.

It’s a bit of a strategy meeting to prioritize and plan how Mid-City Neighborhood Organization should work, moving forward, to encourage the city to tear down more blighted homes and preserve more historic homes.

Also, what efforts we should consider regarding directing the rebuilding process, given that we are outside a Historic Districts Landmarks Commission, and what strategies might help get some of these homes out of the hands of uncaring owners and back into commerce.

At the meeting, we will also preview the Mid-City-specific housing database that gives us a snapshot of what historic homes are threatened — and what blighted ones are being addressed or ignored — for anyone’s perusal.

We welcome any and all input from all Mid-City neighbors on what they would like to see for the future of housing their neighborhood.

If you have ideas, we invite you to join us from 9:30am – 10:00am for the public comment period of the meeting. If nothing else, stop by, say hello, and give Bayou Coffee some business!

Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian relief and development organization that arrived shortly after Katrina struck to implement relief and recovery activities in the Gulf region, has issued a grant to seed the start of the “Old City Business Center.”

Rick Denhart, Executive Director of Mercy Corps Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief, presents a check to Dawn Loebig of Mid-City Neighborhood Organization. Photo Credit: Suzanne Mason, Economic Development & Deconstruction Program Officer.

Download a flyer for the Old City Business Center.

Mid-City Neighborhood Organization is co-sponsoring a candidate forum for the upcoming City Council At-Large election.

Date: Thursday, October 4, 2007
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Nunemaker Auditorium, 3rd Floor, Monroe Hall, Loyola University
Free parking available in the West Road Parking Garage (enter from St. Charles Ave.)
Click here to download a PDF map of Loyola Campus

Moderator: Lee Zurik, Anchor/Reporter WWL-TV

Mid-City Neighborhood Organization is co-sponsoring this event with a lot of other groups.

Bayou Bicycles has re-opened at 3530 Toulouse Street (just behind the Post Office). Their business hours are 10a – 6p on Mon – Fri and 10a – 5p Saturday.

They sell & service bikes & accessories.

Visit their website: bayoubicycles.com