Mid-City Neighborhood Organization

On Friday Dec 28th, three representatives of MCNO were joined by the President of Faubourg St John Neighborhood Ass’n and a representative of Friends of Lafitte Corridor, in a meeting with Richard Cortizas and Bill Hines - lawyers with Jones Walker representing Victory.

At that time we were informed that Victory has no redevelopment plans for Lindy Boggs site for the near future (2-3 years). This was attributed to the downturn in the housing, retail and credit markets over the past year. Development sooner than that time would only happen if there are changes in the economy.

The following details of the demolition plans were presented:

• Demolition would begin in approximately 2 months and would last about 5 months.
• Method of demolition is by heavy equipment.
• Demolition would take place Monday - Friday from about 7am - 5pm
• They are willing to agree to truck routes
• They have been working with the Louisiana Dept of Environmental Quality to address concerns about any materials in the building that might pose a threat to human health and/or the environment.

Following the meeting, the MCNO, FSJNA and FOLC representatives discussed options. At that time we agreed that continuing to take an adversarial position was not beneficial. This is mainly due to the fact that the HCDRC was very likely (>95%) to approve the demolition regardless of the position we took.

In an act of good faith on the part of our groups, we instead took a neutral position at today’s HCDRC hearing. The statement I made included the following:

• We are disappointed in the outcome of Friday’s meeting, but appreciative that they met with us.
• As an act of good faith on the part of the neighbors, who wish to engage in a constructive dialogue working with Victory for the future development, we were not taking a position of opposition.
• I then outlined the demolition details as shown above.
• I additionally asked that they either grass seed or sod the entire area, so that it will be more visually appealing until it is redeveloped.
• We reiterated that MCNO plans to move forward with an Interim Zoning District for Mid-City (to implement the zoning which is called for in the Mid-City Plans) and that IZD would change the zoning before the time that Victory is ready to redevelop.
• On behalf of MCNO & FOLC, we requested that Victory coordinate development of the Bohn Ford site in accordance with the Master Plan of the Lafitte Corridor Greenway.
• On behalf of MCNO & FOLC, we requested that Victory arrange along with their tenants to meet with us to coordinate implementation of the Lafitte Corridor Greenway in those areas (Bohn, Rouse’s/Home Depot)

The items outlined above are being worked into a Letter of Committment which will be signed by Victory and MCNO. It should be in place in the next 2 weeks.

I am personally disappointed in the outcome, but honestly believe that this was the best strategic position to take. Thank you to the neighbors who took the time to attend today’s HCDRC Hearing (it was a LONG one).

I will plan to discuss this in more detail at the January 7th meeting (6:30pm, Grace Episcopal Church, yes, we know it is the BCS game, so will keep it brief).

The demolition request for Lindy Boggs hospital is on the Dec 31st agenda for the Housing Conservation District Review Committee. If you are able to attend the Dec 31 meeting, your presence would be appreciated. The hearing is at 10am. It is usually held in City Hall Room 7E07.

It has now been 8 days since the last HCDRC hearing on this matter, and 22 days since the original HCDRC hearing on this matter, and we have heard NOTHING from Victory.

I will keep everyone posted if we hear something, but for the time being please mark your calendar and show your support for Mid-City.

Thanks to Dr. Giovani H. Graziosi and students at UNO, we now have site plans for locating six neighborhood signs throughout Mid-City.

You can download these maps here as a 5.7 MB PDF.

Your comments are welcome.

The Communications Committee will meet tonight for the final time under my tenure as Communications Director for Mid-City Neighborhood Organization. That’s tonight (Monday Dec. 17) 6:30 PM at Bayou Coffeehouse. Our main agenda item will be to discuss this document. Please join us.

Neighbors,

Following the e-mail I posted here on Dec 11, to Victory & City Council, the truthfulness of my statement with regard to what happened in the HCDRC hearing was questioned.

The integrity of Mid-City Neighborhood Organization, and my personal integrity, as we move through the rebuilding process is of the upmost importance. Therefore, we have posted a video to YouTube showing the entire 6 minutes and 57 seconds of the portion of the HCDRC hearing Monday, which pertained to Victory. This video is also being sent to the Victory reps, City Council members, and Dr. Blakely, so they can see for themselves what took place.

Some key points (the audio is a bit rough due to the number of people in the room )

• 00:10 Johnny Odum, acting HCDRC chair, re-states Mr. Cortizas request so the audience can hear, “The applicant is requesting a 2-week deferral of this matter so he can work with Mr. Blakely to determine a development plan for the site.”
• 00:25 - 01:25 Veda Eubanks (in peach shirt), Mid-City resident, requests that during the time of meeting with Dr. Blakely, that residents also be included in these discussions.
• 01:28 Stephanie Bruno, HCDRC member, poses question to Mr. Cortizas regarding HCDRC’s deferral of 11/26 being specifically for the purpose of meeting with the neighborhood. She asks whether he was contacted and pushes him to answer a yes/no question about whether he responded to our requests.
• 02:00 Mr. Cortizas responds to Ms. Bruno.
• 02:27 Ms. Bruno - “and was it returned… did you return their message? That’s all I’m trying to find out”
• 02:32 Mr. Cortizas. “No”
• Some more exchange between Bruno/Cortizas where she asks that in the next two weeks he include the neighborhood in his meeting.
• 03:05 Jennifer Weishaupt, VP of Mid-City Neighborhood Organization, makes statement on behalf of the organization, requesting the committee to vote to deny the permit, so the applicant can go through the appeal process to City Council.
• 06:00 Committee Member makes a motion to defer. Vote is taken. Deferral is approved 4-2.

I hope you can take 7 minutes to view the video and see for yourself what took place.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Weishaupt

Last night the following people were elected to 2-year terms on the MCNO Board:

• Connie Andry
• Virginia Blanque
• Angela Brenneke
• Ben Claassen
• Jac Dudenfeffer
• Dawn Falgout-Loebig
• Jennifer Farwell
• Tracy Hamlin
• Lauri Hengl
• Natalie Lafont
• Brenda Napolitano

Congratulations!!! Thanks to all who ran and all who participated in the MCNO election.