Rebuilding Successes
The Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo Festival celebrated its 2nd year of success in May 2007. This free community event drew over 12,000 people to Mid-City to enjoy local music, arts & food, and to see first-hand the recovery of this resilient neighborhood. Proceeds from the festival have been used to fund community improvement projects.
The Neighborhood Guide & Map was published in March 2007. The map was created by Stay Local! with some funding provided by Mercy Corps. Over 10,000 copies were distributed directly to Mid-City residents by New Orleans Magazine, and an additional 8,000 copies have been distributed to New Orleans residents, tourists, students and “volun-tourists.”
A temporary library branch opened at 330 North Carrollton Avenue in June 2007. The branch is primarily funded through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Gulf Coast Libraries Project, administered by Solinet (Southeastern Library Network). Additional funding for materials have been received from Capital One ($5,000) and from MCNO fund-raising events ($7,000).
A Community Outreach project is underway which involved door-to-door distribution of bi-lingual flyers to every occupied house in Mid-City during June 2007. Color posters have been designed by a local artist, which announce the monthly community meetings, and distribution and posting of 1000 of these is underway. The final aspect of the Outreach project is the production of 6 permanent signs, designed by a local artist, to be installed at key intersections in the neighborhood.
The Lafitte Greenway has been endorsed by City Council, and is currently in the planning and design phase. MCNO has secured a grant in the amount of $85,000 from the Governor’s Recreational Trail Program, towards the Mid-City portion of this planned 3 mile rails-to-trails conversion project.
The Preserve and The Crescent Club mixed-income housing developments are under construction with funding from GoZone Housing Tax Credits, Community Development Block Grant funds, and private funds. These developments will provide over 400 housing units, with a mix of market rate units and units set-aside for persons at various income levels.