Mid-City Neighborhood Organization

Finn McCool’s Irish Pub (3701 Banks Street)
–Voted #1 Best Neighborhood Bar by Gambit readers

–Has had their barenders place in the top three  ”Best Bartenders in New Orleans” contest by Where Y’At  for 3rd year in a row!

–Home of the shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade!

Mid-Citizens – Come get your Irish on at Finns!
March MCNO Mixer – Wednesday, March 10, 2010
5:00 – 7:00 pm

$3 Irish Iced Coffee or Hot Irish Coffee for MCNO members
Light dinner provided!

See you there!

THE PRESERVATION RESOURCE’S ANNUAL SELLABRATION
HISTORIC HOUSE PURCHASE AND RENOVATION TRAINING EVENT

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010
923 TCHOUPITOULAS STREET (AT THE PRC)
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Download flyer here

Workshops:
BUY RIGHT WORKSHOP: 10:00 – 10:30 AM
FINANCE RIGHT WORKSHOP: 10:45-11:15 AM
RENOVATE RIGHT WORKSHOP: 11:30 AM-12:00 PM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: 12:15-1:15 PM
by Richard Campanella
Tulane Geographer / Author / Researcher of New Orleans’ historical geography
Winner of multiple “Book of the Year” awards from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

PROPERTIES FOR SALE * HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD EXHIBITS
Algiers Point •American Sector • Broadmoor • Bywater • Carrollton/Riverbend • Central City
Esplanade Ridge • Faubourg Marigny • French Quarter • Gentilly • Irish Channel
Lower Garden District • Mid-City • New Marigny (St. Roch) • Treme • Uptown (Bouligny)

MUSIC, FOOD, & CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES

The Monthly MCNO Mixer is this Thursday, February 25, from 5:30-7:30pm at Ralph’s on the Park.

Come out and enjoy the lovely spring weather and some cameraderie with friends. MCNO members receive the following discounts.

$2 Abita (bottle)

$5 specialty Cocktails:
• Champagne Paradise
• Sunset-tini
• Italian Margarita
• John Daly with Firefly

$5 Wine by the Glass:
• McWilliams Chardonnay
• McWilliams Cabernet Sauvignon

And either light hors d’oeurves or a cheese plate!

Hope to see you there!

Mary-Kelly Swafford
Director of Special Events

The Mid-City Neighborhood Organization is seeking nominations of qualified candidates to serve as a Commissioner on the Mid-City Security District (MCSD) Board of Commissioners. All responses should be sent to our Vice President (vp@mcno.org), who is the MCSD liaison for MCNO, by January 28th at Noon, following the outline below.

The Mid-City Security District was created in November 2008 by a vote of the eligible voters residing within the boundaries of the MCSD. It is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners. One of the current Commissioners is moving and will no longer meet the eligibility requirements. Since this Commissioner was appointed by MCNO, in accordance with the legislation enacting the MCSD, MCNO will appoint the replacement Commissioner. Detail of the MCSD are available at www.midcitysecuritydistrict.org.

Roles & Responsibilities:
• Commissioners serve a three-year term.
• Time requirements estimated at up to two hours per week, including: attending the monthly public meeting of the MCSD Board, accepting a functional role within the board and any work that is decided upon and assigned during the Board meeting. In special cases, more than one meeting can occur in a month.
• Board members are not compensated (this is a volunteer appointment)
• At least two Board members must sign every check.
• Board members must abide by the bylaws of the district.
• Meetings follow the democratic rules of order.
• Board members do not direct the actions or work of the New Orleans Police Department, but are often liaisons for information between citizens and the police.
Qualifications for Nominees:
• Reside in the district and be a qualified voter in the district.
• Must have a strong interest in improving the safety and security of the area.
• Must be able to communicate with the public, act in an open-minded and inclusive manner, and must be able to work as a team.
• Must not have any conflicts of interest which would prevent them from behaving in an ethical and transparent manner.
Nominations

Submit the following information to vp@mcno.org to nominate yourself or someone else. If nominating someone else, please confirm that they are willing to accept the nomination.

Name
Address
Email
Phone

Are you a registered voter within the boundaries of the MCSD?

Are you qualified and interested to serve as an MCSD Commissioner in accordance with listed information?

Please provide a brief listing of your qualifications, including any specific skills/expertise that you bring to the position (up to 200 words)

Thank you,

Jennifer Farwell
President, MCNO

Mid-City Neighborhood Organization Newswire
 
NEWS
Bonfire Cancelled
Drainage Committee Formation

EVENTS
January Mid-City mixer at Salire Fitness
 

NEWS
1.       SPECIAL ALERT: Orleans Bonfire Cancelled; NOFD Warns Residents Not to Start Fires
Mary Hogan, a member of the 2008 committee that held the New Year’s Eve Bonfire on Orleans Avenue, has confirmed to MCNO that it has been CANCELLED for 2009. This was due to the lack of a sponsor able to obtain the appropriate liability protection, not to fundraising problems as indicated by some news reports. NOPD says it will arrest anyone that starts a fire there.
Anyone interested in working on a committee to resolve the issues and reinstate the event in 2010 can email volunteer@mcno.org and as a courtesy, MCNO will forward the information to other committee members when it obtains their information.
 
2.       Drainage Working Committee Forming
MCNO is forming a working committee to address drainage issues with the Sewer and Water Board and Public Works. Several residents have expressed interest in forming this group. If you are interested, please email volunteer@mcno.org with Drainage Committee in the subject line.
 

EVENTS
1. MCNO January Mixer
January 13, 2010
Salire Fitness Studio, 214 N. Jefferson Davis
4:00 – 7:00 pm
Have a New Year’s resolution to get in shape…again? Well, January’s Mid-City Mixer is just for you! Join us for a very special Mixer at Salire Fitness Studio. Tours and demonstrations will be offered at the 214 N. Jefferson Davis physical fitness and wellness center from 4:00 – 7:00 pm.

The Mid-City Neighborhood Organization would like to thank all the wonderful local volunteers who supported Rebuilding Together New Orleans’ (RTNO) annual October Build. Last month, over 100 volunteers from eight businesses and groups including the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization, Tulane Naval ROTC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney worked on five houses for two weekends doing everything from painting to building railings.

The annual October build is the group’s cornerstone effort, but Rebuilding Together is commited to restoring homes year-round and always welcomes volunteers. For more information on how to support Rebuilding Together, contact Caitlin Metzguer, at cmetzguer@prcno.org or call her at (504) 636-3076.

MCNO Members & Friends,

I haven’t gotten the tally from our Secretary, but I believe the new bylaws passed easily.

Now is the time for everyone to be considering running for a Zone Captain position or talking to neighbors who might do so. We will be voting on nominations at the December meeting (December 7) and will be posting bios of nominated candidates over the coming weeks.

The Zone Map will be posted here and in the “Map” link under the “Pages” section of the MCNO.org website so you can confirm your Zone. Note that there is no longer a Zone E we redivided Zones C, D, and E, into C and D and split them at the industrial corridor that abuts Toulouse. To keep things simple, since many of you know your Zones, we did not reletter the other Zones.

We will have an online means for accepting nominations for Zone Captain positions by Friday. ANYONE in a zone can make nominations, whether they are an MCNO member or not. However, Zone Captains must be members in good standing in order to serve on the board. They should also have ties to the zone for which they are running live, work, own property, etc. Those of you who have expressed interest in running, we will be contacting you about submitting a bio.

This structure can ensure better representation in every zone. However, it requires participation to work most effectively. If any zones in Mid-City do not have a Zone Captain for 2010, it will dilute the efficacy of our advocacy efforts in that area.

These are YOUR zones your neighborhoods within a neighborhood and we hope a lot of you are excited about getting more involved. If Mid-City is to continue its march onward and upward, we need everyone to donate a little bit of their time!

Jennifer Farwell
VP, MCNO

Stay in touch with Mid-City news and events by reading the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization’s seasonal newsletter. The fall 2009 issue, on stands and on-line now, highlights the Mid-City Security District, Mid-City Community Gardens and welcomes several new businesses. You can also learn about volunteer opportunities in the neighborhood and update your membership information — all in four, light-weight, easy to read pages!

If you missed the print version, the publication is still available online. Simply look under the “Pages” section for the “Newsletter” link here on the MCNO website. You can also read or print the PDF version by clicking here .

Enjoy!

Best, Amber Tucker

MCNO Americorps Member

For residents or business owners residing in the area bounded by Canal, Orleans, Carrollton & Jeff Davis, MCNO would like to notify you of an upcoming Zoning Input meeting, to be held Thursday Sep 24th, 6:30pm at Grace Episcopal Church (3700 Canal Street)

The properties of interest are 3903 Iberville, 3901 Toulouse, and 635 N. Scott; specifics follow. If you are unable to attend, but would like to provide input via email, please contact zoning@mcno.org.

3903 Iberville – Corner of Iberville & North Scott, currently a partially vacant lot, Zoned RM (Residential Multifamily), with a small single-family home facing North Scott – The applicant requests to build 2 new construction two-family homes facing Iberville Street. This request requires a waiver because it will allow 3 main uses on one lot of record.

3901 Toulouse – Corner of Toulouse & North Scott, Zoned RD (Residential Double) – Request to change to B1A zoning (Neighborhood Business) to allow a wholesale bakery.

635 N. Scott – North Scott between Toulouse & Orleans, Zoned RD (Residential Double) – Request to change to a zoning which will allow 25 units (each between 600-700 square feet with planned sales price of ~$100K+ per unit). Preliminary indication is that they are also proposing demolition of the double next door at 631 N Scott to allow parking and access to the rear of the property. This was previously a non-conforming use as an apartment building and has recently been cited by Code Enforcement for blight.

Rebuilding Together is working on 6 houses in Mid-City over the first and second weekends of October (October 2-3 and October 9-10) and they need volunteer Neighborhood Liaisons!

Neighborhood liaisons are neighborhood residents who volunteer to act as representatives for the homeowners if there are any conflicts or concerns. They would need to be at our build sites from 8:30 to 3:30 on work days. Here is a list of our work days and locations:

4035 Banks: October 2, 3, 9, 10
139 S. Bernadotte: October 3, 10
437 S. Rendon: October 3, 10
434 S. Lopez: October 2, 10
135 S. Pierce: October 3, 10
3120 Toulouse: October 9, 10

Put your love for your neighborhood into action.
To register to be a Neighborhood Liaison, contact Amanda Murphy at amurphy@prcno.org.

Get ready for the next MCNO Mixer, scheduled at The Bulldog on Canal Blvd. next Tuesday, September 22nd from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. MCNO members get $2 off selected bottled beer, double-sized mixed drinks specials and free jambalaya! What more could you ask for?

Good morning members of MCNO discussion group,

As you may recall Mid-City Volleyball Group is a grassroots collection of New Orleanians who would like to create a sand volleyball venue in Mid-City, preferably within the Lafitte corridor. If you have not already done so, please sign our on-line petition to include sand volleyball courts along the Lafitte greenway: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/VballLaf/petition.html. The petition is addressed to the City Planning Commission’s executive director, but last January the CPC inexplicably refused to accept it. I plan to submit this petition instead to the Lafitte Greenway Steering Advisory Committee this Friday morning at their monthly meeting. Feel free to include a comment on the petition (that’s what the higher-ups are most likely to read), and please help spread the word by forwarding this message to other friends you think might have an interest in having a volleyball recreational area along the greenway.

Thank you,

Peter J. Hickman
Chair of the Mid-City Volleyball committee of the MotherShip Foundation
131 Sherwood Forest Drive
New Orleans, LA 70119-3716
cell: (504)427-1207

In this email:
1. Katrina Memorial Events Tonight in Mid-City
2. Security District Update
3. Upcoming “Porch Crawl” and Mid-City Mixer Info
4. MCNO Eblast Update

Katrina Memorial Events Tonight in Mid-City
Join other Mid-Citizens tonight as they honor those who helped them through Katrina and its aftermath, share their stories, and enjoy some family entertainment.

From 6:30 to 9 pm, come to the Mid-City Community Garden for a “Share Your Stories in the Garden” dinner event. With catering by Olive Branch and Crescent Pie and Sausage, this “party with a purpose” raises money for the Mid-City Community Garden and is a delicious way to reward yourself after all the hard work you have done since Katrina. Participants will gather in the garden to share Hurricane Katrina stories and offer gifts to those who helped them the most. For information, visit www.midcitycommunitygarden.com/midcity_katrina_event.jpg; to RSVP (recommended) call 251-9818 or email info@midcitycommunitygarden.com. Dinner is $10; event will be held at the garden; 516 S. Salcedo Street.

After your dinner, head up to St. Patrick’s Park, where the Mid-City Yacht Club will sponsor their monthly “Movie in the Park.” Bring the kids, bring coolers and chairs, and relax beneath the stars as we watch “Jaws.” On the fourth anniversary of Katrina, we should all celebrate the fact that we can watch a “man eating shark” instead of worrying about a “city-eating storm.” Movie starts 30 minutes after sunset (the sun sets tonight at 7:30, so plan for approximately 8pm). St. Patrick’s Park is located directly across from the Mid-City Yacht Club, which is located at 440 S Saint Patrick St.

Security District Update
After clearing significant hurdles at the city level, the Security District is ready to launch. Please attend the monthly meeting, next Monday, September 7, from 6:30-8:00pm, at Grace Episcopal (3700 Canal – next to Mandinas) for a full report. Yes, it’s Labor Day, but we hope you’ll join us for this important update.

“Porch Crawl” and Mid-City Mixer
MCNO will debut its new, yearly fundraiser, the “Mid-City Porch Crawl” this fall, tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 23 from 6-9pm. This fundraiser will take participants on a tour of five of Mid-City’s most fabulous porches (all within a few blocks of each other). At each porch, they will be fêted with drinks, food, and great companionship. More details to follow, soon.

Our next Mid-City mixer will be held Tuesday, September 22, at the Bulldog, from 5-8pm. Join us on the Bulldog’s lovely back patio for good company and MCNO member specials.

MCNO Eblast Update
Since we are preparing to re-launch our newsletter, we will be dropping back to every other week on the eblasts unless there is urgent information to share. Please remember to send your items to mcnonewswire@gmail.com.

August 19, 2009

In this email:

1. MCNO Newsletter Update
2. Neutral Ground Clean-up Report
3. Mid-City Mixer News and Schedule
4. Code Enforcement Progress
5. Sheriff’s Sale News

MCNO Newsletter Update
This week, we had planned to bring you the first issue of our new, email-friendly newsletter. However, while pulling together the content, we uncovered a story worth telling – and worth holding the issue. So, look for your first full e-newsletter around September 1. In the meantime, here’s this week’s blast.

Neutral Ground Clean-up Report
On July 24th, over eighty volunteers from various Lutheran churches across the nation converged on Mid-City to assist in a City Council sponsored, city-wide clean up effort. The volunteers met at 10am on Saturday morning at S. Jefferson Davis and Tulane to pick up trash and debris along the neutral ground and bordering sidewalks that stretched from Tulane to Bienville. MCNO would like to thank all of the volunteers, including those Mid-City residents who joined in the clean up effort, for their hard work. The neutral ground has never looked so beautiful!

Mid-City Mixer News and Schedule
Last week, we had our best-attended mixer so far, at Clever Wine Bar in the American Can Company retail complex. We greeted existing MCNO members and Mid-Citizens and welcomed new ones, with folks talking well past the scheduled event time on ideas for improving our fair community. Our next mixer will be held at Bulldog on Canal Boulevard (just above Mid-City). October and November mixers will be held at Chickie Wah-Wah and Deutsches Haus.

Stay tuned for the finalized dates and specifics – Chickie Wah-Wah will be a spectacular, live music event!!!

Code Enforcement Progress
We are in the process of creating a page on the MCNO Web site (www.mcno.org) that will list upcoming code enforcement hearings, present the outcome of past ones, and provide more information on how you can submit properties and follow them through the process. Today, MCNO representative Jennifer Farwell testified at the City Council’s Housing and Human Needs Committee Meeting, using our experiences at the recent round of hearings to offer suggestions on improving the procedural effort. On Saturday, September 12, we will be attending a city-sponsored seminar on how the entire process works. We will have our Web site live by then and will report back to you with new information as we obtain it!

Sheriff’s Sale News
The preferred outcome of Code Enforcement Hearings is that the owners will correct the violations and come into compliance. However, once the fines have been levied, the city places an actual lien against the properties for that amount, and a judgment is filed. Within a few months, the properties can move through the lien foreclosure process and to Sheriff’s Sale. MCNO recently received a list of properties in District B that may be eligible for Sheriff’s Sale. Rather than recommend the City move all of them through to Sheriff’s Sale, we wanted to gauge the interest of neighbors and others in purchasing them for rehabilitation or lot-next-door acquisition. If you might have interest in any of these properties or know someone else that might be, or believe they would be good candidates for sheriff’s sale for one reason or another, please send an email to vp@mcno.org as soon as possible (we will send our first list to the city by end of day Friday).
3726 Baudin St.
429 S Cortez St.
3716 Banks St.
528 S. Scott Street
540 S. Scott Street
637 S. Pierce St.
501 S. Telemachus Street
521-23 S. Scott Street
432 S. Scott Street
121 S. Cortez
400 S. Pierce St.
736-38 S Lopez St.
2911 Conti ST
500-02 S Scott Ave
2829 Banks St.
2736-38 Banks St.
3604 Tulane Ave.
340 S. Clark St.
3016-18 Bienville St.

This week’s Code Enforcement Hearings appeared to be a win for Mid-City, even though some residents left, frustrated, because they had to wait so long to testify. MCNO is working with other neighborhood organizations to urge the city to fine tune the process.

In the meantime, below are the results of this week’s code enforcement hearings, links to past results, and a link to the list of upcoming “reset hearings.” These occur when an owner has gotten a 30 or 60 day reprieve and his case is being re-heard. If you have evidence on these properties – either against or in favor of the owner – it is especially important that you submit it to MCNO or the city in advance. As a reminder, please always cc code@mcno.org on any code enforcement communications you have with City Hall.

For a complete listing of the properties that went to court this week, search return to last week’s post, entitled “Code Enforcement Docket This Week” and tagged under News. For a listing of properties that were previously heard, along with the results, click here (District A) or (District B).

A number of reset cases are coming up in the next few weeks. We ask residents with an opinion (for or against) to contact City Hall and express your thoughts. For a full list of reset cases, skip to the bottom of this email.

301 S. Alexander: This property, owned by community action group ACORN, received a 30 day reset during which no fines will be levied. The case will be heard again in 30 days.

635 N. Scott: Guilty; 30 days to remediate before fines kick in retroactively.

637-39 Salcedo: The court sent the notice to the wrong property address, therefore the case is being renoticed and reheard.

736 S. Salcedo: Guilty; owner was given 45 days in which to remediate before fines kick in retroactively.

2932 Conti: Owner asserted he had an award letter from the Road Home under the Small Renter’s program, but could not produce it. He was given a 60-day reset during which time he must produce the letter and make minimal improvements or he could be fined.

3016 Bienville: This property had previously came before code enforcement. The judge rendered a conditional judgement, which means if the situation is not remediated in 30 days, the fines kick in retroactively.

3914 Palmyra Street: Guilty; owner has 30 days to remediate or will be charged a $500 one-time fine, $75 in court costs, and $300 per day, retroactively, until remediation is completed or property is sold.

4220 Orleans Avenue: Guilty; will be charged a $500 one-time fine, $75 in court costs, and $300 per day until remediation is completed or property is sold.

4318-20 Bienville Street: The court awarded the owner a 60-day reset during which time no fines will be levied. His case will be evaluated again in 60 days.

Address Dir Street Street 2 Case # Date Time
3820 Banks Street 09-00407 7/30/2009 9:15
1729 Bienville Street 08-000217 8/26/2009 9:15 AM
4318 Bienville Avenue 09-00097 7/29/2009 9:15 AM
4400 Bienville Avenue HCEVU-09-00098 & 99 7/22/2009 9:15 AM
4515 Canal Street 09-00687 7/22/2009 9:15 AM
4218 S. Carrollton Avenue Hcevu-009-00124 7/28/2009 9:15
3016 Cleveland Ave. 08-0002118 7/22/2009 1:15 PM
3116 Cleveland Avenue 08-0002116 7/28/2009 1:15 PM
3514-16 Cleveland Avenue 08-0002009 8/12/2009 9:15 AM
218 S. Gayoso Street 08-0002048 7/22/2009 9:15 AM
238 S. Jefferson Davis 08-0002121 7/29/2009 9:15 AM
2904 Orleans Ave. 09-00951 7/29/2009 1:15 PM
3300-02 Palmyra Street 08-0002026 7/29/2009 9:15 AM
4622-24 Palmyra Street 09-00724 7/28/2009 1:15 PM
4622-24 Palmyra Street 09-00723 7/30/2009 1:15 PM
3236 PalmyraSt. Street 08-0002120 7/22/2009 1:15 PM
619 Scott Street 09-00962 7/29/2009 1:15 PM
304 S. Telemachus Street 09-00465 7/29/2009 1:15 PM
308 Telemachus Street 08-0001997 8/12/2009 9:15 AM
3433 Tulane Avenue 09-00215 8/19/2009 9:15 AM
4051 Tulane Avenue 09-00220 7/30/2009 9:15 AM
3003-05 Tulane Avenue 09-00214 7/30/2009 9:15 AM
3801-03 Ulloa Street 09-00469 7/22/2009 1:15 PM
3815-17 Ulloa Street 09-00470 8/19/2009 1:15 PM

Of the 40 MCNO properties that passed through Code Enforcement Court today and yesterday, the majority were fined for violations. A few owners that had begun renovation appeared, and MCNO supported them. Others were given an extension due to hardship or unusual circumstances. The remainder – by far the majority – were found guilty.

A special thanks goes out to the neighbors who wrote in or waited to testify. Your input really makes a difference in these cases.

Look for a special update Friday night with the complete update of all code enforcement hearings over the past few months.

Jen Farwell
VP, MCNO

Starting today, MCNO has nearly 40 properties coming through Code Enforcement Court. These are abandoned properties that have been cited for violations ranging from not being cleaned and gutted to harboring unsanitary conditions.

MCNO has found that the city is more likely to take action against negligent owners if neighbors and appear to testify. Similarly, if residents have personal knowledge of a situation that gives the court a reason for leniency, it helps if they can back up the owner being cited. We know everyone is busy, but if we want these houses to be remediated, it will take all of us. To paraphrase the common adage, It takes a village to raise a stronger, cleaner city.

If you cannot attend a meeting, send your position to housing@mcno.org and we will print it out and deliver it to the meeting. You should also follow up with the city directly, as those who are fined usually have 30 days to remediate, after which time the fines kick in retroactively if they do not comply. Therefore, contacting the city any time before or in the 30 days after the citation can be effective. You can send a letter (preferred), call, or submit an online complaint. All the contact information for these options is available at http://www.cityofno.com/Portals/CodeEnforcement/. Address letters to Winston Reid, Director of Code Enforcement, and email or mail a copy to MCNO.

A list of the properties for this week, with the date and time they will be heard, is below. Note that the time is the start of the court hearing period, which usually runs about 3 hours. When a particular property will be heard depends on when (and if) the owner appears.

Stay tuned for the results of these and other hearings in our first regular Friday update at the end of this week.

Jen Farwell
MCNO

PROP ADDRESS CASE # DATE TIME
3215 Canal St. 09-001531 7/13/2009 9:15 AM
4133 D’ Hemecourt St. 09-001544 7/13/2009 9:15 AM
3321 Bienville St. 09-001524 7/13/2009 9:15 AM
4312 Bienville St. 09-001523 7/13/2009 9:15 AM
4145 Cleveland Ave. 09-001537 7/13/2009 9:15 AM
4534 Banks St. 09-001515 7/13/2009 9:15 AM
4604 S. Carrollton Ave. 09-001533 7/13/2009 9:15 AM
736 S. Salcedo St.(Rear) 09-001616 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
3016 Bienville St. 09-001662 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
600 N. Murat St. 09-001595 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
3221 Canal St. 09-001666 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
635 N. Scott St. 09-001618 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
411 S. Bernadotte St. 09-001660 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
419 S. Murat St. 09-001594 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
618 S. Alexander St. 09-001644 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
4318-20 Bienville St. 09-001661 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
200 S. Solomon St. 09-001619 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
220 S. Solomon St. 09-001620 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
301 S. Alexander St. 09-001642 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
316 S. Alexander St. 09-001643 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
441 S. Solomon St. 09-001621 7/13/2009 1:15 PM
229 S. Dupre St. 09-001689 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
2928 Conti St. 09-001677 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
2932 Conti St. 09-001678 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
314 N. Gayoso St. 09-001710 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
511 S. Gayoso St. 09-001712 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
736-38 S.. Lopez St. 09-001746 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
129 S. Gayoso St. 09-001714 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
318 S. Gayoso St. 09-001711 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
331-33 S. Cortez St. 09-001679 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
509 S. Genois St. 09-001723 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
4220 Orleans Ave. 09-001771 7/14/2009 9:15 AM
637 S. Salcedo St 09-001792 7/14/2009 1:15 PM
736-38 S. Salcedo St. 09-001793 7/14/2009 1:15 PM
223 S. White St. 09-001827 7/14/2009 1:15 PM
227 S. White St. 09-001825 7/14/2009 1:15 PM
3914 Palmyra St.(main plus Accessory) 09-001773 7/14/2009 1:15 PM
419 S. Pierce St. 09-001779 7/14/2009 1:15 PM
200 S. Solomon St. 09-001804 7/14/2009 1:15 PM
4051 Tulane Ave. 09-001818 7/14/2009 1:15 PM
4220 Orleans Ave. 09-001891 7/15/2009 9:15 AM

SAVE THE DATE: Monday, July 6, 6-8pm
Grace Episcopal Church, 3700 Canal Street

A quick reminder that we will host a BBQ picnic tonight in place of our normally scheduled neighborhood meeting. This annual event is a thank you to Mid-City Neighborhood Organization members and other Mid-City residents for their support during the year. We will be serving a complimentary plate of hamburgers, hot-dogs, and other assorted goodies to MCNO members, and we welcome anyone else to join us for good food and fun as long as it lasts. We will also be serving soft drinks and water – any other beverages you want to consume, please plan to bring them yourself.

The event is free to everyone, but we welcome donations from non-members and anyone else who wishes to support Mid-City.

At the picnic, you can greet old friends and meet new ones, and ask the board and other Mid-City representatives and non-profits questions and advice. We have invited several groups, including the Mid-City Community Garden, Rebuilding Together (Preservation Resource Center), the Food and Farm Network, and the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (which is managing our blighted housing acquisition program) to attend or provide information you can take away.

We’ll also have updates on exciting happenings and progress in Mid City.

NOTE: Stay tuned – Beginning next Friday, we will be posting a weekly newsblast to the MCNO site. The first blast will have an update on nearly 100 blighted Mid-City properties that have gone through the code enforcement process.

Jim Taylor, past president of MCNO; a long-time board member; and long-time resident of Mid-City, passed away in his sleep Saturday night. Jim represented everything that is wonderful about Mid-City and New Orleans. He loved life and lived it to the fullest.He also loved Mid-City and fought hard for it. Jim, an avid music and art lover, often hosted events at his house for singer/songwriters and would invite people to come and support them.

Although Jim didn’t grow up here, he embraced this city as his own and soaked in all that New Orleans had to offer. His many friends also reflected the unique culture and spirit of the City. We often had conversations about not wanting to live anywhere else; not just New Orleans, but Mid-City.

There will be a notice in the Times-Picayune, but word from Jim’s family is that there will be a visitation at Lake Lawn on Saturday, May 2nd, from noon until 3p.m. There will be a brief memorial service at 3p.m.