PRESS RELEASE FROM CITY COUNCIL:

City Council to Hold Citywide Redistricting Meeting

(Public invited to get the facts and information on redistricting, and why it’s necessary)

New Orleans – The New Orleans City Council will hold a citywide meeting to inform the community-at-large about the process to redraw council district boundaries. The public is encouraged to attend. The meeting will take place on Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chamber at City Hall, 1300 Perdido St. At the meeting, Council members will inform the public about why they are required to redraw district boundaries, according to the City Charter. They will also offer specifics about the redistricting process and how it will move forward.

The City Council Redistricting Plan is not to be confused with the redistricting effort that is ongoing in the Louisiana State Legislature. That separate redistricting effort impacts seats in the State House of Representatives and State Senate, as well as, Louisiana’s United States Congressional Districts.

The City Council’s redistricting effort affects the five New Orleans Districts; A, B, C, D, and E  Residents will receive current population information by district and citywide. Each district is required to have, as nearly as possible, the same number of residents. The council will inform the public how this number is reached and what the new boundaries might mean for each district.

Residents will receive a schedule of upcoming redistricting meetings that will be held in their respective communities.  At these meetings residents will have an opportunity to voice opinions and offer feedback on the redistricting plans.

For more information:

CITY COUNCIL CONTACT
Evelyn Pugh, Chief of Staff
504-658-1082/efpugh@nola.gov

MEDIA CONTACT
Geriease Hawkins
Bright Moments, LLC
504-592-1800/gsh@brightmomentsnola.com

Yet another school, Booker T. Washington School located at 1201 S. Roman Street in Central City, is being considered for demolition. A public meeting was called by the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and the Recovery School District (RSD) in August, 2010 to solicit feedback from community residents, alumnae and other interested parties, at which time PRC expressed support of incorporating the existing school building into a new campus. In January, the first of the Section 106 meetings will take place, so if you or your organization have an interest in the future of this building, let us know!

The adjacent auditorium where greats such as Louis Armstrong played will be incorporated into the campus.

The following article was written by PRC board member Donna Fricker for Preservation in Print and published in September, 2002.

The opening of Booker T. (as it is affectionately known) in September 1942 was a cause for great rejoicing in New Orleans’ large African-American population. After all, in 1900 the New Orleans School Board had voted to limit black education to the first five grades. Now a splendid new high school was opening that rivaled any white school—not a hand-me-down school but a state-of-the-art facility built specifically for black secondary education—a first in the city.

How had it all happened? Through decades of sustained activism from black leaders and bailout from the federal government.

Lacking political power, black leaders worked through civic, religious and educational organizations to press their concerns before the school board, being first with the total lack of public education beyond the fifth grade, as mandated by school board policy in 1900. The sixth was restored in 1909, the seventh in 1913, and the eighth in 1914. With these milestones under their belts, black leaders began the campaign for a high school. The much sought after school opened in 1917 as McDonogh No. 35 in a recycled former school for whites.

The next item on the activist agenda was a sorely needed vocational school. But where to find the money? The Rosenwald Fund had expressed an interest but only if the school board shared the cost. In 1930 the school board sold bonds for school construction and allocated $275,000 toward construction of a black trade school. The Rosenwald Fund pledged $135,000.

In response to concerns that a black trade school might threaten white jobs, a public statement was issued, assuring everyone “that the trades to be taught at the school would be exclusively those which are largely occupied by colored labor at this time.”

But it would still be another dozen years before Booker T. became a reality. After purchasing a parcel of land for the purpose, the school board announced that it did not have the money to match the Rosenwald offer. Instead, in 1934 they built on the site a wood frame elementary school for blacks for $21,000.

Although disheartened by this broken promise, black leaders continued to champion their goal through the 1930s. But it was federal, not local funds, which made Booker T. possible.

In the twilight of its existence, the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration funded the project to the tune of some quarter of a million dollars. Like other similar schools across the South, it was named for booker T. Washington, the famous black educator whose name is synonymous with what was called at the time “industrial education.”

But the opening of Booker T. gave the African-American community much more than a new high school. Accompanying the school (and attached to it) was a huge auditorium that became in effect the city’s black municipal auditorium. In the age of segregation, the roughly 2,000 capacity auditorium was indeed “separate but equal.” Soon after its opening, the facility hosted Paul Robeson in his first New Orleans appearance. The Louisiana Weekly reported that blacks turned out “en masse” to hear Robeson, although with “a fair sprinkling whites.” There were seven encores, and the audience was “almost shaking the roof with its thunderous applause.”

Other greats who graced the stage include Marian Anderson, Dizzie Gillespie, Mahalia Jackson and Louis Armstrong.

Booker T’s immense importance made it a natural for the National Register of Historic Places. The project was undertaken by the Division of Historic Preservation at the request of Booker T. teacher Mark Wuirk. The black leaders who pushed so hard for its construction would have been thrilled at the delegation of Booker T. graduates who attended the public hearing in Baton Rouge. In testimony after testimony folks spoke passionately about all Booker T. had given to them—from discipline to Bach, and everything in between. On Saturday, September 7, 2002, they celebrated the 60^th anniversary of the school and the listing with a historic marker dedication at1201 S. Roman Street.

The City of New Orleans has a new, sleek website. We’ve located the majority of our most frequently viewed pages on the “EGov Services” section of the website, accessed through the “My City” link at the top of the home page. First, be sure to create a user profile, where you can sign up to receive updates directly from the city (if the site hiccups, try again later). You must be a registered user of the website in order to access some of the pages below.

We recommend that you check out and bookmark these departmental, commission and committee pages:

• Historic District Landmarks Commission - The HDLC has jurisdiction over all structures within local historic districts. Renovations that are visible from the public right-of-way are subject to review by the HDLC, so if you are planning renovations to the exterior of your home, best to first call the HDLC.  The commission also reviews demolition proposals and new construction. Find a list of HDLC districts under the “districts and maps” link on the left side of the page.
• Vieux Carre Commission – The VCC has jurisdiction over all renovations to the exterior of properties located in the French Quarter. They also regulate paint color, so be sure to talk to the VCC before taking on any renovations to buildings in the French Quarter, including renovations in courtyards and the instillation of equipment like air conditioning units.
• Safety and Permits – Chances are, if you are renovating your house, you will need to obtain a permit from S&P, who administers and enforces standards for the construction and use of buildings and property. The department also enforces elements of the comprehensive zoning ordinance, so contact S&P directly if you need a zoning variance. Learn more about the functions of S&P here.
• Neighborhood Conservation District Committee - If you frequent this blog, you’ve seen posts about proposed demolitions under consideration by the NCDC, which reviews proposed demolitions in neighborhoods located below I-610 up-river of the Industrial Canal, South Lakeview, Gentilly Terrace and the Lower 9th Ward. The NCDC is administered by the Department of Safety and Permits.
• Code Enforcement (Blight) – Find information about the City’s blight strategy, the Code Enforcement Residents Resource Guide, lists of properties targeted for demolition because of code violations, and code enforcement hearing dockets here. Be sure to check out the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication Docket page, where you can view past and upcoming code enforcement hearing dockets. Also of relevance is the City of New Orleans Housing Standards.
• City Planning Commission – Find links to the master plan, the current comprehensive zoning ordinance, and agendas for upcoming CPC meetings on this page. Contact CPC directly if you are seeking a zoning change or if you would like to comment on a proposed zoning change in your neighborhood.
• Film New Orleans, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy - Sign up for film notification and contact staff with questions or concerns regarding filming in your neighborhood. Be sure to check out the “for locals” page.

Data & Databases:

• data.nola.gov - This site is a catalog of public data sets produced by the City of New Orleans. The designers of the site are starting small, with data sets that are found within the Department of Information Technology & Innovation. Next data set on tap: shapefile and PDFs of newly rectified local historic districts.
• GIS Property Viewer – Check the zoning for your home on this site and spend some time playing with the “layers” on this map. You can also find the ownership information about a property in your neighborhood on this site. We use this property viewer many times per day to look up zoning, to find out what Councilmember to write when advocating against a demolition, and to verify administrative boundaries. (Note: this is a temporary link. We will update the link when the city changes the link for the new website.)
• Permit Access Database (Accela) – Wondering if your work permit has been activated or if your neighbor received a permit for the work being done on their house? You can search Accela, the city’s permitting database, to check the status of a permit. Some permits may take a few days to post, so call a S&P inspector directly if you have any questions.
• Damage Assessment Wizard – After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the city inspectors and contractors assessed the amount of damage each property received. These damage assessments are key when renovating your property and can be challenged. If you are following a proposed demolition initiated by the city or NORA, you’ll often hear the damage assessment referenced.

Other pages we visit frequently:

• Bids, Proposals & Contracts
• Capital & Recovery Projects
• Department of Parks & Parkways
• Department of Public Works
• FastTrack Permitting System
• Mayor’s Office
• Municipal Codes & Ordinances
• Phone & Email Directory
• Press Releases
• Public Notices
• Pay Taxes
• Emergency Preparedness 

NOLA.gov on Social Media:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• You Tube
• RSS Feeds

Of New Orleans’ three Modern schools eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, only George Washington Carver Junior-Senior High in the Ninth Ward will be demolished without the benefit of the standard federally mandated historic preservation consultation process (Section 106 review). Unlike Lafon and Wheatley schools, decisions concerning Carver’s fate were streamlined through a Secondary Programmatic Agreement between FEMA and the Recovery School District (RSD). Under this, the district recommended demolition and FEMA and the SHPO agreed with minimal feedback from outside parties. While it is neither reasonable nor feasible to put every historic structure through the full consultation process, it is sad indeed that buildings as important as those on the Carver campus will be lost with so little public input.

Designed by Curtis & Davis and completed in 1958, Carver was part of the $30 million building program which gave New Orleans its outstanding collection of modern schools. The program, headed by a progressive Orleans Parish School Board and Tulane School of Architecture’s Charles Colbert, had been launched five years earlier in response to antiquated conditions found throughout the district after World War II.

Curtis & Davis had recently completed their award-winning Thomy Lafon Elementary when they won the commission for the $3 million Carver complex. Their cruciform design consisted of a central raised classroom building flanked by wings to the east and west, connected by walkways to a gymnasium and cafeteria to the north and auditorium to the south. The auditorium was the campus’ stylistic jewel, with dramatic hinged concrete buttresses anchoring its vaulted roof. Carver received Progressive Architecture’s highest honor, the First Design Award, in 1957, and was hailed one of the most forward-thinking school designs in the nation.

While most of Carver’s buildings have been seriously altered over the years, both the auditorium and butterfly-roofed cafeteria retain their architectural integrity despite flooding after Hurricane Katrina. The auditorium in particular is in excellent condition, and could easily be incorporated into designs for the new school intended for the thirty-three acre site.

As the story goes though, the RSD has no interest in retaining either building. Its representatives blame bat and rat infestations on the auditorium’s design – which could instead have something to do with the fact that the building is open to the elements – and state that both structures are functionally obsolete. Citing similarities between the buttresses Curtis & Davis used at Carver and those they used for the Louisiana State Penitentiary cafeteria, the RSD believes that children would relate their school to a prison if the auditorium were preserved. This argument is somewhat hard to swallow, since buildings of similar eras tend to share similar elements; it is a little like insisting that schools featuring Classical Revival or Art Deco elements should be razed because of their similarities to the Criminal Courts Building in front of Orleans Parish Prison.

Rebuilding Carver is slated for the first phase of the school district’s rebuilding program, and the January 2010 RSD Capital Update states that demolition will begin December of this year. The RSD will be required to document and memorialize the historic buildings on-site, but they will be demolished nonetheless. Breathtaking in its monumentality, the auditorium is one of the most important modern structures in New Orleans.

Dear David,

Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the draft master plan. We commend your work and the work of the master plan team under incredible time constraints and we appreciate your efforts to incorporate citizen input into the plan. Furthermore, we appreciate the weight given to the importance of neighborhoods, localized economics and historic preservation in the plan, but we feel that the connections throughout the plan could be stronger.   While the economic development element of the plan touches on the role that preservation plays in the economy of New Orleans, it fails to incorporate preservation in the goals for economic development. We offer the following broad suggestions for incorporating historic preservation into the element:   1. Identify historic preservation and main streets as an industry working groups; 2. Recommend that a heritage tourism plan be developed for New Orleans; and, 3. Specify that preservation representation be included in the tourism and cultural economy working groups.

Identify historic preservation and main streets as an industry working groups

Here in Louisiana a million dollars spent in the rehabilitation of an historic building adds 28.4 jobs to the local economy. That is 10 more jobs than is created by a million dollars of new construction in Louisiana and 11 more jobs than a million dollars of manufacturing output in Louisiana.

Here in Louisiana a million dollars spent in the rehabilitation of an historic building ultimately adds $846,000 in household income to the state’s economy. That is $248,000 more in household income than is created by a million dollars of new construction in Louisiana and $298,000 more in household income than a million dollars of manufacturing output in Louisiana.

This greater degree of economic impact is a result of labor intensity. As a rule of thumb, new construction is half materials and half labor. Rehabilitation will be sixty to seventy percent labor with the balance being materials. This labor intensity affects a local economy on two levels. First, we buy an HVAC system from Michigan and lumber from Georgia, but we buy the services of the plumber, the electrician, and the carpenter from across the street. Further, once we install the sink, the sink doesn’t spend any more money. But the plumber gets a hair cut, buys groceries, joins the YMCA – each recirculating that paycheck within the community. That is what makes a sustainable local economy.

But those aren’t just jobs. They are good, well-paying jobs, particularly for those without formal advanced education, and many of those jobs are housed on our urban main streets. Last month, Stay Local released a study demonstrating that here in New Orleans, twice as much of every dollar spent in a locally owned business stays in the community than a dollar spent at a national chain store.

A sustainable local economy should have local economic benefits that are widespread and measurable and historic preservation and the Main Street program provides both.

Recommend that a heritage tourism plan be developed for New Orleans and specify that preservation representation be included in the tourism and cultural economy working groups

The Department of Commerce surveyed international travelers arriving by plane and distinguished between cultural travelers and other tourists.

Approximately a third of all visitors were cultural visitors, 73% of whom visited historic places But what differences did they find between cultural visitors and other tourists?

• Cultural tourists spent an average of  21.3 nights in the US as compared with 13 for others
• 44% of Cultural tourists visited two or more states as compared with 23% of others
• The per visitor expenditure for cultural tourist was $1,660, $220 more than other visitors
• 470,000 more visitors to the US visited an historic place than an amusement park
• 785,000 more visitors to the US visited an historic place than spent time on the beach
• For every visitor that stopped in a casino, 3 visited a historic place
• For every visitor that played golf, 4 visited an historic place

Wherever in the world heritage tourism has been evaluated these characteristics emerge: heritage visitors stay longer, visit more places, and spend more per day than other tourists. As a consequence the per trip economic impact is decidedly greater. Cultural visitors certainly visit New Orleans to listen to Jazz, eat Creole food, and experience our unique culture housed in our historic buildings.

Attached please find Donovan Rypkema’s notes for his keynote address at PRC’s Heritage Club luncheon. While we have incorporated some of his comments and statistics above, his presentation goes into much more detail regarding the role of historic preservation in economic development. We will post a link to the video of his presentation by the end of the week on our blog, www.blog.prcno.org.

On a technical note, the list of tax incentives listed in the economic development element of the plan does not include the tax credits listed in the historic preservation element. The federal rehabilitation tax credit and the Louisiana state historic preservation tax credit should be included in the table.

Please note that PRC has been working with Jack Stewart on evaluating and drafting recommendations for the transportation element of the plan. We are pleased that the suggestions he submitted are being considered and incorporated in the plan.

Finally, PRC shares the Bureau of Governmental Research’s concerns with the proposed Community Participation Program. We fear that the proposed program risks diminishing, rather than enhancing, the neighborhood-level participation in planning and land use decisions. The proposal adds a level of bureaucracy between the neighborhoods and the City Planning Commission and we feel that the concerns of neighborhoods will be lost in the process. BGR’s report can be found on their website: www.bgr.org.

Thank you for your time and consideration of our recommendations.

Sincerely,

Michelle Kimball
Senior Advocate
Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans

Keep up with PRC’s Advocacy Department by visiting: www.blog.prcno.org

923 Tchoupitoulas St. . New Orleans, LA 70130
mkimball@prcno.org . (504) 636-3049 (office) . (504) 636-3073 (fax)

The mission of the Preservation Resource Center: To promote the preservation, restoration, and revitalization of New Orleans’ historic architecture and neighborhoods.

We at the PRC believe that preserving a city’s architecture is tantamount to preserving its soul. New Orleans would not be the city we love today without the past successes of the PRC, and it is critical that we maintain our staunch defense of the city’s rich architectural legacy. In post-Katrina New Orleans, it is particularly crucial that we rebuild in a way that is sensitive to our past, or we risk losing everything that makes our city unique.

To learn more about PRC, visit our website.

923 Tchoupitoulas Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
504.581.7032
prc@prcno.org
Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Gambit Readers Vote the PRC “New Orleans’ Best Nonprofit”

MEDIA CONTACT: Lynn Long / L2Media & Marketing, 504.669.0576August 30, 2010

This just in: The Preservation Resource Center has been voted “Best Nonprofit” by the Gambit Best of New Orleans 2010 Readers Poll!

Watch the newsstands for this week’s issue of Gambit, announcing the results of the Best of New Orleans 2010 Readers Poll. Gambit readers have chosen the Preservation Resource Center as the best New Orleans nonprofit!

From Gambit, Volume 31, Number 35, August 31, 2010, Page 55:
Best Nonprofit
Preservation Resource Center – New Orleans’ historic homes and neighborhoods are part of what make New Orleans what it is. And although the city continues to change, the Preservation Resource Center contributes to New Orleans’ rebuilding while honoring its architectural history. The group offers educational programming and resources for homeowners, prospective homeowners and low-income families interested in historic housing.

For more information, visit Gambit online at BestofNewOrleans.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lynn Long / L2Media & Marketing (504.669.0576 / L2Media@cox.net)

The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans (PRC) was founded in 1974 as a non-profit organization to promote the preservation, restoration and revitalization of New Orleans’ historic architecture and neighborhoods. The organization has helped renovate more than 1,200 homes citywide by involving citizens in preservation projects and services that enhance living in New Orleans. PRC provides resources and education to convey the economic, cultural and aesthetic importance of historic preservation in New Orleans and throughout the world. For more information about the PRC’s hurricane recovery efforts, including the homeowner assistance program, call 504.581.7032 or visit www.prcno.org.

###