Properties that Appear to be Blighted
James Smoak
TBNA President
The Touro Bouligny Neighborhood is a community of mostly well kept properties, but there are exceptions where attention is lacking and these owners are usually absentee landowners. Two properties that are in an advanced state of blight in the Touro Bouligny are being targeted for code enforcement.
4235 Coliseum Street
(corner of Gen.Pershing), owned by Howard Russell, appears to be blighted. The structure is losing siding and vines are growing over various parts of the building. Complaints were filed with the Code Enforcement Office and the property actually was put on an Administrative Adjudication Docket for a hearing that addressed blighted properties on July 2, 2008. Technically this hearing concerns vacant properties; when this property came up for discussion, the lawyer for H. Russell said the property was occupied (in fact it is), and should not be included with vacant property hearings. Two Touro Bouligny residents were present to press the issue that regardless of the technicality, this is a property that needs code enforcement. The hearings office suggested that the neighborhood needs to file complaints with Code Enforcement to get this property rescheduled on a docket that addresses occupied properties. The Touro Bouligny Reps said that this would be pursued immediately. However, the lawyer for H. Russell – Richard Richthofen – requested that the neighborhood wait 30 days before taking action because he personally would see that restoration work would start on the Coliseum property within two weeks (July 16). We need our residents to check if anything substantial is being done (not just window dressing) to this Coliseum property to get it off the blight list. If nothing is happening by the first part of August then file a complaint – the more the better – with the Office of Recovery and Development, Bureau of Administration, Code Enforcement, 1340 Poydras St., Suite 1100, New Orleans, LA 70112. (You can email nebutler@cityofno.com or fax to 658- 4368) You can also call H. Russell’s lawyer – see above – at 899-7949 to press the issue.
1303 –05 Peniston Street
owned by Mercier Realty and Investments, also appears to be blighted. The property is gutted and boarded, but vines are growing on parts of the structure and the siding is falling off exposing the interior to the elements and various animals. The blight is progressing and needs to be addressed shortly. This is a property that if restored can only enhance the part of the neighborhood in which it is located. The owner has refused to work on the property or to put it on the market. The owner of the adjacent property on Amelia St. has expressed concern about this blight looming over the Amelia property. Other neighbors in the vicinity have expressed similar concern. A letter and pictures were delivered by hand on July 9th to Dr. Blakely’s Office – Office of Recovery and Development, Bureau of Administration, Code Enforcement, with a request that this property be declared blighted and put on the Administrative Adjudication Docket for action to either prod the owner to fix up the property or put it on the market so someone can, or expropriate the property and let the New Orleans Recovery Authority market the property. The neighborhood needs to be involved and proactive to assure that blight does not get a foothold in this community.
3619 Camp Street
adjacent to the New Orleans Free School is also being addressed. The cottage was for a school caretaker in years past but was abandoned long ago. The Preservation Resource Center and others have tried to obtain this cottage to restore it, but the school refused to deal with the issue. The Recovery School District recently tried to get approval from the Neighborhood Conservation District Committee to raze the cottage but at the hearing in early June the Committee refused the request as a too important structure to be destroyed. The PRC, TBNA and others opposed this request at the hearing. The Committee suggested the RSD should work with the PRC and others to rescue this property. A resident of the block on which the cottage is located owns one of the four cottages that make up the set of four facades that are architectural matches in the 3600 block of Camp and is sternly against razing the caretaker cottage. This resident who has dealings with the RSD is making suggestions to the RSD CEO about making this cottage a community asset. The TBNA supports all these efforts and has, in writing, suggested to the BESE that the Master Plan for the RSD of New Orleans consider disposition of the property for community use since it is not integral to the overall value of the Free School property.