Author Archives

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Square deal or not?

Lower Pontalba hikes its rents

 

Lower Pontalba rent increases
Current 2016 2017
Monthly Monthly Monthly Full increase
Tenant Name Address Rent Rent Rent
Stephen Rue & Doug Melancon 503 St. Ann, 3rd floor $2,375 $3,165 $3,954 66%
Louellen & Darryl Berger 509 St. Ann $2,200 $2,475 $2,749 25%
Jack & Pat Holden 511 St. Ann, 2nd floor $1,850 $2,698 $3,547 92%
Ricky & Lynna Caples 511 St. Ann, 3rd floor $2,370 $2,877 $3,384 43%
Louis Sahuc 515 St. Ann, 2nd floor $1,850 $2,702 $3,555 92%
Charles & Kathy Cole 515 St. Ann, 3rd floor $2,000 $2,692 $3,384 69%
Hugh Lambert & Ben Skillman 519 St. Ann, 2nd floor $2,000 $2,790 $3,580 79%
Jim Brown III 519 St. Ann, 3rd floor $2,755 $3,070 $3,384 23%
Constantine Georges 527 St. Ann, 2nd floor $2,000 $2,786 $3,572 79%
James & Lillian Maurin 527 St. Ann, 3rd floor $2,370 $2,877 $3,384 43%
Steve & Cindy Hogan 531 St. Ann, 2nd floor $2,540 $3,072 $3,605 42%
Kevin & Haydee Mackey 531 St. Ann, 3rd floor $1,950 $2,638 $3,326 71%
Gary & Pat Boue 535 St. Ann, 2nd floor $2,250 $2,902 $3,555 58%
Michael & Krista Dumas 535 St. Ann, 3rd floor $2,755 $3,066 $3,376 23%
Bill & Carolyn Oliver 539 St. Ann, 2nd floor $2,320 $2,962 $3,605 55%
Donald & Beth Woolridge 539 St. Ann, 3rd floor $2,225 $2,805 $3,384 52%
Carol Riddle & Ira Middleberg 541 St. Ann $2,200 $2,475 $2,749 25%
Brandon & Daphne Berger 543 St. Ann, 2nd floor $2,525 $3,588 $4,651 84%
Christian Creed 543 St. Ann, 3rd floor $2,500 $3,013 $3,527 41%
John Morrissey 806 Chartres, 3rd floor $2,280 $2,394 $2,509 10%
Carol Lewis & Anita Harris 810 Chartres, 2nd floor $1,865 $2,312 $2,759 48%
Patrick McNulty 810 Chartres, 3rd floor $1,780 $2,144 $2,509 41%
Gina Smith 807 Decatur, 2nd floor $1,925 $2,365 $2,805 46%
John Ryan Lafaye 807 Decatur, 3rd floor $1,650 $2,187 $2,723 65%
Douglas Ahlers 811 Decatur, 2nd floor $1,925 $2,365 $2,805 46%
Ken & Faye LeBlanc 811 Decatur, 3rd floor $1,780 $2,277 $2,773 56%
Louisiana State Museum*

Does not include rent for 503 St. Ann, 2nd floor, which is being vacated Feb. 1 and renovated. A spokesman said rent is to-be-determined for that uni
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Tear that wall down

Here’s a link to a story about when highways are removed from inner cities:
http://gizmodo.com/6-freeway-demolitions-that-changed-their-cities-forever-1548314937

This is an issue at the forefront in New Orleans because of the ramps to the Claiborne Expressway built in the 1960s, need to be repaired soon. “An option that’s been tossed around for awhile is to remove the overpass, restore a former tree-lined boulevard there and let traffic run along it and surrounding streets.”

It may be important to remember both the spur that was never built:

220px-New_Orleans_Riverfront_Expressway_Octopus

 

And the expressway that was:

images.duckduckgo

And what Claiborne used to look like:
images.duckduckgo
As long as we’re on this story again, I am always surprised by how many freethinkers still trot out the erroneous story of how the win to not build the Riverfront spur in the Quarter in the 1960s led to the Claiborne Expressway. Simply not true.

In any case, it’s time to focus on the positive benefits of taking down the Claiborne Expressway and make sure that more negative developments are not put in its place.

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NOPD shuts down Royal Street pedestrian mall after Paris attacks 

I wondered what had happened; and as someone who lives around the corner from the Royal St. mall, I think it’s a shame and not necessary. Some people might think this is a non-issue, but when closed, Royal was its own human-scaled village and added “eyes on the street” for 9-10 hours per day. That shutting this down as somehow being touted as being about safety is an example of policing that is not community based. The best precedent is probably the emergence of those massive streets in suburbs and newer cities put into place during the Cold War to allow militarized emergency vehicles ever more space but did not make us any safer.

(Update: the NOPD backed down the next day, but let’s stay vigilant folks!)

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Photographer Roy Guste’s joyous image of Royal Street activity during one of the many festivals that the Quarter hosts. Even in this crowded festival image (activity that is duplicated on streets across the city regularly) emergency vehicles can access these short blocks any number of ways.

Source: NOPD shuts down Royal Street pedestrian mall after Paris attacks | NOLA.com

 

 

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Parking meter hike outrage

Advocates of the parking meter hike claim that it will reduce vehicle congestion. As someone who lives and works in the French Quarter, I notice that taxis, delivery vans, motorcyclists, pedicabs, and freight trucks frequently cause most of the downtown traffic delays. Even if the parking meter hike encourages customers and tourists to ditch their cars, taxicabs and Uber drivers are likely to replace those vehicles, fish for new passengers and jam the streets again. Cabs always go where riders and fares are, and the parking meter hike will simply replace one type of congestion with another.

City Hall claims that the parking meter hike is not about money and is more of a public safety initiative to get traffic moving. There are at least three more important priorities for City Hall that would boost road safety more effectively. First, oversized buses and trucks continue to rumble through the narrow streets of the French Quarter, endangering sidewalks, streets, buildings, cars and bystanders. Second, businesses often put trash cans and dumpsters on the public right of way illegally, forcing pedestrians to walk on the street and hazardously share the road with automobiles. Lastly, aggressive panhandlers frequently block sidewalks, harass passers-by and clog intersections.

Finally, the new parking rules are alleged to be “good for business.” Parking lots would reap the biggest windfall from the parking meter hike. Remarkably, the hike would make operating a private parking facility — either as a surface parking lot or a garage with multiple levels of parking — more profitable, and it would slow down the conversion of parking lots to residential and mixed uses. Everyone can agree that New Orleans benefits when parking facilities are replaced with new high-rises full of families and offices. When public parking fees are increased, private parking lot operators benefit for free and can artificially raise prices because the baseline price of their product — parking — has just been increased.

The cost of enforcing the new parking policy is estimated at $1 million. That is $1 million of public funds that would be diverted away from schools, police and emergency rooms. Hiring extra meter maids would do nothing to alleviate the terrifying robberies, rapes, and murders that seemingly occur everyday. The city claims that economists and experts were consulted to craft the new parking rules; why not ask the working people of New Orleans first?

William Khan

Business Owner

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/opinion/14011982-123/letters-parking-meter-hike-in

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2015 St. Louis Cathedral Holiday Concerts

For more information about the St. Louis Cathedral Holiday Concerts call 504-522-5730 or go to www.fqfi.org.

– See more at: https://holiday.neworleansonline.com/traditions/st-louis-cathedral-concert-holiday-series/#sthash.dfLq8gnK.dpuf

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Rest In Peace Allen Toussaint

“I love optimism kinds of songs. Optimistic attitudes about things. I always think things are going to get better. My hope towards what can be here is always paramount for me … If I wind up that that’s my legacy, I would be very happy.” — Allen Toussaint

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New Study Confirms: “Share The Road” Is a Problem 

In sharp contrast to the complete uselessness of “Share The Road”, survey respondents who were shown the “Bicycle May Use Full Lane” sign showed uniformly high understanding of permissible cyclist lane positioning and appropriate safe passing behavior for motorists.

“Comprehension of the familiar “Share the Road” signage as a statement of bicyclists’ roadway rights has been challenged, based on arguments that it is ambiguous, imprecise, frequently misinterpreted, and not designed for that purpose…In fact, the US state of Delaware discontinued use of the “Share the Road” plaque in November, 2013.

Source: New Study Confirms: “Share The Road” Is a Problem | Bike Delaware Inc.