Protesters halt demolition at New Orleans public housing

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

Protesters wielding bullhorns and shouting "housing is a human right" stopped demolition at a massive public housing complex Wednesday in this hurricane-ravaged city in dire need of homes for the poor.

More than 30 protesters blocked an excavator from entering the fenced-off area of the B.W. Cooper complex. It was the first of what likely will be many standoffs between protesters and demolition crews that are tearing down hundreds of barracks-style buildings so they can be replaced with mixed-income neighborhoods.

Cooper is one of several housing complexes where thousands of residents have not been allowed to return to their homes since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. With a growing homeless population and high rents, housing for the poor has become a defining issue for New Orleans.

After Katrina, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development accelerated its plans to raze Cooper and three others across the city to take advantage of tax credits made available after the 2005 storm.

Read more: http://www.katc.com/global/story.asp?s=7490091

[Cha]

1. Some classy protesters

down there in New Orleans!!

[gatorboy]

2. Demolition for a tax credit?

What fucking vultures.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

3. are the buildings even fit for habitation?

I saw a lot of protests over the years when I was involved with an activist lawyer and very often the buildings the protestors wanted to save were derelict public health disasters unfit for the rodent residents let alone those who were adamant they wished to occupy the building.

[balantz]

4. Not sure if they are fit to live in,

but I think there is question as to affordable replacement housing if these are gone.

[pitohui]

17. no they're not fit to live in and you wouldn't be willing to live there

nobody on DU would let their mom live in such a place

it's shameful how even progressives can't be above politics and they'll throw away human health and safety for a political point

people, we're better than this

i've lived in a new orleans a few decades now and these places weren't fit for human habitation even before katrina, to say they are "untouched" is lying by omission and the people doing it need to grow a conscience, honestly

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. And it is so much better just to put people on the street!

:sarcasm:

[MessiahRp]

5. Most of these were untouched by Katrina

Greg Palast had a great report that aired on the LINK network in which he showed the public housing. The flood waters never touched them and they were boarded up and residents were prohibited from returning. The plan was that HUD was taking the property because of it's location and high market value and using it to build for higher income target residents (I believe in cooperation with the local casinos).

This has nothing to do with inhabitability, it has everything to do with greed.

Rp

[intheflow]

7. Here's the link to that Palast clip:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7BN7BOSNcEM

In Mississippi, they kicked people out of undamaged public housing units so they could raze entire complexes and build new complexes from scratch. Of course the replacement units won't all be HUD housing, so in a place where there wasn't enough affordable housing before Katrina, they kicked people out of some of the few remaining affordable units. :grr: They did that last year, but Mississippi Housing Authority won't give an timeline as to when the work would be started, much less completed. :grr: :grr:

[uppityperson]

8. Yes, with minor work.

They weren't flooded, just blocked up. And the basis, the bones, the structure, of the buildings are good.

[lynnertic]

14. They are.

Harry Shearer writes about New Orleans a lot on the Huffington Post, if you want more info on Post-Katrina NO... and check out his radio show too at http://www.harryshearer.com

I also saw pics of the project yesterday. Nice and tidy. IIRC residents cleaned it up themselves.

[Diamond Dave]

6. Just talked to someone who tt Ann Wright today. Ann is there in NO taking

part.

I do love and respect Col. Wright. She is a true patriot who loves her country and stands for justice.

[annm4peace]

9. I wrote my congress person tonight

I cut and pasted parts of amy Goodman's Democracy Now transcripts from here interview with those at the protest and sent them to my Representative. Asked him to speak out and Join maxine waters to stop the bulldozing.
I'll call my media tomorrow.

[annm4peace]

10. Mostly Single mothers and Single Grandmothers

They said that it is mostly Single mothers and GRandmothers with kids who lived in these Apartments. now they are living on the street and at Salvation army.

Shameful, Shameful, Shameful

[Diamond Dave]

12. I have been out most of the day, I have not heard of DN's interview till now.

My day is packed, racked and stacked tomorrow, but I will contact a few key friends of mine or at least attempt to.

Contact Quigley if you can. This man, this attorney, he is leading the charge.

Thank you for all you are doing. It really is up to us, "the people", it is "tea party" time. Peace and non-violence.

Peace.

[Pastiche423]

11. YEA protesters!

I hope their numbers grow and grow. What has been done to the people that once lived and have not been allowed back, is inhumane.

[SeattleGirl]

13. Good for them!

Fucking land grabbers! Stop 'em in their tracks!

There is very little wrong with a lot of the public housing in NOLA, except for the fact that many of the people who inhabited the housing are poor and - GAS - brown skinned.

God damned assholes. I hope the protesters win!

[KamaAina]

15. Geaux Protesters!

This is not something new that they came up with after the Federal Flood. They had already done it, pre-K, to the St. Thomas project, now known as "River Garden". Few of the original tenants ever got apartments there, and it was mostly those with connections in the tenant association (this is New Orleans, after all).

But hey, the new complex is anchored by a Wal-Mart! (the very one whose gun section was looted/"found" after the storm). :sarcasm:

[cal04]

16. N.O. housing demolition protests gear up

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KATRINA_PUBLIC_HOUSING?SITE=LABAT&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-12-13-11-19-09

In normal times, redevelopment of public housing to make way for mixed-income neighborhoods might have gone largely unopposed. But passions are high in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, where residents are desperate for cheap housing.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to demolish about 4,500 public housing units at four of the city's largest complexes and replace them with mixed-income neighborhoods.

Protesters have marched on Mayor Ray Nagin's home and disrupted City Council proceedings with chants.

(snip)
On Thursday, civil rights lawyers also filed an 11th-hour suit in state court after a federal court suit failed to derail the demolition plan.

Protesters were able to temporarily halt crews from demolishing decrepit buildings at the B.W. Cooper housing site on Thursday. They vow to continue disrupting work there and at other sites around the city.

The protesters have won the blessing of one presidential contender, John Edwards.

[NuttyFluffers]

19. good for them. displacement and homelessness for greed is wrong

let alone unhealthy trailers oozing hazardous fumes make a very poor downgrade. good, the people should fight back and reclaim their city. heck, we all pay into a bit of it, we should be demanding we get the most out of our investment. if it still stands, and is still safe, we should let it keep housing people.