Save Black and Working-Class New Orleans

CALL TO ACTIONS – SAVE BLACK AND WORKING-CLASS NEW ORLEANS
January 11-12 [2008]

STOP THE DEMOLITIONS OF BEAUTIFUL HOUSING

On December 20, 2007 the seven-member New Orleans' City Council voted unanimously to demolish 4534 apartments on four of the city's Public Housing Developments: B. W. Cooper (Calliope), C. J. Peete (Magnolia), Lafitte, and St. Bernard. These apartments had been home to more than 15,000 mostly working-class residents before levees failed and New Orleans was flooded after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, over the past two years of shameful neglect and criminal priorities, as tens of thousands have been kept out or forced out of New Orleans, rents have risen in this city by more than 60%. Agencies' and developers plans state that less than 800 low-income apartments will replace the 4534 that are to be destroyed.

ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, AND SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, ACTIONS [TOOK] PLACE IN MANY LOCATIONS. IN NEW ORLEANS AND OUTSIDE NEW ORLEANS, TO SUPPORT A CONVERGENCE OF RETURNING RESIDENTS. JOIN THEM! JOIN US!

OUR ACTIONS INVOLVE[D]:...

• GATHERING IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT UNDER INTERSTATE 10 ("THE BRIDGE") AT CANAL STREET AND CLAIBORNE AVENUE
• BREAKFAST AT THE WESLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ON JACKSON AT MAGNOLIA STREET ("CENTRAL CITY")
• RECOVERY OF RESIDENTS' BELONGINGS AT ONE OR MORE PUBLIC-HOUSING SITES [including] ST. BERNARD
• RALLY WITH MUSIC AND SPEECHES ... AT WASHINGTON PARK, ROYAL ST. AND ELYSIAN FIELDS AVE.
• SECOND-LINE MARCH THROUGH FRENCH QUARTER AND BEYOND TO HAND OUT FLYERS AND OTHERWISE INFORM PUBLIC
• ANTI-DEMOLITION AT B.W. COOPER (CALLIOPE), GALVEZ AND ERATO STS.

BOYCOTT TARGETS

• Catholic Charities/Providence Community Housing (responsible for Lafitte demolition)
• The Chase Bank
• New Orleans Times-Picayune

EXPERT OPINIONS

• New York Times writer on Architecture Nicolal Ouroussoff: 'Locked out of the planning process, they [Public Housing residents] fear the planned demolitions are part of a broad effort to prevent displaced poor people from returning to New Orleans....'; '... the vague notion of a "fresh start" is invoked to justify erasing entire communities.'
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor of Architecture John Fernandez on the Cooper (Calliope), Peete (Magnolia), Lafitte, and St. Bernard Dewvelopments: '... the overall construction methods and materials are far superior in their resistance to hurricanes than typical new construction and with renovations and regular maintenance the lifetimes of the buildings in all four projects promise decades of continued service that may be extended indefinitely.’

 

WEBSITES

commongroundrelief.org
future5000.com
justiceforneworleans.org
neworleans.indymedia.org
nodozers.org
rebuildgreen.org
revcom.us
towardfreedom.com

More than 100 organizations support the Gulf Coast Recovery Act of 2007, which provides that no demolition shall occur till the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) devises a plan to replace ALL (one-for-one) of the apartments that are to be demolished.

Previous Actions

[Editor's note: The actions above built on previous activities the month before. Below are some of those.]

• Sunday, December 9. We will walk [from the St. Bernard Housing Development] to Mayor Nagin's house.  We will contact the press only once we are already gathered and on our way.   Bring noisemakers and banners.
• Monday, Dec 10. Gather ... on steps outside City Hall; press conference, HCDRC—agenda includes review demolition of Lafitte, CJ Peete, BW Cooper ...  Police presence is expected to be increased and so we will have to be strategic to get people inside; meeting of faith leaders...  Orientation and political education primarily for out of town folks coming in to support but everyone welcome to town—location:Worker Resource Center.
• Tuesday, Dec. 11.  Nonviolent Civil Disobedience training ... at Worker Resource Center...
• Wednesday, Dec. 12.  Mobilization and prep day.
• Thursday, Dec. 13. Mass mobilization and Direct Action day 1.
• Friday, Dec. 14     Mass Mobilization and Direct Action Day 2.
• Saturday, Dec. 15  Mass Mobilization and Direct Action Day 3.