Squandered Heritage

One of the most traumatic events of my life was being diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2005. Being uninsured and throwing Katrina into the mix was pretty stressful and I am grateful that I lived to tell the tale.

This piece says it best

Please call

Senator Landrieu’s D.C. office line: (202)224-5824

New Orleans office: (504) 589-2427

Part 1

..Or how many days do you have to clean up the mess you left behind after the City demolished the houses you have neglected for years?

I think when I die the addresses of these 2 houses will be the last words uttered, like Rosebud, but instead it will be Belfast..

Here is the before

and here is the after:

and I don’t mean right after…I mean about 5 days after. I was told by the City that they had to tear the houses down because “children” were walking by, thus the urgency, the same sense of urgency to haul away the mold infested, rusty nail, debris laden carcass of 2 houses seems to have lessened as time goes on.

In spite of the City ordinance which states that you have 48 hours to complete the work and haul away the debris, this stands.

Does the owner have some special “pull” down at Perdido?

Here is his church as advertised on his website

Well maybe not actually as advertised. They don’t mention that it is a sandlot.

But that does not deter Rev. Toris Young, who has been convicted of identity theft and fraud perhaps the fraud was actually raising funds to build a church that does not exist.

Also of interest is the claim on his site of partnering with the National Guard.

So it was of great interest when I saw that the Commitee to Recall Cao was going to hold a Press Conference on the S.Claiborne site owned by Congressman Cao.

All I have to say is people who promote blight should not be calling anyone out for it, especially when you have done jail time.
I wasn’t playing political games when I wrote the piece but am not shocked or surprised that they are using the spot to hold a 2 p.m. Press conference.

From: Minister Aubry Wallace [ministerwallace@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 3:38 PM

Subject: Fwd: Recall Anh Cao Press Conference, Tuesday, June 23, 2:00 p.m., on public sidewalk at 3718 - 20 South Claiborne Avenue, site of Anh Cao owned slum property

For Immediate release:


Press Conference: Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
Location: 3718 - 20 South Claiborne Avenue, New Orleans,
Purpose: Update on lawsuit against Louisiana officials, Request for City Inspector General Inquiry

The Recall Anh Cao Committee announces a press conference for Tuesday, June 23 (tomorrow) to update citizens on effort to recall Congressman Anh Cao. This press conference will take place on the public sidewalk in front of the site of slum property that has been owned and neglected for two years - since June 22, 2007 - by Anh Cao. The property is located at 3718 - 20 South Claiborne Avenue. The time for the press conference is 2:00 p.m.

The Anh Cao Recall Committee announces that on this Friday, June 26, its member and legal team representatives will meet in a pre-trial hearing with Civil District Court Judge Hon. Michael Bagneris. Representatives of the Office of the Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell and of the Office of Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne will attend this meeting. More details will be provided on tomorrow.

The Louisiana Attorney General has stymied our citizen-led recall effort through its politically motivated and erroneous ruling that Louisiana’s citizens do not have a right to recall our elected members of the U.S. House of Representatives. There is no written law - state or federal - that prohibits the recall of members of Congress elected by Louisianians. We move forward to secure this right for all of Louisiana’s citizens. This argument has national significance.

* * * * * *

The properties at 3718 - 20 and 3728 - 30 South Claiborne Avenue, located in Council District B and owned by U.S. Representative Anh Cao, symbolize why he must be removed from office. While Cao seeks billions in earmarks but hypocritically votes against President Obama’s bugetary measures needed to help this nation recover from economic recession, he also slows the recovery of this region, by serving as a derelict, neglectful owner of property in dire need of repair at a time when we seek additional funding from the federal government to continue this region’s recovery.

We are calling on the City of New Orleans Inspector General to launch an investigation into whether Anh Cao and his wife received favorable treatment from any City officials or agencies relative to follow up inspections, fines, penalties or permits after inspections by City Code Enforcement officials relative to the property at 3718 - 3720 South Claiborne. That property was demolished today, barely two weeks after the commencement of media attention to its existence as a blighted property.

* * * * * *

For more information contact Rev. Toris Young, 444-8190, cellular.

Here is a photo of this house as it stood 2 years ago.

Somehow the owners managed to avoid fines for not maintaining it, or cleaning it out and the end result is this

Makes you wonder….

The mystery of how this family has been able to continue to perpetrate blight was made a little clearer with this comment.

From the comments at American Zombie

Churchwell is connected to two local businessmen named George Chin and Egbert Ming. According to state campaign finance records, these two appear to have provided the additional $20,000 to Nagin’s campaign in May, 2006 in addition to the $80,000 that Churchwell’s Tennessee folks kicked in, for a total of $100,000. Their donations were made within a day of Churchwell’s.

Chin and Ming own the buildings at 3500 and 3600 St Charles. There’s a lot of connections that flow outward from there, along with their many, many businesses (check them out on the Louisiana Secretary of State site). One of the businesses located there is JNE Enterprises (it’s in 3500), which has received millions in FEMA-funded City of New Orleans largesse as the city’s Tactical Trash Force contractor.

One of the less obvious connections to Churchwell (but a key one) is that Chin is an owner of Orleans Dodge in NO East. This can be found by googling and getting to here:

http://www.nola.com/katrina/pages/102805/1028B02.pdf

Orleans Dodge is the dealer that was hooked up with Churchwell’s company (Mid-South Auction & Real Estate Co.) that was domiciled in 3500 St Charles. In fact, it was domiciled in the same office as JNE Enterprises - Suite 204.

The firmest connection is through another company, Global Environmental Recycling, which was domiciled at 3600 St Charles (i.e. Chin & Ming). It lists Orleans Dodge (i.e. Chin) and Mid-South Auction (i.e. Churchwell) as members.

This isn’t directly related, but at one time, Chin and Ming did business with Alvarez Ferrouilet. Ferrouilet was convicted in a scheme to illegally launder campaign contributions to Henry Espy, brother of Clinton Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. Ferrouilet and his co-conspirators were pardoned by Clinton in 2001.

Finally,keep an eye on this:
http://www.squanderedheritage.com/2009/06/13/how-to-destroy-a-house/

The home (and the one next door) is owned by the Chin family (specifically George Chin’s brother Walter), and both have a demolition applications pending. The contractor on the permits is Back Home Construction, owned by George Chin and Egbert Ming. The demolitions have been denied twice before.

The properties are apparently the bequest of their father, Gin Sing Chin, who died last year (Gin S Chin is listed as the owner in the assessor’s database):

http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/orleans/obits/2008/2008-03.txt

It is possible George Chin is having cash flow problems. Orleans Dodge is one of the Chrysler dealers that lost its franchise agreement this month. The demolition permit applications appeared around the same time as that announcement

Also here is another one of the homes owned by this family.

This house has been the subject of interest from the neighborhood for almost 4 years. The owners are also responsible for the mess on the first block of Apple St.. They are, repeat offenders.

2 days ago the house collapsed. The owners had tried to obtain a FEMA funded demolition, sometimes called Free Demo, free because the owner does not pay but the taxpayer does. And not only does the taxpayer pay, the City pays as well in the loss of a viable home and the illusion of recovery money. Those costs will be treated as dollars spent towards the recovery, even if it is a bulldozer and a guy with a hose.

So the neighborhood requested that the owners repair the house, or at the very least clean out the flooded contents. Almost 4 years later..the moldering contents still sit..because they never lifted one finger to clean out the house. Nor repair the roof which FEMA was unable to tarp because of the slate tiles.

It would seem that the damage to the roof allowed water to enter the house and eventually the damage created a weakness which led to the house collapse. Since the front door was never secured there also may have been some “help” in creating a situation where the house was encouraged to collapse.

There is more to come on this story…….

I remember the first time I met Herman Beasley. It was at a community event at Xavier. There were very few people, in fact the meeting was held in a second floor boardroom. At the time the distrust was acute, people were still shell shocked and struggling to come home. We were being thrust into a planning process that was met with suspicion, fear and annoyance. And there was Beasley, working the room like a U.N. ambassador. You could not help but be charmed.

Over the next 3 plus years he has been a staple of our neighborhood meetings and in many ways the center. His charm was just a small part of who he was; it was just the first layer, but underneath there was a man brimming with pride for his family, for his wife who posses great talent and has turned the inside of their modest home into a work of art with her painting.

He was also a man who brought on the proper amount of rage, after the murder of a crack dealer in the house next door in early 2007 Mr. Beasley expressed his frustration and anger and sadness. When a tornado ripped through the neighborhood he took in his elderly next door neighbor in the immediate aftermath. His concern was obvious. His compassion real and his leadership unmistakable.

He was the most important person to many and this photo of him with his “World’s Best Grandpa” sweatshirt proves to me that he was the most important person at home, where it really counts. We have great leadership in this City in the person of Herman Beasley. That is what we all know. When our elected officials let us down it is most important to remember Herman Beasley, the man who makes living here worth it.

He passed away at home with his wife by his side, and I am sure a platoon of love was surrounding him.

It is interesting that Congressman Cao led a tour of Charity today to illustrate the damage done to Charity by the storm.

I was watching the NCDC meeting interested to see what would happen to these 2 properties which were on the agenda.

and this gem

Sale Date 22-JUN-07
Sale Price $40,000

Both of these properties are in terrible shape, but like my own home which flooded they are probably in a lot worse shape than they were In August of 2005. In fact I remember being told by my insurance company that if we didn’t do everything in our power to mitigate the damage we would be looking at a deeply reduced payout from our homeowners policy.

And both of these properties are owned by Congressman Cao here we have bllght brought to you by our own Congressman. In a City struggling to recover and prosper the first rule of thumb should be, “first do no harm”.

So how is it that Mr Cao begs for more FEMA money for Charity which he claims to have endured millions of dollars in damage, he can be foisting his own form of blight with his own properties on his constituents in Central City?

His plans for the site? A strip mall.

Any questions? Contact his new Director of Communications

One of my favorite neighbors and community activist Herman Beasley had a stroke this weekend. He is in the ICU and responding well.

Take care Mr. Beasley..we miss you.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Peabody Awards. I was unable to bring my personal photographer Bernardo so there are only a few photos of the actual event.

But first of all I am wondering how this major media event let the facts slip by and published my name as Monica.

In order to catch up with the hype I am now ADDING the name Monica as my new spy name.

Monica Gadbois
Amateur Investigator.

Lee Zurik presented a tightly crafted and well thought out speech, we had been told that they cut the mic after 45 seconds but that was proven to be false or empirical evidence suggests that, for when Jeanne-Claude and Christo took the stage another one in their troop commandeered the mic for what seemed like an hour until Jeanne-Claude gave him a smack.

Here is what I know with my view from the stage..Wolf Blitzer was on his Blackberry the whole time and I am pretty sure he was playing brick breaker. Ari Velchi was sitting behind us and he did not screech at any point in time. Gwenn Ifill grabbed my hand when I walked by her and congratulated me, I am pretty sure she recognized that I was wearing new shoes and wanted to let me know she was proud of me for not keeling over.

All in all it was really fun but I am putting New York on notice DO NOT think you can serve us cold over cooked chicken and we will not notice.

This is the song that doesn’t end,
yes it goes on and on my friend.
Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was,
and they’ll continue singing it forever just because…

Just like the song the story of this sidewalk is one that does not know how to stop.

Here is an example of what most of us try and navigate as we attempt to be pedestrians in this “walkable” City.

It is difficult to tell in the photo but the depth of the damage to the sidewalk was about 6 inches. If you were walking it at night or were impaired in some way you would fall over. If might even be an economic development tool here in New Orleans for injured pedestrians to sue.

Here is another one..

I like the ad hoc homemade nature of this one it seems to suit the neighborhood which is half wrecked.

This sidewalk is a good example of the misuse of space..

People always complain about pedestrians in the streets but when the cars are on the sidewalks you have little to no choice.

Here is a nice example of street talk..

and this

Which may be a bit vulgar but is direct and to the point and is the same in public as it is in private.

Which leads us to this sidewalk which by City standards is breaking all sorts of laws.

But instead of actually fining people who turn the front yard into a driveway they have decided to continue to harass these women for the joyfully painted sidewalk in front of the house. Click here to read the letter to the owners and the story behind the sidewalk.

Over the last 2 years I have run into the work of Arthur Raymond Smith.

The first time I saw it I recognized the painting on the house as belonging to a pattern of expression one finds in “naive” artists.

I was reminded of the work of Don Eduardo, an artist who lives in San Miguel de Allende where I used to live. When I first met Don Eduardo it was in the early 90’s and he was living in a hovel on the grounds of an old tattered colonial home in the center of town. He told me that he used to work in a factory in Mexico City chroming bumpers. I imagine that this build up of chrome did some serious damage to Don Eduardo’s health.

You can see there is a more restrained quality to the sculptural works of Don Eduardo but his dwelling was filled with more insistent marks which included covering his entire wardrobe with marks.

My husband, Jon Schooler exhibited with Do Eduardo in the mid 90’s and it was one of the more interesting pairings I have ever seen.

The shared language of these 2 artists is most interesting because you know there is no formal ability to share artistic language and that the impulse comes from a deeper automatic place.

The house on Music St has since been demolished by the City of New Orleans, but you can still see Arthur’s work at the Carrollton cemetery.

The last few years have been especially difficult for our elderly population. My mother in law took a fall right near City Hall while trying to make sense of some City Hall snafu.

Her fall resulted in a smashed to smithereens elbow which led to surgery and ongoing rehabilitation. Bouncing back at 83 is no small feat and in addition to her destroyed elbow she broke a number of teeth.

So with morale at an all time low, even more so than when she was exiled out of her house, it was an especially nice touch when a local demolition contractor called her to ask her if she wanted to demolish this:

This little shotgun has been repaired and occupied since 2006 and is no where near in need of being razed.

So why did they call? Well I imagine they called because the steady stream of City initiated FEMA funded demolitions has ceased and they are looking for work.

I have heard from other sources that New Orleans Demolition is sending letters to people who have had code enforcement violations. This company has been at the forefront of the demolition craze.

Interestingly enough I found this article about the owners of the company in a firewall protected issue of the Boston Globe.

Two former Brookline residents pleaded guilty yesterday to charges relating to their role in a land flip scheme in the Boston area. Wayne Weisler and Susan Taylor, who are now residents of New Orleans, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. During the period of September 1988 to September 1991, Weisler and Taylor undertook a scheme to “flip” 41 properties in eastern Massachusetts, primarily in Brighton and Allston, federal prosecutors said. A land flip occurs when a property is bought and sold several times in quick succession, using fraudulently inflated property values to obtain excessive mortgages.

I am still unsure if this company is the one that called my mother in law, I left a message and my call has not yet been returned.

There has been a movement to Save the San Luis

Some of the events have been organized by a New Orleans Blogger who writes about Preservation in his home town of St Louis at Dotage

Matthew has an interesting thesis in the works where he discusses new media and preservation.

The story of the San Luis is an interesting one and also illustrates the voracious need for parking lots or should I say desire. People seem to have a greater understanding of the need to park a car than they do of receiving health care or decent schools. The car seems to be the number one fetish object in this country.

So after the Archdiocese spends a million dollars to destroy the San Luis they will have created an urban heat sink. I hope they at least think enough to dedicate this parking lot to someone like they did here in New Orleans.

Miss Ellen’s house after she was gone

I went by the other day and wondered if my quest to remember what had been was now a curse because while others may ride by and see a vacant lot I see the outline of a house.

A house with quite a story, and as I stopped to look and take a picture one of her cats came to the gate, remembering as well.

Michelle Kimball at the PRC has compiled the photos for next weeks NCDC meeting. To view them go here

I saw Dr. John a few weeks ago at a community meeting about the reopening of Charity.

Not my best photo but there he was sitting quietly in a pew listening to the speakers.

Today this ad was released.

Looks like there is more than one Doctor that would like to see Charity open.

This is one of the properties on the agenda. To view the full agenda

3 creole cottages sit on the corner of Iberville and N.Galvez remarkably close to the proposed LSU/VA site.

A year or so ago there were 4 early one morning I received a call from a neighbor reporting the demolition illegally executed without the proper permits. And at various times over the past year the owner has attempted to demolish the remaining properties.

Most recently he has appealed a denial to City Council for permission to demolish and has some concern that the City is trying to take the property using Code Enforcement. as the tool of choice. Looking at the map I can see that this strip of houses is close to the proposed LSU/VA project and some funds have been set aside for this area after the complexes are built. Those funds could be used as an incentive to locate support services and housing for employees of the center.

This interesting case shows not just the effect of the massive LSU/VA project on the immediate area but the stresses it radiates out to the immediate and adjacent neighborhoods.

To see the {almost} complete agenda

This meeting will take place Monday March 2 at City Hall in Council chambers. Always a good time.

Have you noticed these markings on the sidewalk and curbs?

New bright orange paint, this is a way to tell which property is owned by the Louisiana Land Trust aka Road Home. These properties are going to end up in the hands of NORA and this week marks the first time we have seem them show up on the NCDC agenda scheduled for this coming Monday.

Here is a a sneak peek of what is on the agenda.

Errr, isn’t this the kind of house we are supposed to build? A solid raised house with an unflooded top floor. This must be worth more than a vacant lot?

And this one

And this one that looks like it needs a little work…

But this is just the start of the avalanche.

On a comical note notice the legal notice announcing the impending hearing in which they will discuss the intention to demolish this demolished property.

They took all the trees And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see ‘em
Don’t it always seem to go,
That you don’t know what you’ve got
‘Til it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

It seems some people believe it is a God given right to park in the front yard, as close to the door as possible in spite of the fact that there is already an ordinance that addresses the issue.

Meanwhile in Houston

Kind of makes you wonder if this is car “profiling” That is if you park your Lexus on the front lawn is that better than a beat up Caprice.

In the war of pedestrians and car, the walker seldom wins

TASK FORCE BLASTS NOPD LEADERSHIP
-
‘SHOCKING’ LACK OF TRAINING

Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA)-June 4, 1994

Many of the report’s conclusions echoed observations already uncovered by the media, harped on by council members and emphasized by blue-ribbon panels: Abysmal morale, a department that can’t keep its patrol cars operating, a bloated staff that puts beat cops at desks and a management staff that is unaware of or unwilling to address the problems of a seriously undisciplined force

to read the full article

I have been thinking a lot about our crime situation and the ongoing frustration that citizens have when they try and improve the situation in their neighborhoods. I received this message this morning on a list serve.

I’m ready to march if needed. I had a similar story. Only it happened to me. After complaining for the 2nd time in a year about the “slum lords” garbage out in the street; two policemen tried to harass me into an argument over garbage pick up!. I was handcuffed, and hauled down to central lock up. (I mentioned that I was going to report him.) It was a cruel experience for me. Barbara Schmidt

Ironically I was attending a meeting of the NCDC which oversees demolition. The Barreca family was there trying to get one of their houses torn down. They drag along some poster board and try and make it sound like they are pillars of the Community. Invoking the name of Chep Morrison as an example of their community involvement. Chep Morrison who died in 1964.

Funnily enough when I went looking for information on the death of Chep Morrison this paragraph jumped out at me.

Throughout most of the 1950s, scandals continued to emerge concerning the involvement of the NOPD in graft and vice. Not only was the NOPD accused of refusing to stop prostitution and gambling, but there was evidence of NOPD involvement in protection rackets for vice operations. In 1952, the Metropolitan Crime Commission was established as an independent monitor of the NOPD and the Morrison administration’s approach to vice. State Police Colonel Francis Grevemberg, later a two-time gubernatorial candidate, led a series of high-profile raids on New Orleans gambling establishments that embarrassed Morrison and the NOPD for its inactivity. Eventually, Aaron Kohn was sent from Chicago to investigate NOPD involvement in vice; he soon complained that Morrison was obstructing his efforts. Morrison refused to fire Joseph Schuering, the NOPD superintendent implicated in the scandals, until sustained political pressure forced the mayor to ask for Schuering’s resignation in 1955

All of the stories here are told in a cyclical nature with new names replacing the old and former business and property owners refusing to see that they are now the problem.

Good news for Shushan Airport. Especially considering yesterdays New York Times piece about the demolition of many of the WPA projects.

The details of this building are very significant to the period. the Enrique Alferez details are a real standout.

And the series of murals are breathtaking.

It has the potential to be a magnificent space once again and that is cause for celebration.