If the demolition of the DeJean house was an isolated act then perhaps the level of anger and frustration would be much less, but months ago a homeowner left this comment on my blog. You would think the City would educate itself to process and procedure by now.
Several paragraphs from the TP stuck out but these 2 more than others.
So it came as a surprise Friday when Erica DeJan, who is nearly eight months pregnant with her fourth child, found a sticker on the house stating that Mayor Ray Nagin’s administration had declared it a public health threat and planned to tear it down. She high-tailed it to City Hall, city-issued building permit in hand, and left with a letter stating that code-enforcement officials would consider her objection and, if they still deemed the property a candidate for the wrecking ball, would schedule a public hearing on the matter
There would have never been a public hearing on this matter because the house was outside of any Historic District. This is just another devastating example of the poor information disseminated by City Hall Employees. This issue is not about red tape or the owners fault to notify them she did not want her house torn down. This is the result of people who 1..Don’t care 2.Don’t know what the rules are.
UPDATE
The City should have provided the family with a “public hearing” which would have been more along the lines of a hearing before Code Enforcement and Safety and Permits. This did not happen and leaves many more questions as to the mechanisms at City Hall. If a building permit is pulled it should render the demolition permit inactive. What are the safeguards?
5 responses so far ↓
Mark Folse // Aug 17, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I wonder if enough of us report Nagin’s house as an iminent threat if it will eventially slip onto the list and be demolished. Perhaps then he could stir himself to give a shit.
e // Aug 17, 2008 at 1:05 pm
That’s a really good idea, Mark.
dangerblond.org » cognitive dissonance // Aug 17, 2008 at 7:07 pm
[…] Apparently, it took nearly a year for Inspector General Robert Cerasoli to get his phones hooked up because we have this terrible city workforce problem. So why is it that they never have a problem finding enough city workers to demolish houses? I’m just askin’. […]
Day 1087: Neither Here, Nor There : Maitri’s VatulBlog // Aug 18, 2008 at 5:41 pm
[…] On returning to New Orleans, I’ve discovered that the city wrongly demolished a home, Jessica Hawk (from Ohio) was found murdered in her home on the 3000 block of Chartres in the Bywater, two people were shot to death at an Uptown intersection where my friend takes frequent afternoon walks, McSame and Bush will make their obligatory New Orleans visits this week (for more cake, I’m sure) and, to top it all off, Mayor Ray Ray will be presented with âThe Award of Distinction For Recovery, Courage, and Leadership” by a group called âThe Excellence in Recovery Host Committee,” led by a prominent member of our City Council. I feel like a bit character in a poorly-reenacted mashup of The Enemy Within and Mirror Mirror set in New Orleans. […]
HumidCity » Blog Archive » For The Attention Span Challenged (Are You Listening, Ray?) // Aug 18, 2008 at 7:05 pm
[…] Via Vatul Blog: On returning to New Orleans, Iâve discovered that the city wrongly demolished a home, Jessica Hawk (from Ohio) was found murdered in her home on the 3000 block of Chartres in the Bywater, two people were shot to death at an Uptown intersection where my friend takes frequent afternoon walks, McSame and Bush will make their obligatory New Orleans visits this week (for more cake, Iâm sure) and, to top it all off, Mayor Ray Ray will be presented with âThe Award of Distinction For Recovery, Courage, and Leadershipâ by a group called âThe Excellence in Recovery Host Committee,â led by a prominent member of our City Council. I feel like a bit character in a poorly-reenacted mashup of The Enemy Within and Mirror Mirror set in New Orleans. […]
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