Squandered Heritage

The current Imminent Danger Demolition List from the City of New Orleans contains about 1700 properties. If you did not see the public notice in the newspaper, the list is linked here.

As we can see from these two homes, some houses may be on the list erroneously. We have included a link to instructions on how to get your house removed from the list.

IF you need urgent assistance, please leave a comment, we can email you back and get your personal information and give you a hand in working with the City Agency to get your home removed from this list.

The City of New Orleans Imminent Danger List

How to Appeal the Demolition of Your Home

On the City’s Website:
http://www.cityofno.com/portals/portal2/resources/

As of Aug. 7, 2007, Squandered Heritage Has 723 Photographs Of Properties on The Imminent Danger List:

Karen’s Set

Laureen’s Set

Randall’s Set

HDLC

Historic District Landmarks Commission Meeting Agenda
May 11th, 2007
City Council Chambers 9:30 a.m.
City Hall

RESULT: Approved

Joseph Tolliver, owner, represented by the Housing Unit Demolition Task Force. Right now, we are in the vortex of the demolition process we could see coming 6 months ago.

It could be an Imminent Danger declaration at the City level that brings this to the agenda or a FEMA demolition. Because of the timing, I think it’s a FEMA list, voluntary application, for a taxpayer sponsored demolition. In the minds of the owners, these are FREE demolitions. There is no free demolition. The taxpayers pay or a lien is put on the remaining vacant lot.

Even though this building has been altered in design from it’s original contributing status as an architecturally important structure, at one point it was contributing. Regardless of the provenance of demolition, there will be a lingering and unrecompensable cost to our city’s architectural heritage that is lost forever. The Imminent Danger properties listed by the city as part of their code enforcement program are just now going coming to the point where they will actually be demolished.

Nevertheless, this demolition is not due to Katrina. It’s due to neglect. It’s a lack of responsibility on the part of the owners to maintain or sell the property, and also many years of complete lack of real code enforcement in New Orleans.

Behind the Court House, across from the Falstaff Brewery

We left on August 28. It was one of those days that are forever in your memory. Bumping down the streets at 6 am to pick my daughter up at a friends house. Looking at everything and everyone as long as hard as I could. I have never seen so many people out so early. Everyone I saw was packing up the car, no one looked at you, everyone glanced, and then looked away.

People always complain about the potholes, I have always loved them. They make you go slow, they allow you time to look.

We drove over the Huey P with every intention of returning in 3 days. Just like everyone else.

We went to Houston, and then Austin. It took me 3 months to get back and that was just for a weekend.

While we were evacuated and waiting I looked for a photo of my house, the house that I have always called the Titanic, a raised sidehall shotgun.

I have never counted the steps from the back porch to the front but I think about it everytime I walk to answer the doorbell. I used to think about it more often before the storm cause the kids in the Neighborhood would ring the bell and pester me. I let them pester me, I encouraged them to pester me. I have no idea where they are now.

People told me my house was fine, and I knew it was fine. I knew there was 4 feet of water downstairs but I also knew the house was over built. It could withstand, it was built to withstand. But still at night I would wake up with my heart racing, what if people were lying? What if it the mold had eaten away at the downstairs door and made a dash upstairs and went after my house like one of those flesh eating viruses.

Where would I ever find a house that I loved as much as this house?

This is what I thought most houses would look like

And while there are houses that look like this, there are many many houses that have held up more or less like my house.

Aside from the 4 feet of water in the downstairs and the leaks in the ceiling the ripped off screens on the back porch, aside from the dead trees and yard filled with burnt timber from the catastrophe on Pritchard Place, aside from the lack of care, my house on Apricot Street looks good. It is missing the front awning and has a sad naked look. I loved that awning, it was a reminder of my Aunt Idas house in Saugus Mass. She had those awnings.

The great part of this story is that my house survived. A little beat up, and no longer a flood virgen but in one piece. We moved back in. I wondered what happens to houses that are not lucky enough to have someone to love them. And that is the reason I wander around looking for the houses people want to knock down.

APPROVED FOR DEMOLITION

Housing Conservation District Review Committee
Meeting Agenda
August 28, 2006
10 a.m., Room 7E07 City Hall

Property under review

Mid-City 208-10 N. Jefferson Davis Pkwy

Owner Hoa Nguyen Van has applied to demolish this Neo-Classical Revival shotgun double residence to be replaced with a new single family residence of no specific style or type. No redevelopment plan has been submitted.