B37AcV Equity in Rebuilding, Housing, New Orleans

Gentrification on a Rampage in the 9th Ward. Let’s at least stop the SUN Yards Hotel.

Our local mechanic greeted us today with the fact that he’s gotta move because his rent went up to $5,000 per month, on St Claude across from Kipp at Colton School.  Sigh.

The good news is that there is a fight that has won so far against GENTRIFICATION and it needs one more play to win.

Please call and email and come out to the next city council meeting on the 27th for 10am if you can to fight the Sun Yards Hotel.

Thanks!

City Council Phone Numbers:

Latoya Cantrell:  504-658-1020

Jared Brossett:  504-658-1040

Stacy Head:  504-658-1060

Jason Williams: 504-658-1070

Susan Guidry: 504-658-1010

James Gray: 504-658-1058

Nadine Ramsey: 504-658-1030

City Council Emails:

Stacy Head  shead@nola.gov

Jason Williams jasonwilliams@nola.gov

Susan Guidry sgguidry@nola.gov

LaToya Cantrell lcantrell@nola.gov

Nadine Ramsey districtc@nola.gov

Jared Brossett councildistrictd@nola.gov

James Gray jagray@nola.gov

WHY?

*Someone has to Fight Gentrification!  How many more New Orleanians will be pushed out?

*This neighborhood has several large apt/condo projects jammed into every empty warehouse left in it.  Nothing for residents, only developers.

  • When the Sun Yard developers purchased this property they chose not to renew the leases for the residents living in the 7 rental properties in these 4 historic homes, displacing families, artists, and long-term neighborhood residents. The houses have been sitting empty, deteriorating, ever since.
  • This 37 room hotel/event space/restaurant/outdoor pool/ bar is an out-of-scale development for a residential neighborhood
  • Operations of this hotel and event space will directly impact the quality of life, well being, and ability to enjoy their homes and neighborhood for the dozen+ adjacent neighbors in terms of noise and privacy. Moreover, the noise, traffic, garbage and vermin intrusions that come with such a project will have ripple affects in the surrounding blocks and the neighborhood at large.
  • this out-of-scale commercial development is definitively for visitors, not residents, as it is principally a hotel
  • this out-of-scale development further taxes a neighborhood stretched thin by Air B&B conversions, will increase our house taxes, and will exacerbate the difficulty for residents to remain in their homes
  • this project has inadequate parking: 12 space and one ADA space for a 90+ person occupancy hotel, restaurant, event space and 30 employees is utterly insufficient
  • no commitment to limiting the number of events other than “no more than one wedding a week”
  • approximately 80% of the provisos offered are reiterations of city law
  • the only ask of neighbors is to keep the back portion of this lot, currently zoned residential, residential.  We ask that the developers redesign their plans so that the hotel is located on the section of the property which is zoned commercial: that portion facing St. Claude Avenue
  • the developers bought this property knowing they would have to accomplish both a zoning change and the granting of a conditional use permit to operate a hotel over 10,000 feet. Surely they have considered alternatives for what they might do with this land if they are unable to accomplish those requests

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/04/sun_yard_new_orleans.html

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B37AcV Uncategorized

Are Your Car Insurance Rates Way too High?

Did you know Louisiana now has the highest car insurance rates in the country?

A Community Voice is fighting back. Our President Lanny Roy has spoken to the Louisiana Insurance Commissioner and told him that it is unacceptable that safe drivers are continuously being punished with rate increases.

The Insurance Commissioner’s job is to protect us and make sure the rates are fair and that the insurance industry doesn’t have an unfair advantage over consumers.

We think the Insurance Commission isn’t doing their job by allowing one of the poorest sates to have the highest rates.

Please call the Louisiana Insurance Commission at 225-342-5900 or 1-800-259-5300 and let them know you are with A Community Voice and demand a readjustment on the car insurance rates for Louisiana drivers and a real plan to make car insurance rates affordable for residents.

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B37AcV New Orleans

Action Alert: Call New Orleans City Council at 504-658-1000 to Vote NO Gas Plant

March 3rd, 2018

New Orleans A Community Voice joined members of Justice & Beyond and VAYLA at a Rally at Duncan Plaza to stand up against the proposed Entergy Gas Plant in New Orleans East.

We are asking New Orleans City Council members to reverse their votes and vote NO to the Gas Plant at the next City Council meeting on March 8th, 2018.

These are the Facts:

  • For a couple of decades, Vidalia, LA has used turbines in the MS River to generate electricity.  They may have expanded to other nearby cities like Natchez, MS.
  • New Orleans rates are already too high. People can’t afford more.
  • It isn’t fair or maybe legal for Entergy to donate to Pacs that donate to the City Council who then pass scurrilous proposals that support climate warming, fracking that pollutes and will increase the bills due to pass along costs on the gas part and accrue even more windfalls to Entergy.
  • We need true representation on our utilities that have been grossly mismanaged and that price out our residents.
  • Utility rates and taxes and insurance, all courtesy of elected officials are the reason people are being pushed out of New Orleans.  First Katrina, then gentrification and now elected officials.
  • We need City Council members who will represent the people and vote NO on charging us for the Gas Power Plant.

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B37AcV Lake Charles, Water Issues

Message from ACV President Lanny Roy on Fighting for Adequate Flood Protections

Recently, A Community Voice members in Louisiana worked hard with the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) and won exclusion of a dangerous provision to restructure Mitigation funds that had been inserted in the House version of the federal Disaster Supplemental bill that would have diverted funding from the Hazard Mitigation Grants Program/ (FEMA), which buys out flooded homes and elevates home in flooded areas.  This was a great victory for the people. While we thank those Senators who removed the poisonous provisions from the bill, our communities do still need adequate flood protection.

A Community Voice members and others are now calling their US Senators to promote no building in flood plains, a requirement for all cities to enroll in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), funding for states to implement flood-control infrastructure measures such as levees, elevation projects, drainage, pumping systems and full funding to restore Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands, now languishing without adequate rebuilding funds.

 

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B37AcV New Orleans, Water Issues

Flood Protections Not Explosions

Feb 24th, 2017

Members of A Community Voice in the 9th Ward neighborhoods of New Orleans are asking their city and state officials to investigation the mysterious explosions along the Industrial Canal that have been occurring late at night. The community is concerned that these booms have been damaging the flood walls and increase their vulnerability to flooding.

A spokesperson for the Army Corps of Engineers’ claims that they can not “confirm or deny” that the Corps is involved in the explosions. This response does not sit well with residents who have been flooded out by the Corps numerous times. Instead of explosions, A Community Voice is asking for adequate flood protections for all and an end to the proposed Industrial Canal Expansion Project.

Here is video link of the protest. Playlist of 4 videos.

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B37AcV New Orleans, Water Issues

We Need Protection from Flood

Call your elected officials to ask them to “please investigate & stop the explosions on the Industrial Canal. We need protection from flood. No Canal Expansion & no Florida Avenue Freeway.

Councilmembers

Stacy Head 504-658-1060

shead@nola.gov

Jason Williams 504-658-1070

jasonwilliams@nola.gov

Susan Guidry 504-658-1010

sgguidry@nola.gov

LaToya Cantrell 504-658-1020

Lcantrell@nola.gov

Nadine Ramsey 504-658-1030

district@nola.gov

Jared Brossett 504-658-1040

councildistrictd@nola.gov

James Gray 504-658-1050

jagray@nola.gov

State Rep. Jimmy Harris

504-243-1960

harrisj@legis.la.gov

Congressman Cedric Richmond

202-225-6636

Army Corps

504-862-1344

mark.h.lahare@usace.army.mil

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