UMC Board crawfishes yet again - delays Sept. meeting

Seriously. This comes after cancelling the August meeting set for today.

Things are getting curioser and curioser:

A certain shade of shady

It appears that "NOLA Renewal Group LLC" is trying to acquire a number of larger parcels just outside the VA Hospital Footprint by way of acquisitive prescription (similar to "adverse posession" in common law states.  The lots are the site of a series of warehouse-type buildings, 2537 Tulane Avenue (above) being the largest, that were linked to the Dixie Brewery building below S. Rocheblave by an elevated connector until a few months ago.

I believe this particular LLC, which is not in good standing with the state according to the Secretary of State's website - and which has a different listed address than the one on the sign posted on one building) was also involved in the controversial demolitions of the "Treme" houses on S. Derbigny in Hoffman Triangle.

It appeared back in the spring that the LLC was trying to sell properties on S. Derbigny.  And then the entire demolition spat erupted.  The buildings were demolished, except for one.  A man who appears to be Larry Jackson, listed as a director of the LLC, also showed up at NCDC at one point and sought demolition for the remaining corner building at Washington and S. Derbigny.  The presentation was strange.

Here's the data from the Secretary of State's website - note that it's not in good standing and lists a Harvey address - not the Poydras address that appears on the sign above:

I wonder what's going on.  Acquisitive prescription is spelled out in Louisiana law - and the timelines involved make me think the LLC is not thinking about the "replacement acreage clause" in the MOU (or maybe it is...the sign didn't appear, to my knowledge, until after my post on replacement acreage went up).  But given the circumstances - for one, the total assessed value on 2537 Tulane is over 1 million dollars - this deserves some sunshine. 

This whole thing came to my attention when I noticed that the properties had suddenly been cleaned up a bit - weeds cut, trash picked up, etc. - in recent days.

A Voodoo Curse...on the UMC

I just noticed this today.  It's a small sign nailed about 10 feet off the ground on a live oak tree along Canal Street - near where the Canal Street Guest House once stood.  The sign faces in toward the UMC site.

"Voodoo Saint Baron Samadi protects this property...bad deeds, bad vibes reversed"

"in the event Treme decides not to Treme itself, it will wholly get it wrong. Completely. They’ve written themselves into our recovery. Period."

Will HBO's Treme ultimately cover its own presence in New Orleans as the tv timeline and the real world timeline collide?

Jean-Paul Villere lays out the strange possibility of "Davis potentially watching Davis then watching Davis."

It's an interesting conundrum, the documentarian's dilemma.  And it's one that gets even weirder as you ponder how Treme touches on the LSU/VA Footprint.  Here are some photos of the shoot in the LSU Footprint from a few weeks ago that never made it onto the blog:

As you can see, the filming required use of some of the now-vacant property in the LSU Footprint - contradicting what the location manager contact told me (that only the streets would be used).  The filming actually required messing up some of the lots that had been fully cleared:

It gets interesting when talking LSU/VA because the greater hospitals controversy - not just the geographic setting as stage - seems to be working itself into the show.  This past Sunday, for example, the show's viewers saw a developer talking briefly about a map...which turns out to be the LSU/VA hospitals area.

And recent scenes this season, set in 2007, were actually shot in late 2010 in the VA footprint...including a shot near Outer Banks Bar that I watched as it was filmed, (and documented here).

So, at some point in later episodes, if the LSU/VA footprint/Charity theme continues...will viewers ultimately see the show depicting its own crew filming earlier episodes of the show in the crumbling VA or LSU footprints as residents attempt to move out?  And if the LSU Footprint is still largely vacant at that future date (which would be no surprise to many of us), will the show's crew return there to shoot/recreate such a scene?  The possible convergences of film, reality, and time are almost too much to handle all at once.

As Villere puts it: "Treme must Treme itself. Why? Because the whole point of the show is to tell New Orleans’ story post Katrina, and whether you want to admit it or not the diurnal tedium of our lives will forever be impacted by the concept and execution of this show paralleling and in effect documenting the fabric of our culture."

A New Neighbor

This vehicle appeared recently on the site of an old corner store and residence building that had been renovated in early 2010 prior to its demolition.

In the background, Outer Banks persists, still open in the evenings.

Strange Sights

Hmmm...who are you guys?  "Do you own that property?" I asked the four men in purple shirts, two of whom remained behind in the pickup truck as their compatriots pried away at the wood on the door of the former Headquarters barbershop and salon on Banks Street.

I took a photo or two, and suddenly they returned quickly to the truck and left.  In broad daylight.

Along Banks Street, this random golden arm appeared in the sidewalk rather bizarrely.  Again, it seems like the site itself is telling someone to stop.

Inside the fence surrounding the diggings at Tulane and S. Tonti, a pack of large dogs roamed this afternoon.