Gone

The pink, off-set Craftsman house at 1716 Cleveland, which had been in use as an office until recently, is no more.  There was no reason it needed to be demolished.  The area in which is stands is not set to be used by any part of the UMC complex at any point in the foreseeable future, if at all.

The Displacement Continues

Displaced, Demolished

It may not have been much to look at.  And it wasn't historic by any means, from what I could tell.

But the Avis Car Rental shop on Canal Street, located in the LSU Footprint, was a functioning business.  Like dozens of small businesses in the LSU and VA Footprints, it was displaced and forced to relocate as usable buildings were demolished for a project without adequate financing or a business plan.

Demolished Yesterday

The former Broadmoor Auto Parts, which relocated to Banks Street in the LSU Footprint post-Katrina.

Here it was the day before, signs in the window announcing the latest move to N. Galvez Street outside the footprint.

"Moving Soon"

Ellgee Uniforms, one of the dozens of businesses displaced unnecessarily by the proposed, underfinanced UMC hospital, will be moving up Tulane Avenue from it's current spot at 1831 Tulane in the near future.

I will remind you that at a UMC Board meeting in the late fall, the state and its architect noted that, among other things, a uniform shop might be a nice occupant for the proposed retail spaces envisioned for the bottom floor of the large parking decks that will face Tulane at this location (1800 block of Tulane Avenue).

The Last Day

I caught up with Sam Kranzthor today as he moved a few final items out of the Canal Street Guest House on Canal Street under the live oaks. 

Once a bordello of sorts, the building turned around under the Kranzthors, "We made this a good place for good people."  Several people, seeing this blog, have contacted me and confirmed that Canal Street Guest House was indeed a good place, a place that mattered to them and their sense of what makes New Orleans.

"The building looks kind of sad now," he noted as he wheeled two tables out of the building he once owned.  He's been moving things out for the past four days.

Unlike a neighboring property - a Cox Communications block house that will apparently stay put and be built around by the UMC...interesting - today was the last day for the Canal Street Guest House.

Displacement - from the other end

I've been talking about displacement from Inside the Footprint, but lately, I've been privy to a different perspective.  In my own neighborhood of St. Roch, I've witnessed the trials of one LSU Footprint business that is attempting to relocate.

Cesar's Collision Center, still on S. Roman Street (where the sign was being removed today as seen above) is looking to move to a currently vacant building in St. Roch.  Among other hassles, the owner has faced criticism from some community members based on the record of earlier tenants.  He's retained an attorney, he's invited people to his current shop to show them how he operates his facility, and he's attended community meetings.  City zoning issues have been in the mix.

The process has confirmed for me that the cost of being displaced is not only the cost of hiring some moving trucks - it's an involved and oftentimes difficult process.  And it's unfortunate that numerous small business have been put through that ordeal.

Note for Peripheral Residents just outside VA Footprint

Via the Times-Pic:

Residents and businesses in a section of lower Mid-City will experience low water pressure on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. as a Sewerage &Water Board contractor connects several water lines to a water main as part of the new Veterans Administration hospital project.
The affected streets include South Dorgenois Street and the river side of South Broad Street from Canal Street to Gravier Street, and Palmyra and Banks streets from South Broad Street to South Rocheblave Street.

I trust the City, the contractor, the Sewerage & Water Board, and the VA have all coordinated to pound the pavement and let residents and businesses like Betsy's Pancake House, among others, know that the water pressure will drop during the day.

To the Dance Studio

Now that Outer Banks Bar has been demolished, the Committee to Reopen Charity Hospital will be meeting in a new location in the LSU Footprint this evening:

6pm-7:30pm

1926 Canal Street

Canal Street Guest House Dance Studio

The Canal Street Guest House is being expropriated and displaced - and the comparison properties used in the assessment of the property, from what I understand, consisted of lodging facilities that are not located on the streetcar line, a crucial aspect of the business' current location.  Thus, the compensation offered by the state for the taking, at least initially, did not reflect the value of the property.

Displacement Caused by the LSU/VA Hospitals Project

The number of people who have been or who are about to be displaced by the project in Lower Mid-City is staggering.

From the Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Site Selection, published in November 2008:

A total of approximately 618 persons are estimated to reside currently on these two sites in a total of 265 housing units. These totals include approximately 331 residents and 140 housing units on the VAMC site and 287 residents and 125 housing units on the LSU AMC site (ESRI 2008). As a direct result of the proposed projects, these residents of the proposed VAMC and LSU AMC sites would be displaced and required to relocate to housing outside of the project areas.

The VAMC site, once home to 331 residents, is now home to a mere handful of people.

The PEA goes on to make this statement, a real gem:

Considering the relatively small number of persons that would be displaced, the population of the City would not be significantly affected, though there could be minor changes in the populations of Planning District 4 and other local planning districts if the displaced residents decided to remain in the City.

Relatively small?  Relative to what?  Forcing over 600 people out of their homes seems somewhere closer to "big" on the scale I'm using.  There's also this from a subsequent environmental assessment for the VA Footprint:

The actual number of residents on the site is not available. This SEA incorporates the conclusion of the PEA that given the small number of residents on the VAMC Site-Specific Environmental Assessment site in comparison with the total population of the City of New Orleans, the potential impacts to population would be minor.

Minimizing the mass displacement of hundreds of people by making it a percentage is laughable.  It muddies the issue intentionally.

Functioning businesses, too, were/are being displaced en masse.  The VA Footprint alone sported 24 businesses as of 2008.  Today, there are none.

Mickey Weiser of Weiser Security had this to say months ago:

His company moved out this month:

As Roberta Gratz noted in her recent book, The Battle for Gotham, the damage to individuals, businesses, and families involved in the "downward spiral" triggered by mass relocations is both deep and broad.

Fading Out: Boudreaux's Tires

The large, white, vaguely Mediterranean revival building with red trim along Tulane Avenue, likely built cerca 1920s, is gone.  It housed a fully operational business that was forced to move elsewhere.

Boudreaux's Tires and Auto Repair

...chimes in about its ongoing situation in the VA Hospital Footprint.

Unconscionable: The Injustice Visited Upon Mr. Alvin Lee

Mr. Alvin Lee owned the building at 2201 Banks Street, which housed the bar Platinum 3000.

Today, he stood in front of the ruins of that building.

He told me how the state and LSU filed with the Civil District Court here in New Orleans to expropriate his property.  The petition for expropriation had the limit of 15 days to make an answer crossed off (not initialed) and replaced with 10 days.  Still, Mr. Lee was one of the few residents who did file an answer with the court.  He got an extension of 30 days as a result.

Still, 10 days after the petition was filed, people showed up at the building he owned accompanied by police officers and told him that he no longer owned the property and had to vacate.  Mr. Lee told them that they must be mistaken because he had obtained a 30 day extension from the court.  The person called a supervisor - who confirmed that fact.

Additionally, Mr. Lee is still in the process of attempting to determine an adequate amount for his property - and yet his building was demolished just yesterday.

While he takes it all with a calm demeanor, it really is unbelievable to hear him relate the facts.

As he noted several times, he was one of the few people in the VA Hospital site who even decided to file an answer after receiving a stack of legal papers.

This Thanksgiving, I'll be thinking of how thankful I am that I have not had to endure the sorts of poor treatment that Mr. Lee and others have faced in the VA Hospital Footprint.

Way Down

Ellgee Uniforms, one of several businesses still operating along Tulane Avenue in the LSU Footprint, stands in the shadow of St. Joseph's Church - a survivor of an earlier preservation battle.

Off in the background, the blue and silver of the new Cancer Research facility rises along I-10.

The Triangle

Often overlooked, the triangle of land between Banks Street, Rocheblave, and Tulane Avenue (dominated by the old Dixie Brewery from 1907) has been back on the radar in the past two weeks or so.

The camelback that recently met its end required asbestos abatement before demolition, as indicated by the red "Asbestos Hazard" tape strung along the site.

Down near the tip of the triangle, the sign at Lee's Seafood and Grill started to come down.  The busy corner restaurant recently stopped serving.

Asbestos, Hybrids, and Barbershops

Today, crews ventured into this hybrid house at 2423-25 Palmyra, which sports an "admixture of massings,"possibly from different time periods, according to the VA Footprint Booklet.

On S. Galvez, asbestos abatement crews worked alongside the demolition crew on the unfortunate structure at 227 S. Galvez - it had been expanded at some point with extremely unsympathetic materials.

The distinctive and interesting upper roof of the old Sam Jupiter, Jr. Barbershop and Beauty Salon is visible now from Banks Street.

Like a handful of buildings in the VA Footprint, it was not listed as a "contributing" historic structure for some reason in the Programmatic Agreement that governs site preparation.  A number of clearly contributing properties were also left off the list in the LSU Footprint - something reinforced by the fact that a recent survey of properties for a local historic district in Mid-City found at least one of the omitted properties to be "contributing."  Fortunately, Builders of Hope is working to move any houses on the site that it can.

Meanwhile, in the foreground, a different beauty salon and barbershop, HeadQuarters, continues to operate on Banks Street in a beautifully restored historic building under the live oaks.

Dixieland

Construction in the Footprint

S. Galvez street, a tree-lined boulevard, splits the two halves of the Footprint (the propsed VA site toward the lake and the proposed LSU site toward the river).  The street has been under construction as of late, with much of its length torn up for replacement.  Interestingly, S. Galvez is one of the few roadways within the overall footprint that is slated, at least in most renderings, to remain in place after the proposed hospitals would be built.

Some businesses, like Durand's Tuxedo's, have already moved away.

Humble Rumble Studios

Run by Mr. Humble himself.