Your piece of the Crescent awaits!
NONDC recently joined representatives of organizations from across the city to kick off the Own the Crescent initiative, an effort designed to market the benefits of and opportunities for homeownership in New Orleans. Steered by the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GHONA), a coalition of non-profit housing builders and community development corporations in the city, and supported by Capital One, Enterprise Community Partners and NeighborWorks America, this collaborative enlists 12 non-profit and for-profit entity who focus on making the dream of homeownership a reality for those wish to own their piece of the Crescent. The event included remarks by Kristin Gisleson Palmer, New Orleans City Councilmember District C, and Al Johnson, best known for his rousing Mardi Gras favorite “It’s Carnival Time” and proud homeowner in Orleans Parish.
The event also celebrated the launch of a Website, www.ownthecrescent.org, that will serve as a comprehensive virtual resource providing information on available homes, homeownership programs, and important jargon all potential homeowners should know. NONDC will also participate in Own the Crescent‘s One-Stop Housing Fair on Saturday, March 10th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Mahalia Jackson Elementary School, 2101 Freret Street, New Orleans, LA 70113.
Click here to view photos from the Own the Crescent launch event
NEW TIME – NONDC TO DEMOLISH CENTRAL CITY EYESORE ACQUIRED AT SUMMER SHERIFF’S SALE
Event will highlight progress; importance of public/private partnership in blight elimination
NONDC will mark the release of its 2011 Property Condition Survey results with the demolition of a significantly blighted property in Central City. The home was acquired in July through the city’s pilot sheriff’s sale program spearheaded by Councilmember Stacy Head’s office. Jeffrey P. Hebert, director of the city’s office on blight policy and neighborhood revitalization, provided NONDC with significant guidance in finalizing ownership of the property. The acquisition was made possible through a grant from the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Once complete, the demolition will make way for the construction of a new, high-quality affordable home in the coming months.
WHO: Una Anderson, Executive Director, NONDC
Councilmember Stacy Head, District B, City of New Orleans
Jeffrey P. Hebert, Director, Office of Blight Policy and Neighborhood Revitalization, City of New Orleans
Isabel Barrios, Program Associate, Greater New Orleans Foundation
WHAT: Major Blight Demolition and Release of Central City Property Condition Survey
WHEN: Wednesday, November 16, 2011
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: 2815 Third Street, New Orleans, LA
Former NONDC dev fellow serves as guest blog on White House’s For the Win
(Photo by La Capoise Gallerie)
Shonak Patel, former NONDC development fellow, AmeriCorps alum and co-founder and CEO of Swellr, was recently featured in For the Win, a guest blog series posted on the White House’s Winning the Future page. It regularly features the remarkable initiatives that young Americans are advancing to win the future for their communities. Learn more about what Shonak learned during his time with NONDC and the great things he continues to do after working in Central City.
A home with a story to tell
The New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative (NONDC) has begun its work to renovate this historic home in the city’s Central City neighborhood.
Click to view more images
It is an imposing figure that looms large over its corner at LaSalle and Second Street. Something about the two-story manse with the fading, weathered pink exterior at 2427 LaSalle Street lets you know there is a story there, one that needs to be preserved and shared. It is that history – and an eye for what the property could be – that led the New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative (NONDC), a non-profit community engagement and development organization in Central City, to purchase the rambling structure in desperate need of repair.
“This property is a testament to Central City’s rich history,” said Una Anderson, NONDC’s Executive Director. “It just made sense to return this piece of history to its former glory and turn it into a high-quality, affordable homeownership opportunity for the community.”
The home was originally owned by Ida Whitious Johnson, a license practical nurse and a longtime African-American homeowner in the area. A true entrepreneur and respected figure in the community, “Nurse Johnson” purchased a duplex and rental cottage at 2606-08 Louisiana Avenue near the historic Flint-Goodrich Hospital, providing a home and sustenance for her family.
The Johnson family was displaced twice by the federal government’s plans to bring public housing to New Orleans. In the 1939, the Louisiana Avenue residence was purchased for what Mrs. Johnson’s granddaughter, Idalorraine Jules Wilderson, refers to as “meager money” to make way for the first of the city’s housing projects. Mrs. Johnson used these funds to purchase a larger duplex on Magnolia Street. This home would play a prominent role in New Orleans history.
In the early 1950’s, plans were made to expand the Magnolia Housing Projects. Area neighbors and businesses initially organized to fight the expansion. Over time, dissent waned until Mrs. Johnson was the sole property owner to reject the government’s conservative $6,000 offer. Undeterred by the threat of suit, Mrs. Johnson fought against the federal government in court and was awarded nearly $25,000. With the judgment, Mrs. Johnson purchased a large duplex with 16 rooms at 2427-2429 LaSalle Street.
Over the years, Mrs. Johnson descendants spread across the country in search of the economic opportunities that were scarce in pre-desegregated New Orleans. The house fell into disrepair. NONDC’s Anderson commented, “It took considerable time, effort and commitment to work with the Johnson family to complete the sale. Given the history, the family wanted to make sure they received a fair deal for the home. Also they wanted to make sure it would be preserved as much as possible.”
NONDC has plans to divide the home into two units, each with three master suites and a front balcony. While much of the home’s interior will need to be removed, its original floors and staircases will be restored. Additionally, the fireplaces will be restored and enclosed. The traditional New Orleans-style exterior will be maintain with repairs to its classic gingerbread trim, turned spindle columns, frieze, and lap siding. The home will also feature a vibrant Painted Lady exterior.
Network Neighbors and NONDC work with NOPD’s 6th District on Walking Beat Pilot
Members of the Network Neighbors resident group were recently featured on WGNO ABC 26 as a pilot program for which they advocated kicked off in Central City last week. As a result of the group’s work with Commander Robert Bardy and with the support of Councilmember Stacy Head’s office, the Sixth District has assigned two uniform officers to a walking beat in the neighborhood.
NONDC talks LaSalle Corridor Revitalization on WYLD 98.5 FM
NONDC’s communications manager Rachel D. Graham and Kenneth Jackson, owner of the historic Dew Drop Inn, recently joined Theresa Sanchez on WYLD 98.5 FM’s Sunday Journal to discuss the nonprofit’s use of Neighborland.org to modernize the civic engagement process as it gathers community input on the redevelopment of New Orleans’ Historic LaSalle Street Corridor. Kenneth detailed the Dew Drop’s rich history and the corridor’s legacy of business ownership and vibrant commerce. Click here to listen to the full interview.
NONDC to Use Civic Engagement App in LaSalle Corridor Redevelopment
NONDC is partnering with the creators of Neighborland.org to utilize the civic engagement Web site’s Places application in a community-driven revitalization initiative along the city’s Historic LaSalle Street Corridor. The site utilizes crowdsourcing technology to gather resident input on the neighborhood-based goods and services they want to see in a community.
Neighborland.org started as co-founder Candy Chang’s reaction to the dearth of decent supermarkets in her area. Chang channeled her frustration into the successful I Wish This Was public art project. In February, she was selected as one of four 2011 Tulane University Urban Innovation Challenge Fellows. With the award, Chang – along with co-founders Dan and Tee Parham – developed the internet-based platform that allows residents to share ideas for improving their neighborhoods.
As a business and entertainment center, LaSalle Street between Washington and Louisiana Avenues was a gathering place for many renowned African-American entrepreneurs, musicians, and political and social activists in the 1940s and 1950s. The Dew Drop Inn, one of the corridor’s focal points, was a premiere music venue that hosted top African-American musicians from around the country. It welcomed patrons of all ethnicities despite social norms and city-wide segregation ordinances.
Though this once vital hub of commercial and cultural activity suffered from decades of population loss and disinvestment, public and private investments have recently poured into the area, and the population is growing. NONDC views the redevelopment of the corridor as a unique opportunity to encourage economic inclusion for residents of one of the city’s true cultural treasures and to contribute to the growth of a sustainable, livable neighborhood in Central City New Orleans.
Sign up on Neighborland.org today and help write history’s next chapter.
Work Continues at 1628 S. Liberty Street
Work continues at 1628 S. Liberty Street through NONDC’s partnership with Rebuilding Together. A busload of volunteers from the Machine Dealers National Association (MDNA) worked feverishly on the house for a full day installing new bamboo flooring and painting the interior of the home. The professional group meets three times a year and has made an ongoing commitment to New Orleans over the past two years to meet residents of the community and help in rebuilding homes. Their experience showed as they moved quickly and proficiently. Homeowner Ms. Barbara Adams stops by the house nearly every day to check on the progress and was excited to meet all of the people from around the country helping to rebuild her home.
MDNA volunteers install bamboo flooring at 1628 S. Liberty Street
Ms. Barbara's home gets a fresh coat of paint
NONDC Announces Key Staff Addition, Promotions
NONDC today announced several staff additions as the organization rounds out the team charged with building upon the organization’s successful revitalization efforts in Central City. Organizational changes include the addition of a Marketing Communications Manager and the promotion of three team members who previously served as program fellows through the Louisiana Delta Service Corps.
Rachel D. Graham, NONDC’s new Marketing Communications Manager, will guide the organization’s strategic communications policy and ensure message consistency in traditional marketing and media, social media, and community engagement and outreach opportunities. A recent New Orleans transplant, Graham has nearly 20 years of experience in comprehensive organizational communications and has served with leading non-profit, economic development, private sector and governmental entities in Philadelphia, Houston and Baton Rouge.
NONDC’s new Blight and Acquisition Manager, Will Bowling, will lead the organization’s Six Block Acquisition and Blight Elimination effort, a comprehensive strategy to revitalize Central City. Bowling previously served as NONDC’s Neighborhood Revitalization Fellow, overseeing its property condition survey and mapping initiative. A graduate of Brown University with degrees in public policy and religious studies, Bowling previously served as a community organizer in the Denver offices of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
Nina Feldman will serve as NONDC’s Community Engagement Manager. A graduate of Bard College, Feldman will continue the work she started as a Delta Corps fellow, working closely with neighborhood residents to confront quality of life issues through signature initiatives such as the Curb Appeal Your Block beautification project. She will also work closely with community stakeholders leveraging NONDC’s resources to develop community assets.
Kim Vu-Dinh will serve as NONDC’s Funding and Compliance Manager. In this capacity, she will identify potential resources to support the organization’s programs and ensure compliance with funders’ regulations and reporting requirements. Vu-Dinh previously served as NONDC’s Housing and Economic Development Fellow. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and City University of New York School of Law, Vu-Dinh relocated to New Orleans from Alaska where she practiced law and managed political campaigns. One initiative successfully resulted in the creation of a state-sponsored housing trust designed to address the issues faced by low-income Alaskans.
To date, NONDC has been a partner in the transformation of over 25 vacant and decaying properties into quality affordable housing accessible to existing residents of Central City. NONDC also served as Community Partner on the completion of Harmony Oaks, the 460-unit mixed income redevelopment of the former CJ Peete Public Housing Complex. The project was made possible by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Hope VI Revitalization Grant awarded to the Housing Authority of New Orleans in March 2008. As Community Partner, NONDC is also responsible for developing 50 off-site, single-family homes in the neighborhood surrounding the complex under the Harmony Homes brand.
NONDC to provide transportation the City’s SOS Crime Summit
NONDC will provide bus transportation to the Saving Our Sons Crime Action Summit presented by Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Criminal Justice Commissioner James Carter. The event is design to solidify community around action to reduce the unnatural and unacceptable murder rate in New Orleans. All are welcomed to attend. Visit www.nola.gov/crime-summit to register for the crime summit. Bus will depart from the Harmony Oaks Community Center at 8:30 a.m. and Bliss Cafe, 2013 Magnolia Street, at 9:00 a.m. Seating is limited. Email Rudy Skipper at rskipper@nondc.org to reserve yours today!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
9:30am- 12:30pm
UNO Lakefront Arena
6801 Franklin Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70122
