Carrollton-Riverbend Neighborhood Association (CRNA)

President Jerry Speir and incoming president Anne Nicolay have asked the following announcement be shared with all CRNA members:

What: PUBLIC MEETING
When: Thursday, June 30, 2011
Starts at 6 pm
Where: L.B. Landry High School
1200 Whitney Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70114
Topic: Master Plan for public education facilities, including the Priestly Site

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NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
6:00 p.m.
Freeman Auditorium
Newcomb Art Center

You are invited to attend a briefing of
Tulane University’s capital projects and plans.
Presentation by Yvette Jones
Executive Vice President, University Relations/Development

For more information, contact:
Karen Celestan, Community Relations
kcelesta@tulane.edu – 504/988-3394

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Dear Neighborhood Leaders,

Councilmember Guidry would like you and your members to know about a great event happening this Saturday. ReBridge is hosting a kid’s event called Bayou Bridges Breakfast Come Learn with Us that promises to be a fun-packed learning experience on Saturday morning, June 25th at 9 am.

Everyone will meet by the oak tree at the foot of the Magnolia Bridge (Moss and Harding). Parents should bring blankets and/or chairs. Breakfast will be served to the children and they will be introduced to two of the historic bridges that span the bayou. There will be coffee and water for adults.

The Preservation Resource Center will be conducting a 30-minute walkabout interpreting the portage and architecture of the area, which is a lesson from the Preservation Resource Center’s My City, My Home heritage education program; Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries will be offering casting lessons and interpreting specimens from the bayou, while volunteer artists will be working with the kids to create an enormous mural, and all of this will happen in the most beautiful setting to spend a summer morning.

http://business.fsjna.org/2011/06/bayou-bridges-breakfast/

Thank you for your cooperation,

Sherri K. Wilder
Community Liaison
Councilmember Susan G. Guidry – District A
City Hall
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
Office: (504) 658-1012
Fax: (504) 658-1016
skwilder@nola.gov
http://www.nolacitycouncil.com

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“Palmer just underwent a MAJOR face-lift and is being used by even more Carrollton residents now than ever before. The “Friends of Palmer Park” organization in conjunction with Disney Corporation, The Points of light institute, the Dept of Parks and Parkways and KaBoom! as well as over 350 neighbors/neighborhood organizations/local churches and businesses, completed, in two days, the renovation of the Grand arch (doors being custom made and are soon to come), the complete repair and renovation of the flag pole which now flies the USA, LA and New Orleans flags, over $5,000 in new Landscaping (more to come in the fall), 4 new doggie waste stations, the complete repair and painting of all 92 wood bollards surrounding the park, 2 new wooden checker board tables, 5 new beautiful glass sidewalk mosaics, 4 new trash/recycling stations, 2 new directional sign posts (both designed and painted by the children of Carrollton), New sidewalk Hopscotch games and a custom made ADA accessible path leading to… last but not least… a beautiful (Carrollton children designed), unbelievable, new Playground complete with swings! In addition, there will be 17 benches installed in the park very shortly as well as $15,000 worth of fill and hydro-seed and a $20,000 lighting repair project coming in the next few months (Being led by Nagendra on behalf of FOPP).
“It’s not the same ‘ol Palmer anymore folks! Please drop by and enjoy your new park and as always FOPP is always interested in new ideas that will enhance this amazing focal point of Carrollton. Feel free to contact us with any questions and if you are a facebooker you can visit us at our “Friends of Palmer Park” facebook page. There are tons of photos from the renovation to enjoy.”

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Carrollton/Riverbend Neighborhood Association
Minutes
Thursday, June 9, 2011

Board members attending: Betty Dimarco, Camilla Franklin, Martin Huber, Byron Johnson, Bob Larsen, Anne Nicolay, Liz Reed, Jerry Speir, Ariel Wallick, and Brad Wilkins.

Board members absent: Pax Bobrow, Barry Brantley, Andreas Hoffman, Jill Stephens, and Rick Wilkof.

Residents and guests: Lisa Manning Ambrose, Katrina Badger, Wanda Brooks, Judy Caliva, Kevin Caliva, Frank Coco, Jason Coleman, Marc Irwin, Linda Marchand, Robert Morris, Steve Novak, Leon Touzet, Ann Vosepka, Terri Wide, Sherri Wilder, Min Yang

Lisa Ambrose, staff person for Congressman Cedric Richmond, brought the Congressman’s greetings and offered to be of assistance with any federal matters that residents might have (Social Security, Veterans’ affairs, FEMA, passport issues, immigration issues, etc.) The local office is at 2021 Lakeshore Drive, Suite 309, NOLA 70122. Office phone: 504-288-3777. Fax: 504-288-4090. Ms. Ambrose can be reached by email at Lisa.Ambrose@mail.house.gov

Sherri Wilder, skwilder@nola.gov ,staff person for Councilmember Susan Guidry, noted that the Councilmember is Chair of the City Council Cable, Telecommunications and Technology Committee, and is overseeing the renewal process for the current Orleans Parish Cable Television Franchise (Cox Communications) which is up for renewal this year.

She wants to hear from citizens. The public engagement process will include an online survey and public hearings. She is asking all her constituents to take a moment to answer the online survey.

You can also participate in the public hearings by attending any of the Cable, Telecommunications and Technology Committee meetings to be held in the Council Chambers at 10 a.m. on the following Mondays: June 27, August 22 and September 26.

Cox has a non-exclusive franchise to operate in Orleans Parish. The non-exclusive franchise was initially granted in the mid-1980s and renewed in 1995. Federal law governs cable television franchises and designates citizen input as a step in the local renewal process. The public input gathered will be used in the renewal evaluation process. Federal law does not allow the City Council to set subscriber rates; therefore the Council has no influence over a Cox subscriber’s monthly bill.

The second phase of the citizen engagement process will be a public meeting in the Council Chamber on June 30. For additional information, please visit http://www.nolacitycouncil.com.

Council Redistricting Open House

The Council Redistricting process is continuing. A Redistricting Open House is scheduled for Saturday, June 18, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Maps and proposals will be available for public review and comment.

A public hearing will be held on the redistricting maps and proposals at the Redistricting Committee meeting to be held the following week on June 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. This will be the public’s opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns based on the various proposed redistricting maps, and to have any questions answered. The Redistricting ordinance(s) will then be drafted by the councilmembers for introduction at the July 7 Council meeting.

Business Information Session

The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development is coordinating a Business Information Session featuring information, resources and opportunities helpful for business owners and entrepreneurs presented by the City of New Orleans Office of Economic Development, Office of Supplier Diversity, and Cultural Economy, the New Orleans Business Alliance, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, Small Business Administration (SBA), JOB1 Business and Career Solutions, New Orleans Fresh Food Retailer Initiative, and the World Trade Center.

When: June 16, 2011, 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Where: City Church of New Orleans
13123 I-10 Service Road
New Orleans, LA 70128

This event is free and open to the public. To RSVP call (504) 658-4237 or email mmfrazier@nola.gov.

Katrina Badger, kebadger@nola.gov , staff person with the administration’s new Office of Neighborhood Engagement, encouraged participation in a “Hello Hurricane Season Summit,” June 11, 8:30-noon, at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Leon Touzet, proprietor of Patois and of the new Tru Burger restaurant at 8115 Oak Street, described his new restaurant and his desire to apply for a low-alcohol (beer and wine) license there. After discussion, he expressed his willingness to enter into a Good Neighbor Agreement with CRNA, similar to those the organization has entered with other restaurants in the neighborhood: limiting transfer of the license, requiring operation as a standard restaurant, prohibiting “go cups” and video poker, and providing that there will be no advertising of alcohol in the windows, etc. As to a commitment to closing hours, several board members suggested that the hours should be the same as those recently approved for the Cowbell restaurant. That agreement provided for a midnight closing (or earlier) each night.
On motion by Anne Nicolay, seconded by Bob Larsen, the board voted unanimously to support Mr. Touzet’s application for a low-alcohol license, conditioned on his signing a Good Neighbor Agreement with the above provisions.

Jerry Speir noted that it had only come to his attention within the previous 24 hours that the Shell Station at Carrollton and St. Charles was applying for an appeal of the alcohol moratorium in connection with a change of operator. The applicant seeks only to continue the sale of beer and wine for off-site consumption that was in place for the previous operator. The application had already been to the City Planning Commission where a staff report had been generated, recommending approval, with several provisos, including: additional landscaping to the strips adjacent to the sidewalk and removal of vendor signs (including alcohol vendors) in the windows. Bob Larsen moved, seconded by Martin Huber, that the organization take no official position on the application, because of the lack of timely notice, and that we express our concern to the city about the notice problem. Passed unanimously.

Elections: The board elected new officers, all unanimously.

Treasurer—Jill Stephens
Secretary—Barry Brantley
Vice-President—Byron Johnson
President—Anne Nicolay

Wanda Brooks, principal of James Weldon Johnson Elementary School, made an appeal for mentors/tutors to volunteer, beginning with the fall semester, to tutor/mentor individual children for 2-3 hours per week at the school. The focus will be on third to eighth grade children who are “on the cusp” or “almost passing,” but who could benefit from some extra, personalized attention. Volunteers will need to sign up no later than August, so that necessary background checks can be conducted. A one-day training day for the tutor/mentors is planned. Ms. Brooks can be contacted at wanda.brooks@rsdla.net

New President Anne Nicolay led a discussion of goals for the organization for the coming year. A single goal (or two) to create “focus” for the organization has been frequently suggested.

Topics discussed included:
–zoning and code enforcement, generally
–blight
–crime
–assisting Johnson School and tracking the status of what is supposed to be a new school building at the former Priestley School site (Leonidas, between Birch and Green)
–street and streetlight repairs
–parking
–Quality of Life issues, with a focus on children and families
–porch parties
–the abandoned Entergy property adjacent to the Chevron station
–Block Captains and relationship building
–Community Center on Leonidas

The group agreed to make time at upcoming meetings to continue this discussion until consensus can be achieved.

Minutes by Jerry Speir

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Friends and Neighbors:

1. New officers for the neighborhood association
2. Cox Cable—New contract; city wants input
3. City Council re-districting – Meeting June 22
4. Congressman Cedric Richmond – offer of assistance with federal matters
5. New restaurant on Oak Street; CRNA supports wine/beer license
6. Johnson School – request for tutors/mentors
7. NOPD – drug arrests in neighborhood
8. Become a green building professional
9. Dues

1, New Officers for Carrollton/Riverbend Neighborhood Association

–At our June meeting, we elected the new officers for the coming year. They are:

Anne Nicolay, President
Byron Johnson, Vice-president
Barry Brantley, Secretary
Jill Stephens, Treasurer

Please join me in congratulating them, wishing them well, and helping them to make our neighborhood association as good as it can be.

[FYI: I’m not going away. I’ll still be on the board and have volunteered to continue to be Land Use and Zoning Chair. I have been honored to serve as your president, but I do think it’s time for some new leadership, and I know that Anne, Byron, Barry and Jill will do a great job. Barry has also kindly offered to take over this e-news task, so future emails about association news will come from him.]

Plan to come to the monthly meetings, every second Thursday at 7 p.m. and get involved. Meetings are usually in the back dining-room of Squeal Bar-B-Q, unless they have another event scheduled there. Stay tuned for confirmation of the place of the meeting each month.

At our most recent meeting, there was a lively discussion of potential topics for the organization’s focus over the coming year, including all the following:

–zoning and code enforcement, generally
–blight
–crime
–assisting Johnson School and tracking the status of what is supposed to be a new school building at the former Priestley School site (Leonidas, between Birch and Green)
–street and streetlight repairs
–parking
–Quality of Life issues, with a focus on children and families
–porch parties
–the abandoned Entergy property adjacent to the Chevron station
–Block Captains and relationship building
–Community Center on Leonidas

Come be a part of that continuing discussion.

2. Cox Cable: New Contract – City wants input

Our Councilmember, Susan Guidry, is Chair of the City Council Cable, Telecommunications and Technology Committee, and is overseeing the renewal process for the current Orleans Parish Cable Television Franchise (Cox Communications) which is up for renewal this year.

She wants to hear from citizens. The public engagement process will include an online survey and public hearings. She is asking all her constituents to take a moment to answer the online survey.

You can also participate in the public hearings by attending any of the Cable, Telecommunications and Technology Committee meetings to be held in the Council Chambers at 10 a.m. on the following Mondays: June 27, August 22 and September 26.

Cox has a non-exclusive franchise to operate in Orleans Parish. The non-exclusive franchise was initially granted in the mid-1980s and renewed in 1995. Federal law governs cable television franchises and designates citizen input as a step in the local renewal process. The public input gathered will be used in the renewal evaluation process. Federal law does not allow the City Council to set subscriber rates; therefore the Council has no influence over a Cox subscriber’s monthly bill.

The second phase of the citizen engagement process will be a public meeting in the Council Chamber on June 30. For additional information, please visit http://www.nolacitycouncil.com.

3. City Council Re-Districting

The Council Redistricting process is continuing.

A public hearing will be held on the redistricting maps and proposals at the Redistricting Committee meeting to be held on Wednesday, June 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. This will be the public’s opportunity to voice opinions and concerns based on the various proposed redistricting maps, and to have any questions answered. The Redistricting ordinance(s) will then be drafted by the councilmembers for introduction at the July 7 Council meeting.

4. Congressman Cedric Richmond – offer of assistance with federal matters

Lisa Ambrose, staff person for Congressman Cedric Richmond, attended our June meeting and offered to be of assistance with any federal matters that residents might have (Social Security, Veterans’ affairs, FEMA, passport issues, immigration issues, etc.) The local office is at 2021 Lakeshore Drive, Suite 309, NOLA 70122. Office phone: 504-288-3777. Fax: 504-288-4090. Ms. Ambrose can be reached by email at Lisa.Ambrose@mail.house.gov

5. New restaurant on Oak Street; CRNA supports wine/beer license

Leon Touzet, proprietor of restaurant Patois and of the new Tru Burger restaurant at 8115 Oak Street, attended our June meeting and explained his desire to apply for a low-alcohol (beer and wine) license there. After discussion, he expressed his willingness to enter into a Good Neighbor Agreement with CRNA, similar to those the organization has entered with other restaurants in the neighborhood: limiting transfer of the license, requiring operation as a standard restaurant, prohibiting “go cups” and video poker, and providing that there will be no advertising of alcohol in the windows. He also committed to closing no later than midnight each night. The board voted unanimously to support his application (technically an appeal of the current moratorium on new alcohol licenses in the area) under those conditions.

6. Johnson School – request for tutors/mentors

Wanda Brooks, principal of the James Weldon School Elementary School on Monroe at Hickory attended our June meeting and made an appeal for volunteers, beginning with the fall semester, to tutor/mentor individual children for 2-3 hours per week at the school. The focus will be on third to eighth grade children who are “on the cusp” or “almost passing,” but who could benefit from some extra, personalized attention. Volunteers will need to sign up no later than August, so that necessary background checks can be conducted. A one-day training day for the tutor/mentors is planned. Ms. Brooks can be contacted at wanda.brooks@rsdla.net

7. NOPD – drug arrests in neighborhood

On June 15, 2011 Narcotics Detectives conducted an investigation into narcotics activity at 1426 Monroe. Pursuant to that investigation, detectives obtained and executed a search warrant. Officers seized crack cocaine, marijuana, and currency. Arrested was Randy Clark, black male, 10-27-1981. Additional information on this arrest and/or subsequent prosecution can be obtained via Docket Master at http://www.opcso.org.

Remember to report suspicious persons or activities you see in your neighborhood by calling 821-2222. In an emergency, call 911 immediately.

Lieutenant Mike Montalbano
New Orleans Police Department
DIU Commander, Second District
4317 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70115
(504) 658-6020

8. Become a green building professional

The Building Performance Institute, Inc (BPI) is conducting 2- and 3-day courses at UNO, June 30 – July 3, to certify people as Building Analysts and Envelope Professionals. For more info, see: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=rnfpslfab&v=001FxA2hImTfo2vWHCAO4bBq_vptY-8MtGwVJuMTA7QX-Dl_GP1J6eJoa4b4_7h3zjgX9xamrVSJPXQzOG-RndFwaLA-Ep1Bt5j-SnHumPHT6_b9Xq7lVxGbrDiwWDjtCoFLjuwq55hxmD1u6gAg90LyAAm3xvxEZOI

9. DUES

Yes, I know we promised to only bother you about dues during April, but just in case you intended to and never got around to it, you can still send dues to: Jill Stephens, Treasurer, CRNA, 8307 Freret, New Orleans, LA 70118. Checks can be made payable simply to “CRNA.” Dues are not required for membership, but they are appreciated, and we do have expenses. Recommended dues are $10/individual or $25/household, but we’re also happy to accept more. 

Hope you’re having a great summer,
Jerry

Jerry Speir, recent past president
Carrollton/Riverbend N’hood Assn.
jerryspeir@gmail.com

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