C3 NOLA Concern, Community, and Compassion

FAIR HOUSING CENTER CALLS ON ST. BERNARD PARISH TO REPEAL DISCRIMINATORY ORDINANCE; ORDINANCE MAY BAN NON-WHITE RENTERS

http://www.gnofairhousing.org/

The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) calls on St. Bernard Parish to repeal a discriminatory ordinance recently passed by the Parish Council. According to the St. Bernard Parish website, “Except with a special permit, owners who weren’t previously renting out a single-family residence in R-1 zones will now be prohibited from doing so unless the renter is a blood relative…” www.sbpg.net/sep2006.html.

The ordinance’s blood relative requirement will prevent St. Bernard homeowners with covered residences from renting to any person not of the owner’s own race and national origin. The most recent estimates from United States Census Data indicate that whites own nearly 93% of St. Bernard Parish owner-occupied housing. As a result, in most circumstances, only whites would be able to rent most single-family housing in the Parish.

Easy Answer: Re-open all public housing in New Orleans.

http://www.hssno.com/

Welcome
On September 29 and 30, 2006, the Housing Solutions Summit will be held in New Orleans at the Ernest Morial Convention Center in Hall J. The Summit will feature national and local experts who will provide detailed guidance and information regarding the regional rebuilding process. This event will be an invaluable resource to homeowners, landlords, contractors, and investors.

The Summit will be "kicked off" by Governor Kathleen Blanco, Mayor Ray Nagin, Mr. Daniel Packer, President of Entergy New Orleans, and Honorable Oliver Thomas, President of the New Orleans City Council.

Other participants will include:

• From the Louisiana Recovery Authority - Road Home Program, Executive Director Andrew Kopplin, Walter Leger (Chairman of Housing) and Donna Fraiche (Chairperson of Long Term Community Planning).

• Representatives from the IRS, HUD, and the Louisiana Department of Economic Development will describe tax credits for both consumers and developers.

Renewal Money for New Orleans Bypasses Renters
By SUSAN SAULNY and GARY RIVLIN

NEW ORLEANS As billions in housing aid begins to flow here in the next few weeks, most of it will go to homeowners, who have been appointed by city officials as the true architects of this city¹s recovery, despite the fact that roughly half the city's residents rented housing before Hurricane Katrina.

The renters of New Orleans, it seems, are on their own.

Rents are skyrocketing across the city, up an average of 39 percent since Hurricane Katrina. The city has announced that it plans to refurbish only a small fraction of its traditional public housing units. Some neighborhoods are campaigning to tear down sturdy apartment buildings and build parks in their place. Though some aid has been set aside for landlords, many lower-income residents who say they are unable to return have been priced out.

"I want to come back, but who's going to help me build my life?" asked Lionel Smith, 46, a longtime resident of the Lower Ninth Ward and a driving school instructor whose apartment building was destroyed by the floodwaters.