NEW ORLEANS — Residents of Gordon Plaza will get money to move from their homes built on top of a toxic landfill. It's now just a matter of figuring out how to distribute the funds.
There are still about 60 families living in Gordon Plaza, which was called one of the most toxic sites in the south by the federal government in the 1990s.
Now nearly four decades later, the residents are still fighting for help.
Lydwina Hurst moved into her Gordon Plaza home in the late 1980s. It was newly constructed and had a large yard. She was thrilled.
"A dream home," she said.
That dream turned into a nightmare when she learned in the 1990s that her home was built on a toxic dump.
"Residents have died of cancer, respiratory failure," Hurst said.
She's a cancer survivor herself.
"These chemicals are contributing factors," she said.
Finally, after years of fighting, she will get to move soon.
Last week, the city council approved $35 million to help Gordon Plaza residents relocate to new housing.
Residents say there are 67 properties in the subdivision and 54 residents already committed to moving forward. Some have lived there a few years, others decades. Some rent and some own.
That's why distributing the funds is not as simple as dividing it evenly between residents, according to City Councilmember Eugene Green.
"You have to look at each individual concern," Green said.
That's why the city is looking for someone to make sure the funds are properly distributed. Only Sher Garner firm responded to the request for proposal.
It was discussed Wednesday during a working group meeting between residents and city council members, but residents want to speak with the firm themselves.
They set up a small group discussion between Sher Garner, the city, and residents for later this week to discuss a possible contract.
"To have those citizens who are living on a toxic dump to be relocated in as timely a manner as possible," Green said.
The residents hope to soon be in new, safe, healthy homes that they insist on having the freedom to choose themselves.
"Within the year 2022 I am insisting we get to that," Green said.
"I don't know where I'm going to go but I will be out of here," Hurst said.
Another meeting is set for next Wednesday, July 6 in the City Council Chambers
Depending on how this week's smaller meeting goes, a contract could be signed then.
Long term, city leaders would like to see Gordon Plaza land turned into a solar panel farm. Once the current residents are out, they say no one will ever live there again.