NEW ORLEANS — Thursday night, the Voices of New Orleans East had the microphone, and the ears of decision-makers.
Dozens attended a socially-distanced forum at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church regarding the future of New Orleans East.
Taking turns at the microphone, residents and business owners remembered what the East once was, and issued a call to action to bring it back.
“We need to have action, we need to have some kind of solutions that’s legitimate,” said Jon Renthrope, of Cajun Fire Brewing.
“I would like to see more economic development in our area,” said Psytia Jordan of Universal Printing.
The problems residents are rallying against include blight, red tape, stagnant development, and lack of investment.
“There are a lot of questions and concerns from the community, as to why and what’s going on, and are there plans that will really come to fruition? Because we’ve been disappointed so often,” said Tangee Wall, president of New Orleans East Matters.
She says there is untapped potential in New Orleans East, but there are many barriers to revitalizing the area.
“There’s always politics in everything, and I’m not afraid to say that, because it’s a reality,” she said.
Wall and many others say they’ve been patient when it comes to revitalization following Hurricane Katrina.
“Sixteen, can you believe it? We’ve gone into the sixteenth year post-Katrina, and so there’s frustration, absolutely,” said Wall.
Progress has been slow, to say the least.
But last summer, work began on revitalizing the former Lake Forest Towers apartments. The city is also seeking a developer to transform the former Six Flags site.
And a study is being conducted on the possibility of bringing back Lincoln Beach.
Eric Jones, a community advocate, said he’d like to see Lake Forest Plaza come back, in addition to more attractions to bring people in.
“When we ride through this city, and we talk about retail when we talk about amusement, when we talk about recreation, there’s a very limited amount of stuff families and their children can do,” said Jones.
District E is now revving its engine and ready for big change.
Councilmember Cindi Nguyen said there are some goals she’d like to meet before the forum reconvenes next year.
She said, she’d like to be able to say on that day, “We have secured a developer for six flags… and we get the ribbon cutting for phase 1 of six flags. For Lincoln beach, we have finalized the design of Lincoln beach and we are in the process of identifying developers.”
Our Eyewitness News Series, “The Forgotten East” dove headfirst into many of the issue that still persist in New Orleans East. You can watch the 4-part series on the WWL-TV YouTube page.
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