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New Orleans East residents hope new City Council will bring change

"We need the city to do their job."

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans East residents say enough is enough. 

They say for years their community has taken a back seat to other areas in the city, and they're tired of it. Discarded tires, trash, abandoned and blighted properties, people in New Orleans East say it must stop.

"We have not been treated right," Ann Legaux said. "Our property is being devalued by the amount of trash by people who don't live here."

"We go to other neighborhoods across the canal and it's a totally different look," Dawn Hebert said. "No trash, no tires being dumped, so we want what the other neighborhoods have."

On Monday, a rally was held demanding change.

"What we're doing here is addressing quality of life issues in New Orleans East," Hebert said.

Hebert, the President of East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission, says it's time leaders hear their cries and do something. 

"We are fed up with all of the promises over the years by elected officials that say they're going to help us, help with economic development, but we have been noticing the blight is out of hand, dumping of tires is out of hand," she said.

The rally attracted a good crowd, including newly elected District E Councilman Oliver Thomas.

"I'm here not just to be here for them, I'm here to work for them," he said.

He says he hears and understands their frustrations and will do what he can to getting work done.

"How does it make you feel to see anything that doesn't improve your quality of life?" he asked. "Especially when you think about the atmosphere it sets for our children, who if we don't begin to fix it, believe that's normal. I'd like to have time in council meetings that we can show these issues people have been concerned about for months, weeks, years and get a status."

Which is what people are hoping for.

"We need the city to do their job," Hebert said. "We're paying our taxes, we don't have this problem in other parts of the city, we need them to do their job and put our tax dollars to work."

 And with new faces now on City Council, they say there is some optimism progress will be made.

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