NEW ORLEANS — A 25-acre urban oasis near Mirabeau and St. Bernard Avenues was supposed to be the center piece of an ambitious plan to reduce flood risk and improve drainage in Gentilly and surrounding New Orleans neighborhoods.
The site where the Sisters of St. Joseph’s convent once stood sits untouched, seven years after the city received a $141 million federal grant to build the Gentilly Resilience District.
The land, donated to the city would be transformed into the Mirabeau Water Garden, an area that would collect rainwater through a series of ponds and dense vegetation.
"Everybody in the neighborhood is upset,” Gentilly neighbor Jeannie Tidy said. “We thought this would really help with flooding and take some pressure off the drains and do all the things that they promised.”
Wednesday, city officials briefed the council on the status of the project.
Before they could get to their presentation, council members had a few things to say about the long-delayed construction timeline.
“Politicians have press conferences all the time to announce we’re doing something,” City Council President J.P. Morrell said. “I think for a lot of people in the city, when it comes to these kind of projects, it’s gone from trust to trust by verify.”
“The public is frustrated with how long everything is taking, and I am frustrated with how many of my complaints center around Department of Public Works and Sewerage and Water Board infrastructure and the money is there,” City Councilman Joe Giarrusso said.
Deputy CAO Joe Threat said the 2019 city cyber-attack, followed by the Covid pandemic held up the project.
“I’ve always said before that you can only move as fast as contracting and law. So, we try to follow the law, we try to follow procurement rules and regulations to get things done.
The Gentilly Resilience District would also include rebuilding the Elysian Fields neutral grounds and other green infrastructure designed to hold 50 million gallons of stormwater.
According to the latest update, many of the major projects associated with the project are now expected to begin construction, next year.
“I don’t believe any of them anymore,” Tidy said. “I feel like they have not told the truth.”
City Councilman Eugene Green, whose district includes Gentilly says there is expected to be a major announcement concerning the Gentilly Resilience District on Monday.
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