NEW ORLEANS — Oretha Castle Haley not only holds memories for Deon Haywood, but it has recently made it on a list of sites vital to the city.
“I remember, my cousins and I shopping at Venus Gardens which many people know as Ashe,” said Haywood, executive director of community-based nonprofit ‘Women with a Vision.
The Louisiana Landmarks Society says to maintain the city's infrastructure there are nine endangered sites in the city of New Orleans that need immediate attention.
The O.C. Haley Corridor was named because the society says the area from downtown to Jackson Avenue holds several blighted and vacant properties that are slowing economic growth. One of which collapsed earlier this month.
“Why do we let things rot,” asked Haywood. “New Orleans is a beautiful city, but I do feel like we can do so much more.”
“Places like Café Reconcile and the Jazz Museum are all coming but there still are buildings that need to be addressed on that corridor,” said one of the society leaders in a press conference.
But, O.C. Haley is not alone, the following is the full list of sites and issues the society says need to be addressed:
- THE NEW ORLEANS TREE CANOPY
- BIG GREEN EASY PLAN: PARKS & GREEN SPACES
- NEIGHBORHOOD PARTICIPATION PROGRAM (NPP)
- PROPOSED RIVER DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT - TOPGOLF
- INNER HARBOR NAVIGATIONAL CANAL (IHNC) LOCK REPLACEMENT
- THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE
- CLOSURE OF CATHOLIC CHURCHES
- LINDY C. BOGGS MEDICAL CENTER (formally known as MERCY HOSPITAL)
- ORETHA HALEY CASTLE CORRIDOR
According to the society, the city needs to address the list if it wants to protect the historic fabric of the city.
“If we don’t, the city that we know, and love and our built environment will no longer be in the form that we know it today,” said another presenter.
The Director of the Department of Code Enforcement released the following statement:
Regarding the Louisiana Landmarks Society (LLS) announcement about the City's most endangered sites and of the few structures listed, the following pertains to the Department of Code Enforcement:
1) Lindy Boggs/Mercy Hospital: (On DCEs radar and the Dirty Dozen)(Active and ongoing conversations with ownership indicated self-funded demolition is nearing.
2) 1410 Oretha Castle Haley building collapse: Had been identified and was on DCEs radar.
All others of the LLS most endangered sites are not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Code Enforcement, which included:
- New Orleans Tree Canopy
- Big Easy Master Plan for Parks and Public Spaces
- The Neighborhood Participation Program
- Proposed Topgolf development
- Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock Replacement Project
- The Alabo Street Slaugterhouse
- Closure of Catholic churches
- Lindy Boggs Medical Center/Mercy Hospital
- Oretha Castle Haley Corridor (from Clio Street to Jackson Avenue)
For a point of clarity and by Municode definition: Demolition by Neglect is not a term associated with the DCE, but rather the Historic District Landmark Commission/Vieux Carré Commission (HDLC/VCC). It simply means the deterioration of a building is to the extent that it creates or permits a hazardous or unsafe condition. Owners are heavily fined by HDLC/VCC and are compelled to make approved repairs to the structure. HDLC/VCC goal is historic preservation and never demolition unless deterioration is characterized by one or more of the following:
a. Those buildings which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall and injure members of the public or property.
b. Deteriorated or inadequate foundation.
c. Defective or deteriorated floor supports or floor supports insufficient to carry imposed loads with safety.
d. Members of walls, or other vertical supports that split, lean, list, or buckle due to defective material or deterioration.
e. Members of walls or other vertical supports that are insufficient to carry imposed loads with safety.
f. Members of ceilings, roofs, ceiling and roof supports, or other horizontal members which sag, split, or buckle due to defective material or deterioration.
g. Members of ceilings, roofs, ceiling and roof supports, or other horizontal members that are insufficient to carry imposed loads with safety.
h. Fireplaces or chimneys which list, bulge, or settle due to defective material or deterioration.
i. Any fault, defect, or condition in the building which renders the building structurally unsafe or not properly watertight.
