This is from the city of NO office of emergency management Dated Dec 29th 2006:
2007 Critical Year For Recovery And Rebuilding Efforts
NEW ORLEANS MOVES FORWARD TO ACCELERATE RECOVERY FOR ALL CITIZENS
NEW ORLEANS, LA (December 29, 2006) – As Mayor C. Ray Nagin and his Administration focus on instilling belief and hope with a vision of One New Orleans for all citizens, the City of New Orleans continues to accelerate recovery from the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina and failed levees that flooded 80% of the city. Mayor Nagin is creating a new direction for New Orleans by developing aggressive, proactive programs that will assist in accelerating our recovery and bringing our citizens home such as the One New Orleans Road Home Fast Track Pilot Program, directing local allocation of CDBG funding to assist seniors and low to moderate income families with gutting, remediation and demolition programs, and the creation and installation of the Recovery Department.
“While 2006 has been a challenging year for all of us, there have been many milestones and successes in our recovery,” said Mayor Nagin. “This is a comprehensive look back at 2006 as it relates to city services and accelerating our recovery.”
Year Overview
* In January of 2006, the City of New Orleans continued to deal with the financial reality of almost a total lost of revenue – one third of the city’s budget was cut for 2006
* 100% of utilities were completed restored throughout the city
* According to GCR & UNO, repopulation numbers reported that between 235,000 and 250,000 citizens are back home
* Seven to ten hospitals were opened or currently under repair; Bed capacity at 83%
* Good Neighbor Plan, a housing program implemented in August of this year, is going systematically through the Administrative Hearing process. To date, 178 hearings have taken place
* Neighborhood 1 opened the 2007 SuperNOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) application process
* 2,500 adjudicated/blighted properties back into commerce
* Executed Mayor’s Home Remediation Program, gutting and demolishing properties deemed blighted and / or public nuisances in Councilmanic Districts A, B, C and D (properties still being cited in District E)
* Crime continues to be a challenge; Governor Kathleen B. Blanco deployed National Guard Troops and State Police to assist in combating crime; Governor granted an extension through June 30, 2006
* New Orleans Police Department is holding its first recruit class since Hurricane Katrina; classes began in November 2006 with 41 recruits
* According to the Louisiana Department of Economic Development 90% of Orleans Parish’s small businesses and 97% of medium to large business have reopened
* Convention and meetings business returning daily, 70% retained for 2007, 90% for 2008
City Financial Outlook
* City of New Orleans outlook upgraded to Stable from Junk Bond status downgrade after Hurricane Katrina
* The approved General Fund budget for 2007 is $411,628,133; which includes $49,254,000 of loans from the Federal Community Disaster Loan (CDL)
* The 2007 budget represents 86% of the pre-Katrina General Fund Budget
* 2007 Property Tax bills are being mailed out
* 2007 citywide millage rate has been established at 175.19 mills
o Decrease of approximately 7% as compared to 2006
City Accelerates Recovery
* The city reported that almost 400 city facilities were damaged as a result of Hurricane Katrina
* A total of 819 Project Worksheets (PWs) have been submitted by FEMA with a value of over $398 million
* FEMA has obligated 777 of these PWs with a value of over $275 million
* The State has paid 308 PWs obligated by FEMA with a value of approximately $135 million
* The city estimates total damages at approximately $900 million
* Mayor Nagin continues to list priorities for immediate infrastructure repair. The city’s top priorities are:
1. Criminal Court, Municipal and Traffic Courts
2. Community Corrections Center and Orleans Parish Prison
3. District Attorney’s Office
4. Cultural Arts Complex including Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts and Municipal Auditorium
* Borrowed $25 million from other city departments to begin repairs on the Cultural Arts Complex, Community Corrections Center and Orleans Parish Prison
Good Neighbor Plan Updates
As of December 18th, city has moved forward into the final phases of the Good Neighbor Plan
* Good Neighbor Judgments in Councilmanic Districts
o Properties cited as Public Nuisance: 9,995
o Public Nuisance Remediated (upon 30 day inspection): 466
o Public Nuisance Properties Remaining: 9,529
o Public Nuisance Notifications mailed: 1,795
* Since December 16th, city has conducted 127 Administrative Hearings
o Yielding 31 judgments
o 77 of the 127 have been remediated
o 19 cases have been reset
o 60% of the cases heard during the Administrative Hearing process complied with the Good Neighbor Program by demolishing, gutting, started repairs or signed up for voluntary demolition
Affordable Housing
* City joined Cambronne Development, L.L.C. in announcing availability of 124 affordable housing units at Palmetto Apartments (3980 Cambronne Street) on December 18th
* Fully renovated 124-unit apartment complex in the Carrollton neighborhood that will serve the affordable housing market with rents for one and two bedroom units at $450 and $550 per month, respectively
* City is underway with providing a housing unit to support homeless, transitional and supportive housing
* 2007 Initiatives Already in Progress:
o One New Orleans Road Home Fast Track Pilot Program – Mayor Nagin developed a complementary program designed to accelerate neighborhood revitalization with no interest loans of up to $50,000 of the amount expected by an individual from the Road Home program.
+ Program to be funded with city normal allocation of CDBG funds administered by Chase and Liberty bank
+ City will provide assistance to 1,000 families
o Mayor Nagin’s Home Remediation Program – During 2007 the city will remediate 5,000 homes (via gutting, boarding, ccutting the grass and in some cases pressure washing)
+ Mayor Nagin’s Home Remediation Program reprioritizes the city’s normal allocation of HOME funds ($15,000,000) to remediate homes of senior citizens and families with low to moderate income by year end 2007
+ The city, through the New Orleans Affordable Homeownership, Inc. (NOAH), the city’s non-profit development corporation, has already attended to 87 homes as of 12/08/06
o Demolition program – The city will demolish 10,000 units by year end. The program will be funded with $5,000,000 of the city’s normal allocation of HOME funds
+ As of December 18th, the city has demolished 18 properties deemed structures in imminent danger of collapse and has approximately 350 slated for demolition under same category
+ 25 properties are slated for demolition as public nuisances
o The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA)
+ Mayor Nagin revamped NORA to expedite the process of putting adjudicated and blighted housing back into commerce to allow for more affordable housing options for citizens
+ Under Mayor Nagin’s administration NORA has expropriated 300 properties and is armed with an expanded range of financing options approved by the Legislature during the 2006 Spring Session
+ NORA is authorized to accept federal funds, state funds, and local funds, which positions the board to be an economic arm that will assist in driving the city’s recovery
Safety and Permits Reaches Milestone
* As of December 21, the Office of Safety and Permits has issued a total of 132,227 building, electrical and mechanical permits since August 29, 2005 with a value of $ 3,749,524,169.
o 55,370 of those permits are residential
o 3,556 of the total is for commercial sites
* 6,703 demolition permits issued
* 787 permits for new construction issued with a value of $ 238,712,058
o New commercial property permits requested: 117
o New single family occupancy permits requested: 510
o New two family occupancy permits requested: 160
Sanitation Enhances Quality of Life for Citizens
* Sanitation Department awarded contracts to local vendors to enhance the quality of life by providing improved sanitation collection
* City-wide (including the French Quarter and Central Business District) new sanitation services to begin in January 2007
* Over 25,000 residents and small business owners have completed collection cart registration
* One New Orleans Tactical Trash Force (TTF) has collected 1.02 million cubic yards of debris this year
* The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has collected 13.71 cubic yards of storm related debris as of 12/18/06
* Storm related debris clean up (not including demolition debris) is 94 % complete
* An estimated 6 % storm-related debris still remains in the city of New Orleans
* Three debris drop-off sites were opened free-of-charge for citizen use
o Hendee Court in Algiers will close on December 31.
o Crowder Rd. site (Crowder at I-10) and 2829 Elysian Fields site will remain open until March 2007.
Public Works Department Focuses on Critical Infrastructure Repair
* In October, Public Works began a city-wide traffic and street sign restoration program systematically divided by planning districts, and designed to hit each street block by block to restore all missing or damaged signs
* Systematic inspections and cleaning of the main drain lines are occurring concurrently
* The department developed a pavement management system to maximize maintenance dollars for roadway and drainage repairs
* Camera traffic enforcement will return in 2007
* Projected completion of the 2000 Roadway Bond Program ($45 million) and to accelerate designs for the $168 million 2005 Roadway Bond Program
* The city purchased the “Pothole Killer”, a machine that will repair up to 50,000 potholes in 2007 in January
* Year end progress
o Potholes repaired: 12,456
o Storm drains cleaned: 3,179
o Street lights repaired: 8,039
o Street signs replaced: 4,785
o Street signs repaired: 2,537
o Total footage of drain lines cleaned: 358,493
Parks and Parkways Restores Green Space
* Department of Parks and Parkways was faced with an operating budget reduced over 50% following Hurricane Katrina
* Landscaping for Martin Luther King, Jr. monument, and additional landscaping done in the green triangle at Tchoupitoulas and Race streets
* Volunteers/arborists from Americorps of Austin, Texas begin initial dead tree removal
* Parks and Parkways reached milestone with FEMA approval to pay 100% to remove 6,000 dead trees from public right-of-ways
* To date, 1,700 trees were removed by the USACE
* Outsourced 50% of grass cutting to initiate 3 week cutting cycle
* Right-of-entry for removal of dead trees from private property approved and began
* Re-landscaped Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. corridor
* Planted 52 Live Oaks on Elysian Fields as initial phase of ReLeaf New Orleans
New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD) Redeveloped to Focus on Youth and Seniors
* NORD opened 4 multi-service centers: Behrman, Cut-Off, St. Bernard and Treme Recreation Centers
o Dance and cultural activities offered at NORD’s Annunciation Center with help of New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA), Casa Samba and Crescent City Lights / NORD Ty Tracy Theatre Association
* 33 playgrounds, 2 stadiums (Behrman and Kirsch-Rooney Stadiums) and 4 outdoor pools (Lemann, Whitney Young, Fisher and Lyons Center pools) were all opened in 2006
* Future Initiatives:
o NORD projects to attract approximately 8,000-10,000 participants weekly in 2007
o Revival of NORD’s “Golden Ages” senior citizen program to start in 2007
o Department plans to operate 9 pools total during Summer 2007
New Orleans Positioned for the 21st Century in Midst of Recovery
* City created an automated intranet service to give access to the District Attorney and Clerk of Criminal Courts allowing both sides to collaborate in the subpoena process which will streamline the criminal justice system
* Streamlined our permitting process through online applications and kiosks to offer better and faster service to our citizens
* With groundbreaking for LIFT, New Orleans will have a film industry with cutting edge multi-media and digital media studios and soundstages that are complemented by an emerging theater district featuring pre-Broadway productions.
* In January, 2007 we will begin a hi-tech solid waste collection that includes GPS tracking technology to increase efficiency and customer service
As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the City of New Orleans was forced to relieve 3,500 city employees and has operated with a budget shortfall of $168 million. With limited resources, fewer employees, and the hard work and dedication of city employees, the city continues to provide all critical services to all citizens. Hurricane Katrina impacted all citizens throughout New Orleans and the road to complete recovery will require the commitment and patience of each citizen to create a smarter, stronger and better One New Orleans.
According to a report from the University of New Orleans (UNO) Quality of Life Survey, citizens overall satisfaction has increased from 48% in April to 53% in October. According to the same report, 67% of our citizens are not very likely to leave because they feel committed to stay and help rebuild New Orleans.
Additionally, Expansion Magazine ranked New Orleans as the top city for the real estate market in 2006 with Central Business District prices ranking as the 4th in the nation for best office prices. The magazine also ranked the city as 5th in the nation for the lowest retail prices. New Orleans is a “good place to move to”, according to Expansion. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality supports this rating by just recently characterizing New Orleans as an environmentally safe city. Orbitz (online travel agency) and Travel and Leisure Magazine named New Orleans a “hot spot” travel destination for 2007.
In early December, Mayor Nagin traveled to Washington, D.C. with leadership from the New Orleans City Council and key Executive Staff members to update our congressional delegation and other leaders on Capitol Hill regarding the city’s recovery. This delegation lobbied for critical issues such as Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Revenue Sharing legislation, GO Zone Deadline extenders, Renewal Community expansion, Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) and additional resources needed to accelerate the recovery of New Orleans.
“By developing and implementing initiatives and in re-organizing City Hall, I believe that we can all look forward to 2007 where the recovery of New Orleans will be greatly accelerated,” said Mayor Nagin. “Now that we have our house in order we need the federal and state government to expedite the process of releasing the necessary funds to rebuild New Orleans.”
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
