How long have you lived in Gentilly Heights East?
I purchased my house on Touro St in February of 2002.
How did you get involved in your neighborhood?
I met everyone at our Night Out Against Crime after Katrina and was voted President that November.
What do you love about your neighborhood?
I absolutely love my neighbors, everyone knows each other and is always willing to help out.
I can recall when I bought my house I had to do a lot of renovations. I would always stop work early so
I wasn’t making too much noise with the saws, hammers, and nail guns. I can remember my immediate neighbors coming over one afternoon and telling not to worry and work as late as I wanted, so I could move in sooner. They would bring me dinner and cold lemonade almost every day. I knew I was in the perfect neighborhood.
What successes have you had in your neighborhood?
We were extremely successful with getting rid of most of our blight early on after Katrina, with the help from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Engagement. We were also able to get developers to come in early to begin getting vacant lots remodeled with new houses. We still have some work to go to get back to our pre-Katrina status but we are definitely on pace to get there soon. We are now one the fastest growing areas in the city with new home ownership.
What are you working on right now in your neighborhood?
We just had a very long traffic survey completed to have some stop signs reversed on strategic street corners to prevent speeding down neighborhood streets when the school zone speed cameras are out on the main thoroughfares.
We are also starting the planning for our 2019 Night Out Against Crime. Our Night Out Against Crime always draws a big crowd, so we like to make sure our neighbors have a great time. We also have our neighborhood clean-up day in the works. We get neighbors together in the morning to pick up trash, clean out catch basins, and some larger debris that needs to be removed. We also get the Orleans Parish Sherriff’s Office to come out and help with any larger debris.
Any words of advice for other neighborhood leaders and change makers?
My advice would be to never give up no matter the obstacles that are in your way. Rally your neighbors and dig in and fight for your neighborhoods, because when you start to see the results of all those meetings, planning sessions, neighborhood cleanup days, city council meetings and hard work from everyone involved, it’s the most wonderful feeling in the world. All of those efforts will bring your community closer together than you could have ever imaged, so stay the course.