New Orleans: A Bowl of Distinction

Check out the great performers coming up

at the 2008 Bayou Boogaloo on May 23rd

and May 24th on the Jefferson Davis Parkway

neutral ground in Mid-City New Orleans.

http://www.viddler.com/explore/katrinafilm/videos/81/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFbKINlXzRk&NR=1

Olive Stallings Playground at 1600 Gentilly in New Orleans officially reopened on February 16, 2008.   Sponsored by NIKE and Foot Locker, this N.O.R.D. playground and its participants received one heckuva party.    View this film to see what all the fuss was about….

The Krewe of Endymion returns to Mid City on Saturday, February 2, 2008

Walkin’ Through New Orleans

A funny thing happened on the way through the French Quarter the other afternoon: I stumbled upon musical brilliance, coming from a rag-tag band of buskers that included a percussionist who was splayed out on the asphalt and a jitterbugging dancer sporting an old St. Louis Cardinals shirt.

They didn’t necessarily look like much, but they sure sounded spectacular, proffering brassy, red-hot jazz straight out of the Roaring Twenties. No beignets before pearls here: I stopped dead in my tracks. Couldn’t help but be captivated - particularly when the band’s singer let loose, sans microphone.

Known as the Loose Marbles, the group created a most marvelous racket. So marvelous that they provided the musical highlight of my mini-vacation in NoLa, during which I also caught the R&B great Allen Toussaint in concert at Tipitina’s; soaked in some trad-jazz at Preservation Hall; and took in some of the city’s best brass bands during Krewe du Vieux’s Mardi Gras parade.

Which is to say that the Loose Marbles aren’t just good; they’re very, very, very good.

As I’ve since learned, the Marbles are a semi-famous busking collective that’s more likely to be spotted in the streets of New Orleans (or, if you’re lucky, New York) than they are in a proper club. They were featured last year in one of Dan Baum’s NoLa dispatches for The New Yorker - a pretty fascinating read, though the best part about it is the performance video, which I’ve, ehm, borrowed below.

Be sure to look out for the Loose Marbles the next time you’re in the Quarter. And be sure to bring more than a few spare quarters, too. Their shows are free, but the experience is priceless. And that’s gotta be worth something.

By J. Freedom du Lac |  January 23, 2008; 4:50 PM ET Roadies
Previous: Week Late Review: Yeasayer | Next: The Two-Minute Man: First 100 Songs Breakdown

Many wonderful people from far and near came out to help renew Olive Stallings Playground.

Many of the people who worked on this project were from the surrounding neighborhood but some were from as far as Minnesota, New Jersey, and California!

200 people came out in the rain and cold weather to make this happen.

Michael Nuwer noticed a large pile of soil in the yard of one

of our Faubourg St. John neighbors.  Michael approached

Grant & Mary Liz Lilon who graciously agreed to donate the

soil to the median replanting project on Esplanade Avenue.

Michael Nuwer spoke with Jed Fisher of Katfish Home Improvement

who was working in the area and Katfish Home Improvement

agreed to transfer the soil for the planting project at no charge.

Michael Nuwer is once again to be commended for his

resourcefulness, attention to detail, and organizational

skills.  Michael makes things happen!

Thanks also to Grant & Mary Liz (Keevers) Lilon, Jed Fisher,

Julie Van Brunt, Jorge Hill, Walter and Bonnie Lee,

Robert Thompson, and Charlie London who helped make this

project a success.

Olive A. Stallings is known as the “mother of playgrounds in New Orleans”. In 1906, she established the first “play center” in New Orleans, the Poydras Playground, at her own expense and continued to maintain it for two years. When the Playgrounds Commission was established in 1911, she served as its first president, a post she held continuously until her death in 1940.   At her death, she left one-fourth of her estate– $ 150,000 – to the playgrounds system, soon to become the New Orleans Recreation Department. 

1938 and 2008 are important years for Stallings Playground.  Why?Stallings Playground was built in 1938 with support from Olive Stallings.Stallings Playground will be rebuilt in 2008 with support from KABOOM!, NBA cares, and the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association.

See how the park looks today at the link below: http://www.viddler.com/explore/Katrinafilm/videos/50/ 

Olive Stallings Playground at 1600 Gentilly Blvd in New Orleans was built in 1938. It’s time to do it again. Please join us on January 19, 2008 when Stallings Playground will be reborn. 

Please click below to view a 2 minute filmabout Olive Stallings and her legacy.    http://www.viddler.com/explore/Katrinafilm/videos/49/  

New Orleans asks debate panel: Where y’at?

by James Oliphant

NEW ORLEANS—The Big Easy isn’t taking this one lying down.

This rebuilding city has its pro sports team back and is set to host the Sugar Bowl, the NCAA Championship Game and the NBA all-star game this winter. Hotels and tourist areas are operating at full speed. Getting around isn’t a problem. The convention center has been upgraded.

So you might understand why some residents and local media are miffed that the city has been deemed unfit to host a presidential debate. And they believe that the Commission on Presidential Debates has yet to give the city a straight answer as to why.

Local columnist Jarvis DeBerry, of the Times-Picayune, wrote this week that the commission is “now discovering that New Orleans is not the woman who cries quietly into her napkin at the news of her rejection. To the contrary, she is the woman who demands to know what the hell’s wrong with the person walking away.”

To New Orleanians, it’s isn’t about prestige. It’s about focusing the candidates – and the American public – on the status of the region more than two years after Hurricane Katrina hit and the levees failed. City councilman Arnie Fielkow told the New York Times that the city “has been through too much, and progressed too far, to be falsely disparaged on this national stage.”

The proposal was organized by the advocacy group Women of the Storm, in cooperation with four local universities and was supported by seven presidential candidates, including former Sen. John Edwards, who launched his presidential bid here. Anne Milling, founder of Women of the Storm, called New Orleans the “clear moral choice” for hosting a debate.

Posted by Jim Oliphant on November 28, 2007 2:20 PM | Permalink

Grambling and Southern fans give New Orleans economy a boost 11/23/2007, 12:32 p.m. CT By MARY FOSTER       The Associated Press   NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The streets around the Louisiana Superdome took on the festive air of a street fair on Friday as vendors set up booths and prepared to hawk everything from team T-shirts to secret-recipe barbecue to Bayou Classic fans. The annual matchup between Grambling State and Southern University — Louisiana’s traditionally black colleges and Southwestern Athletic Association powerhouses — is both a tradition and a much-needed economic boost for New Orleans. “Typically in most tourism cities holidays are pretty quiet and there are a lot of empty hotel rooms,” said Bill Curl, spokesman for the Superdome. “This brings people in every year. Then everybody goes home and raves about what a good time they had and that brings in more the next time.” The Bayou Classic, the brain child of the late Grambling coach Eddie Robinson, is much more than the football game. By the time it’s played Saturday, there will have been a coaches luncheon and the Super Job Fair on Friday. And the Battle of the Bands on Friday featuring the school’s marching bands, whose rivalry is every bit as intense as that of the football teams. Since Hurricane Katrina the crowds have been smaller, but have grown in the two years since the storm. Last year the game, which sells out at 70,000, drew only 47,136. The battle of the bands, which has about 35,000 seats, was sold out. The game is televised nationally on NBC. “Most of our special events we’ve rebuilt,” said Bill Langkopp of the Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association. “Even so, our occupancy rate is in the mid 70s and we’re hoping to break 80 percent by game time. That is significant on what is traditionally a slow tourism weekend.” Bourbon Street and the rest of the French Quarter and surrounding tourist areas were quiet Thursday night with people preferring family and friends to partying. But that always changes on Friday night when the Bayou Classic crowd hits town, said Earl Bernhardt, co-owner of five French Quarter bars. “We only had two of our locations open Thursday,” Bernhardt said. “But they’re all back up and running today and they’ll be busy tonight.” His Tropical Isle bars on Bourbon Street do especially well during the Bayou Classic, Bernhardt said, thanks to a mention of their trademarked drink the Hand Grenade by hip-hop artist Ludacris. “Ever since he sang about it in one of his songs, this crowd has been pretty hip to us.” Bernhardt said. The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau was unsure of the economic impact of the event on the city, spokeswoman Mary Beth Romig said, because they were unsure what this year’s attendance would be. “It always comes during one of our slower weekends,” Romig said. “And it brings in a crowd that likes to shop, hit the restaurants and party.”

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N.O. Streetcars Welcomed Back With Party

By BECKY BOHRER – 22 hours ago

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Amid a Carnival-like atmosphere, streetcars began rolling past the historic mansions of this city’s Garden District Saturday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina halted the St. Charles Avenue line more than two years ago.

 While only about half of the line is reopened, many see the return of the 1920s-era green cars as a sign of progress in the city’s recovery and a morale booster.

“It’s like having another piece of the puzzle, another piece of the city” back, said Melisa Rey, who rode on the first of a string of cars with her husband, Tom, and 10-month-old daughter, Jeanne-Marie. “It’s so nice to finally have some good publicity,” Tom Rey added.

Six of the 13 miles the cars once ran are now open on the St. Charles line, and officials hope to restore full service through by spring.

It’s been slow going in large part due to the cost and scope of the storm’s damage to the line’s power system, due for an upgrade before the August 2005 storm. Mark Major, general manager of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, praised federal highway officials for providing $14 million that he said was key to the resumption of the service.

Politicians and local officials were on hand, as they were in December when an initial loop of about 1.2 miles opened. But the feel was different, more festive.

On Saturday, a marching band led the streetcars down to the Lee Circle loop. Revelers dotted the oak-lined avenue — some waving or holding up drinks, others, carrying signs that read “No More Bus” or “Welcome Back,” or offering riders Mardi Gras beads or high-fives.

Councilwoman Stacy Head called the streetcars part of the city’s identity — “everything from the noise, the clanging down the avenue to the lights at night. The St. Charles line was the oldest continuously operating line in the world before Katrina shut it down in August 2005. It began operation in September 1835.

“It’s what makes New Orleans feel like home,” she said. “It’s as important as red beans and rice and Mardi Gras, and it’s hard to explain to people who aren’t part of this city how important this is as an icon and a real-life form of transportation.”

Karen Miller grew up riding the streetcar and took it to work before Katrina. It’s not just for tourists, and it’s far more fun than riding a bus — especially when the windows are down, she said. A warm breeze blew through the car in which she was riding.

Transit officials expect to run about five cars on the St. Charles line. The fare is $1.25 beginning Sunday; people got to take rides for free Saturday afternoon. Four or five streetcars also are running on the Canal Street line and two are available along the riverfront.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hOuP3QBBjs_qjHB1_LmDDKglt3TwD8SR4M280

November 6, 2007

Rebuilding New Orleans, Post-Katrina Style

By ROBIN POGREBIN

NEW ORLEANS — This city has always been known for its eclectic housing styles — Greek Revival, Italianate, Creole. Now emerging is what could be called a posthurricane vernacular, wide-ranging architectural responses to what everyone here refers to simply as the Storm.

There is what could be called the Defensive style, houses jacked up so high on pilings that they look as if they might teeter over or take wing.

There is also the Defiant style: pristine houses with columned porches painted in storybook pastels. These are surrounded by houses with boarded-up windows and padlocked doors; FEMA trailers still in the front yard; arrested construction because of a shortage of contractors; or empty lots with nothing left but corroding concrete foundations. These cheerful houses stick out like cartoonish stage sets, with people determined to live happily ever after inside, even though they may still be encircled by devastation and afraid to venture out on the deserted streets after dark.

 

And then there is the Do Good style, affordable housing being built by groups like Tulane University’s architecture school — in partnership with Neighborhood Housing Services, a nonprofit group — and taking advantage of this city’s blank-slate moment to introduce more contemporary structures into the landscape.

The result is precisely the hasty, haphazard aesthetic that some planners warned would emerge unless officials seized on Katrina as an opportunity to rethink the Crescent City in a more systematic fashion. But to many people who live here, some construction is better than none, whatever form it takes. Although about a quarter of the population has yet to return, at least some people are coming home.

“It would have been ideal had we started on Day One with an architecture and design program, but we didn’t have one,” said Edward J. Blakely, the urban planning expert serving as the city’s recovery chief. “I just want building to go on. We’re going to let people do what they think is right.”

Steven Bingler, a local architect who has been helping lead the planning effort, said: “I think we all have to be pragmatic about this. You can’t stop a city for two or three years while a detailed plan is developed. We just have to do the best we can to encourage development to take place on higher ground and to encourage the best-quality architecture we can — recognizing that there are going to be some projects not everybody is going to be proud of.”

To be sure, not everyone is comfortable with what is being built. R. Allen Eskew, a local architect who has been involved in the planning process, called it “generica” born of an “irrational self-determination.”

“With the ad hoc repair to the city, New Orleans is missing a golden opportunity,” Mr. Eskew said. “If your city has been destroyed, you’ve got a chance to make things right, not just to replace what was there. There is a tremendous amount of money being spent fixing things. The question is, is the fix of old paradigms the right way to get a community back in shape?”

“We need a Marshall Plan here,” he said.

Among the ideas advanced by architects and urban planners is permitting New Orleans to come back as a smaller city, with some heavily flooded areas left undeveloped; commissioning innovative 21st-century architecture for new public and residential buildings, even as the city’s treasured historic structures are preserved; and rebuilding low-income housing on higher ground.

“There is always a struggle in New Orleans between the forces of historicism and the progressive forces of those looking to create a new vernacular,” said Reed Kroloff, who recently stepped down as dean of Tulane’s architecture school and worked on the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, one of Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s early planning efforts.

Steve Dumez, an architect who works with Mr. Eskew, said he felt strongly that new buildings should not mimic historical traditions. “That would be an inappropriate way to show our allegiance to the past,” he said.

At the same time, architects like Mr. Eskew — whose firm, Eskew & Dumez & Ripple, restored the Superdome and has helped redesign six miles of the city’s riverfront — realize that the still-dire conditions of many New Orleans neighborhoods make big-picture planning seem like a luxury. People are doing what they can when they can.

“What’s interesting for me is watching the optimism,” Mr. Eskew said. “It’s a study in survival instincts.”

Michelle Stroud’s husband took four months off from his job installing security cameras to add a front porch to their new traditional-style home in Lakeview (a badly damaged area in the northwest section of the city), move the entrance from the side to the front to make the house more welcoming and install lighting and fans.

Still, Ms. Stroud, 39, says she gets a little nervous at night when her husband works late, and she is alone with her two daughters. The street is still largely uninhabited, and there are no services nearby. “It’s kind of eerie,” she said. “After two years, some houses haven’t even been knocked down. It would be nice to have a gas station or a food store.”

Despite Alzheimer’s disease and a post-Katrina divorce, Bob Murphy, 65, managed to renovate his traditional home on Hidalgo Street in Lakeview. “I’m pretty good with a crowbar now — I know how to knock out Sheetrock,” he said. His house’s columns, now longer-lasting tin instead of their former wood, came from Lowe’s; the kitchen countertops and bathroom tile from Home Depot; the cleaning supplies from Wal-Mart. “You name it, we hit it,” Mr. Murphy said.

Kathleen Mayer, 42, moved her family into a 1,525-square-foot modular cottage on Vicksburg Street in Lakeview while the 5,100-square-foot stucco-and-brick house that she and her husband are building a few streets away is under construction. Their temporary home, where the Mayers are living with their three children and a dog, is eight feet above the base flood mark. “Better safe than sorry,” Ms. Mayer said.

Gilbert St. Germain, 66, raised his home on Louis XIV Street, also in Lakeview, three feet, plowing $300,000 into a slab brick house he paid $58,500 for in 1977. His contractor, Arthur Virgadamo, said New Orleans was getting a bum rap for dragging its heels.

“Everybody says we’re going slow, but how many metropolitan cities have been wiped out?” said Mr. Virgadamo, 51. “I think we’re doing pretty good.”

The Urbanbuild program of Tulane — together with Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans — has completed three unorthodox houses in various sections of the city so far. “It’s a laboratory,” said Lauren Anderson, the president of Neighborhood Housing Services. “It’s contemporary, it’s solving the problems of the now.”

The first to buy one of these houses (for $125,000) was Timothy Holmes, 33, an officer with the New Orleans Police Academy who was assigned to the Superdome during Katrina. Mr. Holmes said he was happy in his new single-story, three-bedroom house on Dumaine Street in Upper Tremé, even though sitting on the wooden-plank porch’s built-in bench means looking out on a street of blight. During a reporter’s recent visit, a young man was handcuffed by plainclothes police officers across the way as Mr. Holmes was being interviewed inside.

Mr. Holmes’s house departs from traditional models for New Orleans architecture, with its horizontally banded sliding windows, a large sliding door that opens onto the porch and a roof ridge running parallel to the street — “like an extremely stretched Creole cottage rather than a shotgun,” John P. Klingman, a Tulane architecture professor, commented in New Orleans magazine in May.

Students from the College of Architecture, Planning and Design at Kansas State University designed and built a funky modern Mardi Gras museum for Ronald Lewis, 56, in the Lower Ninth Ward, with a tin roof, corrugated plastic ceiling and plywood floor. Mr. Lewis’s museum, called the House of Dance and Feathers, had been in his garage on Tupelo Street, right where the levees broke.

“This is one building that’s going to be a living story because I’m here to tell this story,” said Mr. Lewis, a former streetcar track repairman on the St. Charles Avenue line who is also president of the Big Nine Social Aid and Pleasure Club, a Mardi Gras group.

Dr. Blakely, who was appointed executive director for recovery management by Mayor Nagin last December, has served in a variety of jobs in and out of academia, including urban and suburban planning posts at the University of Sydney in Australia; the University of California, Berkeley; and the New School in New York, as well as deputy mayor of Oakland, Calif.

He conceded that the quality of the houses going up in New Orleans was uneven but said the new elevations often amounted to an improvement. “In large measure, those houses actually look better than they did before,” he said. “By raising the house, they create a stronger presence.”

To some extent, he has had to retreat somewhat from the city’s original aggressive planning, which called for turning devastated neighborhoods into green space and inviting outside experts to weigh in. Many residents protested.

Still, Dr. Blakely said, it is important to press on with rebuilding wherever possible, whatever the architectural result.

“I said I wanted cranes in the sky in September,” he said. “I’m an impatient man.”

 

The “Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo Festival”  is a free music festival, held each Spring on the banks of Bayou St. John. In order to keep the festival FREE, a fundraiser will be held on Friday November 2nd @ 7pm, at Studio 3 ( 3610 Toulouse St behind the American Can).

The fundraiser is themed around the Mexican festival “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead), and will celebrate with Mexican food and drinks, live music and a festival atmosphere. Admission is $40 per person, $75 per couple, and $375 to reserve a table for ten.
Tickets are available at: http://thebayouboogaloo.com/

Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association’s annual fundraiser and the area’s premier event.

Do you long for the days of the old Drive-In Movie Theatres?

Then you’ll love Fortier Park’s Movie Night.

Everything you could do at the Drive-In, you can do here.

Well, almost everything.

You see, Movie Night at Fortier Park is a family friendly affair.

But, you can buy hotdogs, popcorn, and drinks for a buck each and

all the proceeds go to charity.

Look for the next one on November 10th!

To Kill a Mockingbird was featured at the last Fortier Park Movie Night.

Proud to Call it Home!   http://www.viddler.com/explore/katrinafilm/videos/37/

Fortier Park is in the 3100 block of Esplanade

Sponsored by Friends of Fortier Park

and Asian Pacific Café 

This Saturday, October 20th at 7 pm

join your neighbors at Fortier Park

for the movie To Kill A Mockingbird

on Al’s big screen. 

Bring the kids, a blanket and a chair.

You can even buy hotdogs, popcorn,

and drinks for only a buck each.           

Officer Tran conducted the second FSJNA Neighborhood Watch program.

Officer Tran discussed personal safety.

Here are some of the points he made:

Have only the keys you really need on your key ring. 1 office, 1 home, 1 car. Keep all the other storage, file cabinet, and other keys inside the location where you are going. Having fewer keys will allow you faster access to your car, home, and office. It will also be easier to use those few keys as a weapon against an attacker. Go for the face and eyes.

Don’t pull too close to other vehicles at red lights or in traffic. If you do this, it makes it easier for attackers to box you in and rob you.

Never ever leave your purse or other valuables in plain view on the passenger seat.

Be aware when you go to the bank. Robbers will follow you home. If you believe you are being followed go directly to a Police or Fire Station. Do not go straight home.

When you arrive home, if you see a door open or a window broken do not investigate this yourself. Immediately call 911.

When you call 911, if the dispatcher is unresponsive or rude, immediately call back and ask for a supervisor.

Walking in the neighborhood: bring your dog, a whistle, and always go in a group of two or more. At night, always bring a flashlight with you.

Join us for the next Neighborhood Watch Walk which will begin at Soprano’s on Friday, October 26th. Look for more information soon!

How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood?  Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day?  Unless you’re the Terminator, for an instant you’re probably set back on your heels.  However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly that person can get back their focus on what’s important.  Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson.
I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened:
I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!  The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.
And I mean, he was friendly.
So, I said, “Why did you just do that?
This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!”And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”Many people are like garbage trucks.  They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.  As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it.  If you let them, they’ll dump it on you.   When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally.  You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.   You’ll be happy you did.  So this was it: The “Law of the Garbage Truck.”
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do it anymore.”I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see Dead People.”   Well, now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish
them well, and I move on.One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best.Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about. The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.  What about you?   What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?  Here’s my bet.
You’ll be happier.
Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..
Love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the ones who don’t.
Believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance , TAKE IT!
If it changes your life , LET IT!
Nobody said it would be easy…
They just promised it would be worth it!**********************************************************************

Here’s a film just under two minutes about Deborah Langhoff:

http://tinyurl.com/yrws8u

Let’s elect someone who is real.
Someone who lives and breathes New Orleans.
A regular person who cares about us.

VOTE!

http://DeborahLanghoff.com

Community activist vying for House seat

She touts experience in helping city heal Friday, August 31, 2007

From staff reports

Deborah Langhoff, a community activist, has announced her candidacy for the 94th District state House seat.

As a civic leader and small business owner, Langhoff said she has spent the past two years working with people who are leading the city’s recovery. It’s this experience, she said, that will serve voters.

As a homeowner and small business owner, Langhoff said she has felt the frustration citizens have with rebuilding, rising insurance, safety and politics.

“I’m running for state representative because I believe New Orleanians deserve a chance to be represented by an advocate for them,” she said.

For 16 years, Langhoff has been a public schools advocate. She serves on the founding board of the Neighborhood Partnerships Network, the 5th District Neighborhood Recovery Group Steering Committee and the New Orleans Energy Police Task Force, where she promotes urban tree canopy restoration.

Langhoff also serves as president of the Lake Vista Homeowners Association and revived the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization’s block captain program.

The 94th District includes the lakefront neighborhoods, City Park and parts of Mid-City, Gentilly and Faubourg St. John. The primary is Oct. 20.

A native New Orleanian, Langhoff graduated from John McDonogh High School and attended the American Ballet Theatre School in New York City. She and her husband, Alan, have three children.

 New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival

November 18, 12 noon - 6:00pm
Oak Street at South Carrollton

We are excited to announce the first annual New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival to be held on Sunday, November 18, 2007 from noon to 6:00pm.

The festival will be held along the 8100-8300 blocks of Oak Street between S. Carrollton Ave and Cambronne Street.

The first annual New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival will feature po-boy offerings from some of the city’s most famous restaurants.

Festival Judges will present the “Golden Loaf Awards” for the best tasting po-boys. Judges include Tom Fitzmorris host of “The Food Show” on WWWL-AM, and Lorin Gaudin, host of “All Over Food” on WRNO-FM.

The festival will feature 2 stages with live music, arts & crafts, a silent auction, a children’s section with games & prizes, a beer garden with a large screen TV to view the Saints as they play on their game day; and of course, the best po-boys in New Orleans.

At the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival, it’s all about food, fun and family; with great music, lots for kids to do and the arts.

The Music

Bands that will be performing at the festival include:

• Papa Grows Funk
• Walter “Wolfman” Washington
• Charles Farmer Group
• Kevin O’Day Band
• Delta Blue

Downloads

• Sponsorship Info
• Food Vendor Form
• Artist Contract
• Volunteer Info
• Press Release

About the Po-Boy Preservation Festival

Hosted by the Oak Street Association, the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival was founded as a celebration of the storied sandwich and the role it has played in New Orleans’ culinary culture.

“There’s a whole generation of young people out there who have grown up thinking Jared is the expert when it comes to making sandwiches” said Brad Wilkins, President of the Oak Street Main St. Association “But a po-boy is more than just a sandwich, it’s a part of our collective past.”

The collective past of which he speaks is the historic streetcar driver strike that crippled New Orleans in 1929.

History has it that a local shop owner who was formerly a streetcar driver began feeding the striking the workers for free. When a hungry worker would come in off of the picket line the call would go out: “here comes another poor boy!”

From those humble beginnings spring the many varieties of the po-boy sandwich; a New Orleans original of which there is no sub-stitute!

The Po-Boy Preservation Festival will also highlight the ongoing revitalization of the Oak Street corridor.

In 2006, Oak Street was designated a National Main Street^TM by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a Louisiana Main Street^TM by the Department of Historic Preservation which authorizes the program. The Main Street^TM program, that has been in existence since 1985 has been successfully revitalizing local neighborhood commercial corridors that have suffered from large scale malls and big box stores in the suburbs.

As a not for profit 501 C 3 organization the program has been raising funds through events, grants and corporate sponsorships. As a result new businesses have been popping back up on Oak Street and longtime shops have been given the chance to revitalize their existing businesses as well as freshen up and revamp their store fronts. The Main Street initiative has been steadily gaining steam, and Oak Street has seen a slew of activity as a result of the programs success.

Proceeds from the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival will go towards the Oak Street Association’s work to promote, preserve, and revitalize Carrollton’s historic Oak Street neighborhood and commercial corridor.

A portion of proceeds from the festival will go to support the Abeona House Child Discovery Center. Abeona’s purpose is to support families through high quality childcare for their young children by fostering a sense of community, and respect for the capactiy of children, their teachers and parents.Located in the Riverbend area on Oak Street, Abeona House is a full time, year-round, not for-profit child care center. They serve children ranging in age from 6 weeks to 5 years.

Louisiana Main Street Press & Articles

• Main Street News, June 2007

For more information on the Louisiana Main Street: Main to Main event check out the website at: www.louisianamaintomain.org

For more information on the Oak Street-Main Street program check out their website at: www.onlyonoak.com

For further information, please contact Marilyn Kearney, Program Manager at oakstreetnola@bellsouth.net or by phone at (504) 228-3349

New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival Sponsors

The New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival would not be possible without the generous support from the following companies and organizations, in addition to the many people that have volunteered their time and skills.

Party Size Sponsors

• Cox Communications, Inc.
• Louisiana Main to Main

Whole Loaf Sponsors

• Alto Audio
• The Idea Village
• Leidenheimer Baking Company

Additional Sponsors

• Haase’s Shoes
• Zatarain’s

Steve Chaplain of Mid-City Pay Phone Company and Robert Thompson of Fair Grinds have teamed up to produce Mid-City’s first cell phone booth.    Steve had a 1940’s style phone booth in his garage and has allowed Fair Grinds to borrow it so coffee patrons can chat on their cell phones without disturbing others.

The cell phone booth is in need of some restoration but has brought a smile to everyone who encounters it at Fair Grinds.    Go check it out and look forward to using it soon! 

Pay phones still exist!     

If you want one at your business call Steve at 488-1996.

Photos taken January 6, 2006 

Chalmette resident sees her house for the first time after it was gutted. 

Historic funeral home to be reborn as a bookstore

STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER

The exterior of the old Bultman Funeral Home on

St. Charles Avenue. The building is being converted

into a Border’s bookstore.

By Greg Thomas
Real estate writer

Borders has leased the former Bultman Funeral Home on St. Charles Avenue with plans to gut the iconic structure and convert it into a 24,000-square-foot bookstore.

The store, expected to open in November 2008, will be the first national bookstore chain in Orleans Parish since BookStar closed its 12,000-square-foot French Quarter store in 2003.

The retail project, which promises to revitalize a deteriorating yet high-profile Garden District intersection, already has the support of neighborhood groups and preservationists.

But independent bookstores are girding for a battle much like the one that unfolded in “You’ve Got Mail,” the 1998 movie starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. In the movie, Hanks plays a chain bookstore magnate who drives out of business the small independent store owned by Ryan’s character.

“It’s a deliberate, predatory move against independent bookstores,” said Tom Lowenburgh, owner of Octavia Books. “They’re a 500-pound gorilla, and it’s not an accident” that Borders is situating itself between Octavia and the Garden District Book Shop, another well-established local store, he said.

Commonly known as the House of Bultman, the site Borders is leasing operated as a funeral home under some version of the Bultman family name for more than 120 years. It hosted services for many historical figures ranging from Confederate President Jefferson Davis to 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield. In recent years, funerals for oil tycoon Patrick Taylor and poet and painter Stan Rice, the husband of author Anne Rice, were held there.

But the funeral home was closed in August 2006, when the Alderwoods Group Inc. of Toronto put it up for sale along with several other local funeral homes.

STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER

William Ryan, left, of Ryan Companies, and Lewis Stirling III, of Stirling Properties, sit in the main foyer area of the historic Bultman Funeral Home on St. Charles Avenue.

It was acquired by a group of developers including Lewis Stirling of Stirling Properties and William Ryan of the Ryan Family Trust. Stirling is managing the property and signed a long-term lease with Borders on Wednesday. Stirling said chain book sellers have been trying to crack the Garden District/Uptown market for 20 years. The neighborhood’s large professional class and proximity to universities make it appealing for such retailers, he said.

Same outside, new inside

Borders will leave the exterior of the sprawling, mansionlike Bultman building largely intact, although some demolition will occur in the rear to make way for elevators to the second story. Parking is planned to increase from 38 to 60 spaces, exceeding code requirements. The building’s interior will be reinforced with concrete and steel to support the heavy weight of books and the elevators.

Borders already has a store on Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie. The St. Charles Avenue store will reflect its surroundings, offering recordings of local musicians and showcasing Louisiana books and authors. It also will include a cafe with outdoor seating along St. Charles Avenue.

The St. Charles Avenue deal has been brewing for more than a year and has enjoyed strong support from Borders President and Chief Executive Officer George Jones, who owns a second home in the French Quarter, said Borders spokeswoman Anne Roman.

This won’t be the first time Borders has renovated an old building to make way for a new store, said John Sappington, Borders real estate director.

Though Borders normally builds stores from the ground up, the chain has done many adaptive reuse projects, including several historic buildings in Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; and Boston.

Has the company ever put one in a funeral home?

“No, but we do have one in a old church in California,” Sappington said.

Hoping to co-exist

Donna Allen, owner of the Maple Street Book Store, said she has been hearing rumors about Borders moving in for some time.

“I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed that the deal wouldn’t go through,” she said. “How do (independent bookstores) compete? More personal service. We know our customers by name and we know what they’re interested in,” Allen said. “And our employees read.”

But Stirling thinks independent book sellers won’t suffer from Borders’ presence.

“Our ZIP code analysis shows that (New Orleanians) are going to Metairie and the West Bank to shop Barnes & Noble and Borders,” Stirling said.

Britton Trice, owner of the Garden District Book Shop, thinks he’ll be able to weather Borders’ arrival.

“We welcome the competition. People will always go and check it out (when Borders opens), but I believe in the loyalty of our customers. I have customers that were children of customers” after 20 years of operation.

“We’ll all get through this with excellent customer service, excellent book knowledge and knowing our customers,” Trice said.

Trice, who also is president of the New Orleans Gulf South Book Sellers Association, said the independents can help one another — and have in the past — with joint advertising campaigns. Local stores might work together again as they adjust to the new competition from Borders, he said.

Little red tape for store

Despite its longtime presence on St. Charles, Bultman comes under the purview of the Historic District Landmarks Commission but has no architectural historical landmark status that prevents its demolition.

Converting the site to a Borders requires no variances or approvals for the project, but Stirling said he knew that saving the building — at least its exterior — was a sure-fire way to garner support, particularly on a St. Charles corner that was rapidly deteriorating. His strategy seems to be working.

Walter Gallas, a local representative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, supports the deal.

“The trust’s position is that we’re delighted a building (that) for so long a time stood on that corner and completed the historic streetscape is going to be retained,” Gallas said. “There’s so many examples on St. Charles, from the 1960s and 1970s, where we lost a lot of old buildings for unfortunate development.”

Getting the building restored and in commerce is critical because it’s located in a commercial corridor that seems to be in decline, Gallas said.

“Once you lose a corner in a historic neighborhood, it works like a cancer works, spreading along side streets and into the (historic) district,” Gallas said.

Boost for intersection

Laura Shields, 2007 president of the Garden District Association, met with the development team as early as January.

“We really are pleased to see an economic infusion at the site. It’s a gateway for new development,” Shields said.

The other three corners of St. Charles and Louisiana avenues contain a recently reopened Rite Aid, a closed bakery, and a shuttered, collapsing gas station.

The one thing that the Garden District Association would not have put up with was demolition of the Bultman site, something the owners could have applied for because the building has no historical protections.

“We would not have been in favor (of a project) that didn’t maintain the historical significance of that site,” Shields said.

Greg Thomas can be reached at gthomas@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3399.

Many thanks

to everyone

who came out

to help with

planting along

Bayou St John

***********