Schwarz
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In previous interviews with the Times-Picayune and other media, HANO spokespeople expressed concerns about "looting," "troublemakers" and "squatters." Although it's true that there appears to have been massive theft from homes in these projects, in a recent visit to at least 20 homes that been broken into, most had their locks intact -- the apartments had been broken into by someone with keys and access. In several interviews, residents placed the robberies as having occurred within the last few weeks -- long after Mayor Nagin began urging people to return to the city, and weeks after the National Guard had finished breaking into homes to check for bodies.
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More than four months after Katrina, public housing tenants are still facing displacement and victimization. Grass-roots groups such as NOHEAT (New Orleans Housing Emergency Action Team) and advocates such as the Loyola Law Clinic and grass-roots Legal Network are calling for justice for public housing tenants, but for many residents, the city seems to be sending them a louder message -- "stay out."