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A storm is brewing in New Orleans, and it has nothing—and everything—to do with wind and water. Community organizations, homeowners, and at least one member of the City Council say the city is using federal funding to sweep away historic, flooded, but repairable housing as ruthlessly as did Katrina. Yet city representatives assert they're simply trying to facilitate the recovery and protect the health and safety of residents.
These old homes stood up to the wrath of the hurricane, and now the city is trying to take them down," says Karen Gadbois, founder of Squandered Heritage, a Web site that tracks the loss of historic properties to demolition. "Many of the properties on the list do appear extremely damaged, but others have people living in them, and many are in the process of being remediated or renovated. There are homeowners who are desperately trying to have their properties removed from the list."
City Councilperson Stacy Head, whose district includes the recently demolished Gallo Theater and some Katrina-flooded areas, says the entire demolition process is "incredibly broken." Says Head, "Houses that should be demolished and are unquestionably an imminent danger ?c are not being torn down. Yet other houses that certainly can be restored, that are part of this city's fabric and its economic value, are on the list for demolition."