News, Updates, & Beacon Bits
Here are the full news and updates listings for all of you Beacon needs!
December 20th, 2008
Grace Infant Care Center is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00am-1:30pm. This is a Mother's Day out program for infants to 2 years olds. The Center is located at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 5800 Canal Blvd & I-610 (Exit 1A), New Orleans. For more information. call 504-482-1488.
December 18th, 2008
Mt. Carmel Academy High School is thriving once again!
January 23, 2008
SBA office of Disaster Assistance is back in Lakeview. The office id located at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 5800 Canal Boulevard & 610 (Exit 1A), New Orleans. Their offcie hours are Monday-Firday from 9:00am-5:00pm and Saturday from 9:00am-1:00pm. A representative from FEMA is also present to offer any assistance in anyone's disaster recovery.
November 10th, 2008
New residents in the Lake Area
The Beacon of Hope Resource Centers want to welcome you back home so please let us know when you move into your renovated home by sending an email to register@lakewoodbeacon.org or call 504 309-5120. The Beacon of Hope, St. Paul Homecoming Center and Lakeview Christian Center would like to deliver a very special gift basket to welcome you home. Additionally, the Beacon of Hope is sponsoring a Grime and Roses campaign, whereby, you will also receive a beautiful antique rose.
November 1st, 2008
October 20th, 2008
Hynes Charter School Re-Opens and is now accepting applications for kindergarten through eighth grade for the 2007-08 school year. For more information call 483-6100.
October 15th 2008
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD: LOT NEXT DOOR ORDINANCE
The "Lot Next Door" Ordinance gives homeowners across the city the right of first refusal to purchase adjacent lots sold to the Road Home Program or which are abandoned, and was supposed to come up for a vote to the City Council. However, the Council deferred the Ordinance (Calendar #26,367) until April 19th because there were last minute changes requested by the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) and other agencies in the City that will likely make it very difficult for a homeowner to purchase a lot next door to expand their home, have a larger yard/garage, build a pool, or build a second house for a relative. The proposed changes also make it much easier for NORA or the City to package the lots for sale to large developers or to Wall Street banks without ever having to offer the lot to the next door neighbor.
The Lot Next Door Program was a very popular idea which came out of our neighborhood planning process. The program is particularly beneficial to (and fully supported by) most neighborhood planning districts, including Lakeview, Gentilly and New Orleans East. If you want to see this ordinance pass in a way that it may actually help neighbors purchase abandoned properties in Lakeview, (and those in adjacent planning districts), and thereby expand and retain property ownership from within our city neighborhoods, we recommend that you send a note to your City Council members showing support for the Ordinance, with the following points.
I support the Lot Next Door Program, which at a minimum, should include the following protections for neighbors:
The Ordinance should require NORA or the City to send a certified letter to the adjoining homeowners notifying them that the lot is for sale, information about the lot, what the fair market purchase price is, and provide people a reasonable time period (60 days) to decide if they want to purchase the lot.
The Ordinance should not allow NORA or the City to sell a lot at a lower purchase price than the one initially provided to the next door neighbor without giving the next door neighbor the option of buying the lot at the lower purchase price first.
The Ordinance should require NORA and the City to turn around lots for sale as soon as they gain title or control of the lots. No land banking.
The Ordinance should cover every residential property in the City without any option for NORA or the City to hold lots for pooling to use as collateral on Wall Street or for developer pools. They can pool the properties after the right of first refusal for the adjoining homeowners has expired.
The Ordinance should not include any reversion requirement where NORA or the City can take back the lot if a family turns around and sells the lot in the first five years after it is sold to them. This reversionary right of NORA makes obtaining a loan for an expansion, new home, etc. very difficult if not impossible.
The Ordinance should include a reasonable time period for people to build or bring the property into compliance with current codes.
The reason why the recovery of Lakeview has been as successful as it has to date is only because of the continued investment and concerted efforts of the residents of the neighborhood. A functioning and community oriented Lot Next Door program is another important way the City can help the community further along neighborhood based investment. Changes to the Ordinance which allow properties to be held off the market, or which do not require adequate notification, or which restrict what can be done with the properties to such an extent that it makes no sense for neighbors to buy the property are not helping the recovery of Lakeview or the other City neighborhoods, and we hope that you will approve a clear and simple Lot Next Door program which takes into account the points noted above.
The e-mail can be sent to:
May 30th, 2007
May 30th, 2007
City Offers New "Good Neighbor Program"In order to provide all of the citizens of New Orleans the opportunity to rebuild their homes and reclaim their lives, The City of New Orleans Good Neighbor Plan has been developed to provide guidelines for the restoration and maintenance of homes in New Orleans. By strategically safeguarding citizen's property while providing a framework for reinvestment that protects the financial investments of returning citizens against the spread of blight through inaction, the Good Neighbor Plan provides a better sense of security for all citizens.
For more information: City of New Orleans Portal or continue to the
Good Neighbor Online Application.
Basically, anyone can enter data on any property that they consider to be blighted as long as they know the address. There are a variety of options to select once the property has been entered such as "not gutted", "rodent problem", "weeds", etc. after all that has been entered, you have the option to enter your name, organization and contact information and print out an official certificate that can then be placed on the property.
May 20th, 2007
Hiring a Contractor- Please visit this link for tips on hiring a contractor