Public Housing Coming Down In New Orleans

In City With Rising Homeless Population After Katrina, Outcry Arises Over Tearing Down Units

(CBS/AP)  Still, there are Cooper residents who approve of the demolition, if only to see new housing rise up in its place.

"We need a change for a new generation coming up," Joyce DiBartalo told Edwards. "I'm for it."

Others shouted down protestors, pointing out that the Cooper buildings were scheduled to be torn down two years ago, and any delay will only further delay the construction of more housing.

One activist could not understand the passion of those who support the demolition.

"It’s unfathomable that they would say that they don’t need housing when you have people sleeping in tents, sleeping under the bridges, sleeping in abandoned houses, wherever, on the street, on the curb, in front of businesses in the warehouse district, it's fully unconscionable," Roderick Dean told WWL correspondent Jill Hezeau.

Still others believed the protestors' cries for help would fall on deaf ears.

"They're not hearing us - they’re rich," Rebecca Glover-Brown said.

The protesters have won the blessing of one presidential contender, John Edwards.

"There is a housing crisis in New Orleans today - the result of government policies that have failed the people of the Gulf," Edwards said in a statement this week. "Rents have doubled, families are being evicted from FEMA trailers and now the current administration is trying to make a bad situation worse."

Many more demolitions are slated to begin after Saturday.

Tests On FEMA Trailers To Begin After Months-Long Delay

Meanwhile, air-quality tests on government-issued trailers housing thousands of hurricane victims were to begin by next week, nearly two months after the Federal Emergency Management Agency postponed them.

On Nov. 2, CDC scientists were scheduled to start testing FEMA trailers in Mississippi for levels of formaldehyde, a common preservative and embalming fluid found in building materials for manufactured homes.

FEMA postponed the tests, however, saying the agency needed more time to prepare.

Harvey Johnson, FEMA's deputy administrator, disclosed the agency's latest plans for the tests during a hearing Wednesday in Washington before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Senators pressed Johnson to explain the delays in testing 500 occupied trailers in Mississippi and Louisiana, where tens of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

"It's taken a long time in part because we have not had this problem before," Johnson said. "This is the first time we've had people be in travel trailers for this length of time - up to two years - in which case some of these symptoms and the impacts on health have become more apparent."

Officials from FEMA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were expected to outline the new testing plans Thursday at news conferences in New Orleans and Washington.

Many trailer occupants are blaming ailments on formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory problems and has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Associated Press writers Cain Burdeau and Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.

[ianlou]

The culture and atmosphere of New Orleans was not created, it has developed over hundreds of years with the families who have lived there for generations as rich, poor and middle class American''s.

Without these people returning to New Orleans, the place will never by the same.

Any attempt at recreation will make New Orleans look like Disney Land.

[gheemaster38]

it''''s about time!!!!
These homes are rat infested, mold covered health hazards. I know because my house HAD to come down, I didn''''t want it to, but one strong wind and my home would have crumbled to the ground. Please let them build you a brand new home with no rats or mold. My god what are you people thinking?

The problem is that the "New homes" will only go to the rich. Not the poor or homeless. NO will become another Beverly Hills, CA with overpriced homes-That is until the next flood..

[staafl]

Are people living in these units now? No. So is anyone being tossed out? No. Gotta ask - if there''s no housing, are there any jobs? Shouldn''t people just move? Stuff happens. Have you lived in the same place your whole life? Read the inscription on the Statue of Liberty. It basically says come here and give it a shot - it''s better than where you were. That applies in this situation too. It doesn''t say to plant your butt in one place and ask for government help to stay there. I''m over here in Houston working & paying taxes - but hopefully not for federal housing for people to stay in NO. Get real!

[rockingbee]

I think a lot of people are commenting on this without firsthand knowledge of the situation. I can''t take sides on this because I don''t have enough information to make a rational comment. I hope that whatever decision is made will eventually relieve the homeless situation in New Orleans, but I do agree that people should be trying to solve the problem instead of sitting around waiting for someone to do something. Hopefully the local government is helping people to help themselves.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by bb19631 at 04:02 PM

That''s it. Blame the victims. That''s all you worthless people are good for. Solutions? You aint got none!

[runningralph]

tburzio,
As a matter of fact Ray Nagin was the man who got on TV and told everybody there was a mandatory evacuation. Everybody was told to leave. He was not responsible for what happened after that. There is no law making the mayor responsible for private citizens'' transportation. They were told not to go to the superdome because the last time they went there they ruined the place. Tore up seats, used the whole place as a toilet. They cry about being poor, but I see a bunch of fat women with babies.

[michellem99-2009]

This is an issue nation wide. Stop the greed. Public housing NEED to go up NOT down.

[kindrox]

* What I want to know is, why people are still living in New Orleans if their is no housing? Move on people. You can make a better life elsewhere, where their is housing. Stop whining about what you don''''t have. Look for solutions. You need to start helping yourselves. No more handouts. Sorry, but its the truth. *

I find it unbelievable that someone would choose to live underwater, and then demand money when the inevitable happens.

[rudy654-2009]

I wonder if Al Sharpton will be done with his IRS audits to lead this march. Posted by Klingon69 at 02:59 PM

Who knows? Maybe you should listen more to Limbaugh.

[bb19631]

What I want to know is, why people are still living in New Orleans if their is no housing? Move on people. You can make a better life elsewhere, where their is housing. Stop whining about what you don''t have. Look for solutions. You need to start helping yourselves. No more handouts. Sorry, but its the truth.

[marcodele]

Affordable housing in New Orleans is still a very real problem. But so is an entire generation raised on the entitlement system. It is sad that people are willing to live in squalor as long as it''s free.

[tburzio]

Wasn''t it Mayor Nagin that sent the people to the Super Dome, and then abandoned them to their fate because he couldn''t find union drivers for the city bus fleet (stored nearby)...

[pghlady3]

it''s about time!!!!
These homes are rat infested, mold covered health hazards. I know because my house HAD to come down, I didn''t want it to, but one strong wind and my home would have crumbled to the ground. Please let them build you a brand new home with no rats or mold. My god what are you people thinking?

[klingon69]

"Protesters have marched on Mayor Ray Nagin''s home and disrupted City Council proceedings with chants. A march on the HUD offices in Washington, D.C., also was planned for Thursday."

I wonder if Al Sharpton will be done with his IRS audits to lead this march.