Irish Channel Neighborhood Association

Friends and Neighbors:

The rubber coating installation has begun. Hopefully it will be done by Friday evening. The rain has slowed them down.

If you have any pictures from the playground build you wish to share please send them to webmaster@irishchannel.org.

Here are some that have already been sent to me:

Preparation Day (Aug 25^th) Pictures on RSBM Facebook page compliments of Linda at RSMB:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=198504&l=b8f06a05db&id=122463553924

Build Day (Aug 27^th) Pictures on RSBM Facebook page compliments of Linda at RSMB:

http://www.facebook.com/r.php?http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-Sims-Baptist-Mission/122463553924#!/album.php?aid=199349&id=122463553924&ref=mf

Build Day (Aug 27^th) Pictures on ICNA Facebook page compliments of Kara Morgan:

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=79408636090&view=all#!/album.php?aid=204536&id=578528653

Build Day Time Lapse Video compliments of Ralph and Tamela:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWGb9qeG94c

Various Pictures compliments of Tess Conrad:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tessconrad/sets/72157624826470260/with/4934889827/

Enjoy

We had about 300 volunteers at Burke Park yesterday. The playground and 5 shade structures got built. We did a lot of painting… and then the rains came. We have some more work to do and we’ll schedule a Saturday later this month to finish it up. Stay tuned for more information in the next few days.

Thank you to all who helped.

Over the next few days we’ll also post more pictures and video. Today, I think we’ll all be taking the day off and watching the rain…

Thank you to all who helped.

Friends and Neighbors,

One day more to a new playground!

Wednesday was our preparation day at Burke Park. About 30 Marriott and Neighborhood volunteers spent the day setting everything up for our Build Day tomorrow. It was a very productive day and I think we are just about ready to go.

Today, our KaBOOM Project Manager, Danielle, is putting the final touches on preparations.  Paint is being bought and the signs are made. We have a lot to get done tomorrow and volunteers should arrive at 8am.

Here are a couple of reminders for tomorrow:

Bring Non-Perishable Food to donate the Second Harvest Food Bank. For those who cannot volunteer on Friday, this is an opportunity for you to participate.  We’ll start taking food donations at 7am and accept donations all day. If you have children, drive by on the way to school, show them the playground, and drop off a food donation. We will have someone on Annunciation and Second Street accepting donations.

Bring Sunscreen, the sun will be out and we don’t want anyone to get sun-burned.

Wear Comfortable Clothes and Closed Toe Shoes,  It will be a warm day tomorrow and you need closed toe shoes for safety purposes.

Cordless Drill, If you have a Cordless Drill, with a battery charger, bring it along.

2:30pm Dedication Ceremony, We will have a dedication ceremony at 2:30pm. A few folks will be coming by to celebrate our accomplishment. Come by if you can.

I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

All,

Build Week is here and there are lots of activities going on. Several people and businesses have helped to pull this off and we cannot say thank you enough. If you cannot volunteer on build day, come by and make a non-perishable food donation to Second Harvest Food bank or come by for the playground dedication at 2:30pm. We’ll be working all day Friday, so come and see what you all have helped achieve!

Our list of activities for this week is as follows:

Wednesday, Burke Park: Prep Day, Build Captains will be in full preparation mode at Burke Park.

2:00pm Registration Team Meeting

Wednesday, 6pm-8pm, Ed’s Carport on Laurel between Washington and 4th, “Friends of Burke Park” collaborative sign painting, finish painting a sign that recognizes some of our contributors. BYOB.

Thursday, uh-oh day, the KaBOOM project manager and the build captains will take care of any details not ready for the build day. If everything goes correctly, there won’t be anything to do on Thursday other than rest for BUILD DAY!

Friday, BUILD DAY & Food Drive; Bring your non-perishable Food Items for donation to Second Harvesters Food Bank

6:30am: Build Captains Arrive, Sort Tools and Equipment

7:00 am: Registration and Food Teams arrive, Set up registration and breakfast

8:00 am: Volunteers arrive & register

8:30 am Orientation and Kickoff

Mid-day: Break for lunch

2:30pm Playground Dedication Ceremony

Thanks,

Ed McGinnis

Friends & Neighbors,

We are getting closer to build day and everything is coming together. We are really blessed to have Marriott as our sponsor. With the help of a lot of volunteers, next Friday will be a success.

In this update I want to share with you the other projects we will be working on. We just finalized these this week! If it doesn’t rain we are going to try and do ALL of the following:

Plant large tree, Prune up Crepe Myrtles and  oaks remove weeds under outer fence, Build Double Shade Structure, Basketball court east side  20×6, Build Single Shade Structure over bench near  BB court, 12×6, Build 2 shade structures over tables along field , 12×10, Build Bulletin board ,  Build Picnic Tables with Game Top, Build Shade Structure, Tree Bench, Repaint 12 Black metal benches, Brush and Paint light fixtures (32), Repaint hopscotch & 4 square with Fruit, add a new smaller hopscotch,  Paint Race Track, Paint Distance marks on walking path, Paint Bench Steps, Repaint Fence.

The following link shows where everything will go:

http://irishchannel.org/website/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Kaboom-August-27th-Web.pdf

Send a message to Webmaster@irishchannel.org with any questions.

In the next day or two, I’ll send out the schedule for build day and let you know all of the folks who have donated to our park.

I hope to see you all next week.

Friends and Neighbors,

We have narrowed our playground design to three options. We’d like to get some thoughts on which design you would like us to use. Unfortunately, we will not be able to modify these designs; we can only choose one of the three.

You can see all three options on the www.irishchannel.org website. Please take a look at all three options and send your comments to webmaster@irishchannel.org. We will be accepting your comments until Noon, Monday July 19^th.

We’ll take all the comments we receive and we will make a final decision Monday evening. We’ll announce the decision on the website.

Thank You for your help!

Design #1

Design #2

Design #3

Dear Neighbors,

The Irish Channel is poised to take our next step in providing quality recreational opportunities for our neighborhood youth, and we hope you will join us in this exciting opportunity.

Over the past two years, the Irish Channel has focused on improving recreational opportunities for our children. This has led to several positive steps forward such as the creation of a Booster Club for Lyons Center & Burke Park and NORD’s re-introduction of athletic programs at these parks. These efforts have brought several neighborhood groups together, building increased momentum for improved neighborhood recreational opportunities.

Neighborhood park enhancement is a cornerstone of this growing effort. Kicking off the enhancement of Burke Park/Clay Square, The Chris Paul Foundation, the Hornets, and Helm Paint partnered to repaint the Basketball Courts. The Lyons-Burke Boosters worked with the City of New Orleans to repair the basketball court lights so we can now play basketball into the evening. Our next step in upgrading Burke Park/Clay Square is the installation of new, high-quality playground equipment, and we need your help to make this step a success

A community partnership spearheaded by the Irish Channel Neighborhood Association has been awarded a playground makeover by national playground non-profit KABOOM!. With generous corporate sponsorship by the J. Willard Marriott and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, we are scheduled to build a state of the art play area at Burke Park/Clay Playground on Friday, August 27, 2010.

While the corporate sponsor covers the costs of the play equipment, we neighborhood partners are asked to contribute volunteers, tools, and other supplies. Additionally, our community partnership must contribute $7,500 by July 27th. These funds will cover our portion of the costs for the playground.

Please support our efforts by donating toward this community fund. You can click to donate via Paypal on the main page.  We also welcome raffle items for our upcoming fundraiser and/or Build Day volunteer appreciation raffle.  If you would like more details please do not hesitate to contact us.

Quality recreational opportunities are a benefit to the entire neighborhood, improving the overall quality of life for all of us. We hope we can count on you to help us move our neighborhood forward. Your gifts and/or donations to the Burke/Clay Playground are tax deductible. The Irish Channel Neighborhood Association is the fiduciary sponsor and the tax ID number is: 72-1333677. But more importantly, your contribution will go directly toward providing a tangible improvement to our neighborhood that will enhance our community pride for years to come.

We look forward to hearing from you soon and hope that you join us in making Burke Park/Clay Square a true gem in the Irish Channel.

Respectfully,

Irish Channel Neighborhood Association                                               Lyons Burke Boosters
Irish Channel Christian Fellowship                                                            Rachel Sims Baptist Mission

Hi everyone,

Tonight (6/16/2010) from 6:30 to 7:30 PM at 2020 St Charles is the monthly NOPD Sixth District NONPAC meeting. This is your opportunity to speak with Maj Bardy and other members of the 6th. They will provide updates on monthly crime statistics and answer any questions you have about crime or policing in our district.

Please remember that the Lyon’s Center pool is now open 9-12 and 1-4 Monday through Saturday (closed for lunch 12-1). I was there last Saturday with my family and it was a great time. At our last board meeting we voted to purchase 8 plastic chairs which added to the umbrellas and other chairs purchased through neighbors in the Fabourg Delachaise.

NORD baseball has begun and we will send out a schedule as soon as possible. Unfortunately the lights are not working at Lyon’s Center so our ‘home’ games will be played at Evans until further notice. The next ‘home’ game at Evans is Monday @6:30 PM. The Lyons/Burke Booster club will be there selling concessions.

Finally, I have heard some complaints about litter and high grass in the neighborhood. I know its hot out there but please try to help in any way you can to pick up litter on the streets and keep yards and grass under control. A few years back we had monthly cleanups through the Channel each Saturday morning. If you feel your area is a particular problem and would like to organize a cleanup day please let me know. Just as a reminder, the city code for yards is the following:  * Yards cannot have weeds or grass taller than 18 inches. * You have to mow the grass along sidewalks and curbs. * You cannot blow grass onto city property (such as a street) and leave it there. * Dead trees must be removed from your property. * Poison oak, poison ivy and other unhealthy plants cannot grow on your property or sidewalk. To see a good summary of housing codes for New Orleans go here: http://www.cityofno.com/pg-147-16.aspx

Thanks and try not to melt out there,

Kara

Hi Neighbors,

The Lyon’s Center is open for business.  I am attaching a picture so you can see how nice the water looks.  They will need to close one day this week to relocate the bathroom trailer but will have regular hours the remainder of the summer.  You’ll also notice in the pictures there is no shade around the pool.  A neighbor in the Faubourg Delachaise is collecting money to purchase umbrellas and chairs.  Please let me know if you would like to donate towards this effort. Here are the hours of operation:

Monday – Friday

9-12 Day Camps and General Public (Lessons)

1-3 General Public Free Swim

3-4 Adult Swim

Saturday

9-12 Day Camps and General Public (Lessons)

1-4 Free Swim

Sunday – Closed

Our monthly ICNA board meeting is this Thursday @7 PM at 819 First Street (in the back). The board meeting is, as always, open to the public. 

* Hurricane preparedness discussion

* Live Oak & Laurel Charter schools

- Vote to sponsor painting of a classroom

- Update from ReNew Schools

* Lyon’s/Burke Booster Club updates

- Lyon’s Center pool

- Lights and baseball

- Dogs at Lyon’s Center

- Burke park improvements

* National Night Out Against Crime

- Review from last year

- Ideas/Planning/Budget

* Land Use update

- outstanding issues?

- Jackson Ave updates

* Treasurer report

Thanks and I look forward to seeing you soon,

Kara