The meeting was led by Major Robert Bardy, and other 6^th District officers were in attendance. Roughly a dozen community members attended.

1.         General news.

Major Bardy announced that the 12-hour shifts would be resumed in the 6^th District, probably in the second week of June. His plan is to use that to manage an extra task force that has reduced crime when used in the past.

1. Major Bardy said that over 200 young people attended the Job Fair at the Dryades YMCA on May 10 and 30 vendors offered jobs. He believes this type of community involvement is essential to overall crime reduction in the area.
2. Major Bardy announced plans for a Youth Against Violence march to be held June 21. Marchers will meet at City Hall at 10 a.m. and march to Jackson Avenue, with the end of the march being the Mahalia Jackson Elementary. Following the march the new playground at Mahalia Jackson will be officially dedicated. The playground was built by KaBoom! and the National Basketball Association’s charitable organization.

2.         Irish Channel news.

a.       An Irish Channel resident asked about foot patrols in the Irish Channel. Major Bardy replied that every officer in his command does at least one hour of foot patrol a day, including Major Bardy. Major Bardy sees the foot patrols as a means of community involvement. He said that there are no set beats for the foot patrols but that they move with the crime patterns. Once the 12-hour shifts resume, the foot patrols will concentrate on trouble areas in the Irish Channel, among which he listed the area bounded by 8^th, Tchoupitoulas, 9^th and Chippewa streets.

b.      In response to a question about two robberies, one in the 1000 block of 8^th Street and another in the 1100 block of 8th, Lieutenant Lohman said that he believes them to be unrelated and they have developed suspects and are close to closing both incidents.

c.       In response to a question about two other recent robberies, one in the 2200 block of Laurel Street and another in the 2200 block of Magazine, Lieutenant Lohman said that he believes them to be related and they have developed suspects

d.      In response to a question about the crime cameras, Lieutenant Lohman said that the service has improved as a direct result of recent newspaper and television reporting. There are 40 cameras in the 6^th District and most work, but there are still technical difficulties on a daily basis.

e.       Forty gunfire sensors have been deployed in the 6^th District and the hardware to manage the sensors is now being installed in 6^th District Headquarters and in patrol cars. The sensors cover the area bounded by Martin Luther King Boulevard, Claiborne Avenue, Louisiana Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street. The new technology promises an immediate response to gunfire within that area and it is supposed to determine the source of gunfire within seven seconds of sensing.3.         Next meeting.

The next NONPACC meeting will be on June 17, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the Convention and Visitors Bureau at 2020 St. Charles Avenue. The regular meeting time will be on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. for the foreseeable future.

What: Quarterly General Membership Meeting Agenda

When: Thursday, June 12^th, 2008

Where: Irish Channel Christian Fellowship Church

            819 First Street (between Laurel & Annunciation)

Please mark your calendars for this meeting- we will have three presentations important to the neighborhood:

1)      Robert Mendoza, street project manager will provide a status on the project and take your questions and comments.

2)      New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) – As you may be aware, ICNA has been working with NORA to match blighted housing to developers willing to rehab the homes and get them back into commerce. ICNA is proud to be the first neighborhood association in the city to participate in the program. Harvey Stern and Charles Burck (ICNA Zoning Committee) will report on the status of the project.

3)      Crime-  We will discuss what the neighborhood is doing to be proactive as the summer approaches, including reporting what your council representatives are doing to combat crime and our own initiatives to track crime within the Irish Channel to insure accountability.

Refreshments will be served and input welcomed!

Please contact me with any questions, and we hope to see you there-

Theresa Conrad - (webmaster-AT-irishchannel.org)
Secretary

A Youth Against Violence march will be held June 21. Marchers will meet at City Hall at 10 a.m. and march to Jackson Avenue, with the end of the march being the Mahalia Jackson Elementary. Following the march the new playground at Mahalia Jackson will be officially dedicated to fallen officer Nicola Cotton. The playground was built by KaBoom! and the National Basketball Association’s charitable organization.

The June NONPACC meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 17 at 6:30 p.m. at 2020 St. Charles Avenue.

President Ed McGinnis called the meeting to order and began his president’s notes.

He stated that most of the issues around the Irish Channel involve zoning issues and called on Michelle Kimball to assist him in going over the various meetings they had attended over the last month.

They are as follows:

·         Demolitions at 400 Jackson Avenue- GSA is opposing this because they feel the properties could be renovated. The ICNA previously opposed their demolition back in 2001 and since then the owners have maintained a policy of ‘demolition by neglect,’ hoping the  buildings would simply fall down if not cared for.

·         Belladoggie- 801 Washington Avenue- received final zoning approval. The owner has agreed to a title restriction stating that the zoning change will not be grandfathered in if the building is sold and another business comes in.

·         Brix- the zoning committee met with a group wanting to open a tapas restaurant/wine bar in the same building as Design Within Reach on Magazine Street. The owners want a liquor license but no video poker. They are trying to open by August 1^st, but have many hurdles to overcome, one of the most notable being that they are located within a 300 feet of a school and city law states no alcohol shall be served within that radius.

·         Charcoal- Ed spoke with the architects today and signed a Good Neighbor agreement. They have been very agreeable and are looking toward an August 1^st ground breaking once they receive final HDLC approval.

·         NORA- the RFP (Request for Proposals) has been released and there have been several contractors indicating interest already. The bids will close on May 12^th. Our efforts to redevelop blighted housing has been favorable mentioned in several publications recently, including the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

·         HANO scattersite on Tchoupitoulas – A meeting scheduled with the Lower Garden District, Stacey Head and HANO has been postponed until May 27^th. Neighbor Tamela Miller has been working directly with HANO to resolve these open, abandoned apartments which have been used as a dumping site for everything from dead pit bulls to stolen cars. Approval to tear these down was given even before Katrina further damaged the buildings, so Ms. Miller is attempting to get them to follow through.

We then moved on to the crime report since it related to the HANO sites.

Karen Chaubert was called away on business at the last minute and could not attend. She provided notes to Ellen Brandao to share with the meeting.

Karen has been working with adjacent Neighborhood Associations to determine what practical steps we could take to assist them. Two immediate things we could do to improve their everyday work environment and morale are:

1)      Establish a “supply cabinet fund” where the Associations collectively purchase basic office supplies such as toner, pencils and the pastel green paper police reports are printed upon. These things are required for the police to adequately do their jobs, yet they consistently have difficulty obtaining them from the city.

2)      Work with the other Associations to canvas local restaurants for donations of $50 gift certificates to be presented to the Officer of the Month as a token of our gratitude.

Ed added that the police in general and Lieutenant Michael Lohman in particular are to be commended for getting information out to the neighborhood via the email blasts.

Adolph Lopez discussed the progress he’s made in researching the feasibility and implementation of a Crimestoppers donation. As previously discussed, the ICNA is considering a donation of $500 to be placed in an account to increase the reward for information leading to a conviction of a murder within the neighborhood. The police will work with us to determine which crime would be most likely to produce information so the money could be best spent, and if no one came forward the money would eventually be returned to us.

Ed has been working with the Marriott on continuing work on the Kaboom! Soraparu park build. Marriott has given an extra $500 toward the project to construct additional barriers to keep cars from driving over the adjoining grass and endangering the children.

Additionally, Tamela Miller has begun a new Kaboom! application on a small park across from the aforementioned HANO scattersite. It is still early in the process, but once NORD (New Orleans Recreation Department) approves the build we will be put on the waiting list for a donor.

So ended the Committee Reports.

Old Business:

Ed discussed the possibility of a meeting format change. His recommendation is that we revise our schedule to have monthly board meetings instead of membership meetings. These board meetings would still be open to the public for anyone who wished to attend, but would primarily be to focus on the administrative issues that must be dealt with that are not typically very interesting to the average resident.

Quarterly, however, we would have a large membership meeting which would focus on those issues that do affect the neighborhood as a whole. Stacy Head and the 6^th District police officers would be invited to attend. Other possibilities such as a potluck dinner being served or activities for children during the meeting will need to be ironed out.  Quorum was not possible at the meeting, so an email will be sent to determine if people are interested in implementing this change.

New Business:

            The street repaving project has created many concerns in the neighborhood that Ed has been trying to follow up on.

Adolph Lopez voiced his concern that the storm drains are being covered over and are being built up too high to be as effective as they should be and suggested the asphalt should be graded to better drain the streets.

Ellen Brandao has been receiving complaints from her neighbors about confusion about when and where it’s okay to park. Paper  ‘no parking’ signs were stapled up to poles weeks ago and many have blown down. At any rate, the workers come only sporadically, so it’s not feasible to simply never park in the street, given that there will likely be no work on any given day.

She went on to express on behalf of her neighbors and herself how upset everyone is about the destruction of the old street name tiles by the crews. She was treated very rudely when speaking with the workers who have made no attempt to save and protect these city symbols.

Ed has been speaking with Boh Brothers at length about the work they’re doing. The project manager (Mr. Nary) stated that there is at least another week of patching holes in the Irish Channel before they can begin the actual repaving work, which should begin in 3 weeks time. He committed to keeping Ed informed and also states that they will be making every effort to see that no further tile damage is done. Boh Brothers is working to have replicas made to replace the broken tiles.

Ed said that he would contact Mr. Nary to confirm they will be doing proper grading and to address Adolph’s drainage concerns.

Additionally, there are going to be issues with overhanging trees when the repaving begins. Boh Brothers will be bringing in tree trimmers to insure clearance of 14 feet over the street for the paving machines. This will be a concern for many neighbors who have crepe myrtles and other trees planted at the curb. One possible solution for this is would be to wrap the trees in netting (similar to how Christmas trees are wrapped for shipping) for the duration of the work. Ed will contact Mr. Nary to get a specific date on when this will need to occur and send an email explaining this to the general membership.

After determining there were no further issues or question, Ed made a motion the meeting be adjourned. Michelle Kimball seconded, unanimously approved.

The next NONPACC meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2020 St. Charles Avenue.

The meeting was led by Major Robert Bardy, and other 6^th District officers were in attendance. Roughly six to eight community members attended.

1.         General news.

1. Major Bardy announced that, due to the success of the Job Fair held in Central City in the fall of 2007, there would be another in May of 2008. A training program will be held May 10 to help applicants learn to fill out applications, prepare resumes and perform well in a job interview. The Job Fair will be held May 17. Both the fair and the training will be at the Dryades YMCA.
2. Major Bardy reminded the community about the 6^th District’s Email Blast.  Sign-up is available at each NONPACC meeting. He also reported that the program is showing positive effects, with good feedback from the community, more tips from more people etc.
3. Major Bardy hopes to add new officers to the 6^th District and go back to 12-hour shifts by summer.
4. A community member reported roaming bands of “obnoxious kids” in Central City. Major Bardy promised to send patrol cars through the area.
5. Major Bardy also mentioned that the Venue on Tchoupitoulas Street has become attractive to criminals. Patrons leaving the Venue late at night have become targets for waiting muggers.
6. Major Bardy reported that Dustin Collins, who had been suspected of murder, had been arrested. 

2.         Irish Channel news.

a.       An Irish Channel resident reported that Annunciation Street between Philip and 1^st streets had become a trouble spot. Young people hang out in Clay Square until it is locked by the police at nightfall, then drift over to Annunciation. The resident said that nothing too bad had happened thus far, but he was concerned in anticipation of summer. Major Bardy and Lieutenant Lohman promised to send patrol cars through the area and keep an eye on the situation.

b.      In response to a shooting in the Irish Channel at St. Thomas and Eighth on April 14, Lieutenant Lohman said that the victims were uncooperative and as of the NONPACC meeting, the police had no new information on the perpetrators.

3.         Next meeting.

The next NONPACC meeting will be on May 20, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the Convention and Visitors Bureau at 2020 St. Charles Avenue. The regular meeting time will be on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. for the foreseeable future.

This Saturday, March 29 we’re going to finish the KaBOOM! playground at Soraparu Park — corner of Soraparu and Rousseau Streets.  Come meet us between 9:30 and 10 a.m. at the park.  We’ll work for about two hours installing an iron bench and trash can as well as digging holes, mixing and pouring concrete and installing bollards (steel posts for those, like me, who have no idea what a bollard is).  The chain to be hung between the bollards will be installed at a later time.  Lunch will be served after our work!

Mr. Timmons, an executive with the Ritz-Carlton (which is part of the Marriott group — which was the major and very generous sponsor of our Soraparu KaBOOM! build) is coming in from Phoenix with his family to help us finish up this park!

If it is raining, the Hill School has some indoor work with which they could use our help.

Other exciting news:  KaBOOM! has encouraged us to apply for another playground!  We are in the process of writing an application for the park at Tchoupitoulas and Pleasant Streets.  More to come!

Hope to see you on Saturday!

The March NONPACC meeting will be held Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. at 2020 St. Charles Ave.  Come meet your Sixth District officers and neighbors!

The meeting was led by Major Robert Bardy, and other 6^th District officers were in attendance. Roughly two dozen community members attended.

1.         General news.

Major Bardy announced that, due to the success of the Job Fair held in Central City in the fall of 2007, there would be another in the spring of 2008. The date has yet to be finalized, but should be announced soon.

1. Major Bardy reminded the community about the 6^th District’s Email Blast.  Sign-up is available at each NONPACC meeting.
2. Officer Nicola Cotton was killed in the line of duty while serving at the 6^th District. Major Bardy said that she “was in her purview … just overpowered” by the person arrested for her murder. Officer Cotton had been born and raised in Central City. NBA Cares, the social responsibility initiative of the National Basketball Association, has announced that it will work with Kaboom! to build a playspot in Officer Cotton’s honor at Mahalia Jackson Elementary. The Central City Comeback Committee will also develop a program to work with young girls, which was another interest of Officer Cotton’s.
3. A community member asked for help with the vacant lot at Camp and Thalia streets. He felt that the combination of homeless people and high grass was a potential fire hazard. Quality of life officers Favaloro and Joia spoke with the gentleman at length.
4. The attempted robbery on St. Charles Ave. between 1^st and 2^nd streets on February 19 was believed to be perpetrated by a group of young people that the 6^th District has been monitoring for some time. Several of the youths in question have been probated and are wearing ankle bracelets. Major Bardy is working to get a list of the probated youths in the district to keep better tabs on them and their activities, but this requires an order from a Juvenile Court judge.
5. The problem with the crime cameras was brought up and Major Bardy indicated that no over-arching solution was on the horizon.

2.         Irish Channel news.

a.       Major Bardy announced that his officers had made four gun arrests on the previous Saturday night and continue efforts to bring the Irish Channel under full control.

b.      He also described his meeting with the Irish Channel Neighborhood Association at that group’s February meeting. He stressed that is important for citizens to know their police.

c.       Major Bardy also discussed the ongoing problems in the 700 block of Washington Avenue. He identified the youths as belonging to the “Skull Street Mafia.” Many of these youths also wear ankle bracelets and Major Bardy hopes to have more complete information on them as soon as the court allows. This will provide a better ability to track these youths and protect the community.

3.         Next meeting.

The next NONPACC meeting will be on March 18, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the Convention and Visitors Bureau at 2020 St. Charles Ave. The regular meeting time will be on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. for the foreseeable future.