In a scene reminiscent of the darkest days following Hurricane Katrina, according to the Associated Press, a convoy of 100 armed National Guard military police troops rolled into the city Tuesday to patrol the streets following a surge in violent crime.

by Glynn Wilson

NEW ORLEANS – A search for hope about the future of one of America’s most important cities – still devastated by the worst natural disaster in this country’s history – leads to the First Presbyterian Church on South Claiborne Avenue and a community meeting of the Broadmoor Improvement Association.

Photo by Glynn Wilson

The First Presbyterian Church on South Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans is the place to find a grassroots movement to rebuild New Orleans from the neighborhood level up.

If there is a chance to bring New Orleans back from Katrina, many of the answers about how to do that will come not from the Bush administration in Washington, D.C., or Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The solutions may very well come from the grassroots up out of the Broadmoor neighborhood, where organizers are way ahead of the curve in planning to build an even better community than they had before the “Big One.”

According to architect Allen Eskew, the Broadmoor neighborhood is way ahead of the other 72 distinct neighborhoods in New Orleans in planning for the big come back.

“It is a snapshot of the entire New Orleans area,” he said. “But Broodmoor is way ahead of everybody else. With planning you are ready to emerge after the election.”

Mayor Ray Nagin won re-election Saturday night and will be the city’s standard bearer for the next four years as New Orleans digs out from under Katrina and tries to reinvent itself. As Nagin said months ago, it is an opportunity to create an even better New Orleans, to “get it right.”

It is an interesting experiment in trying to rebuild a major American city in the wake of a devastating disaster. But the future is uncertain at best.

Eskew said everything depends on what happens this summer and whether the area makes it through the hurricane season of 2006 without a major storm and flood - while the Corps of Engineers works to rebuild the levees.

Broadmoor has about the same diversity as the rest of New Orleans, but surveys indicate it has the highest anticipated rate of return by the population. About 1,100 of he 2,300 property owners plan to return and rebuild.

The neighborhood has 12 churches, three schools, one library and one community center, plus 1.6 miles of neutral ground - that could be turned into community gardens – and the world’s oldest water pumping station built with wood screw technology.

It has adequate retail zones and public transportation, and has the potential to connect Xavier University with other universities and parks in the area with a new series of parks, community centers and bike paths - providing the money continues to flow from Washington and no major storm hits this year.

Considering the less than oganized history of New Orleans, however, not all area residents are as optimistic about the future.

One older gentleman, still wearing his rubber boots as a fashion statement, left the meeting early. When asked how he felt about the plan, he said: “We won’t get half of this stuff. It took me three months just to get a stop sign on my street.”

Was that before or after Katrina?

“Before,” he said. “But why should we expect things to get better now?”

God’s Katrina’s Kitchen and Clothe the People in Pass Christian, Mississippi, asked for specific donations Friday from relief groups, and a trucker heading back to the coast delivered 8 pallets of goods from the Birmingham City Action Partnership program warehouse, according to Laura K. Parenteau.

“We are expecting another shipment of diabetic supplies Wednesday or Thursday of this week and could use some help in putting kits together,” she said. “We are also working on first aid kits and still looking for people driving down to the coast to deliver diabetic kits.”

If you would like to volunteer in the warehouse on these activities call Laura at 251-0111 or email her at Capbham(at)aol(dot)com.

To volunteer on the coast in rebuilding contact any of the following organizations:

Habitat for Humanity
OHDResponse(at)habitat(dot)org

Urban Life Ministries
butch(at)mailatlanta(dot)net

Hands On USA
HandsOnBhm(at)aol(dot)com

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finally admitted failures in the design of New Orleans flood walls last week.

“We have now concluded we had problems with the design of the structure,” Lt. Gen. Carl Strock told a senate subcommittee. “We had hoped that wasn’t the case, but we recognize it is the reality.”

Experts from the National Science Foundation countered that potential problems have been known for some time. They cite a 1986 corps study that warned of just such floodwall failures. As New Orleans rebuilds, we must ensure that the nation learns the lessons of Katrina and that the possibility for future, similar Corps’ mistakes is addressed.

Legislation to do just that was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate. Called the Water Resources Planning and Modernization Act of 2006 (S. 2288), the bill will  update the Corps project-planning guidelines, require a strong independent review process, improve wetland management and shift the Corps’ priorities away from pork-barrel projects.

The Gulf Restoration Network is urging people to contact their senators and support this legislation and have set up this Web site to make it easy for you to send your comments here.