Staff writer, Times-Picayune
Staff writer for the Times-Picayune
PROFILE
Gwen Filosa
Guest
FROM Gwen Filosa
To the Point
Shutting the Door to Public Housing in New Orleans? More than two years after Katrina, public housing in New Orleans has become an issue on Capitol Hill and in the presidential campaign. Despite a shortage of low-income housing, the federal government wants to destroy thousands of apartments in New Orleans' four biggest public housing projects. Some former residents say they'll be glad to have newer, safer places to live, but a tent-city full of protesters has sprung up across from City Hall. They insist that some of the buildings could be saved, along with social networks and the mostly African-American culture that has made New Orleans unique and important. With a shortage of places for low-income people to live, should public housing projects be restored or destroyed to make way for mixed-income developments? Would it mean better living for poor people or the loss of neighborhoods, social networks and the culture that's made the city unique? Is there an underlying effort to make New Orleans a smaller -- and whiter -- city?
To the Point
Is New Orleans Safe for Anyone? Immediately after Katrina, violent crime all but disappeared from New Orleans as the city lost about half of its pre-hurricane population. But the police chief says that 80% of its criminals have come home, and a headline in last week's Times-Picayune read " Killings bring the city to its bloodied knees ." Recent murder victims include Dinerral Shavers, a 25-year old high school teacher and drummer for the Hot 8 Brass Band , gunned down in broad daylight driving his car with his family. Another was Helen Hill , a filmmaker and wife of a doctor, shot to death when she answered a morning knock on her door in a Bohemian neighborhood near the French Quarter. In the aftermath of such high-profile murders, citizens are ready to march on City Hall. We visit a devastated city that's under siege. Will New Orleans be safe for Mardi Gras less than six weeks from today?
To the Point
Public Housing and FEMA Vouchers in the 'New' New Orleans After Katrina, President Bush said, "We will do what it takes" to make "this great city... rise again." The Army Corps of Engineers promised to rebuild a safer New Orleans. Today, New Orleans is less than half as big as it was before Katrina and the Federal Emergency Management Agency may or may not restore rent subsidies that could help more residents to return. Meantime, rents are rising and what little public housing remains may be converted to mixed-income townhouses poor people can't afford. Today's New York Times reports that the Army Corps of Engineers has lost its sense of urgency to rebuild a city safe for enough business and jobs. Is the federal government abandoning a major American city? Are blacks the biggest losers?
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To the Point
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To the Point
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To the Point
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