One of the topics that Mayor Nagin discussed during his State of The City Speech was construction and recovery.The construction industry is one of the areas of the city’s economy which has rebounded since Katrina and Mayor Nagin optimistically said that more is one the way.
Here are his comments and a video:(We apologize for the choppiness of this video but it is worth watching).
"Unprecedented Construction
Some of you may remember that the great poet, Maya Angelou came to New Orleans recently to give a lecture, and the UNO Arena where she spoke was packed.
She made many very interesting points. She talked a lot about helping others and rainbows.
She reminded us that you have to first go through the storm, before you get to see the rainbow.
She also pointed out that most rainbows are best seen when storm clouds are still in the distance.
So picture this: half the sky is cloudy and half the sky is sunny.
And at that point, the rainbow appears brightest.
She encouraged each of us to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud and to look forward and focus on the sunny part of the sky. In other words, help others and stay positive.
So, while most of the country is trying to ramp up with infrastructure projects because of the President’s Economic Stimulus Plan, we have a three year head start with many construction projects that are already in final design. We are among the best positioned cities in America!
Katrina’s Rainbow.
Ladies and gentleman, we have more than $20 billion of construction projects that are either in final design or under construction.
Katrina’s Rainbow.
At City Hall, we are managing $1.4 billion in projects, including $630 million in citywide street work.
The Sewerage and Water Board has $3.4 billion in active projects.
The Corp of Engineers recently awarded another $5 billion in construction projects on its way to spending $14 billion in our area.
HUD has $700 million under construction.
The public school system has announced $800 million in new and renovated facilities.
FederalCity has broken ground on $200 million in projects on their way to spending $750 million.
The new VA hospital site will be cleared by year end and with LSU $2 billion in two new state of the art teaching hospitals will emerge.
Katrina’s Rainbows.
Private sector investments in our city have now grown to $4 billion and counting.
Katrina’s Rainbow.
The signs of recovery are widespread and growing with powerful momentum.
Streets Recovering
Now let’s talk streets.
We are repaving and restoring streets throughout the city – Uptown, in Gentilly, New Orleans East, Algiers, the Lower Ninth Ward and everywhere in between. Slide Show.
Katrina’s Rainbow.
Our initial focus is repairing the streets that carry 80 percent of our traffic. Slide show.
Katrina’s Rainbow.
We are replacing substandard bridges and repairing more than 17,000 individual locations in streets and sidewalks. Slide Show.
Definitely Katrina’s Rainbow.
We’re also enhancing our nighttime environment by making it easier to see your surrounding clearly.
We are repairing and replacing streetlights throughout the entire city and upgrading to higher wattage energy efficient bulbs. We’ve completed these enhancements on Canal Street and in the Central Business District.
In 60 days we will start updating every streetlight in the French Quarter – with no negative effect on aesthetics.
And the enhanced streetscapes under construction that you asked for in the People Recovery Plan will help make things more beautiful, raise property values, and create a greater sense of safety among citizens.
Recovering our Neighborhoods and Housing
Let’s take a moment to talk about housing.
As you know, major challenges post-Katrina were affordable rentals, senior housing, and ensuring homeowners had enough money from Road Home and insurance to rebuild their damaged properties. Just as we are recovering our balance overall, our neighborhoods are getting stronger everyday.
Affordable rental has materialized with recent openings on Tulane Avenue, in New Orleans East, the Krauss development, and 200 Carondelet. We are also seeing signs that rents throughout the city are leveling off and in some cases showing modest declines.
The private sector and the city are working in concert to ensure affordable rental and senior housing is available for all. We have invested more than $20 million of city funds since Hurricane Katrina that has been leverage to over $200 million in developments.
This includes projects such as the Rising Sun Homes in the Lower 9th Ward developed by Rev. W.H. Jenneford. His work is helping displaced seniors return home from Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and Birmingham. Rev. Jenneford, would you please stand? Thank you for your great committed work.
Let’s touch on homeownership. A year ago, I announced that the City had launched a soft second mortgage program to provide forgivable loans of up to $65,000.
Tonight, I want to encourage more New Orleanians to take advantage of program. There has never been a better time to buy a new or rehabilitated home in our city.
We also know many Road Home and insurance checks were not enough to complete post-Katrina renovations. To address this challenge, we have reprogrammed $20 million of federal CDBG funds to be used as soft seconds dollars specifically targeted for homeowners with rehabilitation gap needs. These forgivable loans are available for residents with a family of four earning up to $72,000 annually. We are working to implement this program by late summer of this year.
But that’s not all. Earlier this year, we also implemented a $10 million home repair loan program to provide up to $35,000 for low income senior citizens and people with disabilities. Last month, 6,000 people applied for a limited number of grants that were awarded through a public lottery.
I committed to you then that we would have another grant cycle to help more people. Tonight, I would like to announce that we are investing another $10 million to launch phase II of this program. We will roll out this next phase within the next few months.
In addition, we have and will continue to partner with non-profits like Rebuilding Together that are leveraging other city funds five times in order to help more people. Our goal is to get another $20 million in repairs going before year end.
It’s time to talk about transforming and improving public housing.
We are making good progress here. Almost all of our public housing sites have been or are being upgraded. The new model is less density, larger apartments, and regular street grids. We are also converting many to mixed income communities with both rental and homeownership opportunities.
Let me quickly update you on the “Big Four.” HUD has informed us that construction has already begun at the Saint Bernard and C. J. Peete developments. At B.W. Cooper, site and prep work has begun and construction is expected to begin this summer. Lafitte has been cleared, financing is in its final stages, and construction will begin in the June/July timeframe.
With this transformation underway, only one traditional public housing development, Iberville, lacks a modernization plan. Resident leaders recently told me that it is unfair to invest in other developments and leave the Iberville in its current state.
Tonight, I am proud to announce that HUD/HANO has come on board and we are ready to move forward with the redevelopment of Iberville. Earlier today HANO announced the establishment of a resident advisory committee that will work directly with the project design team to develop a master plan for Iberville.
This will not be a total demolition. Our goal is a mixed income development with enlarged, modernized apartments, a normal street grid, enhanced street lighting and beautiful landscaping.
Another Katrina Rainbow.
Recovering Public Safety
Let’s talk frankly about one of our most difficult challenges – public safety. Seven years ago, the police department ranks were declining and murders were escalating. We implemented back-to-back pay raises, state-of-the-art equipment and performance based promotions, and installed new leadership. Violent crime trends improved and we finally reached 1,700 commissioned officers on the streets.
Immediately following Hurricane Katrina we lost nearly 500 officers and the entire criminal justice system was shut down. We brought in the National Guard and State Police for support and restored the criminal justice system.
I am pleased to report that we currently have 1,550 officers that include 31 National Guard members who recently became New Orleans Police Officers. They are with us tonight. Can you please stand? Thank you for becoming a permanent part of our family.
Let me be brutally honest: shortly I will show statistics that demonstrate a dramatic reduction in violent crime in our city. However, we all know that we have high profile violent crimes events that unnerve us. This weekend I attended the joint funeral of two senior citizens, a pastor and his wife killed in their home. There are also an alarming number of violent crimes being committed by teenagers. Just a week ago two young boys, barely teenagers, one 13 and the other 14, were unable to resolve a conflict and the tragic result left one dead.
The question people ask me all of the time is: What is really going on? With more police officers, state-of-the-art equipment, a new DA, court watchers, and Yes We Care rallies, why don’t we feel safer?
I have thought about this a lot and offer this analysis. I recall right after Hurricane Katrina I had a conversation with a very wise man. He predicted that we would have more issues with young boys in the near future. His observation was that many boys witnessed their mothers and grandmothers suffering on roofs, at the Superdome, Convention Center, and in shelters. This man told me these young people believe no one really cared about them and once they became teenagers they would not care much about others.
So today, we are unnerved by these high profile violent events. My conclusion is we have three very combustible conditions colliding: post Katrina stress, the reestablishment of the drug culture, and too many of our youth wanting to become the next American Gangster instead of pursuing the American Dream.
So what can we do about it? First, we should continue what we started with the police, DA, courts, and other community related efforts. We should also put more focus, energy, and resources around youth, mental health, and drug rehabilitation.
For example, about a month ago I hosted meetings with key leaders of the criminal justice community, mental health experts, and key community organizations to work as true partners on planning and applying for federal stimulus funding. Together, we identified these three areas of common focus. We are coordinating our grant applications and will jointly lobby in Washington, DC. We have also agreed to monthly follow up meetings to keep our partnership strong.
I would like to take this moment to once again urge Governor Bobby Jindal to not close the New Orleans at this time. Give us at least one year to come up with a regional transition plan. Now is not the time for the city of New Orleans to have fewer mental health beds. Suicides have tripled since Katrina, attempted suicides are way up, and police arrests relative to mental health issues have also dramatically increased. AdolescentHospital
Now let’s get back to the statistics I mentioned earlier. First I want to talk about the number of arrests made by the New Orleans Police Department. We all agree that we cannot arrest our way to a safe community. Some have made the argument that police make to many arrests and focus on non violent crimes.
Here is the truth. The arrest numbers are steadily decreasing. In 2004, there were 134,000 arrests. In 2007 there were 86,500. But in 2008, even as our population increased to 75 percent of pre-Katrina, arrests were down even more, to 84,000. Our police department is using smart policing strategies to help lower crime.
Another key crime fighting element is enhanced technology. As promised last year, all 242 crime cameras were repaired. These cameras are also working in coordination with 22 traffic safety cameras that have been installed at intersections. We also have 109 cameras in police cars and 350 hand-held cameras that record evidence on crime scenes. All 723 cameras work together to enhance public safety.
Another new tool in our arsenal of high tech police equipment is tasers. These devices have automatic video recording when activated. We currently have 350 on the streets and an additional 500 have been ordered. They are proving to be an important equalizer, particularly for officers of modest stature. Since related injuries are down formerly reluctant officers are now requesting the devices – even though they cannot receive them until after being tasered themselves.
Let me close this section on public safety by sharing with you some facts about violent crime. We have already discussed high profile violent events so now its time to better understand the actual trends so we maintain our balance and perspective.
The data shows significant downward trends in the number of violent crimes committed in our city.
In fact, there has been a dramatic reduction in violent crime in New Orleans since 1994. That year, more than 12,000 violent crimes were committed. In 2008, that had decreased to 3,000. Slide show.
Let us stay focused on what is working and rally more on youth, mental health, and drug rehabilitation. Now is not the time for us to get frustrated and start blaming each other. Remember the song the choir sang, I need you, you need me, I need you to survive."
In addition, Mayor Nagin discussed economic development and many other matters. You can read the full text of his speech at :
