Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks that took down the World Trade towers in New York, cities been more aware that these tragedies can happen anywhere. In particular, the city of New Orleans
as been declared a soft target for a terrorist attack, partly because of the large crowds that gather here, on our streets.
As a former New Orleans Police Department officer, I can tell you from first-hand experience that being a New Orleans Police officer is a tough job. You will be placed in dangerous situations and have to make split decisions to protect people, even if it means disregarding your own safety.
On Saturday afternoon, I sat down for two-and-a-half hours with a group of young African American men, between the ages of 18 and 22, hearing what they think about our city.
Have you ever wondered who profits from those extra fees when you pay your property tax online? Or your Sewerage & Water Board bill? Or those annoying traffic camera tickets? It’s not the City. But it can be. We’re likely talking about millions of dollars that we can use to build the city we deserve at no extra cost to our citizens.
When I was a New Orleans police officer, the legislature often changed laws and we as a police force had to adapt. Otherwise, any arrests or charges would be ruled illegal, something I also decided as a criminal court judge.
If we bring the right people to the table and think outside the box, we can reduce insurance rates, bring down heat levels within our city, put our youth to work, have strong roofs, dry streets, cooler neighborhoods and be a national leader in climate adaptation.
I grew up in New Orleans East. My family moved to the East in the 1960s when it was known as Gentilly East. We lived in a double at 4930 Rhodes Drive (built by Horace Bynum Sr.) on the same street where the Rhodes family (Funeral Home owners) lived and a street over (Rosemont Place), from where CORE Leader Don Hubbard lived. We all lived on that part of Chef Menteur Highway known as the GAP. I attended elementary school at Jefferson Davis, (presently Kipp Morial), Livingston Middle School and Abramson Senior High School (9th grade). I played NORD football, basketball, baseball at Pradat Park and met friends from the Blue Goose, Academy Park and Flake Avenue. I lived in the East while I finished St. Aug, Loyola University, Loyola University School of Law, and while I worked as a NOPD police officer and began my practice as an attorney. Although I do not presently live in the East, I still have family, friends living, working, owning businesses in the East and I attend the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church. The East, and its people have nurtured and inspired my career of public service over more than four decades. So when I talk to people about the East, I remember how it was and what it can become. The potential for development in the East is as great now, as it was in 1970, but the first thing we must do is make it safe. There are a few things we can do: Request the State Police actively patrol I-10, I-510, and Chef Menteur Highway 24/7/365. Assign NOPD Traffic Division and Special Operations officers in unmarked cars patrol Crowder, Read, Bullard, Michoud and on a rotating basis Downman, Morrison, Hayne, Lake Forest, Dwyer, Gentilly and Almonaster. Assign community policing to hot spots in the Seventh District. Revitalize Joe Brown Park to be a regional sports destination and assign year round supervisors to playgrounds focusing on sports, art, music, technology and STEM. Work with the Orleans Parish School Board to establish early childhood learning and summer camps in the neighborhood schools. Build a City Hall Annex to include state/federal offices with free covered parking on the Lake Forest Plaza site. Expand the New Orleans East Hospital to become a centerpiece for prenatal care services, diabetes prevention, establish a nursing school and a pipeline with the high schools, universities/colleges and medical schools to increase the number of African Americans entering the medical professions. Develop Lake Pontchartrain from the South Shore to Lincoln Beach. Work with Delgado Community College and NASA to teach skill trades and technology in the high schools. Build the necessary infrastructure to attract investment to the Almonaster Corridor. Plan and build resilient infrastructure for equitable and environmental sustainability.(Disaster preparedness, water and flood management, sustainable energy) If we do these things, without playing the political games of “who you know” rather than “what you know”, then the East can be what it was meant to be-a place to be safe, raise and educate our children and enjoy the quality of living.
Recently, I attended a showcase at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center, where this city’s arrested youth are held pre-trial. I was invited by artist Journey Allen, who directs youth education for the Young Artists Movement (YAM), the citywide mural initiative that I helped to found eight years ago.