This is a tragedy.  There is an ongoing environmental injustice in New Orleans since the 1960s.  Our community and its leaders continue to turn a blind eye.  As reported by the Guardian there are people---your neighbors, that are just waiting to die.  Residents of Gordon Plaza and the surrounding area should not be living there.  

There was a lawsuit started in 1994.  It went to trial in 2001.   I was the law clerk in this case at the trial level and drafted the opinion. I listen to 6 weeks of evidence at the bench trial that occurred just before Katrina. I have never seen such blatant disregard for warnings against developing here going back to 1970s. I evacuated with the boxes of evidence and saved it from flooding. The federal government should have bought them out when it was declared a superfund in 1994. It was “shocking and outrageous” to build a community and school on this site. It is even more outrageous that people were not bought out after Katrina when it was clear the useless “clay cap” was breached. The first thing I did when I got back was visit the site and plead that the govt not to allow people to set up trailers bc the cap had been breached. The road home program was designed to prevent relocation (recovery based on pre-katrina market value i.e. No value for a “former”superfund site). Shame on America. Shame on the African American leadership that has failed its own people. This IS environmental injustice. It is happening everyday here in your super fun awesome parade loving drinking good times roll home town. Those who turn their eye and didn’t demand justice (buyout at a value to allow a real market rate relocation) are complicit. If you don’t know what Agriculture Street is you are not from New Orleans. This should be a top priority for the Mayor. The property needs to be condemned and zoned to not allow for any development other than industrial. It’s real. I’ve seen the scientific evidence.

When I was staff on the Council I tried to get Agriculture Street and Silver City zoned as industrial only.  That is what needs to happen.  People before profits.  Read the opinion

Neighbors from St. Charles to Claiborne, Broadway to the Carrollton continue to be vocal about the massive amount of trash on the streets in the area.  We've complained for years to the Council, the City and the universities to no avail.  Move in/move out for students seems to be a particularly problem time, but throughout the year there is trash strew about from cans being knocked over, improperly bagged trash and bulk waste.  What can we do?

• Familiarize yourself with the municipal code rules on sanitation.  Trash must bagged and placed in the cart with the lid covered.  Sec. 138-39.  Sec. 138-41.  Cans can be placed at the curb no earlier than 4pm the day before collection and removed from the curb 7pm the day of collection.  'It shall be unlawful to place or permit carts to remain adjacent to the curb, except on regular collection days. Carts shall be stored, between collection days, on the user's property so as not to interfere with pedestrian or vehicular traffic along sidewalks, streets, and other rights-of-way." Sec. 138-42. Bulk waste is collected on the first day of the collection week or on-call basis.  The same rules of placement no earlier than 4pm the day before applies. 
• If you see violations of the above please take the following steps:

1.  Take a picture and note the address.  
2. Report the address and the violation to  311
3.  Send an email to District A City Councilmember and Sanitation Committee Chair Joseph Giarrusso Joseph.Giarrusso@nola.gov with the 311 case number and the photograph.

• Additionally, there are legislative changes and initiatives that you can register your support for that will help.  See the attached letter for additional information on what you can do to support cleaning up our neighborhood.