Comments on: St. Bernard Residents Sharply Reject Housing Plan

By: Cheryl Barnhardt

Cheryl Barnhardt — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:29:31 +0000

I have been a lifelong resident of St. Bernard Parish. In a misguided effort to control the influx of investors buying up cheap properties for rentals in previous areas that there were no rentals, the parish government came across as racist. At this time, if you drive around our parish there are “for rent” signs everywhere, in every block. We do not have a shopping center yet here, ground zero for Katrina, no walmart, no sears, k-mart, etc. We have one large grocery, Winn Dixie, when pre-Katrina we had 2 Winn Dixies, 2 Sav-a-Centers, IGA and others. We have no hospital. We simply do not need, do not want, another 4 large development. Go look at Provident Housing’s website in Texas. They talk about nothing but profit. They have just bought the last large tract of beach in the Texas peninsula. The local sellers are all about tax credits.

Our infrastructure is not ready for the people we now have. Another large influx of low income people we cannot support is the problem. We do not have any high dollar jobs here yet, our economy in the parish is very limited. We have only menial minimum wage jobs. We do not have a full fledge bus line. How can we help any low income people with no mass transit? No hospital services? Its ludicrous, not racist.

By: Dana Arcement

Dana Arcement — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:28:33 +0000

Just for clarification purposes, I stated to the journalist who conducted this interview that this is not a race issue, as the Dallas, Texas property developers, whom, if thes apartments are built, STAND TO MAKE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY, would like everyone to believe. Residents of St. Bernard are victims of criminals of “all” races, including “white trash,” and we’re fed up with it. All these apartment complexes will do is perpetuate crime, committed by “all” races, and drug abuse, at the hands of “all” races, and the good, law abiding citizens, of “all” races, of St. Bernard Parish, have had enough with the increase in crime and drugs in our parish since Katrina. We will not stand for these low-income housing complexes being built to further accomodate these criminals and drug abusers, and pushers, to continue to victimize “all” residents of St. Bernard Parish and destroy our community more than it’s already been destroyed. Dana Arcement.

By: Marian Longo

Marian Longo — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:36:15 +0000

I have left a message above and I hope our goverment pays attention to it. The way things have been going ,there has been many times when I wondered if I made the right choise in coming back.

By: Marian Longo

Marian Longo — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:31:23 +0000

I have been a life long resident of St. Bernard, I am 68 years old and I was born an raised here. I cme back after Katrina and was in my home by 2006. I was one of the forunate ones to have flood insurance. It took all we had and I do not want the houseing developoments or all the rentals in private owner subdevisions. I have live in my house for 37 years. And I would hope the parish values us enough to help us to keep our homes in owner only subdivisions. There are enough apparments availabe for renters. Please step up to the plate and help our parish survive and thrive. Do not let all the people who want to cash in on our misfortune to make money with out care as to what it doing to our recovery.

By: Missy Smith

Missy Smith — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:31:41 +0000

The developers failed to submit the required wetlands study, drainage study and plans, traffic study and proposed road improvements. When WalMart developed a similar tract of land, all these studies were required before re-subdivision of the land. Many other landowners testified at the previous planning commissioners public hearing that these studies were required of them. If this development were single family homes, these development plans would be required before re-subdivision.

The apartments are not economically viable and fail to meet many of the CDBG funding, new tax market credit and HUD requirements regarding siting minorities and low income housing projects by heavy industry, casino’s, railroads and too far away from transportation, social services or even the job base (which is tourism in New Orleans, not St Bernard Parish, LA). We have trouble evacuating ourselves for hurricanes; will this developer evacuate all these needy families?

Yet, in the name of the almighty dollar, the developers will continue to play the race card.