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New Orleans, nine months later

It's good to see that someone is working to rebuild that stuff. I knew the insurance companies would do what they could to rip off their customers...and the government isn't going to fund the rebuilding. Churches and organizations are basically going to be the ones to rebuild those who live there....everyone else is going to probably move on or privately fund the rebuild.....it's just going to take years to do it.
 
You know i am really glad that there are young people headed down to New Orleans and the gulf coast to dedicate their time and energy to rebuilding. I also think its great that people are still posting these pictures. It is so easy for many of us, myself included to forget the devastation of August 2005 as well as assume that there isnt rebuilding still to be done. There is so much that still needs to be done and with people volunteering, going down to Louisiana to generate tourism and money are the best way to help the state get back on their feet. Its going to take a while but South Louisiana will be restored again.
 
Honestly, what most of those places need is for the owners to get with a developer and rebuild the neighborhood in bulk. I'm betting that it'd be a hell of alot cheaper and easier to rebuild a block at a time instead of a parcel at a time.

Developers have advantages:
#1: They know the system.
They know who to call when and what to say on that call.

#2: A bulldozer has to be delivered to work on 1 parcel or 20.
Save cost by ammortizing the overhead.

#3: They buy wholesale.
You might pay $100 for one thing, they pay $1000 for 20 of the things.

#4: It's easier to convince an organization (ie: power company) to refurbish services for a community than an indivdual.
1 person has no power vs. 20 people have no power. Where do they go first?
 
They paid for Storm damage to the house not for the house. Meaning they estimate 10K to repair the damage. This would only cover storm damage not including flood damage. You have to get a special Flood policy backed by the federal government to cover that damage. Its very expensive however so most people don?t purchase it. I think they need to bulldoze then entire place down and fence it off. Not worth rebuilding it?s all going to end up in the Golf of Mexico anyhow, why waste the money.
 
Question: When does it become the governments responsibility, and when is it the individuals responsibility for knowingly moving to/staying in a flood zone?
Flood insurance would have helped many of them. Chances are they only had storm insurance. Don't give me that b.s. that not all of them could afford the insurance. If they couldn't afford the insurance, they should have tried to leave and fix their economic struggle before the issue came about (there are jsut too many of them in Houston looking for handouts for me to think otherwise). The ones that are working in Houston now and doing something productive and starting over need support, not the ones who just want the government to pay for everything. There were so many job opening and opportunities left open for Katrina evacuees in Houston and there still are at the Work Source, that there is really no excuse. The city is in a lot of debt because of all the free handouts already. It is not a coincidence that the crime rate in Houston jumped to drastic highs from last year either. It is not all of the government's responsibility to fix the problem, but they will always be the ones blamed. If more people had organized and made the levees a strongly supported issue/campaign before the hurricane, then it would have been fixed, but there wasn't enough public support. Of course, there is a lot of namecalling and finger pointing now, after the fact. The fact is large governments based on the general public are almost always reactionary because there is too much red tape to filter through to be anything other than that, and the general public won't organize unless something has already happened.

** This is just a rant. Yes, the hurricane was tragic. I am just pissed because Houston is kind of getting the raw end of the deal in this situation. What really pushed me over the edge was that Nagin and the Chocalate Factory somehow got the votes again (probably because of racial/ethnic backing, because his actual policies and handling of the situation was atrocious). It is like the public isn't trying to see what went really wrong in that situation, and just blames everythig on the government and then goes back to their same ignorant routine. **
 
Originally posted by: DaShen
Question: When does it become the governments responsibility, and when is it the individuals responsibility for knowingly moving to/staying in a flood zone?
Flood insurance would have helped many of them. Chances are they only had storm insurance. Don't give me that b.s. that not all of them could afford the insurance. If they couldn't afford the insurance, they should have tried to leave and fix their economic struggle before the issue came about (there are jsut too many of them in Houston looking for handouts for me to think otherwise). The ones that are working in Houston now and doing something productive and starting over need support, not the ones who just want the government to pay for everything. There were so many job opening and opportunities left open for Katrina evacuees in Houston and there still are at the Work Source, that there is really no excuse. The city is in a lot of debt because of all the free handouts already. It is not a coincidence that the crime rate in Houston jumped to drastic highs from last year either. It is not all of the government's responsibility to fix the problem, but they will always be the ones blamed. If more people had organized and made the levees a strongly supported issue/campaign before the hurricane, then it would have been fixed, but there wasn't enough public support. Of course, there is a lot of namecalling and finger pointing now, after the fact. The fact is large governments based on the general public are almost always reactionary because there is too much red tape to filter through to be anything other than that, and the general public won't organize unless something has already happened.

** This is just a rant. Yes, the hurricane was tragic. I am just pissed because Houston is kind of getting the raw end of the deal in this situation. What really pushed me over the edge was that Nagin and the Chocalate Factory somehow got the votes again (probably because of racial/ethnic backing, because his actual policies and handling of the situation was atrocious). It is like the public isn't trying to see what went really wrong in that situation, and just blames everythig on the government and then goes back to their same ignorant routine. **
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I live in the NO area and it is both not as bad as some say, and worse. With flood insurance, every mortgage company will require you to have the insurance if you finance your home. Once it is paid off, it is your choice. The biggest problem that happend, was the rentors. They didn't have insurance because they didn't own the house/apartment/projects.

But on the up side is that if you live here and don't have a job, you are just plain lazy. There are so many jobs available. Obviously construction workers are still needed very badly as there are plenty of homes not even close to being finished(my parents just moved back in their house 2 weeks ago, and they only got 2 inches of water in the house).

Then you have fastfood chains. Popeyes is hiring workers starting at $9/hour... I think it was burger king who late last year offered a $2000 signing bonus(stretched ever 6 months). Basically all of these places are willing to pay $8-$10 per hour starting just to get workers to come in. Some stores still have limited hours or just drivethrough because they can't find workers at that rate.

So, like I said, if someone doesn't have a job around here, it isn't because there is nothing available, it is because they are lazy. I would have died for a $9 per hour job when I was in high school.
 
I agree that these areas should just be flattened and started over - assuming things are in place to prevent this type of damage from the next big storm.
 
Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
I live in the NO area and it is both not as bad as some say, and worse. With flood insurance, every mortgage company will require you to have the insurance if you finance your home. Once it is paid off, it is your choice. The biggest problem that happend, was the rentors. They didn't have insurance because they didn't own the house/apartment/projects.

But on the up side is that if you live here and don't have a job, you are just plain lazy. There are so many jobs available. Obviously construction workers are still needed very badly as there are plenty of homes not even close to being finished(my parents just moved back in their house 2 weeks ago, and they only got 2 inches of water in the house).

Then you have fastfood chains. Popeyes is hiring workers starting at $9/hour... I think it was burger king who late last year offered a $2000 signing bonus(stretched ever 6 months). Basically all of these places are willing to pay $8-$10 per hour starting just to get workers to come in. Some stores still have limited hours or just drivethrough because they can't find workers at that rate.

So, like I said, if someone doesn't have a job around here, it isn't because there is nothing available, it is because they are lazy. I would have died for a $9 per hour job when I was in high school.
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You wouldn't believe some of the jobs that were offered here in Houston exclusively for Katrina evacuees. :Q It was mind boggling. Of course the ones that actually go for the job deserve the chance, but there are so many evacuees that are literally living off Houston's "free" housing (it isn't free, FEMA still hasn't paid, so it is the Houston tax payers paying for it).
 
Originally posted by: DaShen

You wouldn't believe some of the jobs that were offered here in Houston exclusively for Katrina evacuees. :Q It was mind boggling. Of course the ones that actually go for the job deserve the chance, but there are so many evacuees that are literally living off Houston's "free" housing (it isn't free, FEMA still hasn't paid, so it is the Houston tax payers paying for it).
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I can easily believe that. In fact, many of us in NO hope and pray that they don't come back(our gain is unfortunatly your loss) as we feel we need that to happen in order to become a better city. The feeling is also that Houston will take much better care of them(as in 1 strike and you are out) rather than the corrupt criminal system we had here where everyone ended up going free.
 
Meanwhile, Katrina's "Last Evacuee" hangs on to the government tit in New York, NY.

After being flown here for free back in September, Johnson?s been at the Holiday Inn since Super Bowl Sunday. On April 21, the hotel served Johnson with three notices of occupancy termination, saying that it would begin court proceedings if he wasn?t out by May 9. He wasn?t, so it did. If the court boots him, Johnson could end up in one of the city?s homeless shelters. He?s been broke for over a month now. fema sent him $9,000 in housing aid, but he spent it all on booze, cigarettes, some clothes, and food?partying, mostly. ?I spent my money just the way I wanted, and I think [fema] should send me some more,? he says. But it won?t. Johnson?s caseworker says fema offered to buy him a ticket home to New Orleans in February, but he didn?t take it. fema won?t now. So he?s stuck, at least until the Holiday Inn pays him to leave.

 
I think that it would be beneficial to have people work on certain blocks at a time. Get fifty guys or something and put a few houses up in a few weeks. Just to get the ball rolling. It seems like no one is doing enough. I wanted to go down there, but I didn't have enough money to pay for all the expenses 🙁
 
Originally posted by: jndietz
I think that it would be beneficial to have people work on certain blocks at a time. Get fifty guys or something and put a few houses up in a few weeks. Just to get the ball rolling. It seems like no one is doing enough. I wanted to go down there, but I didn't have enough money to pay for all the expenses 🙁
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the problem with the construction companies is like you said. They do 60 houses in 6 months instead of getting 10 houses complete each month. That way they have 60 sure customers. It makes it a very slow process for everyone instead of very quick for some and only long for a very few.
 
That looks like more of the ghetto side of town. Probably very little insurance. And also probably last on the list to get fixed. In all fairness they should show pictures of other parts of the city that have been repaired. I'm sure a lot had been done in other parts. Takes time to make it's way through the whole city. Still feel for them though.

My church organization has already rebuilt most of their churches. And rebuilt thousands of homes all over the area. Every single church member who's home was damaged is being rebuilt. The church and donations pay for it and all the people within the church help clean up and rebuild for each other. They come from other states even to help fellow church members. They are almost completely done rebuilding.
 
They should move any historicly significant buildings north west of Lake Pontchartrain, and rename Harmmond LA to New New Orleans, then blow-up the levis and dykes - let the ocean claim what it wants.

If they need to be on the river then move them to Laplace and rename it to Nouveau Orleans Partie Deux.

It is not worth rebuilding
 
Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
They should move any historicly significant buildings north west of Lake Pontchartrain, and rename Harmmond LA to New New Orleans, then blow-up the levis and dykes - let the ocean claim what it wants.

If they need to be on the river then move them to Laplace and rename it to Nouveau Orleans Partie Deux.

It is not worth rebuilding
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problem is, you have a few large building there, 50 story buildings that the owner would not appreciate if you destroyed his investment. In the long run, no saying whether that would be better or not. But in the short run, it would cost billions and billions more to move the city rather than rebuild it.

Other problem is New Orleans is not just a major city in a random location like many others. It is there because of the port. You have to have a major port in the Mississippi river, so moving it would just mean having to make another.
 
Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
They should move any historicly significant buildings north west of Lake Pontchartrain, and rename Harmmond LA to New New Orleans, then blow-up the levis and dykes - let the ocean claim what it wants.

If they need to be on the river then move them to Laplace and rename it to Nouveau Orleans Partie Deux.

It is not worth rebuilding
Click to expand...

problem is, you have a few large building there, 50 story buildings that the owner would not appreciate if you destroyed his investment. In the long run, no saying whether that would be better or not. But in the short run, it would cost billions and billions more to move the city rather than rebuild it.

Other problem is New Orleans is not just a major city in a random location like many others. It is there because of the port. You have to have a major port in the Mississippi river, so moving it would just mean having to make another.
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It is expected to cost $300 Billion to rebuild and improve it's dykes - a couple of 50 story buildings is a very small percentage (2% or 3%) of that amount.

How many times are we going to rebuild that slum? It will never show a return on it's investment. Hell the entire state of LA is in the red and only survives because it is on federal welfare.
 
Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
the problem with the construction companies is like you said. They do 60 houses in 6 months instead of getting 10 houses complete each month. That way they have 60 sure customers. It makes it a very slow process for everyone instead of very quick for some and only long for a very few.
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Mikey, I agree with you. New Orleans crime has dropped and Texas' firm judicial system can handle the criminals better. New Orleans will hopefully prosper from this and become a better city. How is the area you live in? Are schools back up and running? Is your neighborhood back together? Restaurants open?
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I've had a couple of friends move back to the area in the last few months. I hear the same things from them--some areas are still devastated, as in the photos, and other areas are up and running. For the most part, the areas around the French Quarter and Bourbon Street are cleaned up and stores and restaurants are open and operating again--all they lack are customers. Hopefully I can get down there this summer and fill that role a bit to do my part for my home state.
 
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