St. Mary of the Angels stands up to blight, crime

Although blight and crime continue to plague New Orleans at unacceptable levels, city officials informed a gathering of St. Mary of the Angels parishioners that significant strides are being made on both fronts. Those improvements will be temporary fixes, however, if citizens do not actively work with government agencies to end the twin scourges, they said.

The July 27 meeting, which drew more than 100 area residents, invited Jeff Hebert, director of the city’s Office of Blight and Community Revitalization, and New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas to explain how their respective offices were working to improve conditions in the Upper Ninth Ward.

The dialogue was initiated by the St. Mary of the Angels committee of the Micah Project, a national non-profit that helps faith-based communities more effectively address quality-of-life issues.

Blight implies ‘disregard’

“When I step outside my house, I see blighted housing, grass growing wildly, trash, old furniture and (discarded) mattresses,” said St. Mary of the Angels parishioner and Micah committee member Vera Landry, 75, noting that she decided to become an anti-blight crusader after she rebuilt her Katrina-destroyed home.

“At a fundamental level, (blighted housing) sends a message of disregard,” Landry said. “Well, we all hold our great community in high, high regard. I’ve got New Orleans in my blood, in my bones. It’s home.”

Just months after receiving complaints from the Micah group on a dozen blighted properties in the St. Mary of the Angels area, Hebert was happy to report that all 12 had been inspected and many of them had progressed to the administrative hearing stage.

“The owners of a few of them – because of our actions in sending out inspectors and putting their properties on notice – have pulled themselves together and have started doing work on those properties,” Hebert said.

St. Mary of the Angels parishioners are particularly anxious to see the elimination of rotting houses, high weeds, litter – and the crime and vermin they attract  – in their immediate neighborhood; in 2012, a new Head Start program and Catholic Charities center will open in the parish’s former school building.

To become more effective soldiers against blight, Micah members spent the last few months meeting with Hebert, the president of the Bunny Friend Neighborhood Association and David Marcello of Tulane University’s law clinic, a code enforcement expert. As a result of their fact-finding, residents of the Upper Nine have become more aware of the biweekly “Blight Stat” meetings held on the 9th floor of the Amoco Building, in which up-to-date statistics are given on the city’s blight-related challenges and successes.

Hebert noted that since New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced a citywide strategy against blight last October, his office has received “more calls than the city’s ever had on blighted property.” In response to the unprecedented caseload, 26 new administrative hearing officers were hired to expedite the backlog of homeowners found in code violation, along with paralegals from the Louisiana Bar Association. In the first quarter of 2011, building code inspections were carried out on more than 7,000 houses, reported Micah.

“With more code enforcement, being more out on the street and (increased reporting of blighted properties), violators will start to see that the city is taking blight seriously,” said Hebert, urging attendees to take the crucial first step by calling the blight hotline at 658-4300. Cases reported to this number are “immediately assigned to an inspector,” Hebert said.

Violence hits home

During the meeting’s crime segment, a hush fell over the pews as Micah committee member Peggy Lee Williams recounted the story of her son’s murder on Mother’s Day 2004. While the young man was pumping gas, thugs shot him seven times in the back before they realized that he was not their intended target. Tragedy struck again on Mother’s Day 2011, when another young man was shot and paralyzed just three blocks from St. Mary of the Angels in another case of mistaken identity.

“He will never run alongside his son as he learns to ride a bike or walk his daughter down the aisle,” Williams said.

Acknowledging that even one murder is unacceptable, Chief Serpas noted that about 25 of the 112 murders so far this year were committed by perpetrators who did not know their victim; the rest – the large majority – occurred between acquaintances, making peace-making hubs such St. Mary of the Angels a valuable tool in the fight against crime.

New computer tools

“That’s why we have to come together – and we will come together,” Serpas said, informing the group of several crime-prevention strategies undertaken by his department, such as a soon-to-be-launched computer software program that will enable his department to deploy officers evenly throughout the city.

“Right now, we hardly look at anything to decide where we assign police officers,” Serpas said. “When this software is completed, it will be able to look at 15 million pieces of information and tell us how can we distribute police officers across the community, so that wherever you live, everybody will expect and be able to receive the same level of service,” he said.

“You won’t have to ask me anymore (about police presence) in ‘the Fifth District’ or ‘the Third District,’” the chief added. “You and I will be able to say with certainty, that no matter where you are, whatever police resource we have, we’ve all got the same.”

Serpas said his department has also improved the links between his department and City Hall – to help steer residents to the appropriate city agency – and has stepped up its attendance at neighborhood meetings, which enables officers to hear residents’ complaints before they spiral into criminal activity.

On a district level, Serpas’ officers are spending an hour each day meeting and greeting neighbors on “walking beats.” In a special summer program called “Operation Force,” officers are going door-to-door to distribute tip sheets on crime prevention and emergency contact numbers. In its first four weeks of operation, Operation Force has spoken to nearly 7,000 residents, Serpas said.

Hebert and Serpas agreed to address the group again in October. The next Micah meeting at St. Mary of the Angels will be held Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. at the church at 3501 North Miro Street.

The local chapter of the Micah Project is composed of 15 congregations from Orleans and Jefferson parishes. The non-profit, non-partisan, faith-based community organizing project is an affiliate of the PICO National Network, made up of more than 1,000 congregations in 150 American cities.

For more information, visit www.micahpico.org.

Beth Donze can be reached at bdonze@clarionherald.org.