Luter added that he believes the delayed cleanup is a not a matter of economics, or race necessarily. “I think it’s priorities, I really do. We made it a priority to re-do the airport, we made it a priority to clean up downtown. It was a priority because the Super Bowl was coming, well, the Super Bowl is just one day, it’s going to be gone. Let’s make that same priority now for other areas of the city that need it really bad.”

Makes more sense to blame it on Mardi Gras, as there have been seven in NOLA since Katrina, versus only one Super Bowl.

It’s New Orleans people. Different priorities. Come on over to Galveston which was hit just as bad if not worse by Ike than New Orleans was by Katrina. You can’t even tell the city has had a disaster.

The Lower 9th was HORRIBLE before Katrina and now the trash that did remain behind has migrated to St. Bernard. It was so bad that if you drove back through it from the Quarter on a weekend night, you were pretty much expected to not stop for red lights, stop signs, whatever. Whatever it took to get you out of there fast.

Now St. Bernard has more crime and drugs than ever before, multi-income housing, which is just a nice way of saying ‘projects that are subsidized at different levels according to your income’ and a whole lot of people who refuse to move back because it’s so terrible now.

I wouldn’t move back to da parish if you built me a palace and paid me to live there. It doesn’t even feel like home when I have to go there for work. It used to make me sad, then I got angry, now I’m just nostalgic for what it was.

Might want to ask former governor, Blank Zero that question.

I was home on leave(Houston) when Katrina hit.My wifey’s church took in around 400 9th Warders.At her request and the good man in me I bought 40 cases of Charmin and took them to the church.The men were hanging around playing bones and wouldn’t even help unload the truck.That did it for me,forever.

docflash on February 4, 2013 at 4:06 PM

You saw this on television at the time. A bunch of layabouts sitting on their fat a**es while white people scurried around trying to provide for them.

And they wanted me to take these people in? Keep dreaming!

They should have bought everyone out and made it a park. Why rebuild on land 8 feet beneath sea level?

warren on February 4, 2013 at 4:44 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/opinion/krugman-sandy-versus-katrina.html?_r=0

heh.

But it’s a CHOCOLATE CITY, right??

ToddPA on February 4, 2013 at 3:30 PM

Maybe Hansel and Gretel will move into the ward.

Why are we spending a huge amount of money rebuilding an area that is 8 feet below sea level? It would be better to buy them out, plow it over and let them move to higher ground.

Sparky on February 4, 2013 at 3:30 PM

Exactly! Why are people even thinking about rebuilding this, when it’s just as vulnerable to future hurricanes?

“For those of us from there, it’s disheartening, discouraging, and a lot of us ask, ‘Why?’” Luter said of the slow pace of progress in the Lower Ninth Ward.

We haven’t seen ‘yo dollah’ yet.

Bloomberg was planning the same after the hurricane…just had to have his marathon. Until he was shamed into canceling it.

GarandFan on February 4, 2013 at 4:08 PM

good point!!

But of course to the media it’s just racism.

But Brown asks a pretty tough question about whether the city put the game ahead of its people, and the answer isn’t terribly complimentary.

Bloomberg was planning the same after the hurricane…just had to have his marathon. Until he was shamed into canceling it.

Hence why tourism spots – and venues have been rebuilt.

Obama has now been in office longer than Bush – post Katrina. Square that one race-baiting liberals.

hi.

Anybody can point to an empty lot but who owns that lot?
Where is the owner?
Did they receive a settlement and just decide not to return?

Why are we spending a huge amount of money rebuilding an area that is 8 feet below sea level? It would be better to buy them out, plow it over and let them move to higher ground.

Sparky on February 4, 2013 at 3:30 PM

True but of course, racist.