Home razing angering owners in New Orleans

[babylonsister]

Home razing angering owners in NOrleans

By BECKY BOHRER, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 26 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - While Willie Ann Williams waited for federal aid to rebuild her home in the hurricane flooded 9th Ward, it was demolished — apparently by mistake.

There was nothing left but bare dirt.

A city official told her family the wood-frame house should not have been torn down, but no one has told them why it happened or what happens next.

Williams had a building permit and wanted to fix up her house once she received money from the federally funded, state-run Road Home grant program. Now, with no house to repair, she's living in Franklinton, 70 miles away, and doesn't know whether she'll be able to come back, said Williams' daughter, Vonder McNeil.

Confusion reigns with the approach of an Aug. 29 deadline — the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina — for the city to tell federal authorities which properties it wants demolished. Homes that were only damaged have wound up on a list of 1,700 condemned properties. Some houses on the list have been gutted for rebuilding or are in move-in condition.

Angry homeowners are besieging City Council members and camping out at city offices. "Do Not Demolish" signs are posted on porches, and some owners are hiring lawyers for a possible legal fight.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070812/ap_on_re_us/new_orleans_demolitions;_ylt=Anxd7abOms7Co5Q68wSnZvOs0NUE

[shance]

1. Demolishing your home "by mistake". I wonder how that feels to

sit there, powerless, and watch your house being torn apart, wall by wall, gutted, ripped apart, into nothing but a pile, as the men in their bulldozers just plow away like its just another day at work.

Yep. Looking good!

No problem here - came down like a charm.

Hehehe.

yeah, it aint my house so who gives a s**t.

:nuke:

[babylonsister]

2. I can't even imagine how FURIOUS I would be. These people are treated

like crap.

[pitohui]

10. but you see, that's the thing, she WASN'T sitting there blocking the bulldozers

she's been up in franklinton for 2 years while her property deteriorates and then she wonders why it got condemned and demolished?

she WASN'T there, if she had been, it wouldn't have been demolished, plenty of other people have put up "do not demolish" notices and believe me, the city has not exactly been timely in removing condemned structures

[snappyturtle]

3. The plan all along, after Katrina, was to force people out.....this

mistaken demolition is a part of the plan. imho

[babylonsister]

4. Yes, I do remember about this 'plan' after Katrina; sadly, it appears

to be working.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Hey BillyBob! Those negroes is still here!

Well raze their home then - that'll get 'em outta here right quick!

[rudy23]

8. I promise it's not exclusive to black families' homes-New Orleans is VERY integrated

Probably the most integrated city in the country. Part of what makes it irreplacable.

[EST]

6. If this is compassion, I would hate to have them pissed at me.

[porphyrian]

7. That's just fucked up.

The ONLY reason I can think of for it being anything close to OK is if the house were in a condition so bad that it was CAUSING health concerns for other residents (like being structurally unsound and infested with rats or alligators or something). Even so, an effort should have been made to contact the owners before doing anything. And how fucked up would it be to have your house torn down by mistake? Or intentionally?

[pitohui]

9. some of these houses are in terrible condition

i think some people are delusional and don't understand how expensive it is to do a complete renovation of an existing structure

and some of them are just ill with grief, in a related story the other day, one woman's house was artfully photographed to show the nicely painted walls, which look ok, and not the roof with its gaping holes -- folks, it's two years later, if you haven't gutted and fixed your roof by now,
your property is a tear down

some of these stories seem a little slanted