New Orleans City Council Bars Public From Housing Vote

Despite claims that it waited until the hall had reached capacity, this video clearly shows that there were still seats available before people were kept from coming into a public meeting on the fate of 83% of all available public housing in New Orleans. Tasers abounded inside the New Orleans City council chambers when police were used to clear the room of the leaders who have challenged the legality of the demolition of the public housing. Critics of the policy have charged that the City of New Orleans has systematically taken advantage of the "opportunity" Hurricane Katrina provided to racially cleanse the city of poor and largely African American citizens from the public housing by physically installing barricades to keep residents from housing that came through the hurricane unscathed, without so much as a window broken. They charge that the projects are within easy walking distance of the French Quarter and therefore represent prime real estate that would not be available to developers unless there was collusion with government officials. And if that were not enough, they charge that Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Alphozo Jackson has awarded no bid contracts for the demolition of the projects to a contractor who owed Jackson several hundred thousand dollars from previous dealings. New Orleans City Council Members Arnie Fielkow City Hall, Room 2W40 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 504.658.1060 Shelley Midura City Hall, Room 2W80 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 504.658.1010 Stacy S. Head City Hall, Room 2W10 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 504.658.1020 James Carter city Hall, Room 2W70 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 504.658.1030 Cynthia Hedge-Morrell city Hall, Room 2W20 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 504.658.1040 Cynthia Willard-Lewis City Hall, Room 2W60 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 504.658.1050