A. ROADS AND DRAINAGE: Fleur de Lis Drive, a street in Lakeview where I grew up is an example of our problem. Despite tremendous effort to get every Congressional legislator to see the 17th Street Canal breech, eighteen months after the storm, it remains decrepit and nearly unusable. It also recently flooded when a 3 inch rain event occurred. The water sat for 2 days. The pitiful expenditure on roads and drainage restoration is evident everywhere. As a State Representative, I will seek to establish a program that expedites performance on vital road projects, whether State or City.
B. CITY PARK: City Park land is owned by the City of New Orleans but it is managed by the City Park Administration, a State chartered agency. It has been left to struggle alone too long, and its time to step up State allocation of resources to City Park, a centerpiece of the District. The Park can provide beauty and charm to all surrounding neighbors. Thousands of children, mostly students, use the poorly maintained recreational facilities daily, yet very little funds are available or expended on ordinary maintenance. The Park is an asset to everyone, but it is under-utilized. As a State Representative, City Park will be a priority. I have hundreds of hours in the Park volunteering as a coach, and I have dealt with its administration regularly over the last 5 years dealing with issues pertaining to it soccer facilities. I know the problems, and I have the solutions.
C. LEVEE BOARD PROPERTY: The Orleans Parish Levee Board, OPLB, now abolished, was charged with maintaining property as well as levee inspection. Since, there has been little maintenance except cutting grass. The loss of the OPLB has resulted in an immediate need for local oversight of our Lakefront property maintenance as well as enforcement of codes and restrictions. Without a local authority, the Governor’s Division of Administration in Baton Rouge, will decide what is best for our community. As State Representative, I will seek to introduce a bill to establish a local oversight body to make sure that the Division of Administration is accountable locally for the administration of the Lakefront Community Covenants and former OPLB properties, including all green spaces, the Marina, and the Airport.
D. PLAYGROUNDS AND GREEN SPACES: The quality of life in our community depends on having facilities where children can play safely, adults are comfortable, and recreational options are plentiful. The steady decay of existing green spaces and playgrounds is not acceptable - particularly where ordinary maintenance and improvement would have an immediate impact. Every single Neighborhood Plan contains an expression of the overwhelming desire of our community to have better outdoor facilities and green space. I will propose legislation to support targeted allocation of public funds to improve specific public playgrounds and green spaces facilities.
