There has been a lot of media attention about the plight of the section of town called the Lower 9th Ward and how badly it has affected the poor black people who lived there. We went through a portion of the area on the tour, seeing many damaged houses still virtually untouched since the storm. Many have also been torn down, and a few have been rebuilt. The recovery problem has been complicated by unclear ownership of many of the houses and lots, owners who have left town and cannot be contacted (only 1 in 5 who lived there have returned), and those who just abandoned their property and walked away from any responsibility to rebuild.
Almost everyone who lived there had no insurance or was significantly underinsured, and in many cases, the deeds were unrecorded and the owners couldn't be found. The city also apparently has few financial incentives to offer much assistance to anyone without insurance to rebuild, as the property owners most likely would be paying little or no property taxes due to their low income levels. The city also cannot foreclose on the properties until title issues are resolved and weed abatement assessments are unpaid for 6 months. A further complication is that insurers are not writing any new homeowner policies, in this area and in many other sections of New Orleans. If you had coverage in the past, you can get a new policy, if not, you are presently out of luck.
Brad Pitt is trying to help by underwriting a project to rebuild new houses near the levee breaks in the 9th Ward area. They are functional houses with no frills and resemble double-wides with slanted roofs on stilts. It is a nice effort, but the houses cost about $160,000 and you have to have to be able to make a guaranteed house payment of $500 per month to qualify for a loan. Right now however, the 9th Ward a is a sorry thing to see with stripped and burned cars, destroyed and unoccupied houses, and according to our guide, it is a mecca for dumping bodies murdered for various reasons, especially drug gangs competing for market share in a smaller market. It seems likely to me the only likely long term solution to the problem will be for the city to aquire all the property through emminent domain or some other legal mechanism, bulldoze existing houses, clean-up everything, and start over with something that really works. Whether or not this happens anytime soon, remains to be seen.
Our guide also commented on all media the attention given to the 9th Ward to date. He said that over 80% of the city was under water from 2 to 23 ft deep for 22 days after the levees broke. Many middle class and commercial areas were also heavily damaged or destroyed and have faced, or are facing, the same rebuilding issues with little attention from the media and government for the the massive recovery still ahead. Many commercial properties were also under-insured, and the cost to replace what was lost has been huge and has also delayed the recovery city-wide.
The guide also commented on how the area was almost totally unprepared to deal with an emergency on the scale of Katrina, and when it occured, there was a massive failure of government planning and response at all levels (local, state, interagency, and federal) to quickly repond to the emergency. And when the recovery phase began, again according to the tour guide who lost his house to water damage, there was bureaucratic delay, systemic inefficency, and rampant graft, corruption, and misue of recovery funds. He said that in many cases, this is still going on and that a lot of money and resources thrown (and still being thrown) at the recovery have either been delayed, misspent, or are unaccounted for. The whole situation is very sad and it appears it is going to take everyone down here a long time to recover from the physical and social impacts on the city. The Saints Super Bowl win certainly lifted their spirts and may help the city to reenergize its recovery.
After the bus tour we had a superb buffet breakfast/lunch at The Court Of The Two Sisters, a famous French Quarter Restaurant. We then had a little time on our own to briefly look around the Jackson Square area and the adjoing French Flea market along the way back to the bus for the ride back to the RV site at the old U.S. Mint. Even the goldstatue of Joan of Arc (aka "Joanie on the Pony"), high on a pedestal near Jackson Square, was carrying a Saints flag in honour of the Super Bowl Victory.
After a short rest in the RV it was back in the buses for the trip to the Krewe of Ancient Druids Parade this evening. We had seats in a grandstand along the Parade route and caught many beads. It was a cool night, but it did not rain, and everyone seemed to have a great time.
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