#nolanye

#OURNOLABlight Dec 21

#OURNOLABlight Dec 21

Update on Justin’s mom’s house and #OurNOLABlight - December 20, 2013. #NOLA

Today, Justin got a lot of work done clearing the debris from his mother's back yard.

A lot of debris had to be removed, and a colleague of Justin's had already rented a Dumpster in the area. This colleague also has a truck and a pressure washer, so Justin paid the colleague and another man $240 to help take all the debris out of the yard. Both of these men worked very hard and needed the work, and now all of that debris is gone. Justin is still going to pay each of them another $100 a piece to continue helping haul things around with the truck and also bring and use the pressure washer. That is a total of $440 of expenses covering two men for two days with a truck, tools, a Dumpster, a pressure washer, and skills.

Here is some of the progress that's been made so far.

Almost all of this debris that was in the yard on December 17, 2013 has been removed







Look how much better the back yard looks as of December 20, 2013!







So far a total of 6 Dumpster runs have happened. This is a big improvement, but we are by no means close to being done.





By the way, the tree in the front yard is healthy and bears lemons, so the tree is definitely not blighted. The house isn't blighted either - it was declared a "public nuisance" by the City of New Orleans.



The front yard is looking a lot better than it did earlier this week.

December 20:




December 17:




There is still a great deal of work Justin needs help with. There are many items and layers of debris in the alley and in the yard, and they need to be removed.






The shed in the backyard is also filled with items that need to be removed. We are not going to have access to a pick-up truck all the time, so a lot of this will have to be done on Saturday, December 21.





If anyone wants to help with this job, there are some interesting items to take away!
This bike helmet is in good shape.





If you want these VHS tapes, they're yours.





Interesting art made by Justin's uncle once upon a time.





Justin's mother is extremely grateful and asked me to communicate this to everyone who has been so supportive.  





She is curious as to whether the City of New Orleans will be conducting another blight inspection since she was neither notified of nor present for the inspection that allegedly took place on November 13th.






As far as the exterior of the house is concerned, little bit of the siding needs replacing, and that back shed needs work too. The house needs to be painted, and Justin said he is going to build scaffolding.







The City of New Orleans clearly said that the house has to be painted on December 12, 2013 when they noted the following violations:

CCNO 26-160a  Weeds and Plant Growth

All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of eighteen (18) inches. All noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and,vegetation; other than,trees or shrubs. Said ‘term shall not include  cultivated flowers and gardens.

CCNO 26-161a Rodent Harborage

(a  All structures-and exterior property shall be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation. Where rodents are found, they shall be promptly exterminated by approved processes which will not be injurious to human health. After extermination, proper precautions shall be taken, to eliminate rodent harborage and prevent re-infestation.

CNO 26-167b Paint or Protective Treatment:

Exterior wood surfaces; other than decay-resistant woods, shall be protected from the elements and decay by painting or:other protective covering or treatment. Peeling, flaking and chipped paint shall be eliminated and surfaces repainted.

NOTE: Having spent countless hours in the back yard, inside the house, and in the front yard and alley, I have not encountered a single rodent, nor have I seen signs of rodent harborage. The city seems to have inferred that rodents were being harbored in the debris but has not provided any evidence of rodents. The debris is in the process of being removed, as the photographs above reflect.






Please consider volunteering your time to help Justin work on the house! You'll get to see this amazing wheelbarrow, and Justin's mom has been making sandwiches and red beans w/ rice.







Justin purchased gloves and contractor bags, and we are sharing all receipts HERE.

On Saturday, December 21, the two gentlemen with the truck and pressure washer will be pressure washing the house and re-nailing siding to prepare it to paint.
We have an urgent need for financial donations to pay for materials including paint, to pay the fine due to the city by January 12, and to cover the costs of paying the gentlemen who have provided the truck, the Dumpster, and the pressure-washer.

We have collected $500 so far, which covers the cost of the contractor bags and gloves and the service provided by the two men with the pressure washer and truck and Dumpster. Being able to use their Dumpster has been fortunate as Gentilly Landfill is far away from Justin's mom's house, time consuming, and not even open all day on weekends.

Please consider donating money here! https://www.wepay.com/donations/fight-city-of-new-orleans-outrageous-blight-laws



Justin's mom, Justin, and I are extremely grateful for your support.

Here is a video of the livestream work being done at the house from December 20, 2013!




Thank you everyone who has helped so far! This fight is far from over. Also, I'm going to quote blumo0n, who articulated what I could not.

When a government can destroy one home/person/family, it can destroy any home/person/family!




We really appreciate the support we've gotten so far, and we have a long road ahead of us. We need to purchase paint and materials!



Let's save this house! Please share this post, the WePay Link, and the flyer above!

Solidarity from New Orleans,

@small_affair and @ots_nola (and his mom).

Read my initial post and Justin's statement about "Our NOLA Blight" HERE.

Justin's Mom #OURNOLABlight

City of New Orleans Declares Justin's Family Home a "Public Nuisance" and Gives 30 Days to Repair

Statement from Justin Warren regarding the December 12, 2013 City of New Orleans Code Enforcement and Hearings Bureau.

A couple weeks ago, my mother called to tell me that NOLA code enforcement had sent her a notice of blight violations and had a hearing scheduled for the 12th of December, 2013. 

Admittedly, the place had fallen into disrepair since my father’s passing. There were a lot of legal issues to deal with after his passing like a fraudulent mortgage put on the house by the person who sold it to him. The will Justin’s father left was handwritten and not notarized. The lawyer he chose before passing was the lawyer of the guy who had taken the fraudulent mortgage and was the lawyer that handled the sale of the house. My father wasn’t great at choosing allies. Suffice it to say, this lawyer turned out to be problematic too. 

So with all these questions hanging in the air, the fate of the property was uncertain, which resulted in the reluctance to put too much time into maintenance. Not an excuse, I should have put more time into it, but I was hoping some other members of my family would step up and share some of the responsibility. 

Upon hearing about the hearing, I figured it was time to “shit or get off the pot,” so I began fixing the place up, weeding, repairing the fence, repairing the siding, scraping, sanding, and doing some minor structural repairs. I only had a few days to work on it between when I learned about the hearing and the date of the hearing. I do have a job and can’t just drop everything. 

So I go to the hearing with the expectation that everything will be fine. The grievances weren’t big. I had proof that I had been working on the place (before and after photographs) I had the skills, no problem, right? 

When I first walked in, I was made to sign in, then directed to a waiting room with a host of other people, about a dozen or so. Bless their hearts. I am 35 years old; the next youngest person in the room had to be pushing 60. There were a few canes. The other people were in good spirits but only because they were sweet people. One man walked in and asked, “How is everybody?” So this one person replied, “We’re in here, what do you think?” The first man turned aorund, walked back out and then re-entered. This time, he exclaimed, “I am blessed and I hope you are all blessed too!”We laughed our asses off. 

So I waited about 20 to 30 minutes and was then called by the address of property in question. They never even said my name. I went to the next room where two women sat at desks. It was really fast; I tried to explain what my family had been going through and that I had started working on the property. They acknowledged that I had been working on it but didn’t care about anything else to the point that they would just cut me off in mid-sentence. ALL BUSINESS!  

At this point, they rapid fired a bunch of legalese at me of which I could only make out bits and pieces. I was then ushered back to the waiting room where I was to wait for the printed copy of my verdict.

Upon receiving the written verdict, I was able to scrutinize the rapid fire legalese that I had been barraged with earlier. It seems I now owe $575 to the City of New Orleans. This amount is due in 30 days. Within these same 30 days, I have to clear all debris, weeds, and paint the house. The house needs repairs also, in lieu of paint. That’s not in the verdict but that’s the reality of the situation. This isn’t possible in 30 days. In my professional experience, I know that it can sometimes take months just to get a permit for these exterior repairs, never mind the fact that if I worked on the house every day for 30 days, I might just pull it off. However, if I can’t work at my job as a carpenter then I can’t pay the fines or pay for the material I need. I’m going to need to rent a dumpster to dispose of debris. 
If I don’t comply fully within 30 days, a fine of $200 a day will be place on the property until it is deemed “move-in-ready” meaning I would have to renovate the entire property even though it hasn’t been deemed uninhabitable. It hasn’t even been deemed blighted, just a public nuisance.  

I will fight till hell freezes over, and then I will fight on the ice. They will have a new appreciation for the term public nuisance if they take my mother’s house. 

These are my thoughts so far. I'm still researching the New Orleans blight laws (~ @small_affair/TaraJill). 

This property was flooded with about 4-5 feet of water during Hurricane Katrina. If you drive up Banks Street in New Orleans, you might notice the street sign for Cortez looks slightly different from standard City-issued street signs. Only upon a closer look, will you notice the hand-painted sign that marks Cortez where it intersects with Banks Street. That’s because after Hurricane Katrina, when the street sign that disappeared in the storm was not replaced by the City of New Orleans, Justin’s uncle fashioned one out of wood. In the weeks (and months) after Hurricane Katrina, devastation often rendered it impossible to even recognize once-familiar streets.  Justin's father Dave Warren owned property on 422 S. Cortez Street. When Dave Warren passed away, the property was left to his legal wife and his successors, assigns, and heirs, which include Justin Warren, my fiance, who is the executor of his father's will.

Justin’s mother lives in that house, and Justin has been helping her with property taxes and other legal matters related to the house itself since his father's death in September of 2010. 

Soon after November 18, 2013 (when the letter is dated), Justin’s mother received notice that David Warren and his Successors and Heirs and Assigns Owner(s) of 422 Cortez Street stood accused of violating three sections of the Code of the City of New Orleans. This was based on an inspection that allegedly took place on November 13, 2013. Justin was unaware that any such inspection took place, and his mother also seems to have no knowledge of this inspection. *NOTE: I have to ask her and others on the block about this "inspection."

The notice instructed them to appear at a blight hearing on Nov 18, 2013 for the following violations:

CCNO 26-160a  Weeds and Plant Growth

All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in

excess of eighteen (18) inches. All noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and,vegetation; other than,trees or shrubs. Said 'term shall not include  cultivated flowers and gardens. 

CCNO 26-161a Rodent Harborage

(a  All structures-and exterior property shall be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation. Where rodents are found, they shall be promptly exterminated by approved processes which will not be injurious to human health. After extermination, proper precautions shall be taken, to eliminate rodent harborage and prevent re-infestation.

CNO 26-167b Paint or Protective Treatment:

Exterior wood surfaces; other than decay-resistant woods, shall be protected from the elements and decay by painting or:other protective covering or treatment. Peeling, flaking and chipped paint shall be eliminated and surfaces repainted.

On that same day she received the Notice of Hearing from the City of New Orleans, Justin’s mother also received a letter in the mail from Horizon One Services blight Removal New Construction (dated Nov 22, 2013). 

Justin Warren is a master-carpenter and began working to address the issues listed as violations. He's been taking time away from his paying job as a carpenter to repair this house and attended the hearing on December 12, 2013 with "before" and "after" pictures of the work he had done.  

BEFORE

AFTER

At the hearing, the property was not deemed blighted. It was deemed a PUBLIC NUISANCE by the City of New Orleans.  At the hearing, the heir (Justin Warren) asked if he could have more time than 30 days to comply with all demands of the City of New Orleans and was told no.

Justin now has to to shell out 1000s of dollars to comply in 30 days or lose the property. A master carpenter, Justin says, “If I had 90 days to comply I could do it. 60 days would be pushing it, but 30 DAYS IS JUST IMPOSSIBLE. You can’t even get a permit in 30 days. They are taking peoples homes, just taking them, its not blighted but 30 days still isn't enough time to meet all demands."

The City of New Orleans has ordered Justin to fix the violations and remit $575.00 within 30 days. Their notice states that "Failure to pay fine will result in lien and recordation fee of $80 will be added for total of $ 665."

If he does not make these repairs in thirty days, a daily fine of $200.00 will be assessed against property for 30 days or until the violations are corrected.

Justin is confident he fix this property but needs more time it will be impossible to do so if charged $200 a day in fines after 30 days. His mother receives $900 a month in Survivor’s Benefits from her first husband.

There is no feasible way that Justin can take off work for a month and pay for dumpsters/materials & meet 30 day deadline. Justin and I do not live at the property; we live in an apartment that we rent, and we pay bills here. I'm a adjunct English teacher and Justin is a carpenter. 

Justin said there was a room full of people suffering the same fate at the hearing. He said he assumed not all people will loose their property but some people had already complied and were being called back for more charges

Justin says there is a shortage of properties on the market in certain areas of NOLA. Developers  have been buying properties up like crazy there is a shortage of properties and some areas are becoming “hot spots. His mother’s house, Justin says, is in one of those hot-spots.

It appears blight laws could be misused to make people pay the City of NOLA outrageous amounts of money.

We are going to make a needs assessments list and ask the community for help making these repairs.  

People should not be threatened with homelessness because the City declares their home a public nuisance!  We are reaching out to others in the community and looking for legal assistance. 

Justin is accepting donations using WePay here:  Fight City of New Orleans Outrageous Blight Laws

We’ve also started a Facebook Event: Help Justin from Occupy The Stage Save His Family’s Home that’s on the public Occupy the Stage Facebook page. Local people can co-ordinate about helping with  "Boots-On-The-Ground" volunteers.

We have less than 30 days. Here is what the city laws say about what happens after the hearing, which he already attended on December 12.

Post-Judgment Actions from http://nola.gov/code-enforcement/fighting-blight/

If a guilty judgment is recorded and a lien is placed on the property, Code Enforcement evaluates the property through an administrative review process to determine the best approach to remove the hazardous conditions of public nuisance and blight. The City has three paths for abatement, and a single property may undergo more than one of these processes over time.

The three paths:

1. Lot Clearing / Abatement - probably not because there is a property there, it’s not just grass.

2. Sheriff’s Sale / Lien Foreclosure - Properties approved for lien foreclosure will have writs filed with the Civil District Court and will be subsequently turned over to the sheriff’s office to be sold at auction. Sale proceeds will first pay off liens, taxes, and sale costs and any other recorded liens to a third party. Remaining funds, if any will go to the original property owner(s). The City’s larger goal in this process is to transfer blighted properties to new owners who will make repairs and abide by the City code.

3. Demolition - Blighted properties may be selected by Code Enforcement for demolition. Once a building is demolished, if the remaining lot remains in a blighted condition it may be sold at sheriff’s sale and/or could be maintained through the lot clearing program.

Here is where the Sheriff’s Sale properties go: http://www.civilsheriff.com/RealEstateSales.asp

They go to banksters.


The house was not declared BLIGHTED at the hearing on December 12.

However, the letter from the hearing says  In accordance with the hearing officer declaring this property blighted and/or a public nuisance, the City of New Orleans may exercise any and all legal remedies including but not limited to expropriation, lien foreclosure and demolition, at your expense with interest, without further notice, subject to your thirty (30) days right to appeal.


When we were tweeting about this on Thursday, local writers for The Lens NOLA, our awesome investigative journalist source, took notice. Charles Maldonado asked me if we knew about a Blight Hearing that had taken place in 2009. He tweeted that “The city’s database claims the house was subject to some blight violations dating back to ‘09. Were the owners aware?”

Justin and his mother were not aware, which makes sense because Justin’s father was alive then. Since his father is deceased, we are unable to ask him if he was aware of anything that happened in 2009 .

Charles Maldonado said it was an honest question because “Sometimes the owners are seemingly never made aware of pending blight violations until it’s too late.” He then tweeted me this story Family’s long journey home after Katrina ends when city bulldozes house about a woman whose  “home fell to the zealousness of the Landrieu administration’s commitment to eradicate 10,000 blighted structures, an instance of the government’s right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing.”

#WalmartElves Suspended for 3 Weeks Now.

 The Twitter #WalmartElves on strike are all still suspended.

Keep up with them here: #FreeTheWalmartElves

As of November 27, 2013, there are 8 suspended Twitter accounts for #WalmartElves who supported Walmart Strikers. These Twitter accounts did more than simply annoy Walmart by using the #WalmartElves hashtag. They were used by people attending protests on the ground, they received information from Walmart employees who were afraid of retaliation and they shared this information with the world, and they fought internet censorship. To ignore this censorship imposed upon political speech would be to admit defeat. Twitter has not offered an explanation as to why these accounts were suspended, but we suspect the suspension was requested or demanded by Walmart. It’s very scary to think that a corporation can silence political speech.

#FreeTheWalmartElves is a movement that supports political speech and political speech in the form of parody. If you’d like to help with research and queries to Twitter as to why these accounts were suspended, you will be taking a stand against censorship. The #FreeTheWalmartElves hashtag is also used to draw attention to the struggles of Walmart Associates who fight for a living wage, and the overseas workers in Walmart sweatshops living and dead.

Help stop the war on information. Demand an explanation for the suspended Twitter accounts: 

@WalmartElvesLOL
@walmart_elves
@86WalmartElves
@86WalmartElves_ 

@walmartelves86

@LOLWalmartElves

@WalmartElves_

@NoWalmartElves

Please tell your contacts at the EFF, your contacts on Twitter, bloggers, information activists, and everyone you know.

The WalmartElves Solidarity Network does not forget.

The #Suspended5 - WalmartElves created in 2012 suspended all at once on November 18, 2013.

@walmart_elves - Suspended November 18

@86WalmartElves - Suspended November 18

@WalmartElvesLOL - Suspended November 18

@86WalmartElves_   Moar WalmartElves Suspended November 18

@walmartelves86 - Suspended November 18

The #Suspended3 - elves all suspended November 26, 2013

@NoWalmartElves - Suspended November 26

@WalmartElves_ Suspended November 26

@LOLWalmartElves - Suspended November 18, 2013

Tweets from the suspended elves.

Please help us Free The Info!

Phrase "Killer Cops" Offends Someone

There was a "Justice for Henry Glover" rally in New Orleans today in response to the re-trial of former New Orleans police officer David Warren in the fatal shooting of Henry Glover, an unarmed man, after Hurricane Katrina.  

Apparently one of the organizers attempted to use the CallingPost Messaging Service to send mass invitations. After sending a message, his account was locked because he violated the User Agreement with the phrase "killer cop."

Referring to police officers who kill people as "killer cops" is apparently inappropriate, says Calling Post. 

It's unclear which part of the User Agreement in Section 11 was violated except maybe "You will not use, or attempt to use, the CallingPost Service to convey any information that may be considered unlawful, harassing, libelous, abusive,  threatening, obscene, hateful, offensive, harmful, vulgar, distasteful, defamatory, or invasive of another person's privacy or proprietary rights."

"Killer Cops" could fall under "offensive" depending on the recipient.

This is a pretty vague reason to suspend an account. The first two paragraphs of the User Agreement explain that CallingPost should NOT be used for  "political purposes" and "material deemed to be offensive to the recipients or CallingPost."

So in other words, if CallingPost or the recipients deems the content inappropriate, the account can be locked. One of two things probably happened. Either the sender intentionally included a recipient who would be offended by the message and that recipient filed a complaint, or CallingPost simply found the message offensive. If the latter is the case, this is just another disturbing example of censorship.

NOTE: I do not know if this user of CallingPost has been a habitual offender or what his relationship is with the service, but received the email below.

*     *     *     *    *      *    *     *     *      *

 

Hi Folks

Just wanted to let everyone know about another expression of the  censorship we have in this country. This is the message I received after sending out a ‘calling post”—mass, recorded phone message-- to the C3 phone list to encourage folks to attend today’s rally to demand justice for Henry Glover-- yes, to put ‘killer cops’ behind bars.

Until the victory always,

 

[REDACTED]

From: Customer Care [mailto:info@callingpost.com]
Sent: Monday, December 9, 2013 11:37 AM

Subject: CallingPost Account Hold

 

Mr.[Redacted]

Your account has been placed on "Locked" due to inappropriate usage.  Section 11 of the "User Agreement", which was entered into at the time of registration, states that an account holder cannot use CallingPost Communications for inappropriate reasons.  The term "killer cop" was stated in the outgoing message for December 8th at 8:36pm and CallingPost has the right, as stated in Section 12 of the "User Agreement", to deny you access to the account based on this information.

Guise of Fawkes Krewe and Description

Here is the Guise of Fawkes Krewe Description

Krewe of Guise of Fawkes is hereby established as a social organization with the  purpose of bringing together advocates for social justice who will celebrate the spirit of revolution and raise awareness about and continue the work of political prisoners.  We will engage in fellowship year-round, with special emphasis placed on the Mardi Gras season. The source of our name is a reference to Guy Fawkes.

A Revolution themed krewe that parades with krewedelusion and at other times of the year, Guise of Fawkes honors arrested anons, whistle-blowers, and political prisoners. Our themes involve protesting corporate corruption, and our demonstrations raise awareness to carry on the work of those who sacrificed their freedom for all of us. 

You can learn more about the Guise of Fawkes Krewe at this Tumblr blog http://guiseoffawkes.tumblr.com/