We met a woman last night, probably in her 50s, sitting on the front stoop of an abandoned building in Central City, widely considered one of the most dangerous parts of New Orleans. We work in Central City a lot, because dangerous places tend to...
They are all but invisible: abandoned people eking out a meager existence on abandoned New Orleans property. No electricity. No running water. They are barely making it. In the darkened kitchen, the floor is littered with filthy clothing, rotting food, empty bottles and cans. Part of...
I see the orange glow of a cigarette through the blackness of an open doorway. I realize we’re being watched long before we meet whoever it is we're looking for. Instinctively, I shine the doorway with my flashlight and leave it on just long enough...
We’re not in the habit of responding to each other’s blog posts, but Mike’s last post warrants a response on two levels. First, Mike didn’t so mildly exercise his 1stAmendment right as he states. (Though I must admit I’m glad his mention of it indicates he knows...
So my partner’s delicate civil liberties were trampled upon Wednesday night. At about 11 PM, after Shamus picked me up and we were heading into the office, we were pulled over by New Orleans finest. Actually, we literally got pulled over at our office by...
[caption id="attachment_48" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A gutted home in the Lower 9th "][/caption] So we did a part of the lower 9th last week. We’re in between neighborhoods and we’re scoping out our next canvass. That’s how we do it; pick a whole neighborhood and search every...
[caption id="attachment_45" align="alignright" width="483" caption="Searching for squatters in an abandoned apartment building"][/caption] We surveyed an abandoned apartment complex this week. A story ran in the newspaper with neighbors complaining that the complex in question was teeming with both vermin and squatters. Fortunately, this distinction means that...
“Mike and I are going to be checking out an encampment on the Algiers Levee tonight.” I inserted this into the general goodbye-banter between two people who’ve grown familiar with each other – amidst such standard stuff as “good night”, “be safe” and “see you tomorrow”. ...
It’s a fine line between a brilliant idea and intrusive noise. I think we crossed it when you strategically gutted your last apartment with your elbow....