NEW ORLEANS - District "C" Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer applauds the Algiers Blight Committee and the City's Department of Code Enforcement for the clean up of two blighted properties in Algiers. The Algiers Blight Committee, which is made up of neighborhood volunteers and members of Code Enforcement, was created by Councilmember Palmer shortly after taking office in 2018.
The committee listed the top 10 blighted properties in Algiers, with the former Higgins Gate apartment complex and former Life Center Full Gospel Baptist Church at the top of their list, and worked tirelessly to hold the owners accountable until progress was made.
Clean up has begun at the former Life Center Full Gospel Baptist Church site located at 1 Life Center Drive. The property was left vacant and blighted since Hurricane Katrina. Code Enforcement fined the owners twice in 2019 for failure to clean up their property. A private contractor hired by the owners is clearing the property. However, funding to clean up Higgins Gate located at 2646 Westbend Parkway will be funded by monies appropriated during the 2020 budget process. The four-month project should be completed by mid-summer.
Press conference announcing the former Higgins Gate apartment clean up project on Feb. 19, 2020
"The Algiers Blight Committee consists of concerned citizens who wanted to tackle the blight in Algiers, particularly large commercial sites that were huge eyesores since Katrina," said Councilmember Palmer. "Cleaning up Higgins Gate and the former Life Center Church were also promises of mines before I took office. With the blight committee, Code Enforcement and funding from the City Council, we were able to demolish two blighted sites, creating opportunities for new developments for Algiers residents."
The Former Life Center Full Gospel Baptist Church after Katrina and the other was taken April 2020.
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Media Contact:
Tiffaney Bradley
Communications Director
Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer, District "C"
(504) 295-4970