BROADMOOR IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

July 27, 28 & 29
3617 General Pershing Street in gym/cafeteria
* 10AM-12PM (ages 7-18): hip-hop, breakin’, jazz funk, afro-modern, ballet
* Evening Class (for Adults): zumba and hip-hop
Space is limited! Please call (504) 376-5504 to sign-up or email Emily Wolff at emily@broadmoorcorp.com.

Camp is sponsored by the Broadmoor Improvement Association and the Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective, Inc, a collective of ethnically diverse Philadelphia-based dance companies dedicated to cultivating artistic expression through dance workshops throughout the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www. indigenouspitch.org.

Neighborhood Improvement District Puts Power in Residents’ Hands

State Senator Karen Carter Peterson has introduced legislation that will form the Broadmoor Neighborhood Improvement District. The improvement district formally establishes Broadmoor’s boundaries, creates an elected governing board and allows for a voter-approved $100 parcel fee that will be used, according to Peterson’s bill (SB-703), “solely and exclusively for the purpose and benefit of the district.” *
Broadmoor Improvement Association (BIA) president LaToya Cantrell says the designation is vital for the neighborhood’s continued success.
“We’ve had numerous national funders in the years since the levee failures, and it’s allowed us to accomplish things – like a new charter school, social programs and many rebuilt homes – that most neighborhoods have been unable to do,” Cantrell explained. “The problem now is many funders are leaving New Orleans for other areas, so it’s time for us to put some skin in the game.”
In the past four-and-a-half years under Cantrell’s leadership, BIA has provided the area with resources and capital:
• Brought in more than 13,000 volunteers, who committed more than 362,000 hours to Broadmoor
• Received a $2 million Carnegie Corporation grant for rebuilding the Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center
• Partnered with Blessed Trinity Catholic Church to renovate the former St. Matthias School building as a fine arts and wellness center
• Through the Broadmoor Development Corporation, rehabilitated 159 Broadmoor homes, and provided more than 450 residents with case management for housing, health care, education, job placement, evacuation and other services.
Under the proposal, residents will elect a nine-member governing board, three representatives from subgroups A, B and C, and all registered voters in Broadmoor will also decide on the parcel fee. Peterson’s bill has yet to face the full Legislature, but it is expected to pass. If the new district is approved, the parcel fee vote will occur in October, and the board election in December.
Other New Orleans neighborhoods have approved neighborhood improvement fees, but Cantrell points out, most of the money is spent on security patrols. The per-property fees for these districts range from $250 to $500. Broadmoor would take a more proactive approach: increasing the number of youth programs, beautifying the neighborhood and eliminating blight to prevent crime.
Cantrell says a portion of the fees will enable BIA to maintain a staff for fundraising, operating social programs and organizing landscaping projects. She adds that often grant organizations require matching funds from the applicant, and the parcel fees will allow for that.
“By putting in half, we can double our investment,” Cantrell says.
Cantrell says support for the parcel fee has been nearly unanimous. The lone exception came from a resident who said she wouldn’t vote for the measure because there was a blighted house on her block.
“I share her concern,” Cantrell says. “But at the same time, you have to remember that only 16.5 percent of Broadmoor houses are blighted while the city’s blight percentage sits at 26.6 percent. And that low number is testament to Broadmoor and the BIA’s resolve.”

For more information on the Broadmoor Neighborhood Improvement District, please call BIA’s office, 309-2571.

Come out to Wilson Charter School (map) this Saturday, July 10, from 11AM-3PM for the exciting Broadmoor Home Expo, and voice your opinion on the design of new Broadmoor Homes! A special SENIORS' HOUR begins at 11, with general voting and FREE LUNCH at noon. We hope to see you there!

The 2010 Broadmoor Home Expo is presented by the BIA and BDC, and features the Neighborhood Housing Design Vote as part of the USGBC Natural Talent Design Competition, sponsored by EnviRenew, and the BDC.

Broadmoor Home Expo
Andrew Wilson School – 3617 General Pershing St.
July 10, 2010
Seniors’ Hour: 11:00am-12:00pm
11:00am-3:00pm

The Broadmoor Improvement Association (BIA) and Broadmoor Development Corporation (BDC) are excited to invite you to the 2010 Broadmoor Home Expo on July 10, 2010! Read more for the details and a video!

Finally after a decade of persistence by the BIA, Broadmoor is seeing trees return to the Napoleon Avenue and Claiborne Avenue neutral grounds.

In May 2000 the U.S. Corps of Engineers began construction on a $61.7 million dollar drainage project on these two streets, and work was completed by Spring 2004. But the Corps removed many trees in site preparation, and for many years the community has missed the trees.

But just like Dr. Seuss’ famous Lorax ("I speak for the trees") BIA has been striving behind the scenes to ensure the trees return. Longtime BIA board member, Marilyn Crump, says from the very beginning BIA pressured the Corps to include landscaping in the project funding.

"BIA fought for that," Crump says.

It’s paid off. Richard Radford, landscaping architect for the Corps, says his team of contractors has set an aggressive schedule to finish the landscaping within the 30 days. If you drive, or better yet walk, down these two Broadmoor avenues, you’ll see a welcome sight of blossoming Tuskegee and Muskogee Crepe Myrtles as well as Willow Oak trees. By the time the landscaping is complete, five 20-foot-tall Queen Bee Palm trees will adorn the Napoleon Avenue and Claiborne Avenue intersection.

For more information on the landscaping, take a look at the plans

Please contact the BIA at 309-2561, if you would like to receive a truck load of dirt (12 yards) from the project. The construction manager is willing to deliver the dirt to your home only if you are committed to receiving a full load.

In addition, the BIA is looking for input on how to use a $1500 donation by a Broadmoor resident, for landscape improvements on Napoleon Avenue. The BIA feels this is a perfect opportunity to leverage these resources in order to maximize the improvements in the area. Please send your thoughts to Karen Miller at Karen@broadmoorcorp.com.

Some ideas we have heard:

* Pet Waste Stations

* Flowers planted around Broadmoor signs

* Trash cans

* Emergency call boxes

Let us hear your ideas!

The US Army's band "Pershing's Own" CO, Colonel Thomas Rotondi Jr., receives a city council proclamation thanking the US Army Blues "Swamp Romp Band" for promoting volunteerism in the New Orleans region during the French Quarter festival. The band came and did three days of concerts around the city of New Orleans including at a Habitat for Humanity house in eastern New Orleans. The proclamation was presented by Kevin Caldwell of the BIA.

The BIA has been working diligently to increase the availability of programming to residents of all ages. Please click the link below for a pdf with information on the new programs that are based in Broadmoor. We hope you enjoy participating in these activities!

Join Keller Library and Zephyrs' mascot Boudreaux for a special story time on Thursday, April 15 at 11am. We hope to see you there!

Please stop by the Keller Library for these great upcoming events and services:

Tutors from Tulane University provide homework help from 4-6pm on Tuesdays-Thursdays.

Monday Storytime, weekly at 10:30am. Moms, dads, and children are welcome to attend!

Reading to Rover, second Thursday of each month, at 6:30pm. Join NOPL and the Visiting Pet Program to practice reading in a comfortable, accepting environment.