No Services Rendered, No Services Rendered: A Fresh New Scandal in New Orleans Involving Federal Funding
Only by adding insult to injury did the NOAH story break. Perhaps if NOAH had not decided that it needed to post large full color signs on arbitrary houses claiming to have gutted them, no one would have noticed.
But, someone did. Karen Gadbois, keeper of Squandered Heritage set out to investigate the origins of the claims made by the signs. Working with Sarah Elise Lewis and Eli Ackerman, through a series of public records requests, she obtained copies of the houses supposedly remediated by NOAH.
New Orleans Affordable Homeownership Incorporated is one of those peculiar nonprofit/city agency hybrids that are commonplace in New Orleans. They had a Home Remediation Program that was supposed to gut homes for the elderly and low income. Karen, Sarah and Eli found houses on the list that were ungutted, houses that were empty lots before the storm, houses that were subsequently demolished using FEMA funds (gut then demolish), houses that belonged to Orleans Metropolitan Housing, a nonprofit in the hands of the family of indicted Congressman William Jefferson.
Lee Zurik did a report on WWLTV that you need to watch, because it makes the press conference that followed it all the more hilarious, and the smackdown follow-up form Lee Zurik all that much sweeter. The press conference is where the words “No Services Rendered” are triumphantly sung to the audience.
Nagin claims that the lists NOAH issued the wrong lists. He berates Lee Zurik for not realizing that the lists given to him in response to public records requests where not right. The incompetence defense, delivered with such indignation. It always awes me.
But, now there’s a new list. A fourth. We’re on a roll.
In the interview with Ed Blakley, mention is made of a series of folders of before and after pictures that justify the federal expenditures. Which is going to be how I inaugurate public records request Wednesday. Please skip over to Think New Orleans for a public records request for these files that you can print and send to NOAH.
It is no wonder that we’re unable draw down federal funds for the recovery. I’m sure they are shy to draw down federal funds now that they’ve misplaced at best and misappropriated at worst, funds destined to save the homes of the elderly and low income.
*Update*: Yesterday, as I wrote about NOAH, I stepped out to catch the recovery meeting covered in this WWL News Report.
The way it’s played out, the previous directory Stacy Jackson claimed to have gutted 1,200 for about $3.5 million. Now the number has been reduced to 871 and the amount of money spent is $1,795,874.84.
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