Post by Shadow on Jan 7, 2006 13:44:58 GMT -5
Sierra Times
By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer Sat Jan 7, 8:03 AM ET
NEW ORLEANS - The city agreed Friday to wait two more weeks before beginning the wholesale demolition of thousands of storm-damaged homes while a federal judge decides whether to hear a challenge from community activists.
However, the city reserved the right in the meantime to clear away perhaps 100 smashed homes that were pushed by the floodwaters into the streets.
The city says as many as 5,500 homes and businesses on the east bank of the Mississippi River may need to be razed because hurricane damage has made them unsafe. Mayor Ray Nagin has asserted that the city can demolish homes without the owners' consent if they pose an imminent danger to the public.
But community activists filed a lawsuit last month, disputing the city has such authority.
Opponents of the demolition also worry that some residents have not had an opportunity to gather their belongings from their damaged homes, and that the demolitions would destroy black neighborhoods, marking the beginning of efforts to push out the city's black population.
By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer Sat Jan 7, 8:03 AM ET
NEW ORLEANS - The city agreed Friday to wait two more weeks before beginning the wholesale demolition of thousands of storm-damaged homes while a federal judge decides whether to hear a challenge from community activists.
However, the city reserved the right in the meantime to clear away perhaps 100 smashed homes that were pushed by the floodwaters into the streets.
The city says as many as 5,500 homes and businesses on the east bank of the Mississippi River may need to be razed because hurricane damage has made them unsafe. Mayor Ray Nagin has asserted that the city can demolish homes without the owners' consent if they pose an imminent danger to the public.
But community activists filed a lawsuit last month, disputing the city has such authority.
Opponents of the demolition also worry that some residents have not had an opportunity to gather their belongings from their damaged homes, and that the demolitions would destroy black neighborhoods, marking the beginning of efforts to push out the city's black population.