Halt Demolition of 2501 St. Claude
Donation protected
We are a group of residents and business owners who are concerned about the impending demolition of the historic camelback at 2501 St. Claude, and the proposed expansion of the adjacent Shell gas station.
If this project is allowed to move forward, St. Claude will lose yet another historic building on an important corner. The Shell station will sprawl all the way across the entire block: a vast expanse of concrete with a massive "convenience" store selling junk food, alcohol and lottery tickets. This project will be detrimental to the burgeoning small business and arts community on St. Claude, and will have a negative effect on walkability and the general character of the neighborhood. It's also totally unneccessary. Anyone who has ever visited the area is aware there are already plenty of convenience stores.
The money raised will be used for legal fees to appeal the City Council decision to allow the demolition, as well as an injunction to stop the demolition in the mean time.
Where this property is concerned, the City of New Orleans has failed our community twice: first, when NORA inappropriately and illegally "assigned" the property to its current owners, and sold it to them for well below market value, for no good reason. More recently, our City Council failed us by overturning the HDLC ruling of 'denial' for the demolition permit, in spite of near unanimous opposition.
A brief history: This building is a large, historic camelback holding down the corner of St. Claude and Music. It is located within the Historic Marigny district and protected under city law. Unfortunately, it has been neglected and blighted for a very long time.
The previous owners lost the property due to unpaid blight liens. The property was siezed by the city and slated for public auction (standard practice). At the same time, the owners of the adjacent gas station, a company called Infinity Fuels, contacted the city to inquire about buying the property. At the time, NORA (New Orleans Redevelopment Authority) was flexing some new muscles. They had recently been granted the authority to hand out "priority bids," or to literally "assign" certain, select bidders to properties, regardless of the price offered. The point was to bring blighted properties back into commerce as soon as possible, and to improve communities. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, this extremely powerful authority (which may have been illegal in the first place) was used inappropriately, thoughtlessly and recklessly in the case of 2501 St. Claude. For no reason whatsoever, Infinity Fuels was gifted this property by NORA for the well-below market price of about $19,000.
Since then, Infinity Fuels has completely neglected the property, letting the building deteriorate for six years, making no efforts to secure the building, prevent weather damage, discourage vagrants, etc. The building has been regularly occupied by squatters and drug dealers who have annoyed and terrorized nearby neighbors.
Realizing that egregious mistakes were made, NORA subsequently ceased the priority bid program and the City of New Orleans, through code enforcement, began aggressively citing Infinity Fuels for blight. Within the last six years, Infinity Fuels has racked up about $120,000 in fines for blight and demolition by neglect. Infinity Fuels has not paid one penny in fines but rather has appealed and delayed these blight determinations every step of the way through their legal team.
Eventually, Infinity Fuels applied for a permit to demolish the building. Because the building is located in a historic district, and is protected by law, the demolition permit was denied by the Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC).
In a historic district, property owners must cite very important reasons when they request to demolish a contributing historic building. It is only allowed when there are very good reasons. In this case, the "reason" cited was the expansion of an already very large gas station that has been nuisance to the community for many years.
The premise for this argument is absurd, by any measure. This is a corridor that has been abused and neglected for a long time, but it is finally beginning to rebuild itself. St. Claude Avenue is slowly becoming habitable and walkable again. Many, many small businesses have sprung up, recreating a useable, enjoyable, diverse, practical commercial corridor that has always been meant to serve St. Roch, Marigny and Bywater.
Through the efforts of responsible developers, residents and entrepreneurs, many historical properties have been restored, preserving the character of the neighborhood and contributing to a positive culture, walkability, public safety and urban density.
At this place and time, the idea that the creation of a massive gas station/liquor store (the kind that belongs on an interstate off-ramp), is reason enough to demolish a contributing historic building and break laws, against the wishes of the community, in conflict with zoning regulations, is beyond offensive.
The HDLC denied the application by Infinity Fuels to demolish 2501 St. Claude. They even offered some alternative site plans that would allow the company to achieve their business goals (building a larger convenience store) on their existing site, without demolishing the adjacent house, while employing a more responsible, urban density-appropriate design. The suggestions were ignored. The decision was appealed, and subsequently overturned by the council. Why? Good question.
The council received over 40 emails in opposition within 48 hours before the ruling, which had cropped up by surprise during Mardi Gras. In spite of the inconvenient timing, many citizens appeared before the council in opposition. District C Rep. Nadine Ramsay appeared not to notice. She read a prepared statement at the meeting, completely ignoring her constituents. Other councilmembers expressed extreme concern, and even ire, over her neglect. Councilmembers Head, Cantrell and Guidry argued admirably for common sense and fairness. Ultimately, Ramsey voted to overturn the denial, along with Council President/At Large Jason Williams, and Councilmembers Brossett and Gray. The public was furious...
... but we are not powerless.
The plan is to file an appeal in Civil District Court to re-examine the Council's decision, and possibly have it overturned. Meanwhile, an injunction would be filed to halt demolition.
We have found an excellent attorney willing to take up this case. We need to raise this money very quickly to pay for a retainer, other legal fees and filing fees.
We think we'll need every bit of money we can raise for this legal effort; however, if for some reason we have leftover funds, they will be used to improve and beautify St. Claude Avenue.
If this project is allowed to move forward, St. Claude will lose yet another historic building on an important corner. The Shell station will sprawl all the way across the entire block: a vast expanse of concrete with a massive "convenience" store selling junk food, alcohol and lottery tickets. This project will be detrimental to the burgeoning small business and arts community on St. Claude, and will have a negative effect on walkability and the general character of the neighborhood. It's also totally unneccessary. Anyone who has ever visited the area is aware there are already plenty of convenience stores.
The money raised will be used for legal fees to appeal the City Council decision to allow the demolition, as well as an injunction to stop the demolition in the mean time.
Where this property is concerned, the City of New Orleans has failed our community twice: first, when NORA inappropriately and illegally "assigned" the property to its current owners, and sold it to them for well below market value, for no good reason. More recently, our City Council failed us by overturning the HDLC ruling of 'denial' for the demolition permit, in spite of near unanimous opposition.
A brief history: This building is a large, historic camelback holding down the corner of St. Claude and Music. It is located within the Historic Marigny district and protected under city law. Unfortunately, it has been neglected and blighted for a very long time.
The previous owners lost the property due to unpaid blight liens. The property was siezed by the city and slated for public auction (standard practice). At the same time, the owners of the adjacent gas station, a company called Infinity Fuels, contacted the city to inquire about buying the property. At the time, NORA (New Orleans Redevelopment Authority) was flexing some new muscles. They had recently been granted the authority to hand out "priority bids," or to literally "assign" certain, select bidders to properties, regardless of the price offered. The point was to bring blighted properties back into commerce as soon as possible, and to improve communities. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, this extremely powerful authority (which may have been illegal in the first place) was used inappropriately, thoughtlessly and recklessly in the case of 2501 St. Claude. For no reason whatsoever, Infinity Fuels was gifted this property by NORA for the well-below market price of about $19,000.
Since then, Infinity Fuels has completely neglected the property, letting the building deteriorate for six years, making no efforts to secure the building, prevent weather damage, discourage vagrants, etc. The building has been regularly occupied by squatters and drug dealers who have annoyed and terrorized nearby neighbors.
Realizing that egregious mistakes were made, NORA subsequently ceased the priority bid program and the City of New Orleans, through code enforcement, began aggressively citing Infinity Fuels for blight. Within the last six years, Infinity Fuels has racked up about $120,000 in fines for blight and demolition by neglect. Infinity Fuels has not paid one penny in fines but rather has appealed and delayed these blight determinations every step of the way through their legal team.
Eventually, Infinity Fuels applied for a permit to demolish the building. Because the building is located in a historic district, and is protected by law, the demolition permit was denied by the Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC).
In a historic district, property owners must cite very important reasons when they request to demolish a contributing historic building. It is only allowed when there are very good reasons. In this case, the "reason" cited was the expansion of an already very large gas station that has been nuisance to the community for many years.
The premise for this argument is absurd, by any measure. This is a corridor that has been abused and neglected for a long time, but it is finally beginning to rebuild itself. St. Claude Avenue is slowly becoming habitable and walkable again. Many, many small businesses have sprung up, recreating a useable, enjoyable, diverse, practical commercial corridor that has always been meant to serve St. Roch, Marigny and Bywater.
Through the efforts of responsible developers, residents and entrepreneurs, many historical properties have been restored, preserving the character of the neighborhood and contributing to a positive culture, walkability, public safety and urban density.
At this place and time, the idea that the creation of a massive gas station/liquor store (the kind that belongs on an interstate off-ramp), is reason enough to demolish a contributing historic building and break laws, against the wishes of the community, in conflict with zoning regulations, is beyond offensive.
The HDLC denied the application by Infinity Fuels to demolish 2501 St. Claude. They even offered some alternative site plans that would allow the company to achieve their business goals (building a larger convenience store) on their existing site, without demolishing the adjacent house, while employing a more responsible, urban density-appropriate design. The suggestions were ignored. The decision was appealed, and subsequently overturned by the council. Why? Good question.
The council received over 40 emails in opposition within 48 hours before the ruling, which had cropped up by surprise during Mardi Gras. In spite of the inconvenient timing, many citizens appeared before the council in opposition. District C Rep. Nadine Ramsay appeared not to notice. She read a prepared statement at the meeting, completely ignoring her constituents. Other councilmembers expressed extreme concern, and even ire, over her neglect. Councilmembers Head, Cantrell and Guidry argued admirably for common sense and fairness. Ultimately, Ramsey voted to overturn the denial, along with Council President/At Large Jason Williams, and Councilmembers Brossett and Gray. The public was furious...
... but we are not powerless.
The plan is to file an appeal in Civil District Court to re-examine the Council's decision, and possibly have it overturned. Meanwhile, an injunction would be filed to halt demolition.
We have found an excellent attorney willing to take up this case. We need to raise this money very quickly to pay for a retainer, other legal fees and filing fees.
We think we'll need every bit of money we can raise for this legal effort; however, if for some reason we have leftover funds, they will be used to improve and beautify St. Claude Avenue.
Organizer
Catherine Markel
Organizer
New Orleans, LA