"OT" TALKS DISASTER RECOVERY from oliver for District E on Vimeo.

Disaster Recovery

Our city has become synonymous with the term resilient. Yet, the ever-enduring spirits of our residents are continuously burdened by the vital life-supporting infrastructure elements that are not present and have failed post-disaster. Our city, unfortunately, but realistically, is susceptible to undergoing the aftermath of another natural disaster. Without the proper preparation and mitigation of plans by leadership, we are again threatened by a reactive recovery and disruptions to essential services, ultimately leaving our communities significantly impacted as they build and rebuild.

Disaster response and recovery should happen before a disaster. We have to be proactive. We must have experienced leadership in city government.

We know each year, hurricane season lasts from June l to November 30. We are aware of the hazards from these storms and are given a forecasted direction in which they will come.

O.T.'s plan:
Partnership with private sector businesses and firms to stage distribution centers with food, water, supplies and essential services for the immediate survival of a population cut off from necessities. This provides resources for relief and recovery efforts immediately after a storm has passed, in comparison to days that residents have waited for government agencies to provide relief. Collateral such as printed way-finder maps and resource locators in multiple languages will be readily available at the predesignated hurricane resource hubs before a storm for residents to access.

According to OPSO, there were more than 174 people arrested the day before Ida made landfall. New Orleans for looting after Hurricane Ida. While our communities are vulnerable after a disaster and most residents find optimism during devastation, some use an opportunity to commit crimes. Community devastation should never be an opportunity.

O.T.'s plan:
Organize a highly visible public safety joint task force that works with local law enforcement to ensure that our residents' homes and businesses will be protected.

Employing the presence of an emergency task force will help assure residents in the immediate aftermath of disasters that the appropriate measures have been instituted to safeguard disaster zones, neighborhoods, and businesses from crimes of opportunity.

Fuel was short in supply following Hurricane Ida and typically is a critical problem for our recovery efforts in our city. Dwindling fuel supplies left residents in long lines, enduring price spikes, and hampered the essential recovery needs for residents.

O.T.'s plan:
Orchestrate designated points that will ensure gas is not only accessible but affordable for residents to equitably and accessibly have needed fuel before and after a disaster.

We need our volunteers more than ever for disaster response. Our city knows so much about community support and binding together during a time of need. Volunteers make the much-needed difference by being a part of a disaster action team.

O.T.'s plan:
Create a volunteer task force with a list of available people with skillsets that can assist with recovery. These volunteers will serve as community ambassadors that can immediately be deployed, emphasizing our most vulnerable communities directly after a disaster to provide food, help with shelter coordination, comfort and care for families, and first aid.

The Response Recovery Evaluation Committee comes following the once active recovery committee I'd developed while previously on Council to provide officials with recommendations for enhancing areas of emergency mitigation. That committee was deactivated, and the institutional knowledge has been lost and largely not in practice.

O.T.'s plan:
Institute a new review committee to assess response and recovery efforts and strategize on emergency preparedness and improvements. The committee will have unbiased insight on what has worked and offer areas of improvement. The Response Recovery Evaluation Committee will serve in an advisory capacity on disaster and emergency preparedness evaluation.

The committee will be charged with providing recommendations, strategies to strengthen disaster mitigation and its emergency preparedness post assessments after a disaster.

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"OT" TALKS PUBLIC SAFETY from oliver for District E on Vimeo.

Public Safety

New Orleans East was once home to middle-class, working resident settlers rich in culture, community, and a place safe to raise a family. Although, still a community of innovating businesses such as NASA Space Center and New Orleans East Hospital, the makeup of the East drastically looks and feels different. Although New Orleans East was once leading in economics, residential subdivisions with the best and brightest education it has now become #1 in crime, murder, domestic violence, robbery, and dumping.

We must prioritize Public Safety. Our residents deserve to feel safe and live in a community that they are proud to call home.

Our city's police department utilizes resources, including officer manpower, to police areas that span across eight districts. The distribution of officers based on the population and landmass of New Orleans East does not equitably service the East's residents. Consequently, slows response times and overall policing efforts.

O.T.'s plan:
The East needs a different formula. Dividing up the city and utilizing the same number of officers for the East's Seventh District Police Station based on the populations of the other districts is not an effective approach. Considering the vast landmass of New Orleans East the need to distribute more police officers and focused policing efforts is imperative. This will assist with expediting response times by decreasing the distance an officer has to travel, improve resolutions for citizens' concerns and matters by decreasing the time it takes an officer to get to a scene and expand other resources required to meet such expectations. The Lower 9 Ward is also challenged by slow response times. The 5th District Police Station is located on the Upper side of the 9th Ward and connected to the Lower 9th Ward by Claiborne Ave and St. Claude Ave drawbridges. If the bridges are up at any point in time, officers will be delayed. The solution is to reopen the substation in the Lower 9, which would improve officer response times, easy access for seniors and residents without transportation.

With the spike and influx of crimes in New Orleans East, the current police and policing efforts may not be enough to curb the violence present in the high crime areas.

O.T.'s plan:
Enact an interagency collaboration with law enforcement partners such as State Police, Sheriff's Department, and the Levee District Police to mutually share resources and ideas to proactively combat crime hot spots. This interagency collaboration actively allows planning for potential situations, sharing information, discussing potential issues, and establishing joint protocols and lines of communication. Cooperatively collaborating produces more public value and stronger joint efforts as opposed to acting alone in our policing efforts.

Statistically, there are areas in New Orleans East that have been identified as high crime areas with increased concerns of criminal activities.

O.T.'s plan:
Allocate policing resources in vicinities that are deemed a higher condensed crime area. This method of "Hot Spot" policing strategies allows law enforcement agencies to focus resources in areas where crime is most likely to occur and deter underlying conditions that lead to recurring crime problems. The strategy would include activating community officers on foot patrol to "walk the beat" who directly engage with the residents and partner with non-profit organizations that can support the community's social needs and strengthen the relationships with the police.

According to Code enforcement officials, in 2019 there were an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 vacant, blighted properties in the city. The concentration of blighted homes, vacant and abandoned lots is an invitation for criminal activity.

O.T.'s plan:
Work directly with the city to implement the most effective initiatives to identify properties that are not compliant with city code and are reported as public nuisances. Actively working with property owners, business owners, and contractors of services like trash and debris to ensure the concentrated areas of blight is prioritized. This is most important for the health, safety, and overall quality of life of our New Orleans East residents.

According to reports, the recent spikes in juvenile violent crimes in New Orleans East are hitting a record level. The data shows that we can't arrest our way out of crime. Utilizing resources and partnerships for preventative measures must be part of the solution.

O.T.'s plan:
Coordinate joint efforts to create a Conflict Resolution Task Force, mentorship, and youth afterschool and summer learning programs that will begin in middle school. Reinvest and engage the community's "opportunity youth" ages 16 to 24 with workforce opportunities, areas to deal with trauma and coping, restoring confidence, discipline, and self-respect.

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"OT" TALKS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT from oliver for District E on Vimeo.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/ NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT

Economic Development must be a priority to bring business and sustainable growth to New Orleans East and the lower 9th Ward.

For years the city has been overhauling and trying to improve its comprehensive zoning ordinance and land-use laws transparently.

O.T.'s plan:

Rezone to attract and erect viable businesses that will remain and grow in New Orleans East. Including existing entities like New Orleans East Hospital.
Utilize the local hospital as a research development complex and form partnerships with HBCU's to study chronic illnesses to improve health outcomes in the community.
Offer a mix of tax breaks, exclusions, and fewer regulations in hopes of enticing new investments to empower areas of New Orleans East that are distressed economically. These efforts are practical and similar to those implemented by economically sustained communities in other city areas.

For any economic program to have a transformative effect, investors and our city will need to understand the local context of each zone and intervene accordingly. New Orleans East is an area that has undergone land contamination, poor quality infrastructure, and major dereliction. It is necessary to use public sector resources to overcome these problems so economic development can begin.

O.T.'s plan:

Develop an Opportunity Zone framework with clear priorities and framed with a regional vision. A framework with clear priorities will ensure the implementation of specific economic-development priorities, promote inclusive growth in the East's marginalized neighborhoods, increase employment opportunities, and promote innovation.
Ensure the inclusion of a master plan that outlines transformation efforts of New Orleans East in the current Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.
Ensure that efforts to groom New Orleans East to be attractable and targeted for opportunity funds are outlined in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.
Create programs and incentives to drive economic opportunity, sustainable community development, and broad participation among community-based partners.

Neighborhoods are strong because of good neighbors. New Orleans East must become a strengthened community again, aligned with core values. To rebuild neighborhoods, we must directly address factors that hinder economic growth and affect the quality of life for residents.-for example, the longstanding problem with liter.

O.T.'s plan:

Campaign an initiative that encourages businesses to "Adopt a Neutral Ground" to keep the community clean.
Restructure the current Community Service Liter Abatement program that provides collection and disposal of litter, debris, and hazardous material that have been illegally discarded.
Create campaigns that encourage good "neighbor to neighbor" behavior. Fostering good community engagement aligned with core values will be instrumental in rebuilding and strengthening a community that has been unfairly neglected.

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