Jay Weigel

Figure 1.

Jay Weigel
Photo by Wendell Gorden, © 2006

ROWELL: You are the first person from this neighborhood that I have spoken to since Hurricane Katrina. As you know the national media did not tell us much, if anything, about this community. Exactly where is it positioned in the city? Will you describe the neighborhood and the people whose homes are hear? What kinds of people live here? Why do you think the press ignored this community and New Orleans East?

WEIGEL: I live in the area called Lakeshore East. It is located at the northern end of the city, next to Lake Pontchatrain. It is very close to the 17^th Street Canal, which had one of its flood walls fall. This caused much of the flooding of the city. The flooding stopped about twenty feet from my back door.

The neighborhood is a predominantly white, middle to upper middle class community. Many of my neighbors are doctors, lawyers, small business owners, etc. Certainly, most of the people in this neighborhood are Christian, probably Catholic. But New Orleans has a large Catholic community. Therefore, most go to private schools, and have been able to receive a good to great education.

I guess the press ignored this area in its reporting had to do with the order the reporting unfolded. It seemed to have started around those stranded here. They were primarily African American. The story then followed their plight, as they were shuffled around the country; looking back at where they lived in our city followed this. These neighborhoods were the ones that received most of the initial coverage.

Another reason would be the unique contributions the African American community of New Orleans has given this country culturally. Few people come to New Orleans to hear the Symphony, Opera or ballet; many do come to experience the unique traditions of the African Americans.

Finally, the racial tensions that are part of this country's reality caused alarm that our city would not welcome back the displaced African Americans. This concern could result in almost any American city that would have suffered through the type of tragedy that New Orleans experienced.

ROWELL: What was the physical impact of the hurricane and the flooding on this neighborhood? As we drove into this community, I noticed that some homes sustained heavy damage, while others, like yours, were hardly damaged at all.

WEIGEL: As I mentioned, my house is on the northernmost tip of New Orleans. It happens to be a few feet above sea level; therefore I was incredibly lucky that the flood waters flooded away from me. They approached my house slowly, only after most of the city had filled with water. However, the little raised tip that I am on quickly drops away. So houses 20 feet away from mine were in fact flooded. The flooding became more and more intense as you continued to move south from my house. So that only 4 blocks away there was eight feet of water in houses. My block was the only one that did not flood around me.

However, the wind and rain damage still exceeded $70,000. Then, bizarrely, a couple of months after the Hurricane a tornado ripped through the neighborhood. This intensified the damage to many houses.

ROWELL: Are people returning to this community? Is that a slow process? Why?

WEIGEL: When I returned to my house, on December 1, 2005, after we were able to get power back and fix the floors and roof, there were approximately 30% of the people on my street back. Many homes were unlivable, due to the rain and wind damage. By January that percentage had increased to 65%. Now almost every home on my block is occupied, many by people who purchased from those who decided not to return.

Finally we are seeing more and more trailers popping up on the streets that had suffered more damage. I now have a gas station, dry cleaners, and convenience store within 3 miles of my house. However, most of these little signs...