Residents Information Central
^…^Kenilworth was created in the mid to late 1960’s as a single-family residential community; that character remaining until today. This eastern New Orleans subdivision includes approximately 700 homes, the Mildred D. Osborne Elementary Public School, and the “Kenilworth Playground”:https://Online.New-Orleans.LA.US/nord/view_parkcno.php?park_id=69 actively operated by a boosters club.
^…^The neighborhood sustained substantial damage due to Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 but was not destroyed as first reports may have indicated. The “storm-surge floodwaters”:http://www.ND.edu/~adcirc/katrina.htm remained inside the homes for more than a week; that water intrusion originating from overtopping of the “earthen levees”:http://www.MVN.USAce.Army.mil/tfg/. The mayor of New Orleans issued emergency orders restricting access to certain areas of the City for several weeks; allowing residents daylight-only access to eastern New Orleans five weeks after landfall; full access at the first of the year.
^…^The Kenilworth Civic & Improvement Association, created in 1967 governs the activities of the subdivision. In 2004 the “Kenilworth Improvement District”:http://www.legis.state.la.us/leg_docs/04RS/CVT1/OUT/0000LV3P.PDF was created providing sustained operational funding via annual property owner assessments. Historically these funds have been used exclusively for supplemental private security patrols.
^…^Contact among the neighborhood’s residents remains extremely difficult. Even those who have returned full-time have difficulty communicating because there is no landline phone service. Other available services are reliable.
^…^The neighborhood recovery planning team has met regularly and consistently on a weekly basis since February [St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, Saturdays, 11:00 AM]. Many who attend these meetings commute from surrounding communities, even from Baton Rouge in order to participate.
^…^Recovery and Planning are two distinct tasks but have areas of overlap. Every advance has to have a beginning, a direction and a goal. Thankfully, the “City Council”:http://www.NOHRAC.com/Portals/HRAC/Resources/Resolution.doc began recovery efforts in earnest and implemented valuable “assistance to neighborhoods”:http://www.NOLAnrp.com. locally, this effort was enhanced with the foresight and assistance of the “business community”:http://www.TheNOEBA.com.
^…^”Another initiative”:http://www.UnifiedNewOrleansPlan.org is just in the beginning stages with initial funding by the “Rockefeller Foundation”:http://www.RockFound.org. This effort expands planning opportunities to areas of the city sustaining less damage and will provide professional planning support to all other neighborhoods. Local “Gambit Weekly”:http://www.BestOfNewOrleans.com/dispatch/2006-06-27/cover_story.php published a very comprehensive overview on June 27, 2006.