Florida Avanue Projects or simply "Florida Projects was a public housing project in the city of New Orleans. The Florida housing development was built in 1946 on an 18.5-acre tract of land bounded by Florida Avenue and North Dorgenois, Mazant and Gallier streets in the Upper 9th Ward. It resembled most public housing complexes with 47 two and three-story brick buildings, for a total of 734 units housing 1,297 residents, that were arranged around courtyards and largely isolated from the rest of the community. It was Originally built for whites in but was desegregated and by 1970s becoming prominently black project. In the mid-1990s, Florida and nearby Desire Projects was dubbed as the most violent housing projects in the nation. In 1994, the Florida recorded the highest homicide rate out of all HANO developments with 26 slayings, surpassing the 13 killings in the Desire which previous held the highest record a year before. Majority of the Florida killings in 1994 were fuled by drug wars specifically between the notorious Hardy Boys and the Ponnie Crew. The homicide spike Florida and Desire played major role in the city becoming the "Murder Capitol of the America."[1][2] That year the city's homicide rate reached 424, 47 of those killings occurred in HANO developments. [3]
| Florida Avanue Housing Development | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | New Orleans, LA 70117  United States |
| Status | Demolished, Remodeled |
| Construction | |
| Constructed | 1945–1946 |
| Demolished | 2004-2005 |
| Other information | |
| Governing body | Housing Authority of New Orleans |
In 2005 the project was heavily flooded in Hurricane Katrina and was partly demolish by the end of 2005. One half of the complex was remodeled.[4]
Geography
Florida Projects is located at 29°58′55″N 90°01′58″W / 29.98194°N 90.03278°W [5] and has an elevation of 0 feet (0.0 m).[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 0.09 square miles (0.2 km2). 0.09 square miles (0.2 km2) of which is land and 0.00 square miles (0.0 km2) (0.0%) of which is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,604 people, 399 households, and 346 families residing in the neighborhood.[7] The population density was 17,822 /mi2 (8,020 /km2).
As of the census of 2010, there were 6 people, 2 households, and 2 families residing in the neighborhood.[7]
Notable residents
- Mannie Fresh
- Wendy Reed Randall, author, “Once There Was A Girl: A Memoir” about growing up in the Florida Housing Projects. Published December, 2020 by Kharis Publishing.^6
See also
References
- ^ "Police now the usual suspects in New Orleans : Officers have been tied to killings, including serial slayings. Yet the department has helped slash the murder rate". Los Angeles Times. September 7, 1995.
- ^ "Housing project razed after decades of unrealized dreams". Arizona Daily Sun. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/25/us/new-orleans-s-hopes-rise-as-crime-rate-decreases.html
- ^ https://www.nola.com/news/politics/hano-to-build-51-new-units-at-florida-public-housing-development/article_3fe7df09-d84b-55f9-a1de-1d8ffdddf1ef.html
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ a b "Florida Development Neighborhood". Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
6. https://www.amazon.com/Once-There-Was-Girl-Memoir/dp/1946277851 [1]
External links
- ^ "Post - KharisPublishing". www.kharispublishing.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021.