NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Before Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans had more than 7,000 public housing units, according to a congressional report. Though largely spared from the storm’s winds and floodwaters, the city’s major housing developments — once known as crime hotbeds — were demolished by unanimous vote of the City Council in December 2007.
The move to tear down the “Big Four” developments — BW Cooper, St. Bernard, Lafitte and CJ Peete — was part of a sweeping urban renewal strategy backed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which invested hundreds of millions of dollars in rebuilding efforts.
“I support the demolition of the St. Bernard for reasons that support health, safety and the well-being of our next generation of children,” former councilmember Cynthia Hedge-Morrell said at the time…