How long have you been a resident of the Zion City neighborhood?
I moved to Zion City with my parents and my two siblings at the age of 5 years old. On S Gayoso St., I was baptized at James Chapel Baptist Church. We then moved to other areas of Uptown. I'm an Uptown girl! I had other relatives who also lived in Zion City. Although I lived elsewhere, my belief in God and Jesus Christ was rooted and grounded in Zion City and I continued to be an active member at James Chapel Baptist Church. I married a wonderful man by the name of James Harris in 2004--he also has roots in Zion City. After a brief stay in Dallas, Texas, we moved back to New Orleans and now reside in Zion City.
What do you love about your neighborhood?
What I love about my neighborhood is the closeness of the neighbors, who are longstanding in the community. Whether they have lived in Zion City for 20, 30, 40, 50,60 years as homeowners or renters, this is HOME! Let's get one thing straight: our community never overlapped into Gerke's Town (Gert Town) nor Marlyville. Zion City boundaries are 1401 S Broad to Howard Ave to S Jeff Davis to Washington Ave to 4001 Martin L King Blvd. The commercial and residential areas are divided by Earhart Blvd. You can stand on the Earhart Blvd neutral ground and see I-10 on the commercial side and the Washington Ave Canal on the residential side. The expanse of our community is 7 blocks wide and 4 blocks deep on both sides of Earhart Blvd. As the saying goes, "Sometimes larger is not best."
What successes have you had with your association?
Our first success as "New Zion" City Preservation Association ("NZ"CPA) is attributed to Tina Marquardt from Beacon of Hope and Janet Hays (Activist) and homeowners and renters coming together in peace to form this organization in 2012. The need in the community was great. How do we fight blight with only 29 homeowners ranging from 50 to 102 years of age and over 50% of overgrown weeded vacant lots? With the guidance and resources from Beacon of Hope, Foundation for Louisiana,
Neighborhood Partnership Network, Tulane University, and Xavier University we had our first successful year.
Our next successes from 2013 through 2015 were through collaborating with Councilmember Latoya Cantrell, who helped us defeat a cement batching plant and established an interim zoning district for Zion City. Through grants from Foundation for Louisiana, Neighborhood Community Building Initiative, Harrah's, Aaron's in Gretna and the Presbyterian Self-Development of People (SDOP), we were able to establish a 6 man community maintenance crew and purchase lawnmowers and other equipment. In two short years "NZ"CPA became a 501c3 organization. With the assistance of Alex Miller, we acquired ownership of 4236 & 4238 Erato St from Overbroad, LLC and Tulane University to create our own community pocket park. We also thank the thousands of out of town volunteers who assisted us in our goal to fight blight in Zion City.
Do you have any upcoming events or projects?
And the work now begins!!! Our upcoming project is the completion of our community pocket park ("Zion City" Meditation Park) by spring of 2016. We are in need of volunteers to help with grading the soil and building a fence for the park. Another project we are now working on is the branding of Zion City--we plan to place welcome banners in the community. "NZ"CPA holds monthly community meetings every first Monday of the month at 6:30pm at Bridge House, 4150 Earhart Blvd, 2nd Floor. We thank Bridge House for allowing our meetings to be held at their venue!
What advice would you give other neighborhood leaders?
My best advice I can give to neighborhood leaders: "Be True to yourself, Be True to your community, Be True to your purpose & aim. Preserving the Past, Through the eyes of the Past, Through the eyes of the Now, To the eyes of the Future..." Isa 62