Is it safe to walk around the Lower 9th Ward right now? (New Orleans: home, gated)

[lass70]

If you'd like to see a lot of damage, without the high level of danger, go out to Lakeview. It hasn't gotten as much press because it wasn't a poor neighborhood, but it was pretty devastated. We were a block in front of the breach at the 17th street canal and got 14' of water. The house was torn down, but there are still many standing.

[edesign]

Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA

There was an article in the paper the other day about residents sick of tourists taking pictures of their homes and tours busses stopping by. The 9th is much safer than it used to be but I would still recommend going in the daytime and with any location excercise caution and stay aware of you're environment.

I can't blame them, three and a half years later and people are still treating it like a sight-seeing adventure. Imagine if you had to put up with that for this long and weren't even being reimbursed for it.

It would be pretty funny if they painted their houses with some highly reflective coating so the pics all come out overexposed/washed out

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by lass70

If you'd like to see a lot of damage, without the high level of danger, go out to Lakeview. It hasn't gotten as much press because it wasn't a poor neighborhood, but it was pretty devastated. We were a block in front of the breach at the 17th street canal and got 14' of water. The house was torn down, but there are still many standing.

A much better, and safer, suggestion

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by AllTheWayToMemphis

Oh ok. I don't really NEED to take pictures of the area, I just thought it might be something cool to do on my stay there. I'll be in NOLA for two days and I'm looking for things to do and see other than the usual French Quarter tourist stuff.

YIKES, you made me wince..."something cool to do"??? COME ON. How can gawking at other peoples tragedy ever be considered cool??

If you do go, go with a sense of reference, like you'd feel if you visited Gettysburg or something...people died there man, it's not entertaining to those who actual lives were impacted.

[edesign]

I didn't catch that phrase...some people... *shakes head* That stuff you see on the news about tragedies, be it one person killed in a robbery or over 1000 people killed in a hurricane, is real. Have some respect. I remember working in a warehouse in Broussard right after it happened listening to the radio reports with my coworkers. It quickly became evident how bad it was and that there was going to be a lot of dead people...it was a very somber time.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

YIKES, you made me wince..."something cool to do"??? COME ON. How can gawking at other peoples tragedy ever be considered cool??

If you do go, go with a sense of reference, like you'd feel if you visited Gettysburg or something...people died there man, it's not entertaining to those who actual lives were impacted.

DANG, just caught my misspelling - obviously I intended to type REVERENCE, GO WITH A SENSE OF REVERENCE.

[jacq63]

If you want something non touristy to do AllTheway, why not see on this quick trip where your volunteer assistance might be needed, and come back and help out? There is still a lot to be done, and it'd give you a lot more insight into a tragedy which has touched countless lives in different ways.

Otherwise, just stick to the FQ and Frenchmen St. Enjoy your visit!

[bustaduke]

I am a local contractor and I have worked in the lower 9th ward but will never go back into that neighborhood as long as I live. We were robbed four times during the day and the last time we had six men on the job but that didn't stop them. Two black guys and one black girl walked into the house we were working and pulled out guns on us. They got what little money we had between us plus all of our cell phones and one truck which was later found burned in New Orleans East. They never found who did this and I figured that my life was worth more than all the money I can make there. If you do go I would carry and be prepared to use it. If you ain't got the balls to protect yourself then I wouldn't go. busta

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by bustaduke

I am a local contractor and I have worked in the lower 9th ward but will never go back into that neighborhood as long as I live. We were robbed four times during the day and the last time we had six men on the job but that didn't stop them. Two black guys and one black girl walked into the house we were working and pulled out guns on us. They got what little money we had between us plus all of our cell phones and one truck which was later found burned in New Orleans East. They never found who did this and I figured that my life was worth more than all the money I can make there. If you do go I would carry and be prepared to use it. If you ain't got the balls to protect yourself then I wouldn't go. busta

Well, your post says it all...nothing like the voice of experience.

Glad you and your guys weren't hurt!

[Bluesbabe]

When we were there in '07, we drove through the damaged areas during the day and I took a LOT of pictures. Although we were glued to the TV during Katrinia, and thought we had pretty accurate knowledge of the devastation, we really didn't. The spectrum of areas affected were a lot more widespread than was shown on the screen. It was a very sobering experience for us, and I went wild with the camera because I wanted people to SEE how things really were. All of them went into a big photo album and were categorized by areas ~ 9th Ward, Bucktown, Araby and Chalmette (areas that were hardly covered in the news). Araby and Chalmette were ghost towns. Very few people had returned to their homes yet. However, I never shot pictures of people.

We just returned from N.O. (Jazz Fest) and part of the plan was to drive out and see what progress has occurred in two years. But, although we both carried stun guns at all times, "something" told me to stay the hell out of those areas once we were there. Just a gut feeling. So we didn't do it.

I do, however, support doing the drive in '07. I think people SHOULD see devastation like this when the opportunity is there, because it is NEVER fully represented on TV or the news, and people who don't live there need the wake-up call. When the Vernonia here in Oregon suffered severe damage from floods, they only thought they knew what Katrina was like.

Santa Cruz, California, went through the same thing with their major earthquake in the 80's. The devastation piqued the interest of tourists. But as I saw it as educational awakening.