[StBernard] Racial Slurs Become Part of St. Bernard Parish Housing Fight

[Westley Annis]

Racial Slurs Become Part of St. Bernard Parish Housing Fight
MONDAY, 20 JUNE 2011 06:48   

By Zoe Sullivan, Special to the NNPA from The Louisiana Weekly -

There has been clear opposition for years to the presence of African
Americans in St. Bernard Parish, based on the litigation history of the
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC), James Perry,
executive director of that organization, told The Louisiana Weekly.

"We get really nasty phone calls and e-mails pretty frequently about St.
Bernard Parish, and they oftentimes have a lot of racial innuendo, but
occasionally they have really direct racial statements and racial epithets,"
Perry told The Louisiana Weekly.

Recently, his organization used two examples of this in litigation against
St. Bernard Parish around a multi-family housing project being developed
there by Provident Realty Advisors, Inc.

Provident is building four mixed-income apartment complexes, which would be
within walking distance of a planned hospital. According to GNOFHAC, each
complex would contain 72 units for a total of 288. Perry says the State of
Louisiana is supporting the development with $30 million in tax credits,
which are only awarded following stringent investigations by the State.
Provident initially asked GNOFHAC for assistance in 2008.

Recently, Judge Ginger Berrigan, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Louisiana, denied a request by the Parish for a cease and desist
order against Provident Realty.

The ruling stated: "While Defendants have raised concerns about the work
Provident has performed without inspections, none of these concerns justify
a complete shutdown of the projects. From the testimony presented in court,
Provident appears willing and able to address all of Defendants' concerns."

The concerns ranged from drain lines from the development buildings to
existing storm drains, the height of proposed driveways, and the use of
third party inspectors.

The court ruling also noted that: ".the Court finds that there is no legal
support for President Taffaro's position that Provident must tear down all
of its buildings before the Parish would issue any permits."

"It's always been clear that racial animus is key to the resistance to this
housing development. There's no mistake," Perry told The Louisiana Weekly.

"We have been and continue to be offended by the incident that is in
question," St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. said to The
Louisiana Weekly's inquiry about the racially tinged graffiti and voicemail
presented in court.

"We find it equally troublesome that the Provident officials sought no legal
intervention. No police report was filed by Provident. We are really proud
that our post-Katrina population statistics continue to show that St.
Bernard is more diverse than ever before in our history, and we continue to
promote a unified community in our recovery."