B.W. Cooper Housing Development Calliope Housing Projects | |
---|---|
Nicknames: CP3, Da Calliope | |
Coordinates: 29°57′02″N90°05′32″W / 29.95056°N 90.09222°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Louisiana |
City | New Orleans |
Police District | District 6, Central City |
Area | |
• Total | 0.30 sq mi (0.8 km2) |
• Land | 0.30 sq mi (0.8 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Population (1993) | |
• Total | 1,100 |
• Density | 3,700/sq mi (1,400/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Area code | 504 |
The B. W. Cooper Public Housing Development, also known as The Calliope Projects, was a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans and one of the housing projects of New Orleans. This project of New Orleans gained notoriety for its extremely high violent crime rate. It was demolished in 2014 and replaced with newer, mixed-income apartment buildings.
Officially called the B. W. Cooper apartments, the Calliope Projects was one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans located in Central City, New Orleans. There were 1,546 units on 56 acres (230,000 m2) of land (or 24 city blocks.) The project was built between 1939 and 1941. The original boundaries were South Dorgenois, Erato, Calliope (now Earhart Boulevard) and South Prieur Streets. In 1941, rents ran from $8.25 a month for a one bedroom apartment to $22.00 a month for a three bedroom. Until the projects were built, the buildings in the neighborhood were one- or two-story wooden shot-gun structures for the most part. The projects were sturdily made of brick with iron grill trimmings and manicured lawns. The floor plans of the project apartments allowed for more privacy for bedrooms than the traditional neighborhood residences.
During the Calliope's early days, it was considered a means for working-class families to live comfortably, while saving up the funds to purchase their own homes. St. Monica's Catholic Church and School were considered anchors of the neighborhood, along with the local public schools like Booker T. Washington High School. Along with a steady stream of outstanding musicians, the neighborhood produced educators, including a Superintendent of Orleans Parish Schools, and politicians, who served city and state government. There were 690 apartments in the original development. In 1949, a gymnasium was added at Broad and Calliope Streets. In 1954, a twelve block expansion added 860 new units. The expansion pushed the western boundary of the Calliope back two blocks from Erato Street to Melpomene Avenue (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard). In May 1981, the Calliope was renamed the B.W. Cooper Apartments. Mr. Cooper worked for the Housing Authority of New Orleans for 33 years and served on several civic and social organizations until his death in 1974.
Since the early 1980s, rival drug dealing rings have operated in & around the Calliope area, spawning what the law enforcement community in New Orleans called "a seemingly nonstop cycle of retaliatory violence." According to the New Orleans Police Department, the violence escalated in the late 80s, peaking in the early 1990s. After drug kingpin Sam "Sculley" Clay was gunned down in the Calliope in 1987, the drug trade spiraled out of control in a war over the drug trade in that area. From 1993 to 2004, 88 people were killed in the Calliope Projects. [1] [2] [3]
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, most of Calliope was closed and slated for demolition. In January 2007, a small section of the Calliope was reopened to residents. The development was completely demolished in 2014. [4] A "newer" BW Cooper development was opened in 2012, and was renamed Marrero Commons. This was a collaboration between HUD and a former resident rapper Master P. With 175 units, it was named for Yvonne Marrero, a community leader and former president of the Cooper Resident Management Corporation. [5]
The Calliope Projects were located at 29°57′02″N90°05′32″W / 29.95056°N 90.09222°W [6] and have an elevation of 0 feet (0.0 m). [7] This is in the 2nd Ward. According to the United States Census Bureau, the district had a total area of 0.30 square miles (0.8 km2). 0.30 square miles (0.8 km2) of which is land and 0.00 square miles (0.0 km2) (0.0%) of which is water.
The New Orleans City Planning Commission defines the boundaries of the B. W. Cooper neighborhood as: Pontchartrain Expressway, South Claiborne Avenue, Martin Luther King Boulevard and South Broad Street. [8]
As of the 2000 census [update] , there were 4,339 people, 1,421 households, and 1,139 families residing in the neighborhood. [9] The population density was 14,463 /mi2 (5,424 /km2).
As of the 2010 census [update] , there were 806 people, 318 households, and 181 families residing in the neighborhood. [9]
Jefferson Parish is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 440,781. Its parish seat is Gretna, its largest community is Metairie, and its largest incorporated city is Kenner. Jefferson Parish is included in the Greater New Orleans area.
Central City is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. It is located in the 11th Ward of New Orleans in Uptown, just above the Garden District, on the "lakeside" of St. Charles Avenue. A subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: MLK Boulevard, South Claiborne Avenue and the Pontchartrain Expressway to the north, Magazine, Thalia, Prytania and Felicity Streets and St. Charles Avenue to the south and Toledano Street, Louisiana Avenue and Washington Avenue to the west. This old predominantly African-American neighborhood has been important in the city's brass band and Mardi Gras Indian traditions.
Navarre is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Lakeview District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: I-610, Canal Boulevard and Florida Boulevard to the north, Orleans Avenue to the east, City Park Avenue to the south and the Pontchartrain Expressway and Pontchartrain Boulevard to the west.
The city planning commission for New Orleans divided the city into 13 planning districts and 73 distinct neighborhoods in 1980. Although initially in the study 68 neighborhoods were designated, and later increased by the City Planning Commission to 76 in October 2001 based in census data, most planners, neighborhood associations, researchers, and journalists have since widely adopted the 73 as the number and can even trace the number back to the early 1900s. While most of these assigned boundaries match with traditional local designations, some others differ from common traditional use. This is a result of the city planning commission's wish to divide the city into sections for governmental planning and zoning purposes without crossing United States census tract boundaries. While most of the listed names have been in common use by New Orleanians for generations, some designated names are rarely heard outside the planning commission's usage.
Lakeview is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Lakeview District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Robert E Lee Boulevard to the north, Orleans Avenue to the east, Florida Boulevard, Canal Boulevard and I-610 to the south and Pontchartrain Boulevard to the west. Lakeview is sometimes used to describe the entire area bounded by Lake Pontchartrain to the north, the Orleans Avenue Canal to the east, City Park Avenue to the south and the 17th Street Canal to the west. This larger definition includes the West End, Lakewood and Navarre neighborhoods, as well as the Lakefront neighborhoods of Lakeshore and Lake Vista.
The Housing Authority of New Orleans is a housing authority in New Orleans, Louisiana, tasked with providing housing to low-income residents.
Florida Avenue Projects or Florida Projects is a public housing project in the city of New Orleans. The 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 contained 47 two- and three-story brick buildings, arranged around courtyards and largely isolated from the rest of the community, for a total of 734 units housing 1,297 residents. Originally built for whites, it was later desegregated and by the 1970s was becoming predominantly a black project. In the mid-1990s, Florida and nearby Desire Projects were dubbed the most violent housing projects in the nation. In 1994, Florida recorded the highest homicide rate of all HANO developments, with 26 slayings, surpassing the 13 killings in Desire which previous held the highest record a year before. The majority of the Florida killings in 1994 were fueled by drug wars, specifically between the notorious Hardy Boys and the Poonie Crew. The homicide spike in Florida and Desire contributed to New Orleans being dubbed "the nation's murder capital". That year the city's homicide rate reached 424, 47 of those killings occurring in HANO developments.
St. Bernard Projects was a housing project in the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission were: Harrison Avenue to the north, Paris Avenue to the east, Lafreniere Street and Florida Avenue to the south and Bayou St. John to the west.
The Melpomene Projects, officially called the Gustavo Apartments or TheGuste Homes, and colloquially The Melph, are a housing complex located in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans.
Iberville Projects was a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans and one of the low-income Housing Projects of New Orleans. The Iberville was the last of the New Deal-era public housing remaining in the city. Its boundaries were St. Louis Street, Basin Street, Iberville Street, and North Claiborne Avenue. It is located in the 6th ward of downtown New Orleans, on the former site of the Storyville district. The area has recently been redeveloped into a modernized apartment complex called the Bienville Basin Apartments.
Hollygrove is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, located in the city's 17th Ward. A subdistrict of the Uptown/Carrollton area, the boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission are the following: Palmetto Street to the north, Cambronne, Edinburgh, Forshey, Fig and Leonidas Streets to the east, Earhart Boulevard to the south and the Jefferson Parish boundary to the west. Conrad playground, the Cuccia-Byrnes playground and Larry Gilbert baseball stadium are located in Hollygrove. The Hollygrove Market and Farm is also located in Hollygrove. Notable people including rapper Lil Wayne have grown up in the neighborhood.
Leonidas is a neighborhood designation in the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Uptown/Carrollton Area, its boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission are: South Claiborne Avenue, Leonidas and Fig Streets to the north, South Carrollton Avenue to the east, the Mississippi River and Jefferson Parish to the west. Although an official city planning district name, the name "Leonidas" is not widely used nor has it any historical usage and the area is usually referred to by the larger neighborhood "Uptown, or "Carrollton".
Lower Garden District is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area, its boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission are: St. Charles Avenue, Felicity, Prytania, Thalia, Magazine, and Julia Streets to the north; the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, Crescent City Connection, and Mississippi River to the east; Felicity Street, Magazine Street, Constance Street, Jackson Avenue, Chippewa Street, Soraparu Street, and St. Thomas Street to the south; and 1st Street to the west.
Lakeshore/Lake Vista is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. A subdistrict of the Lakeview District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Lake Pontchartrain to the north, Bayou St. John to the east, Allen Toussaint Boulevard to the south and Pontchartrain Boulevard and the New Basin Canal to the west. The neighborhood is composed of the Lakeshore and Lake Vista subdivisions, built on land reclaimed from Lake Pontchartrain. The Lakefront is a term sometimes used to name the larger neighborhood created by the Orleans Levee Board's land reclamation initiative in early 20th century New Orleans; it includes Lakeshore and Lake Vista, as well as Lakeshore Drive and the lakefront park system, the University of New Orleans, Lake Terrace, and Lake Oaks.
Holy Cross is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Lower Ninth Ward District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: St. Claude Avenue to the north, St. Bernard Parish to the east, the Mississippi River to the south and the Industrial Canal to the west.
Booker T. Washington High School is a public charter high school in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
DeGaulle Manor was a low-income public housing complex in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans. The apartment complex was known for crime and was one of the oldest and most troubled apartment complexes in the city before being shut down in 2012. It later became a dumping ground for trash and in 2014, became a work of art as it was transformed into a graffiti display.
The D-Block Boys, also known as DBG, was an African-American drug ring operating in Algiers, New Orleans, Louisiana. The gang has been involved in criminal activity including drug trafficking and murder. According to NOPD, The "D-Block Gang" has a history of violations, along with involvement in violent crimes. This gang is not to be confused with the Dumaine Street Gang operating out of the 6th Ward of New Orleans, which is also called D'Block.
The "39ers gang," is a “hybrid” force of the Upper 9th Ward's G-Strip gang and 3-N-G, a notorious Central City drug gang named for its stronghold around Third and Galvez streets. Several of the alleged members also hailed from the Florida housing development. The gangs combined forces in early 2010 to press for control of the heroin trade in both areas, federal prosecutors allege, often through bloodshed against associates of rival gangs, such as "Ride or Die gang" from the 8th Ward of New Orleans and gangs associated with the former Calliope and Desire Projects. The gang is also held accountable for the double 2010 homicide in which the famous rapper Magnolia Shorty was killed. Authorities have connected the 39ers to over 45 murders.
The Metz Gang was a notorious drug ring founded by Glenn Metz and his brother Cordell "Jethro" Metz; Glenn Metz is currently serving life in prison. From 1985 to mid–1992, The Metz Gang distributed approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine in the New Orleans metropolitan area and, in furtherance of the conspiracy, committed murders, attempted murders, and other violent crimes. In 1993, Metz, his wife, and several of his henchmen were convicted and charged in a 22 count indictment with various charges arising from a narcotics conspiracy. In 2016, President Barack Obama commuted the life sentence of Danielle Metz, wife of Glenn Metz.
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