By: Campbell Robertson // October 3, 2009
CHALMETTE, La. — The parish of St. Bernard, a quiet, insular suburb just east of New Orleans, has in the end agreed to allow housing for low-income families.
But even though it is only a few hundred apartment units, it had to be ordered by a federal judge. The parish has fought desperately to prevent such housing and an influx of renters, at one point even approving a law that prohibited homeowners from renting to anyone other than a blood relative, before it was challenged and repealed.
The battle over low-income housing has been one of the most bitter that anyone in the middle-class, mostly white parish can remember, one that has stoked issues the region has been grappling with since Hurricane Katrina: anger at the federal government and long-simmering class and racial tensions.
It also reflects widespread anxiety about just how drastically the area changed after the floodwaters receded.
“I think people have adopted this issue as one that goes far beyond the reality of its impact,” said Craig Taffaro Jr., the parish president. “It tapped into the soul of our recovery.”
No comments:
Post a Comment