|
With each passing week, Mid-City is becoming a better and better place to live. New businesses, social groups, educational and artistic centers are popping up all over. Unfortunately, crimes such as auto theft, burglaries, and even shootings hold us back from achieving a much needed sense of peace and security. It is for the reason that neighbors from Mid-City and Parkview came together to create the Mid-City Security District. By increasing police coverage via a security district, we aim to achieve our primary goal which is to make our area safer. We have seen the successes of security districts in areas such as Lakeview and the Uptown Touro Bouligny area and believe we can have similar if not better results. Status:
The Commissioners of the Mid-City Security District are happy to report that after many obstacles and set backs, the Mid-City Security District is operational! If you wish to reach a patrolling officer, you may call them directly at 252-1570 or 252-1571. These numbers are not a substitute for 911. In case of emergency, call 911 before you call anyone else! Challenges and progress: Multiple options for insurance have been identified and Commissioners worked through the details to ensure the district is covered appropriately. We officially have insurance coverage. The Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (originally submitted to City Hall in February) has been approved by the City Attorney and was just signed by Mayor Nagin. Police officers who have take-home cars have been located and shifts have been organized so that they can patrol in the interim until we get our cars. We currently have 20 hours a day covered by officers with take home cars (as of 9/7/2009). Newsletter coming soon: MCSD has created a newsletter that will be sent very shortly. The newsletter will include, among other things, the phone number of the coordinating officer and pertinent information about the Security District. The newsletter will be sent to all occupied residences within the boundaries of the security district at least twice a year. The MCSD has plans to have magnets made providing the MCSD phone number to help neighbors reach the MCSD coordinating officer. MCSD Police Cars: The three police cars that were ordered have not yet arrived. Upon arrival, the two marked cars will be outfitted with MCSD logos, clearly identifying them as MCSD cars. The third car will be unmarked. All police cars will be fully equipped for police work. The security district will begin by using NOPD officer’s take-home cars. When the MCSD cars arrive, we will transition to using MCSD cars. Cell Phones: The cell phones have been purchased, but when we tried to use them, we discovered that Verizon had deactivated them due to a lack of activity on our account. They still took our money, so we are working with them to re-activate the phones and have them apply our payments to the account as they should have in the first place. The phones include normal communication functions in addition to the two-way (walkie-talkie) feature to allow the MCSD officers to communicate between each other. As always, MCSD Board meetings are open to the public and are held each 3rd Thursday of the month at 6:30pm at Grace Epsicopal. The next Mid-City Security District meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 2/18/2010 at 6:30pm. The meeting place has changed, and all meetings will now be held at Grace Episcopal Church at 3700 Canal St. All meetings are open to the public and we encourage participation! If you wish to reach a patrolling officer, please call 252-1571 or 252-1570. This is not a substitute for 911. In case of emergency, call 911 before you call anyone else!
The boundaries of the district are Tulane, Broad, Orleans, W. Moss, City Park Ave., and I-10, as can be seen below: 
The Mid-City Security District operates through a Board of 5 Commissioners who, with the help of a coordinating Sergeant, manage the logistics of providing additional security for the area.
The Mid-City Security District was passed on November 4, 2008 through a general election vote on the legislation which can be viewed on this website. The Mid-City Security District has a “shelf life” of 8 years. After that period, the district must be renewed by another vote to continue the additional property tax fee or millage. To date, no security district in the New Orleans area has ever been discontinued. In each voting period, the citizens have voted to continue the service. We believe this is a testament to the effectiveness of the security district itself. Security District Benefits: - 24 hour patrols of our neighborhood
- Increased collaboration between police districts 1 and 3
- Additional police presence
|