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Bill Capo / Action Reporter
NEW ORLEANS -- Actor Wendell Pierce proudly shows the houses constructed as part of the effort he leads to rebuild his childhood neighborhood through the Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation.
"We have over 300 people who are prequalified," Pierce said. "We've had over 700 inquiries into the program."
But walk to the front of the lot, and there is an astounding sight: an 8' tall tree is growing out of a pothole in the street.
"It is amazing to see a tree growing of the ground, so you stop, and look, and wonder," said neighbor Elmira Whitley. "You can't believe it, you can't believe what you're seeing, really."
Not only is the tree growing in the street. The pothole at its base is blocking the driveway of the newly built house, not an ideal recovery picture.
"This is a serious eyesore, and it does hamper redevelopment and sales," said Stanley Jackson, executive director of the Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation. "As a realtor, when you bring a client out and they see this, what do they tell you? Just imagine, that's the added bonus they've got to move into their new home," laughed real estate broker Rodney Greenup. "They've got a tree right in their driveway."
They can't believe the city didn't take care of this long ago.
"We've called the city, we've emailed the city, we've talked to different representatives, and we've gotten good responses as far as verbal commitments and written commitments, but we haven't gotten any actual results," said Gretchen Bradford of the Pontchartrain Park Neighborhood Association."
"A tree grows in Pontchartrain Park, but this is something that we called you because we thought you might be able to expedite it," said Pierce.
Cars are certainly cautious in this area. Now you know, on a warm, sunny day sitting in the shade of this tree would be very pleasant. But does it really belong in the middle of the street?
So I'm contacting the mayor's office, asking them to make this a priority, because not only is it a nuisance, it is actually a hazard for passing vehicles.
"And we can't allow things like this that can easily be fixed to stand in the way of things like this, which is major recovery," Pierce said.
I'll let you know what happens.
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