Update on North Rampart Main Street, Inc.

St. Marks Methodist Church received a façade grant, along with Starlight and Nawlins Flava.

By Sue Klein

All four committees of the NRMSI (North Rampart Main Street, Inc.) project (Organization, Economic Restructuring, Design and Promotion) and the Board of Directors are now meeting on a monthly basis. With the assistance of the National and State Main Street staff, each committee now has a program of work. The Design Committee and the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office) architect and designer have awarded the fa*ade grants. The winners are St. Marks Methodist Church, Starlight, and Nawlins Flava. This is one positive step in streetscape improvement.

As part of our vision for the street, we would like a "real" post office (PO) that would benefit Tremé and the French Quarter. We could use everyone's help with this by writing or emailing Senator Landrieu, Senator Vitter and Congressman Jefferson with this request. Their contact info is listed on the "Important Contact Information" pages of this newsletter. We have made the initial "pitch" and it is within the realm of possibility. However, constituent letters and email can really help. We are asking for a freestanding retail PO that operates under regular PO hours. We have been told that this only requires 1300-1500 sq. ft. Please make sure you make the request for NORTH Rampart.

You may have noticed that the old Texaco Station is now being cleaned up. North Rampart Main Street Manager Bari Landry spoke to the new business owners and they will give us the exact opening date as soon as they know. They plan to have a mechanic on duty which is good news for our neighborhood!

The Hurricane Façade grants were a big disappointment. Apparently SHPO considered only owner-occupied properties, but this was not a requirement when we were asked to submit the grant applications. I even asked if commercial properties were eligible and was told they were at a training session for the grant submission. Unfortunately this was very time consuming for Bari and the property owners who completed the grants. Only one property was awarded a grant. This is an owner- occupied residential property.

Alan Drake, a local transit guru, made a pitch for the Desire Streetcar at the last City Planning Commission public meeting. Desire is in the Citywide Plan, but does not have a project sheet with costs included in the plan. We were told this project is ten years out, so NRMSI will proceed with neutral ground beautification. Bari and I met with the DPW (Department of Public Works) on April 3rd to discuss the repair of the historic iron light posts on the North Rampart neutral ground. While at the National Main Street Conference, Bari discovered the manufacturer of these historic posts still has the molds for replacement parts! We do not have a time line yet, but these lights will be repaired. We also asked Mr. Mendoza to work with us on calming traffic for North Rampart.

We continue to wait on the VCC demolition by neglect letters. Tom Bissell and Susan Guillot did a great job starting this process. However, final approval for the letters use is languishing in the City Attorney's office. The HDLC (Historic Districts Landmarks Com- mission) has been using this process for some time now, so this is not a new concept. If anyone would like to call that office to request when the letter would be ready for use, the number is 658-9800.

Finally, the NRMSI may have secure parking available for FQ festivals and Mardi Gras as a fundraiser. Contact Bari at northrampartmainstreetmanager@northrampartmainstreet.org if you are interested in a spot. It will be in the William B. Allen gated lot in the 300 block of North Rampart Street.