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NOLA City Cncl OKs Demolitions; Cops Stun, Spray Protestors
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AP via Chicago Sun-Times - Dec 20, 2007
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/706735,kat122007.article
Cops use spray, stuns on New Orleans public housing protesters
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS " Police used chemical spray and stun guns Thursday as
dozens of protesters seeking to halt the demolition of 4,500 public
housing units tried to force their way through an iron gate at City
Hall.
One woman was sprayed with chemicals and dragged from the gates. She
was taken away on a stretcher by emergency officials. Before that, the
woman was seen pouring water from a bottle into her eyes and weeping.
Another woman said she was stunned by officers, and still had what
appeared to be a Taser wire hanging from her ****rt.
~~I was just standing, trying to get into my City Council meeting,
said the woman, Kim Ellis.
Arrests were made as officers tried to establish order.
Inside, a scuffle also occurred in the City Council chambers as the
meeting opened. Several protesters were forced out, including a woman
who was carried, and a recess was called. The room was calm once the
meeting resumed.
Protesters had planned to disrupt the City Council meeting, where
members were expected to approve demoli****ng dozens of buildings " a
move that would open racial and class divisions. The council chambers
seat less than 300. Once capacity was reached, people who were not
permitted into chambers marched and chanted. Eventually violence broke
out.
The City Council vote is a critical moment in a protracted fight
between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and
residents, activists and preservationists.
HUD wants to demolish the buildings, most of them damaged by Hurricane
Katrina, so developers can take advantage of tax credits and build new
mixed-income neighborhoods.
The councils approval of the demolition is required under the citys
charter.
HUD says the redevelopment, in the works before Katrina hit, will mark
an end to the citys failed public housing experiment that lumped the
poor into crime-ridden complexes and marooned them outside the life of
the rest of the city.
But critics say the plan will shrink the stock of cheap housing at a
time when housing is scarce and drive poor blacks out of the city. They
also say the buildings are, contrary to popular opinion, mostly
handsome brick structures that will outlast anything HUD builds in
their place.
A news release from the Coalition to Stop the Demolition, one of
several groups organizing protesters, characterized the pending action
as a ~~rubber stamp at a ~~sham meeting.
~~It is beyond callous, and can only be seen as malicious
discrimination. It is an unabashed attempt to eliminate the black
population of New Orleans, said Kali Akuno, an organizer with the
group.
A recent shake-up on the seven-member City Council turned it into a
majority white chamber for the first time since the 1980s, a ****ft that
will certainly make the vote even more racially charged.
Three of the councils white members were quick to say they sup****ted
the tear-down plan, while the councils three black members were
hesitant about expressing their intentions.
One black member, Cynthia Hedge Morrell, issued a statement late
Wednesday in favor of demolitions. The fourth white member, Council
President Arnie Fielkow, has been careful to tread the middle ground,
but a spokeswoman said Thursday he sup****ts demolition.
~~Its not racist and its truly not a done deal behind the scenes,
said Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, a newly elected
councilmember-at-large, about the councils pending vote.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
*
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