Florida Projects

Florida Avenue Projects or Florida Projects was a public housing project in the city of New Orleans. The Florida housing development was built in 1946 on an 18.5-acre tract of land bounded by Florida Avenue and North Dorgenois, Mazant and Gallier streets in the Upper 9th Ward. It resembled most public housing complexes with 47 two and three-story brick buildings, for a total of 734 units housing 1,297 residents, that were arranged around courtyards and largely isolated from the rest of the community. It was Originally built for whites in but was desegregated and by 1970s becoming prominently black project. In the mid-1990s, Florida and nearby Desire Projects was dubbed as the most violent housing projects in the nation. In 1994, the Florida recorded the highest homicide rate out of all HANO developments with 26 slayings, surpassing the 13 killings in the Desire which previous held the highest record a year before. Majority of the Florida killings in 1994 were fuled by drug wars, specifically between the notorious Hardy Boys and the Poonie Crew. The homicide spike in the Florida and Desire contributed to the city becoming the "Murder Capitol of the America."[1][2] That year the city's homicide rate reached 424, 47 of those killings occurring in HANO developments.[3]

Florida Avenue Housing Development
General information
LocationNew Orleans, LA 70117
 United States
StatusDemolished, Remodeled
Construction
Constructed1945–1946
Demolished1998-2004 (partial) 2005 (remodeled)
Other information
Governing
body		Housing Authority of New Orleans

In 2005, the project was heavily flooded in Hurricane Katrina and was partly demolished by the end of that year. One half of the complex was remodeled.[4]

Geography

Florida Projects is located at 29°58′55″N 90°01′58″W [5] and has an elevation of 0 feet (0.0 m).[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 0.09 square miles (0.2 km2). 0.09 square miles (0.2 km2) of which is land and 0.00 square miles (0.0 km2) (0.0%) of which is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,604 people, 399 households, and 346 families residing in the neighborhood.[7] The population density was 17,822 /mi2 (8,020 /km2).

As of the census of 2010, there were 6 people, 2 households, and 2 families residing in the neighborhood.[7]

Notable residents
  • Mannie Fresh
  • Wendy Reed Randall, author, “Once There Was A Girl: A Memoir” about growing up in the Florida Housing Projects. Published December, 2020 by Kharis Publishing.^6

https://www.wendyreedrandall.com/

See also

References
  1. "Police now the usual suspects in New Orleans : Officers have been tied to killings, including serial slayings. Yet the department has helped slash the murder rate". Los Angeles Times. September 7, 1995.
  2. "Housing project razed after decades of unrealized dreams". Arizona Daily Sun. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  3. Bragg, Rick (December 25, 1995). "New Orleans's Hopes Rise As Crime Rate Decreases". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  4. "HANO to build 51 new units at Florida public housing development". NOLA.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  5. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  6. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  7. "Florida Development Neighborhood". Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
6. https://www.amazon.com/Once-There-Was-Girl-Memoir/dp/1946277851 [1]


  1. "Post - KharisPublishing". www.kharispublishing.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021.
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