Garden District Security District Blog

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS
From the Garden District Security District 24 hour neighborhood patrol

Now that hurricane season is here again, we can assure you that your neighborhood security is ready and able to handle emergency situations that may arise due to a hurricane or major flooding. Below are answers to some frequently asked questions from our security provider, New Orleans Private Patrol:

Will the patrol remain in the neighborhood during a hurricane? The GDSD/ NOPP officers will remain on patrol during a Category 1 or 2 hurricane or a tropical storm as long as it is reasonably safe for the officers to be in the area. The severity of the storm may dictate that they take cover for the hardest hit hours before regaining their post. In the case of a Category 3 or above, the officers will be directed by their supervisors to secure the area as best as possible, take cover in local NOPP shelters or evacuate to the Baton Rouge office, then return to their posts as soon as it is safe to patrol.

Our patrol officers will only leave the city during a mandatory evacuation and will return to patrol as soon as city/state authorities permit patrol companies to enter. NOPP now has satellite offices in Baton Rouge and housing available for their staff if New Orleans locations are not accessible or safe new tanker vehicles which can provide gasoline for the patrol cars if local gas stations are not operable. Larger rough terrain, high water vehicles have been purchased and will be used for access to flooded or hard to reach areas if necessary. If the city receives a mandatory evacuation order, the patrol must comply, but will return as soon as possible.

How will I know what is going on in my neighborhood while I am evacuated? If you supply us with your email address now, you will receive periodic email updates from the us and /or the patrol about the neighborhood, including the status of utilities, streetlights, security, etc. as often as communications permit.

What kind of phone or radio communication will be available if utilities are down? NOPP/GDSD has set up duplicative systems for computer, phone and radio systems that can operate from other states if the local communications systems are inoperable. This new system will be activated within minutes to avoid interruption of service. For your own home, you may want to install what has been referred to as a ‘princess’ phone, the old fashioned corded phone. Many land lines still worked during Katrina, but because the electricity was out in many areas, those with cordless phones were out of luck, while many with stationary phones were able to dial out and receive calls.

FYI: NOLA Ready Alert System
The City of New Orleans has also set up the NOLA Ready Alert System, which is a new high-tech emergency text and voice notification system. This emergency alert system, will send real-time emergency information that may include rain storms, evacuations, threatening levee breaches, loss of power and communication disruptions to first responders, emergency managers, business owners, tourists and registered residents. The messages will be sent via email, cell phones, pagers, Blackberry’s and Treo’s. To register for NOLA Ready all citizens can log onto the website at www.nolaready.info

The GDSD Security Patrol is available for your use 24 hours per day.
Call 899-4373(GDSD) or 525-7111.
If you have any concerns, please call our administrative office at 525-7911.

STAY IN THE LOOP DURING AN EVACUATION
Send an email with your name and address to
gardendistrictno@bellsouth.net
to join our email list for periodic neighborhood announcements
Visit our website at www.gdsdpatrol.org

GDSD Neighbor Meeting

GDSD Neighborhood Security Meeting
October 11, 2006 6:00pm @ Café Rani

GDSD President Frank Tessier and Exec. Director Shelley Landrieu welcomed the group and introduced NOPD 6th District Captain Bardy, Officer Michael Levasseur (Crime Prevention Unit & GDSD detail officer), Officer Joe Joia, GDSD Supervisor Johnas Francois, and other NOPD and GDSD officers.

Crime Prevention Presentation
NOPD Officer Levasseur and Officer Tran gave some safety tips to the attendees, such as:
- limit the number of keys on your key ring
- keep your car key in hand and ready when you leave your house, office etc.
- use your key as a weapon if necessary (mace can blow in the wind, and sometimes is not fast enough)
- be aware that criminals may watch your daily routine in order to rob or assault you
- criminals are often lazy, don’t give them easy access to you or your valuables

Recent Neighborhood Activity
Capt. Bardy introduced himself, explaining that he has been in the NOPD for 32 years and has spent much of his career in the Central City/Uptown area. He noted that a new Magazine Street police bicycle patrol would be starting soon with Lt. Smith and 3 other officers. This patrol group and the Sixth District officers meet with the GDSD patrol every Thursday at 1pm to share security info and coordinate patrolling efforts at their COMSTAT meetings. Capt. Bardy noted that he can always be reached huis email address: rrbardy@cityofno.com. He also noted that NONPAC meetings with the NOPD are held every 3rd Thursday at 7pm at the Pontchartrain Hotel for the express purspose of disseminating news to district residents. Capt. Bardy went on to say that the GDSD patrol is doing a great job and makes a difference in preventing crime in the area.

Capt. Bardy also addressed residents concerns about some of the more serious crimes in the area, such as the shootings at Washington Avenue and Annunciation Street and Annunciation and First Streets, the assault on a women on the 1300 block of Pleasant Street, etc.

Mr. Tessier noted that in response to the recent assault on a female Garden District resident in during her morning walk, the GDSD patrol has established “hot times” from 6-8am and from 3-6pm. The GDSD patrol is keeping extra watch during these hours, as they are the busier times for residents coming and going. Ms. Landrieu added that Chestnut Street has been designated as the “safe” walking street for the neighborhood. Mr. Tessier also recommended that residents program the 899-GDSD and 911 into their cellular phones and keep their phones with them while walking.

Ms. Landrieu thanked NOPD Officer Joe Joia for his work as Quality of Life officer for the 6th District, noting that he has been extremely helpful in the removal of abandoned cars, debris etc.

GDSD President Frank Tessier explained that the GDSD patrol, which is staffed by New Orleans Private Patrol, has struggled with limited employees since the storm. However, the GDSD patrol is running 3 cars 24/7 at present. The patrol officers are working 12 hour shifts in order to maintain full coverage, but they hope to add new officers in order to reduce the shifts to 8 hours. Mr. Tessier also noted that every evening between 5 and 10 pm there is a NOPD detail officer on duty with the GDSD patrol. He clarified that the NOPD detail officers are not available for escort services, but as a cooperating party and a liaison for the GDSD patrol. They add visibility to the area and handle emergency situations.

Mr. Tessier went on to ask that residents be understanding about some of the necessary stops that the GDSD patrol officers must make while they are on duty (business checks, escorts, shift change, reporting, etc) and that if a resident has a complaint to please be specific regarding date, time, place, name and report it to Shelley Landrieu at gardendistrictno@bellsouth.net.

Q&A
Q - Irish Channel representative noted that Puccino’s Café on Magazine Street is applying for alcohol and video poker licenses and asked residents to contact City Council in opposition of these requests.
A – Councilwoman Stacy Head said that she was going to vote against Puccino’s request and encouraged residents to get involved and voice their opinion to the Council. Ms. Landrieu noted that a drafted letter to the Council would be sent to neighbors via email.

Q – What is being done about street light outages?
A – Mr. Tessier said that the GDSD does not have any control over the street lights. Stacy Head noted that the Garden District Association and the GDSD had been working with Entergy to catalogue these outages and get them repaired.

Q – What can be done to be proactive about crime in adjacent areas like the Irish Channel and Central City?
A – Capt. Bardy said that since the National Guard had come in, the NOPD has 37 extra officers for the 6th District who are patrolling all night in Zone F. He also noted that crime cameras are installed in strategic areas, like Washington Avenue in the Irish Channel. He also mentioned that female NOPD decoys have been walking the area to catch rape and assault criminals. Stacy Head encouraged residents to get involved and attend ABO hearings, Civil District Court hearings, etc. to yield a stronger voice for the neighborhood.

Q- What is being done to protect the incoming tourists who do not always know how to be safe?
A – Capt. Bardy noted that extra patrol is placed in heavily trafficked areas, such as Magazine Street, during large events such as the Atlanta – Saints game. He also noted that this was why the bicycle patrol was being implemented on Magazine Street.

Q – What is being done about grafitti?
A – Operation Clean Sweep has been slowed down since the storm but the officer in charge is coming back to N.O. soon.

Evacuation Info

We will use this blog to post important neighborhood information during an evacuation. There is no pertinent evacuation info at this time.

Welcome!

Welcome to the GDSD blog. One of the best crime deterrents is a neighborhood where the residents communicate openly with each other. We encourage our Garden District neighbors to use this blog as a tool to communicate about neighborhood security issues and share safety tips. Feel free to post your own comments by clicking the "Comments" link below. For questions, please email Executive Director Shelley Landrieu at gardendistrictno@bellsouth.net, or call the GDSD Administrative office at 504-525-7911. The patrol can be reached 24/7 at 899-GDSD.