Sen. Obama talks with beloved New Orleans activist Mama Dee in August after church at First Emanuel Baptist. Photo: Lee Celano, Reuters

Dear Mr. President:

I urge you to abandon all plans to demolish federally-assisted housing in New Orleans, Louisiana, until there is a comprehensive plan to meet the region's extensive affordable housing needs.

Two years ago, when you appeared in Jackson Square, you spoke of America's "duty to confront this poverty with bold action." You explained: "Americans want the Gulf Coast not just to survive, but to thrive; not just to cope, but to overcome. We want evacuees to come home, for the best of reasons -- because they have a real chance at a better life in a place they love."

Unfortunately, there are an estimated 12,000 people already homeless in New Orleans, and thousands more are struggling with costly and slow rebuilding efforts and private rents that have risen 45 percent since the storm. More than two thirds of the housing stock was destroyed by the hurricane, and much of it has not yet been rebuilt. Thousands of residents are still living in trailers with dangerous levels of formaldehyde even though more than 800 days have passed since Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

Despite this harsh reality, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is now planning to reduce the limited supply of affordable housing even further by demolishing 4,500 units of public housing. Notwithstanding your wish for evacuees to come home to "thrive" and "overcome," New Orleans does not have adequate affordable housing options even for the people who are already there.

It is critical for policy makers to answer the following questions before any demolition takes place:

• Is demolition, which was originally planned and approved before hurricane Katrina, still a sensible strategy in light of the region's housing crisis?
• How many new units of public housing will be built or acquired to replace the 4,500 scheduled for demolition? If less than 4,500, what is the plan to close the gap to get back at least to pre-Katrina levels? If more than 4,500, what plans are in place to ensure adequate income diversity and economic integration?
• What plans are in place to meet the low-income housing needs during the period between demolition and the availability of new housing?
• What supports are in place to assist residents during any housing transition?

Almost a year ago, I visited New Orleans and posed similar questions to HUD. I have yet to receive an adequate response to that inquiry.

There is no question that most displaced residents want to come back to their homes and apartments, but that is hardly possible if they return to a city with fewer affordable housing options available than it had before. I support the conversion to mixed income neighborhoods and greater economic integration, but such redevelopment plans must not be at the expense of adequate and improved housing options for the poor. No public housing should be demolished until HUD can point to an equivalent number of replacement units in the near vicinity.

Over the past two years, the federal government has failed the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. But there is still an opportunity to demonstrate that they are not forgotten. I urge you to reconsider the demolition of these housing units until there is a comprehensive plan to meet the region's extensive affordable housing needs. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama, United States Senator

To contact Sen. Barack Obama at his Washington, D.C., office, write to him at 713 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510, call (202) 224-2854, fax (202) 228-4260 or visit obama.senate.gov.

Attorney Bill Quigley, http://justiceforneworleans.org, reports: "U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent a letter to President Bush asking that he immediately stop the demolitions for 60 days to allow a congressional remedy. No word back from the president yet."

Bulletin from New Orleans: 3 public housing demolitions halted but only until Thursday

The Coalition to Stop the Demolitions would like to thank all of our allies and supporters throughout the United States and the world who came and stood with us in New Orleans or took action on the streets your city, or who called, emailed or faxed the New Orleans City Council, Mayor Ray Nagin, Sen. Vitter, the Senate Banking Committee members etc. Your support played a pivotal role in helping us attain the victories we accomplished last week in halting the demolition of three of the four major public housing locations in New Orleans.

However, the fight is far from over and we still need your help. Despite our victories in both state and federal courts last Friday, we recognize that it is quite possible that we might lose the City Council vote on Thursday, Dec. 20. We need to put pressure on each and every one of these City Council members now. Please stress outreach to Internally Displaced Persons in your area and encourage them to call as a priority.

In addition, the federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the residents of the St. Bernard was transferred from Washington, D.C., to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Based on his past behavior, we do not expect this judge will do anything to stop the demolitions.

What this means is that by Friday, December 21st we may realistically be engaging in our second wave of mass non-violent civil disobedience action. Should this be the case, we are going to need all of our allies and supporters everywhere to be ready yet again to take decisive action to stop these inhumane demolition orders.

Things we foresee as being critical this week:

• We need to blitz the City Council of New Orleans and demand
o That they vote NO to the demolitions, and
o That they hold a public hearing on the demolitions in the evening so that more working class people can participate. Information on how to contact the City Council is provided below.
• We need for all the people who can to come down to come down to
o Pack the City Council meeting on Thursday, Dec. 20,
o Be prepared to engage in non-violent civil disobedience in line with the residents' council principles and the coalition's pledge of resistance statement (see www.peopleshurricane.org for both documents). To engage in this initiative you must register with the coalition at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
o We would also like to encourage Black and other oppressed nationality organizers to come down and help us with outreach, base building and coalition building work over the course of the next several weeks.
• We need to continue pressuring Sen. David Vitter with calls, faxes and emails demanding that he support Senate Bill 1668 and allow the bill to move from the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to the Senate for a vote.
• We need to pressure Sen. Mary Landrieu to demand that the federal government via President George W. Bush and the Justice Department suspend the demolitions until the federal investigation of Alphonso Jackson is complete.
• We need to reframe the struggle to stop the demolition based on the demands of the Coalition (see below). To this end we need everyone to
o Write letters to the editor for your local news outlets,
o Blitz the major newsprint, TV and cable media networks and demand that they cover the issue, and
o Write articles on the issue based on the coalition's demands and post them to as many listserves, blogs and websites as you possibly can.

Finally, we need some resources to carry out this work. Some of the things we need resources for include:

• The "Stop Da Demolitions" mixtape made by Sess 4 - 5, Nuthinbutfire Records and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement for the Coalition to Stop the Demolitions. We need $1,400 to produce and print 2,000 CDs for youth outreach and education.
• We also need resources to help with transportation, food, and accommodations for both residents and volunteers.
• We need resources to cover the coalition's cell phone expense.
• We need resources to cover printing - flyers and posters.
• Finally, we need resource materials to produce banners and other mobilization props.

Donations can be made out to the Mississippi Disaster Relief Coalition (MDRC) and mailed to P.O. Box 31762, Jackson, MS 39286 . Please indicate on your donation "Coalition to Stop Demolitions." All donations are tax deductible.

Demands of the Coalition to Stop Demolitions
I. City Council needs to vote NO on demolition. The Council meeting should be moved to an evening time to accommodate people's schedules and allow a full public hearing on demolition before taking a vote.
II. The mayor needs to meet with the faith leaders who have requested a meeting with him about the housing crisis in the city
III. No demolitions - reopen the existing units and rebuild dignified housing at former public housing sites.
IV. Guarantee one-to-one replacement for all public housing residents.
V. All available public housing units should be made available for the homeless and those likely to face homelessness from the pending loss of rent vouchers and trailer recalls.
VI. The federal government needs to suspend demolition until the investigation of HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson and the contracting process is completed.
VII. Establish rent control to provide deeply affordable housing so that all will be able to return to the city.
VIII. Stop the privatization and gentrification of the city.

Resident Principles

I. All actions should be non-violent.
II. No alcohol or drug or weapon possession at any action.
III. No destruction or defacement of resident property.
IV. No coalition meetings without resident knowledge and input.
V. No media without residents or resident knowledge.
VI. Focus on defending public housing and affordable housing in the city for all.

City Council contact information

• Arnie Fielkow, (504) 658-1060, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Jacquelyn Clarkson, (504) 658-1070, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Stacy Head, (504) 658-1020, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Shelly Midura, (504) 658-1010, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• James Carter, (504) 658-1030, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, (504) 658-1040, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Cynthia Willard-Lewis, (504) 658-1050, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information, email Kali Akuno at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it For frequent updates, visit www.peopleshurricane.org and http://justiceforneworleans.org.

The Hurricane Information Relief Network is the Bay View newspaper's nonprofit 501(c)(3) project to provide information and news coverage by, for and about the Katrina survivors who remain stranded across the U.S. and those who want to return home to rebuild their lives and communities. Send news and financial contributions to HRIN, EIN 20-4324012, 4917 Third St., San Francisco CA 94124, (415) 671-0789 or toll free 1 (877) 226-8100, fax (415) 671-0316 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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