Filmore Gardens Neighborhood Association

P.O. Box 820180, New Orleans, Louisiana 70182 filmore.gardens@yahoo.com Fax: (504) 944-8149 Facebook: Filmore Gardens Improving Filmore Gardens One Block At A Time

2011 FGNA Officers

President
Gloria DeCuir-Robert, MSW, RSW filmore.gardens@yahoo.com decuirrobert@yahoo.com (504) 430-3041

August 12, 2011 Ms. Nicole Hobson-Morris Executive Director Louisiana State Office of Historic Preservation 1051 North Third Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 Dear Ms. Hobson-Morris, As president of Filmore Gardens Neighborhood Association, it is my pleasure to express support for the nomination of the New Orleans Levee Breach Sites at the 17th Street and Industrial Canal for listing in the prestigious National Register of Historic Places. A lifelong native of Gentilly in New Orleans, I bore witness to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the devastating impact the levees failures had on the city, specifically, in my back yard on the London Avenue Canal levee that breached in three places. Now serving as president of Filmore Gardens, I can testify to the still unfinished efforts to recuperate from that fateful day the levees failed. Listing these two levee breach sites will serve as a permanent reminder of the devastating impact to New Orleans, our state and our nation. It would be an important avenue for the impacted residents to preserve and remember their history. These sites of civil engineering failure also serve as a warning to the nation to ensure levee systems are designed, built and maintained properly. Major policy changes regarding levees and floodwalls have been implemented not only in Louisiana, but throughout the nation. These breach sites, and the nearly four dozen others have prompted the passage by Congress in 2007 of the first ever National Levee Safety Act which called for a nationwide levee inventory and the establishment of a levee safety program. Also in 2007, Congress passed reform measures to the Army Corps of Engineers. These changes may directly affect the 55% of the American population who live in counties protected by levees. If you have any questions regarding this letter, you are welcome to contact me at your convenience. Yours truly,

Vice President
Gwendolyn M. Charles, R.Ph, LCSW gemcharles@aol.com (504) 481-1997

Treasurer
Kimberly Smith-Jones, MS kdsmithjones1@yahoo.com (504) 606-6780

Secretary
Jeanne Eddington jboucre@aol.com (504) 400-8603

Parliamentarian Rev. Lionel Davis, Sr. Administrators Past President

Fay Kaufman, BA (2006-2009) fdaka33@yahoo.com (504) 309-8148 (H)

Administrator-Technology
Tracey Henry, BS, AAS traceyahenry@juno.com (504) 818-4300

Community Outreach
Northeast Quadrant Leader Todd Theriot Todd.theriot@IHG.com (504) 214-6970 Northwest Quadrant Leader Sandy Duckworth (504) 234-5020 Southeast Quadrant Leader Kimberly Smith-Jones Southwest Quadrant Leader Fay Kaufman Chaplain Rev. Lionel Davis, Sr. pbcpastordavis@bellsouth.net (504) 491-3215

Gloria DeCuir-Robert
Gloria DeCuir-Robert President, Filmore Gardens Neighborhood Association

Boundaries: Elysian Fields AvenueMirabeau AvenueWarrington DrivePrentiss Street

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22