A Forgotten Community in New Orleans: Life on a Superfund Site

Julie-Dermansky-022
on

Shannon Rainey lives in a house that was built on top of a Superfund site in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

I bought my house when I was 25, and thirty years later, I still can’t get out,” she told DeSmogBlog.

Rainey’s home in Gordon Plaza is part of a subdivision developed by the city in 1981 on top of the Agriculture Street landfill. No one disclosed to the buyers that their new homes were built on top of a dump that was closed in 1965.

Rainey has a view of two other city-owned properties also built on the landfill: the shuttered Morton Elementary School and Press Park, an abandoned housing project developed by the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO).

 “If it were white folks back here, this would be all gone,” Rainey says bluntly.

Julie-Dermansky-022
Julie Dermansky is a multimedia reporter and artist based in New Orleans. She is an affiliate scholar at Rutgers University’s Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights. Visit her website at www.jsdart.com.

Related Posts

on

Business leader says government tax credit for oil and gas ‘extends the life of Canada’s largest industrial sector.’

Business leader says government tax credit for oil and gas ‘extends the life of Canada’s largest industrial sector.’

New report by DeSmog and Drilled reveals extent of commercial partnerships between trusted outlets and Big Oil.

New report by DeSmog and Drilled reveals extent of commercial partnerships between trusted outlets and Big Oil.
on

The former chancellor will reportedly take over as the chairman of the newspaper if it is sold to an investment fund backed by the Gulf state.

The former chancellor will reportedly take over as the chairman of the newspaper if it is sold to an investment fund backed by the Gulf state.

From ‘innovation sprints’ to spritzers, polluting agri-giants have so many ways to influence climate outcomes.

From ‘innovation sprints’ to spritzers, polluting agri-giants have so many ways to influence climate outcomes.