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

Importing fracked gas during a trade war undermines Canada’s energy security, environmentalists warn premier.

Importing fracked gas during a trade war undermines Canada’s energy security, environmentalists warn premier.
on

The multi-millionaire Brexit funder has claimed “CO2 and climate change is the ultimate hoax”.

The multi-millionaire Brexit funder has claimed “CO2 and climate change is the ultimate hoax”.
on

The appointment of Filip Turek to a new rapporteur position is a “disaster” for the integrity of EU climate policy, say campaigners.

The appointment of Filip Turek to a new rapporteur position is a “disaster” for the integrity of EU climate policy, say campaigners.
on

On stage at a PragerU fundraiser, the Alberta premier, under fire for allegedly encouraging U.S. leaders to influence Canadian politics, said 'I come in peace'.

On stage at a PragerU fundraiser, the Alberta premier, under fire for allegedly encouraging U.S. leaders to influence Canadian politics, said 'I come in peace'.