Sept 21: 2 hour meeting with Road Home program advisor.
October 9th: Inspection at my home.
Jan 3rd: finally received grant award letter (I expected $115,000-$150,000 but letter says my grant award will be $43,000.)
Jan 4th: after 30 minutes on hold got cut off when as they transferred me to an advisor to discuss my concerns (as the grant letter suggested). Called back and left a message on an answering machine that said my call would be returned within 2 days.
Jan 5th: called and left message on an answering machine
Jan 8th: called and left message on an answering machine (after first getting cut off)
Jan 9th: called and left message on an answering machine
Jan 10th: called and left message on an answering machine (after first getting cut off)
Jan 11th: called and left message on an answering machine (after first getting cut off)
Jan 12th: Ditto
Jan 15th: Ditto
Jan 16th: Ditto
Jan 17th: Ditto, but I also sent them a letter.
Jan 18th: called and left message on an answering machine
Jan 18th: called and left message on an answering machine
Jan 22nd: Ditto
Jan 22nd: Ditto
Jan 23rd: Ditto
Jan 24th: Called and spoke to Monica, yea! She told me that they received my letter and that I should expect a revised grant award letter. However, the revised numbers only addressed one of my concerns and I asked her to review the calculations again. As we were wrapping things up, my connection (perhaps my cell phone) ended. I called right back and got through again! I was not allowed to speak to Monica again, but I spoke to Ewell, who was able to confirm that Monica had input the information that I should expect a new calculation, and that another inspector would call me to come out to the house. He was not able to tell me when that might happen.
Congratulations Governor Blanco…I am home (in the upstairs of my house and have caught two rats so far in the gutted downstairs), but if my appeal doesn’t result in a lot more grant money, I am about to decide to leave again. I WILL GIVE GOVERNOR BLANCO ALL OF THE ADDITIONAL MONEY I AM ABLE TO RECEIVE IF SHE WILL RESIGN BY THE END OF THIS MONTH!!!
UPDATE 6/22/07: While standing on the White House lawn on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 while waiting for Kermit Ruffins and his band to come back from their photo opportunity with President Bush, I received a phone call from the Road Home program reviewing the numbers with me, asking which option I was taking, and letting me know that I should receive a phone call within 3 weeks to schedule a closing. I actually received the call to schedule the closing on Thursday, June 21st, and my closing is scheduled for next week. I was told by the woman who scheduled my closing that I should have the money within 2 weeks after the closing. It has been a long, long, wait and there are still tens of thousands of more people waiting, but it will sure be a big relief when the money comes.
Sorry about all of the stupid and obvious Freudian slips in my comment before (‘home’ for ‘hope’). If you leave, the regional politicians win you know.
You’re the founding president of Basin Street Records. Meaning, you can’t leave New Orleans. What about the students at Loyola? More, don’t let them push you out.
don’t.
I don’t want to live anywhere except New Orleans and that is why I am putting up with rats in the downstairs of my home, a gutted first floor, and a neighborhood that only has 90 families out of 290. But if I don’t receive enough money to help me rebuild a home that was destroyed by government error, I don’t know that I will stay.
Mark, i passed thru Lakeview last weekend and man, was I devasted as it is. It is even more unrecognizable than the October after the storm. Houses burnt, probably cause they had no flood insurance, homes collapse, then, poof, a brand new “mansion” and a cardboard version of a duplex.
It was dis-orientating. So much so that I had no idea where I was cause there were no roads, no street signs and nothing but destruction, that I ran into someone. Did not even see them or one of the “paths” that remain. I agree with you. As much as we all have new orleans as our home, Austin has order, even though it is in Texas. More and more peeps continue to move here. My hats off to you for staying and working hard to make it work. The toxicity is too great for me in my condition, esp where you are. God bless you and your family, and business Mark. Guess you gotta stay drunk like I saw most “homies” and out of the war-torn areas. Oh, but your house is in one. I heard today that the corp of engineer has no plan to really strengthen the levee due to some geograhic slide of that area. That would not be for 30-40 years but still. come back man and let’s work on bring the nola to austin. They already call it “Nawstin”
Oh I must say Nawstin sounds damned tempting. And maybe it’s not a bad idea to have the richest people taken up by a landslide (if enough of us pray?) because they will move in. They will have their fine boutiques and one high school kid playing his clarinet on a stoop. It’s not a day I wait for, so much as the rats will and readily.
I hate greed is what I am saying, and I want just to strengthen you and real NOLA residents.
be well
-ginab