New Orleans held its first community planning meeting Tuesday to redevelop the dormant?Lincoln Beach, the first of several to come as the project inches closer to reality.
About 50 people gathered inside Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans East to offer feedback and hear from Denver-based design consultant Sasaki and Associates Inc. on the next phases of the effort to reopen the beach, a historically-significant site that was a recreational venue for Black residents during the Jim Crow era. Decades of neglect followed after it was abandoned by the city in the 1960s.
“There are so many people who are very invested in what happens with Lincoln Beach,” New Orleans City Council member Helena Moreno said Tuesday.
Talks of revitalizing?the 15-acre site?along Lake Pontchartrain have long circulated among neighborhood and civic groups, picking up steam around the time Jazzland opened in New Orleans East in 2001.
But the lack of progress came to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic when a group of residents began documenting clean-up efforts on social media and essentially reopened the beach themselves.?
People began to flock to the area and relax on the newly cleaned beach after receiving instructions?for where to park and how to climb over the railroad tracks.?Vendors lined up on the weekends to sell items.
As the site boomed in popularity, Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration issued an assessment in 2021 which cleared the area for redevelopment. Last year, the City Council approved a measure to set aside $25 million for the project.
“We heard this loud and clear and appropriated the full amount to make sure this project was prioritized,” Moreno said.
Lincoln Beach is currently?closed to the public?with the city citing safety concerns such as poor access and dangerous wildlife. Cheryn Robles, a city environmental administrator, said in December they are hoping to have the beach open by early 2025.
Josh Brooks, a Sasaki manager, said?the project is currently in the beginning stage. Overall cost impacts and design details are expected to be completed by the end of the year.?
The beach existed as a recreational haven for Black people who were legally excluded from accessing the neighboring Pontchartrain Beach and other areas designated for White people. The city closed the beach in 1965.?
Brooks said they plan to respect the historical context and legacy by recreating the site using structural remnants left behind.
They envision the beach as a regional destination for people from the northshore to Jefferson Parish and an opportunity for greater economic growth in New Orleans East.
The beach is vulnerable to sea rise and erosion, Brooks said. Ensuring the area is environmentally resilient is a top priority during the planning process.?
Numerous people spoke Tuesday about the beach’s historical significance and shared concerns about traffic, crime, access for the elderly and disabled, environmental impact, and community investment.
"Lincoln Beach is my mother and my grandmother," said resident Dana Wilson, highlighting the need for a walkway and ease of access for the elderly who relied on the beach when they were shut out from White recreational spaces decades ago.
Wilson also spoke about crime concerns and the importance of safety measures for visitors and contractors working at the site.
“There is a high-crime presence where we’re going to rebuild. They walk around with machine guns. Is there going to be a (police) substation?” she said.
Monica Mullen said she wants to see underserved communities in the area benefit economically from the project.
"We all know in New Orleans the natives get walked over. We always end up in the same place when it's time to make some money," she said.?