The Man Who Can’t Be Stopped
“The system. The city. That’s been my biggest obstacle. We could've had this place finished. We coordinated. We had a group of volunteers ready to come and paint this place. Some of them were even wanting to supply the paint. That could be done in a few days, you know? But, the city says stop the work.”
Dwayne Johnson is a sixty-two year-old retired general contractor who was born and raised in New Orleans. Amidst trying to facilitate a group of college student-volunteers helping rebuild his son’s home in the Lower Ninth Ward, Mr. Johnson explains why, almost ten years after hurricane Katrina, his son’s house remains uninhabitable. The city, specifically the Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC), has strict guidelines about construction work done on historical buildings. Because Mr. Johnson’s son’s house falls within the historical district of St. Claude and North Claiborne Avenues (City of New Orleans Rebuilding Plans, Pg. 8), it falls within the city’s rights to restrict rebuilding efforts of the house until the building plans are approved (HDLC Guidelines, Pg. 3). Gazing at his son’s house with people walking in and out carrying various tools, Mr. Johnson forlornly reflects, “We could’ve had all these windows in, scraped up and painted and nailed, but they said stop it. And, if I had done anything else it would’ve been in direct violation when I know they told me don’t do this.” According to the HDLC guidelines handbook, “Once a Stop of Work Order has been issued, the application process can be costly in time and money…Non-compliance can result in daily fines and liens against the property” (12). Mr. Johnson’s son received one of these orders due to three violations: The beaded plywood on the front exterior of the house is facing the wrong direction, the siding on the house is two inches too wide, and the vertical wood corner boards are five inches too wide. Rather than being able to use any materials to quickly make a house habitable after a devastating natural disaster, citizens in the historical Holy Cross neighborhood must maintain the original façade of their homes, demonstrating one aspect of how the local government acts as a barrier to rebuilding. Mr. Johnson speculated that this barrier he is fighting derives from ignorance:
Then again that’s like blatant arrogance on behalf of the system or the people that’s in the system, because they don't care, because they're all comfortable. They don't care whether you comfortable or not. It’s just about them...The slightest inconvenience to them will make them understand what’s going on with you.