Scott Barron, President
Jay Dufour, Vice-President
Sandy Juarez, Secretary
Nicole Dufour, Treasurer

CUNA has done some great things since our founding in 2006, including the following 2008 milestones:
• Participated in city-wide planning efforts in support of the Master Plan.
• Assisted in the Expansion of the National Historic District of Carrollton to include the CUNA area.
• Organized a successful Night Out Against Crime Block Party at University Village.
• Received free trees from Park Way Partners for neighbors to plant along streets.
• Organized volunteers to survey the blighted properties remaining in the neighborhood.
• Obtained 501(c)4 tax-exempt ruling from the IRS
• Held campaign forums and keep in touch with local politicians to promote our neighborhood.
• Received $18,000 grant for upcoming traffic study on S. Claiborne at University Village (Calhoun St.)
• Quarterly meetings keep residents informed of our progress on various projects.

We look forward to building on our progress in 2009!

As discussed during our last general meeting October 30, CUNA will be conducting a traffic study on South Claiborne Avenue between Nashville and Broadway, made possible by an $18,000 grant we received earlier this year from the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Denis Finegan, the traffic engineer for the project, was present at the meeting and shared with us a presentation outlining the process, which you can view by clicking on the link below:

traffic-study-presentation_10_08

For additional details, please see the October 30 meeting minutes at the link to the left.

This link includes some useful websites for hurricane preparedness, which hopefully we will not need:

Link

The next City of N.O. Recycling drop-off event is Saturday, Nov 15th and Saturday, Dec. 6 from 9:00 am until noon. Orleans Parish locations: on the East Bank at N. Claiborne Avenue and St. Peters Street; on the West Bank at the public library at General DeGaulle and Holiday Avenue. For info dial 311 or call 658-2299 or see the flyer below.
Recycling Drop Off Info

CUNA once again hosted the Night Out Against Crime gathering in the University Village on Calhoun Street (3100 block). We enjoyed great food, music, family-friendly entertainment with our neighbors and friends!

Times-Picayune columnist Stephanie Bruno points out our “area is rich in house variety and quality”:

THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The Claiborne/University area, which the neighborhood association has defined as stretching from Freret Street on the south to Earhart Boulevard on the north and from Jefferson Avenue on the east to Broadway Street on the west. It encompasses parts of several historic districts but has a character all its own. My Street Walk visits the area between Fontainebleau Street and Claiborne Avenue, Nashville Avenue and Calhoun Street.

THE BLOCK: The 3300 to 3700 blocks of State Street Drive, on the downtown side.

THE HOUSES: A colorful mix of early 20th-century houses that includes Arts and Crafts bungalows, several duplexes and a scattering of Mediterranean revival houses. One house has elements of the Tudor revival style.

To read the rest of the article, click here:

CUNA has received one of 19 grants awarded by the Greater New Orleans Foundation to help bring to life some of the neighborhood recovery projects envisioned in the Unified New Orleans Plan for rebuilding the city after Hurricane Katrina.  We received $18,500 to conduct a traffic study for South Claiborne Avenue between Nashville and Broadway Avenues.  Our goals are to improve pedestrian and driver safety, slow traffic flow, and improve access to University Village, the business district on Calhoun Street, which was a focus of our post-Katrina planning efforts.  CUNA and the traffic study consultants will be hosting a meeting with residents to gather our concerns, so we will keep you posted!

One June 2, approximately 40 volunteers from the Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church youth choir in Knoxville, Tennessee canvassed the entire CUNA neighborhood to note blighted, unrepaired, and/or unoccupied properties.  The results of this survey will be provided to city inspectors to accelerate the application of the city’s new housing code.  As lagniappe, the group beautified the traffic island at the intersection of State St. and Willow. 

The bigger than life Root Beer mug at Ted’s Frostop has gotten a facelift. Since 1955, the cultural icon that soared high in the air along South Claiborne Avenue fell off its sign pole during Hurricane Katrina landing upside down. To remember the event, Ann Marie and Adam Battle of Painting-Renovations were commissioned by owner Chuck Pamelia, at the request of the original owner Ted Sternberg, to restore the mug in its upside down position near where it landed after the storm. True to the quirky twists of fate that makes New Orleans unique, the upside down mug has become the new logo of Ted’s and serves as a reminder that New Orleanians will always find humor in all things.

Other University Village business owners have beautified the area with attractive street plantings, benches, and café tables. Please patronize your local businesses on the strip: Papa John’s, Calhoun Superette, Code 3 Police Supply, Robert’s Bar, Marion’s Cleaners, Crescent Lotus Dance Studio, Bubba’s Haircuts, and Forstall Art Supply and more.