Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative

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Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative

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New Orleans' community landtrust and housing rights organization!

NEIGHBORHOOD SNAPSHOT

The JPNSI service area, bounded by Tulane Avenue, Broad Street, Jefferson Davis Parkway, and the Lafitte Corridor, prior to Hurricane Katrina generally mirrored the same indicators of poverty and social inequality as the city of New Orleans overall. This neighborhood was home to a racially diverse community with African-American residents comprising nearly 67% of the population, whites 23% and Latinos 10% (as compared to 3% for the City as a whole). Over 72% of occupied units in the neighborhood were rental households, in contrast to 54% citywide and 32% statewide. Almost 33% of the residents in this area were living in poverty, including more than 50% of children under the age of 5. Like much of the City after Hurricane Katrina, most of the homes in the JPNSI community were damaged by floodwaters, with the entire community receiving 4 to 8 feet of flooding. In the past six years, the JPNSI community has witnessed a surge of dramatic changes, from the loss of much needed affordable housing in the area, to increased blight and vacancy, and ongoing speculative development in response to the medical complexes under construction. BioDistrict New Orleans encompasses most of the JPNSI footprint and has the right of eminent domain to acquire private property as it desires with little to no oversight and zero input from community members. The recent displacement of over 600 residents in the nearby lower Mid-City neighborhood as a result of the LSU and VA medical campuses and the increased housing cost in the area are all contributing to the increased pace of neighborhood change that’s displacing and disproportionately impacting low-income residents of color. While there are ongoing efforts to create affordable housing since the hurricanes, HUD’s 2009 New Orleans Metropolitan Area Housing Survey reports that there has been a decline of “mid-priced” rental units ($300-$600/month) from 66,300 in 2004 to just 19,300 in 2009. HUD estimates that the number of “worst case” renter households (who spend more than half their income on rent) grew by nearly 6,500 or 22 percent since 2004. Additionally, in a recent study by the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, 65% of renters spent at least 30% of their pre-tax income on housing and utility cost in 2008, and 41% of renters in Orleans Parish were severely cost burdened, spending 50% or more of their pre-tax income on housing and utility cost. As more new market-rate apartment complexes in Mid-City enter the housing market in direct response to the medical district and more people are encouraged to move to the area, the neighborhood change we are witnessing today will no doubt accelerate—thus making JPNSI’s mission of creating and preserving permanently affordable housing through the CLT model of shared equity much more necessary. JPNSI’s program activities are focused on affordable housing & land stewardship; community building initiatives; and equitable development advocacy.

10/23/2026

It’s been a big week for housing justice work in the media at Jane Place. Check out the work that we, our members, coalition partners and local journalists are doing to inform and protect tenants + hold public officials accountable.

(I.) Our Op-Ed in the The Lens With Partners: Protect Right to Counsel Funding

Working with our friends at Louisiana Fair Housing , members of the Big Easy Budget and the Right to Counsel Coalition, we co-wrote an op-ed about the need for Right to Counsel. Check it out and after you read it, please take action using Louisiana Fair Housing ‘s one click e-mail to contact your city council member by clicking the link in our Linktree. Read the article in our linktree (check out the linktree link in our bio).

(II.) Shady Safety and Permits Employee grants illegal STRs licenses from WDSU

We and our STRONG (Short-Term Rental Opposition in Neighborhoods Group) Coalition have long suspected corruption and shenanigans in how STR licenses are given out. However, now there’s evidence of something strange. On May 5th, it was discovered, allegedly, that the employee was manipulating data to give out illegal STR licenses at the expense of the increasing erosion of the quality of life and affordable housing shortage that our neighborhoods are dealing with! “Elisha Collier is allegedly accused of using her City computer credentials to improperly generate short-term rental licenses, including a license for a property in the French Quarter, where short-term rentals are prohibited.” Read the article in our linktree (check out the linktree link in our bio).

(III.) The disturbing eviction rates under Justices of the Peace Article from the

In the vast majority of the state outside of Orleans Parish and a few other cities, most tenants face eviction under a “Justice of the Peace” rather than a judge who has substantial legal training and education. These “Justices of the Peace” are funded by eviction filings and they can essentially “set” their salaries as high as they like. A Justice of the Peace in Metairie, Justice Charles V Cusimano makes more almost more than $400,000! That’s more than Governor Landry, Mayor Helena Moreno or Jeff

10/14/2026

We’ve been swamped since last Thursday, but whoa! What a show of force, of solidarity and power! Thank you to everyone who came to our rally and press conference. Also, thank you to folks who stuck around and spoke at the budget hearing on both Right to Counsel AND the Low Barrier Shelter. We’ll announce next steps soon, but for now please contact your city councilmember to ask for Right to Counsel to be fully funded.

Thanks you to Vera Institute of Justice and our fellow partners in the Big Easy Budget coalition for coming out, speaking and supporting this work. Also, big thanks to our members and New Orleans Renters Rights Assembly who spoke their truths at the rally!

10/07/2026

TOMORROW morning at 8:30am at City Hall (FREE breakfast provided)!

Protect renters rights and our wins in this city! Stop the slumlords and come to an emergency rally and press conference before the budget hearing tomorrow on:
- the lower barrier shelter
- right to counsel
- other critical social spending measures on youth, elders, families, veterans and disabled individuals. Don’t balance the budget on the backs of working-class New Orleanians!

Take action: send an e-mail today via the link in our story or via Louisiana Fair Housing ‘s story and bio link.

09/30/2026

Right to Counsel is under attack! The budget has literally been zeroed out, washed out of existence. So in one week, on Thursday, October 8th at 8:30am to 9:30am, the Right to Counsel Coalition is calling for an emergency rally and press conference in front of City Hall (1300 Perdido St) that will feature renters, homeless individuals, and allies speaking about the critical need for more renters rights services and other issues that matter to them. We speak loudly and together as we don’t balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable in our communities.

Don’t let slumlords win, join us and fight for right to counsel! For more info, please e-mail Frank at [email protected] or text 504-517-5470.

09/08/2026

It’s budget season and decisions must be made. Will our elected officials prioritize the needs of residents or waste money on programs that don’t empower, better, and support the growth of the average resident? You can have a say in all of this by attending one of the 7 budget hearings happening starting tomorrow! Every City Council district has at least one budget meeting. Attend the one in your district with your friends at the Big Easy Budget if you can, but no worries if the day doesn’t work for you. To learn more, find the one closest to you in the graphic above.

08/28/2026

Give 8/28 is here. This is an annual celebration and fundraiser to support Black led organizations that are doing work to fight for housing, educational, economic, and political justice. We are so excited to update you on a project that has been a goal since our founding in 2008. We are getting closer to building our office, community meeting space, and three more affordable apartments on Jane Place! Check out the updated render. Reducing the funding gap for this $2.024 million project will help ensure that we can break ground in the fall!

This project is an important milestone in the evolution of Jane Place. Please consider contributing to our campaign. No contribution is too small! Donations will be accepted through midnight tonight, August 28th. Click below to give ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://www.give828.org/organization/Jane-Place-Neighborhood-Sustainability-Initiative

08/20/2026

We’re excited to say that Right to Counsel will be funded through the remainder of the year! After the Moreno administration randomly let community members know that it was on the chopping block, advocates, tenants, and other organizations came together to have conversations with City Councilmembers to preserve funding for the program. We are glad that the funding for 2026 was preserved, but we are gearing up to fight for it in 2027! That fight begins tomorrow and you can participate by:
- Talking to your neighbors and canvassing!
- Phone banking Renters Rights Assembly and Jane Place members!
- Attending city budget events!
- Having one of our folks come and talk to your church, school, neighborhood association or even carnival krewe! We’ll talk to anyone and everyone!
- Joining us at the Big Easy Budget Coalition’s townhall (details to be announced soon!) and working with your fellow New Orleanians to preserve all critical programs facing brutal cuts!

Send us a DM if you’re interested in getting involved! Full story on The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com

P.S. Shoutout to Mr. Larry for speaking out! We love you buddy! Also, thank you to our friends at Louisiana Fair Housing and Southeast LA Legal Services for all the critical work they do to protect tenants and for sharing wise words today!

08/04/2026

Here’s the deal, Right to Counsel is a program that has had broad support by all elected officials in our city. From our former mayor, LaToya Cantrell to our former City Council President, Helena Moreno, many have supported this essential and critical program. Right to Counsel is as essential of a program as the fire department or library. If we as a city are going to stop the rising tide of homelessness, then we must ensure and protect this vital program as a prevention tool!

07/31/2026

It’s pretty alarming to hear about the destruction of a program and project that benefits half of all New Orleanians. Due to the shock of it all, many questions remain since the article came out last weekend regarding Right to Counsel being underfunded. A few we got are below:

- Why are we, the community, learning mid-year that a critical and vital program is underfunded?

- Why are we, the community, not hearing about comprehensive plans to fund this program from the city?

- Why is it that a program that represents less than 0.1% of the city’s budget (and about 0.3% of the city’s general fund) is being slashed by 50% for the second time two years in a row?

Fact: Without Right to Counsel, the slumlords win. We must ask more questions, come together and fight to protect Right to Counsel TODAY!
What questions do you have?

P.S. Look out for solidarity requests to join in on the fight!

07/27/2026

New Orleans Renters Rights Assembly and Jane Place member, Mr. Larry Lung was interviewed as a part of the shocking discovery that Right to Counsel hasn’t been properly funded.

The idea of a Right to Counsel program came from both New Orleans Renters Rights Assembly and JPNSI, New Orleans members. We worked with our friends at Louisiana Fair Housing and various other groups to get it pass in 2021.

We have no clue how much is missing from the city’s budget, but a few things are true:
- right to counsel was birthed after the incredibly defiant and successful eviction court shutdown and city hall barricade action due to the lack of resources afforded to renters.
- It created opportunities for middle-class renters and individuals with complicated documentation to get eviction prevention services and help.
- It provided a relief valve for city workers who were overburdened with calls for help from working-class tenants in our city.
- Most importantly, it’s one of the most important tools for protecting Black mothers facing housing legal issues.

Rest assure, our membership, coalition partners and community will fight this.

Right to Counsel funding will be restored by any means necessary: that’s a promise.

Address

200 S. Broad Street, Ste. 204
New Orleans, LA
70119

Telephone

+15047991704

Website

http://www.jpnsi.org/, https://kieferandkiefer.com/gives/, https://linktr.ee/JanePlaceCLT

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