New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office is touting its latest court victory in its efforts to improve blighted property in a neighborhood hard hit by flooding after Hurricane Katrina.
The mayor's office said Tuesday that a judge has upheld a city code enforcement action against the Lake Terrace Shopping Center in the Gentilly neighborhood. The shopping center has been empty since the 2005 storm.
State District Judge Lloyd Medley Jr. affirmed the city's judgment that the property owned by DMK Acquisitions and Properties LLC is guilty of blight and being a public nuisance. The city says the ruling means the city can consider a number of legal actions, including seizing the property or demolishing it.
A lawyer for DMK's director was not immediately available for comment.
