Bywater, New Orleans, a Once-Industrial Neighborhood With a Funky Vibe
Although only a 15 minute walk from the bacchanalia of Bourbon Street, Bywater feels like a calm retreat, where you can once again hear the chatter of birds and the ticking of bikes bouncing over erratically patched cement. Bywater extends beyond the historic district, but opinions on its boundaries vary, even among locals. It is made up of a colorful architectural blend of one-story shotgun houses and Creole cottages packed cozily together. Along the river, worn wharves hint at the neighborhood's industrial past when longshoremen lived there and unloaded tropical fruit. While the makeup of the neighborhood was racially diverse, 'what most folks had in common was their economic class,' as working or middle class residents, said Richard Campanella, a geographer and author with the Tulane University School of Architecture who lived in Bywater for 15 years.
Through the years, Bywater's population has been shaped by enslavement, migration and gentrification. By the late antebellum era, Black people who were free outnumbered the enslaved population by a three-to-one ratio. In the 1960s, integration of public schools triggered an exodus of white residents, and Bywater became mostly Black. In 2005, the neighborhood was largely spared the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina, and this set the stage for the area's ongoing gentrification. In 2000, 61 percent of Bywater residents were Black and 32 percent were white. By 2023, those numbers had nearly flipped, according to census data.
N. ROMAN ST.
Louisiana
LOUISIANA
New Orleans
PRESS ST.
New Orleans
ST. CLAUDE
AVE.
Frederick A. Douglass
High School
POLAND
AVE.
MARIGNY
bywater
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Vaughan's
Lounge
CRESCENT
PARK
NSA
East Bank
Apartments
42 Bywater
10
FRENCH
QUARTER
Mississippi
River
Detail
area
BOURBON
ST.
1/2 mile
By The New York Times
Location: Along the left bank of the Mississippi River, east of the French Quarter and Marigny neighborhoods, from Press Street to Poland Avenue
Population: 3,600 in the Bywater statistical area, which extends beyond the historic district (2019-2023 American Community Survey)
Area: Approximately 120 blocks
Housing: Shotgun houses and Creole cottages, as well as some multifamily buildings and developing housing projects
The vibe: A funky, rapidly gentrifying neighborhood where dive bars and fine dining coexist, and biking with a boombox is popular.
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That review uncovered an 'unacceptable rate' of problems ranging from minor to 'potentially catastrophic.' 'Based on our recent audit, these deficiencies are systematic and endanger the paratroopers of [the 82nd] Airborne Division if uncorrected,' the investigation says. Riggers with the unit, the report found, may have removed and replaced the 5-foot extension lines for some of the paratroopers as they waited to load the C-17 at the airfield. Investigators found that soldiers were unclear on the rules governing parachute preparation. Several of the soldiers did not know who was allowed to make changes to the 5-foot extension line, where in the preparation process such a change could occur, or what the unit's standard operating procedure is for rigger checks at the airfield. Two soldiers, whose names were redacted, recalled previous incidents during which 5-foot extension lines were changed at the departure airfield prior to a jump. Another thought the line could be changed at the airfield if an air delivery officer gave permission to do so. The investigation determined that by replacing the 5-foot extension at the airfield, the riggers had violated their unit's standard operating procedure. But in response to a question from Task & Purpose on those procedures, Ricks said that the company's standard operating procedures at the time did allow certified riggers to replace the extension lines at the airfield, and that that replacement is allowed under the Army's technical manual for the T-11 parachute. The night Perez died, one soldier told investigators, a member of the rigger check team was emotional after the accident. 'I spoke with her and she asked me 'what's going to happen to the person that packed it?'' the soldier recounted. 'And I just told her that I don't know. At any rate, she seemed very emotional and concerned. Last week, I was talking with [REDACTED] and he told me she asked, 'so wait, only riggers are supposed to change out static lines — not [jumpmasters]?' That concerned me, given this incident. It made me think there was something she knew or saw while on rigger checks at JRTC that she wasn't saying.' Riggers in D Company told investigators that a lack of incentives available to soldiers in the unit can 'lead to burnout and low quality,' and that riggers who are out of the office for extended periods 'could use a refresher' when they return. An Airdrop Systems Technician warrant officer — an advisor to senior leadership about airborne operations — told investigators that when soldiers at the rigger check facility are caught cutting corners, they are retrained. However, some leaders showed a reluctance to decertify soldiers because they might file a complaint with the Army's Inspector General's Office or Equal Employment Opportunity program. Ricks said that prior to Perez's death, certified parachute riggers were allowed to replace extension lines 'for any technical or materiel concerns' for C-17 jumps. But 82nd Airborne officials now restrict such changes. 'As a result of this tragic training fatality, however, the [82nd] Airborne Division now limits this practice within the unit,' Ricks said. 'The Division's policy now requires replacement of the entire parachute and the first General Officer in the chain of command must approve any exception.' Retired Army Lt. Col. Francesca Graham, a former jumpmaster, told Task & Purpose that replacing the extension line at the airfield was 'a very extraordinary thing to happen,' adding that if she were in a similar situation, she would have opted to replace the entire parachute instead of just the extension line. When paratroopers are at the departure airfield, they are rushing to get onto their aircraft, Graham said. That means anyone who makes changes to parachutes under such time pressure is more likely to make an error than the riggers and packers preparing parachutes much further in advance, she said. 'It's kind of one of those things where it's like, how much risk are you willing to take?' Graham said. 'Like for me, there were numerous times when a reserve parachute had an issue with it, and so as the jumpmaster doing the inspection, I was like: 'Go get a new reserve.'' Graham was also struck that none of the jumpmasters interviewed for the investigation was able to say conclusively who — if anyone — had inspected Perez. If Perez did go through a JMPI prior to the jump, then the jumpmaster 'didn't see a major defect,' she added. 'At the point that someone dies or there's an incident, people's memories get real sharp, real quick,' Graham said. 'One of those jumpmasters should have been able to say: 'Yes, I inspected this jumper.'' 'There appeared to be leadership failures from start to finish at the jump,' Graham said. Following Perez's death, a company commander was fired 'for the systemic failures of oversight with parachute rigging activities and quality control,' and is currently assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's staff, Ricks said. Nine other officers, warrant officers, and noncommissioned officers were reprimanded, she said. Eight jumpmasters and five riggers were decertified after the fatal jump, Ricks said. Being decertified means that jumpmasters can no longer perform their duties and have to undergo retraining, including the proper way to inspect the 5-foot inspection line. All the soldiers who were decertified due to Perez's death have since been recertified after going through the refresher training and resumed their duties, Ricks said. The 82nd Airborne Division has made a number of changes to make sure that the failures leading up to Perez's death do not happen again, including sending the decertified jumpmaster to a refresher course and retraining the riggers, Ricks said. The Army Criminal Investigation Division, or CID, also investigated Perez's death, but closed its investigation after finding 'no probable cause […] to support any allegations of criminal misconduct,' Ricks said. Jose Perez said leaders in his son's unit had told him and his wife that five — not eight — jumpmasters had been decertified. Ricks was unable to explain the disparity. Both of Perez's parents said they are not satisfied with the information they have been provided about their son's death. Perez's mother Vanessa said that she is frustrated by the redactions in the copy of the 240-page investigation that she and her husband were provided. 'There's full sentences, full paragraphs that we're not able to read, and we wonder why,' she said. 'At times, I'm going to be honest with you, I feel like they're hiding something.' Perez, who carried a squad automatic weapon, weighed 340 pounds at the time of the jump, including his body weight and all his gear, the investigation found. 'He stressed it out to us how scared he was because of so much weight he had,' Vanessa Perez said. 'He expressed it to myself, my husband, his wife as well.' But Ricks said it was not unusual for a machine gunner Perez's size to be carrying so much weight during a parachute jump. 'The T-11 Main and T-11 Reserve parachutes weigh a combined 53 pounds,' Ricks said. 'SPC Perez's combat equipment — which included his ruck, weapons case, and weapon — weighed 104 pounds. [Three hundred and forty] pounds combined pounds is within the acceptable range for jumping combat equipment, and the T-11 Main canopy is authorized and rated to be jumped at a total rigged weight of 400 lbs.' The exercise marked Perez's ninth jump and fourth in full equipment and at night. The investigation also determined that Perez's exit from the C-17 was 'weak,' possibly due to 'paratrooper fatigue and the weight of his combat equipment.' He likely tumbled through the air as a result. The report also faulted Perez for not keeping his hand over the ripcord for his reserve parachute when he left the aircraft and for waiting too long to pull his reserve. But Graham said it was 'ludicrous' to blame Perez for not exiting the aircraft correctly, explaining that rather than jumping up and out as paratroopers are supposed to, he likely fell forward because of how much weight he was carrying. 'He's now tumbling in the air, which means that the static line is wrapping around him, and he has no idea what's going on,' Graham said. 'You're disoriented completely, and you probably have things wrapped around you as you fall forward.' 'It's a lot,' Graham said. 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