The Bywater Neighborhood Association Board responded to an op-ed written by a Bywater resident last week that argued nearby residents were left out of the planning process for renovations at Markey Park. According to BNA, the space was never sanctioned for off-leash dog use. Click through to read the full response:

Lead poisoning has posed a threat to humans ever since the Romans first started using it to supplement their drink. Whether due to a lack of funding, care, or both, inner cities have the most lead paint.  Unsurprisingly, New Orleans ranks at the top of the list for lead poisoning. For example, the Bywater's Markey Park recently closed for a period of time in 2011 after immense levels of lead were discovered. 

by Randi Kaufman

I’m a regular user of Mickey Markey Park, and have been bringing my dogs to the park daily since 2002. I remember when it was a bunch of overgrown weeds, and the broken down playground equipment was littered with used syringes and condoms.  

As we learned from Markey Park two years ago, some New Orleans playgrounds contain invisible threats deep within the soil. Today, the city announced they detected elevated lead levels in a section of Desmare Playground (3456 Esplanade) making it the next recreational area to undergo a temporary close until the Office of Coastal and Environmental Affairs tests the area.

If you’re a proud cyclist or just proud of your body, pump up your tires for New Orleans’ fourth annual World Naked Bike Ride. As NoDef’s Annika Mengisen pointed out last week in her op-ed piece, when it comes to nudity, this isn’t New Orleans’ first rodeo. But what makes this ride subversive isn’t all the flesh; it’s the stance against oil dependence and the plea for automobile drivers to share the road.

In Mexico folks call it chayote, and in the Caribbean it goes by christophene, but down in south Louisiana we know it as the mirliton. Whatever you call it, this little fruit is a big deal to many locals, though its reputation in the U.S. doesn’t extend far beyond the Gulf South.  

If you see a group of bikers pedaling naked tomorrow in the Bywater, don't worry. You didn't miss the boat on Midsummer Mom's Ball. You, too, can join in the NOLA edition of the World Naked Bike Ride. Starting at Markey Park in the Bywater tomorrow around 11 a.m, the peeled-off peloton will take to the streets. For this coordinated, global event, bare-assed biking isn't an end in itself. The ride also purports to expose the "vulnerability of cyclists, humanity and nature in the face of cars, aggression, consumerism and non-renewable energy." If that isn't the variety of nudity you were seeking, there's an after party at the Country Club. Check out the Ride's Facebook page!

by Emily Snyder

Sparked by recent action on the part of the organization NOLA Unleaded, and the subsequent closure and remediation of Markey Park, the City's Department of Health and Office of Coastal and Environmental Affairs has begun testing the lead levels in New Orleans parks. Howard Mielke, a Tulane University bioenvrionmental professor who has spent the last several decades telling the city which parks are contaminated with lead. Heeding the call that was spurred by parents around Markey Park, City officials are conducting their own tests.Three of the parks--Danneel, Taylor, and Annunciation--were immediately closed.

Between the time Laura Grenda's son began playing at Bywater's Mickey Markey Park when he was six months old and last month's closure of the park to remediate the "off the charts" levels of lead in the soil, all that changed was public awareness about the toxins.

Whether citizens or city officials noticed, the toxins were always there.

by Shay Sokol

“Billy! Don’t put that in your mouth” has a whole new meaning this week. Another dark cloud hovers over New Orleans as many of its playgrounds have been deemed hazardous to kids' health. Recent tests have found at least 37 city parks to have dangerous levels of lead in the soil. Markey Park in the Bywater has been closed for cleaning, which should take about a week. In six to eight weeks, NORD should finish sampling other parks.