Few people are aware – or maybe even care – that June is National Homeownership Month, but it would definitely be a conversation starter for residents of a neighborhood in New Iberia who show their appreciation of their homes, and those of their neighbors, on a regular basis. The four-street area nicknamed Lil’ Brooklyn has gone through a transformation that has enhanced the neighborhood’s image, home values and resident pride.

It’s amazing to think that in three years, Lil’ Brooklyn went from an area of distressed housing to a cheerful place of Caribbean-colored homes, with porches that people wave from and flower or vegetable gardens that they enjoy for the first time. 

The Lil’ Brooklyn Neighborhood Initiative started because two Iberia residents, Anne Darrah and Tammy DeBiasi, took the first steps to make it happen, literally walking door to door in 2020 to see if residents wanted trees, obtained from a grant, planted in their yards. Tree planting grew to doing yard work, which evolved into other handywork and painting homes. 

What’s amazing is that the work that has recaptured the spirit of this neighborhood began with strangers helping strangers. What began with the help of some Boys and Girls Scouts has grown into troops of volunteers from all around New Iberia – and further afield.

At the beginning of this year, 100 high schoolers from Highland Baptist School, along with teachers, dug a drainage swale for one new homeowner. They trimmed shrubs, weeded and mulched for another and still made time to visit a 90-year-young former schoolteacher. Students from New Iberia Senior High have made shutters for homes. Artists have hand painted chairs and tables for front porches. A few handrails have been built for the elderly. 

Kenny Wright, pastor of New Iberia Church of Christ, has helped coordinate volunteers from his church and others like Buckingham Road Church of Christ in Garland, TX, the New Braunfels Church of Christ, and West University Church of Christ and Westbury Christian High School, both in Houston.

Josh Hatfield, youth minister of Westbury recalls his first year as youth minister last year when he brought a group of students to Lil’ Brooklyn. “We drove our school’s bus from Houston. Many residents would walk up amazed and thanked us for what we were doing. They were so appreciative that high school kids gave up some of their spring break to paint two homes and do yard work for people they didn’t know.”

But Evelyn Carr, one of those students at Westbury, says, “Helping those in need really made me feel grateful for all the little things I have. The community of New Iberia was so generous and hospitable; they opened up their homes to us and took off vacation days to cook for us.”

Jerry Lafayette, whose daughter bought him a home in Lil’ Brooklyn just over a year ago, is one of the best examples of neighbor helping neighbor. As a full-time carpenter, he did his own renovations to the home, but volunteers helped with painting, gardening work and planting trees. “All sorts of people came and helped me out,” he remembers fondly “and that took me to heart, and I made a pledge to live for others.” In return, on weekends, Lafayette has repaired and painted homes for Lil’ Brooklyn residents. “When it froze this winter, I helped fix busted pipes,” he adds. “It gives me joy to help others, and I believe that it helps me stay healthy.”

James Dunlap, a retired professor and Lil’ Brooklyn resident since 2010, has been chronicling the progress of the neighborhood’s revitalization from the beginning with his photographs.  Although he has more than 110 pictures, some stick out in his mind more than others.  “A group from the Church of Christ was cleaning the property for a Korean war veteran who’s in a wheelchair,” he recalls. “The man was so grateful. I took a photo of him and the volunteers that, to me, really illustrates someone in the community needing assistance and others reaching out to provide it with no payment other than a handshake and a smile.”

Dunlap says he’s noticed more people buying homes in the neighborhood and a couple have been converted to Airbnb’s. “I don’t think that would have happened had the Lil’ Brooklyn project not occurred,” he points out.

And Pastor Wright comments that,“Other parts of town are looking at what’s being done in Lil’ Brooklyn to take it across the bayou.”

Confirming positive outcomes of the non-profit community group, Darrah says that she and DeBiasi have been contacted by City of Abbeville officials for information on the Initiative’s successes.

Since 2020, nearly 30 homes have been revitalized in the Lil’ Brooklyn neighborhood. Now that this “little red engine” has momentum, the first phase of the Initiative will be winding down, and volunteers will finish painting homes this summer. Residents have been empowered to learn the skills they need to take over and help each other – as was the intent. Phase two of the project has already been set in motion: revealing a rich history of this first African American neighborhood in New Iberia. 

“We believe that Lil’ Brooklyn’s history is an important narrative that deserves to be preserved,” says DeBiasi, grants writer and a third-generation resident of Henry Street. “The general public is not aware of the incredible people and the impact they had on the community and overall on society, from activists who overturned the law so that African Americans could attend LSU medical school and others in the Civil Rights movement, to musicians. It is an incredible journey and a story that needs to be told and appreciated.”

That is why, on behalf of Lil’ Brooklyn, DeBiasi applied for and received a $25,000 grant for the “Telling the Full History” Preservation Fund from the National Endowment of Humanities. The one-time grant gives financial support for the research and preservation of historic places of importance across the nation that illuminate narratives of underrepresented groups of people – like Gustave Fontenette.

Fontenette was among the early influential musical figures of New Iberia. He founded the Banner Orchestra of New Iberia, considered to be the best big ensemble in the area during the early 1900s. His home will be the first to be restored under the grant, with others to follow as they qualify.

For Althea Battle, Fontenette’s granddaughter, the historic restoration of the home – where she grew up – would be a dream come true for the family. “My grandfather’s legacy was establishing the Banner Orchestra and band, which was so instrumental in jazz in the early 1900s. This is a great way to honor his contribution to Louisiana music,” she says.

Another important goal of the grant is to have the Lil’ Brooklyn neighborhood, as a whole, be designated a National Historic District, which is pending approval of an application that has been sent to the National Historic Trust. As Darrah awaits word, she looks back at the past three years and says, “We’ve accomplished so much. Establishing the Lil’ Brooklyn Neighborhood Initiative, along with Tammy, has been an incredible life experience for me, and one of which I am very proud. Each neighbor and volunteer brought their gifts to the organization, and together we were made stronger. Painted houses is what people see, but the real magic is people coming together, neighbors helping neighbors.” ■