Being just outside the Orleans Parish line, Friscoville was at the time easily accessible by the Canal Street Car Line.
The clubs were frequently raided by the authorities. One such raid was noted by the Associated Press in 1928, under governor Huey P. Long
Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...
. Upon learning of the re-opening of two clubs in Arabi, he delivered the request to have the clubs raided by the National Guard in person:
Names of 225 persons found in the two places, the Jai-Alai Fronton and the Arabi Club, located just outside the New Orleans city limits, were taken for future reference. The patrons, many of whom were women, were released after being questioned.
Neil Simmes, staff photographer for the Time Picayune, was attacked and beaten by about fifty men as he attempted to take a picture. Guardsmen rescued him. He was unconscious when found. Three officers and five men went to the Jai-Alai
Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also oft ...
Club and two officers and five men to the Arabi Club. The establishments face each other on the same street.
Heavily armed, the soldiers entered the clubs, women screamed and several fainted. A shot rang out, believed to have been fired by a sentry on guard to warn the gamblers of what was taking place. There was a quick grab for money on the gaming tables. Order was restored in a few moments.
In a bonfire this afternoon the gambling paraphernalia that was flammable was burned. The remainder was hacked to bits with axes....
These establishments continued to operate until 1952, when they were shut down as part of a statewide crackdown on illegal gambling after the appointment of United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
Francis Grevemberg
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
* Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
* Rural ...
as superintendent of the Louisiana State Police
The Louisiana State Police (French: Police d’Etat de Louisiane) is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department of P ...
.
Historic areas
The '' St. Bernard Voice'', a local paper, began publishing in the late 19th century, and still is produced from a small building on
Mehle Street, near the Mississippi river in what was the original settlement.
Most of the area was declared a
historic district in the 1970s, including the original St. Bernard Jail, and the remains of the
LeBeau Plantation (destroyed by arson November 22, 2013).
Hurricane Betsy
Hurricane Betsy swept over the New Orleans area on the evening of September 9, 1965. Betsy caused a strong storm surge in the
Mississippi River Gulf Outlet
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Missis ...
, a deep-water shipping channel to the east and south of New Orleans. Arabi and Chalmette are in St. Bernard Parish east and below New Orleans on the east bank of the Mississippi River. All of St. Bernard parish is sandwiched between the MRGO and the Mississippi River.
The storm surge over topped levees along the channel and on both sides of its terminus at the Industrial Canal in the Ninth Ward. There may have also been a breach of the Back Protection levee along Florida Avenue. The flooding covered areas of Gentilly and both the upper and lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. The flooding spread to the east and inundated most of Arabi (except for areas of high ground near the river.) In Arabi, Betsy began to die down around 3am. Many residents, thinking the worst had passed, went to sleep around this time. The flooding reached Arabi Park around 4am waking the exhausted survivors to another phase of the disaster. Between 4am and 6am, the water rose between six and eight feet. By dawn, the water was making its way across the railroad grade between Arabi Park and Carolyn Park and flowing into Chalmette.
For days the survivors huddled in a few two-story buildings surrounded by water, with little or no supplies, power, running water or communications. There was no search and rescue or military presence. Eventually, they evacuated themselves by using their own fishing boats. They headed for higher ground which meant St. Claude Avenue (closer to the Mississippi River) in Arabi and the Kaiser Aluminum plant in Chalmette.
Hurricane Katrina
On August 29, 2005,
Hurricane Katrina caused an even more massive storm surge which inundated all of Arabi, with water reaching higher than in some areas.
Much as occurred in Hurricane Betsy, locals who had elected to remain had noticed the winds had begun dying, this time shortly after dawn. Several stories have been noted of locals talking on cell phones with evacuated relatives as late as 8:30-9:00 a.m. CDT, stating they felt the worst was over. The first wave of water struck shortly after 9:00 a.m. and quickly surged all the way to the levee of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
. Areas that had suffered less than 3–4 feet of water after Betsy were submerged as much as .
In the
Arabi Park area, the surge crossed over elevated railroad tracks and the resultant wave washed many homes off of their foundations, and completely destroyed others. Again, as in Hurricane Betsy the locals immediately began evacuating themselves and their neighbors using private boats. They brought them to the Mississippi river levee, which for several days was the only dry ground on the east side of the river for many miles. Local officials including U.S. Wildlife and Fisheries agents stationed in the parish moved quickly to seal off the area and supply food and water to the survivors. A makeshift evacuation was begun by confiscating small ferry boats, and moving the people to the west bank of the river at
Algiers Point
Algiers Point is a location on the Lower Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana. In river pilotage, Algiers Point is one of the many points of land around which the river flows—albeit a significant one. Since the 1970s, the name Algie ...
, where buses were used to move them out of the area. Most of this activity was not covered by the media due to the greater coverage of nearby New Orleans.
2022 tornadoes
March
On March 22, 2022, an
intense EF3 tornado struck Arabi just after 7:30 p.m. CDT, resulting in widespread damage along Friscoville Avenue, St. Bernard Highway, and Judge Perez Drive. Numerous homes were severely damaged or destroyed, cars were tossed, and many trees and power poles were snapped. Arabi Elementary School was damaged as well, and a brewery and a church were also destroyed. The tornado had originated near
Gretna before passing through Arabi and continuing to
New Orleans East
New Orleans East is the eastern section of New Orleans, the newest section of the city. It is bounded by the Industrial Canal, the Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Pontchartrain. Developed extensively from the 1950s onward, its numerous residential ...
. One person was killed, and several others were injured. Large metal transmission towers sustained major damage, and Arabi was left without power for days after the tornado.
December
On December 14, 2022, just nine months after the EF3 tornado struck the area, a
strong EF2 tornado struck Arabi at around 4:00 p.m. CDT, again causing severe damage to the area. Homes in Arabi sustained significant structural damage, trees and power lines were downed, and the same brewery that was destroyed in the March tornado was destroyed once again. No fatalities occurred, though six people were injured.
Geography
Arabi is located at (29.957554, -89.998994).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 4,533 people, 1,683 households, and 961 families residing in the CDP.
Religion
The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans ( la, Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, french: Archidiocèse de la Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleans) is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church spanning Jefferso ...
operates area Catholic churches. In 2008 it closed St. Louise Marillac Church in Arabi.
It, along with three other churches, were consolidated into Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church in Chalmette.
The archdiocese razed the church in 2009.
[
]
Education
Residents are zoned to schools in the St. Bernard Parish Public Schools.
As of 2007, Chalmette High School
Chalmette High School is a public secondary school in the unincorporated Chalmette area of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a part of St. Bernard Parish Public Schools.
History
The history of Chalmette High School began ...
serves the population.
Notable people
* Patrick Scheuermann, Director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
* Christina Cuenca
The Miss Louisiana USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Louisiana in the Miss USA pageant.
Miss Louisiana USA is produced by RPM Productions since 1990, which also produces the Miss USA and Miss Teen ...
, Miss Louisiana USA
The Miss Louisiana USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Louisiana in the Miss USA pageant.
Miss Louisiana USA is produced by RPM Productions since 1990, which also produces the Miss USA and Miss Teen ...
2006
* Al Copeland
Alvin Charles Copeland (February 2, 1944 – March 23, 2008) was an American entrepreneur who founded the Popeyes fast food chain. He was also a successful restaurateur who created many successful upscale restaurants.
Personal life
Born in New O ...
, founder of Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits
* Juvenile, Southern rapper
* Kenneth L. Odinet Sr., state representative for District 103, 1988-2008
* Edward Ripoll, state representative for District 103, 1984–1988; unseated by Kenneth Odinet; former owner of Bud Rip's Bar in New Orleans
References
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Louisiana
Census-designated places in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
Census-designated places in New Orleans metropolitan area
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Katrina
Louisiana populated places on the Mississippi River