Herbert and Gaynell Baudy’s home of 32 years remains vacant five years after Hurricane Katrina. They say they can’t afford to move back.

Herbert and Gaynell Baudy had lived together in Pontchartrain Park for 32 years, until flooding from Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home.

Longtime residents Herbert and Gaynell Baudy say they did not receive enough insurance money or government aid to rebuild their St. Ferdinand Drive home.

Many Pontchartrain Park properties remain boarded up and blighted in the five years since Katrina.

Tennis courts, a ballpark and an historic golf course were among the many amenities Pontchartrain Park residents had enjoyed before Katrina.

Five years after Katrina, many lots where homes once stood remain vacant.

Pontchartrain Park’s return rate has increased from about 33 percent to more than 50 percent since actor Wendell Pierce got involved with the rebuilding effort.

The historic golf course designed by African-American landscape architect Joseph Bartholomew was destroyed in Katrina. It is now under construction.

Since Katrina, it is not uncommon to see “the jack-o-lantern effect” in Pontchartrain Park — restored or new properties surrounded on all sides by areas of blight and devastation

The Pontchartain Park Community Development Corporation team assists Pontchartain Park residents with the many forms that must be completed to apply for the government aid needed to rebuild their homes.

The redevelopment of Pontchartrain Park is a community-driven initiative to rebuild this historic area with sustainable, green home designs.

The Pontchartain Park Community Development Corporation is rebuilding the community with energy-efficient “green” homes with estimated annual utility bill costs (minus water) totaling $300-$400.

The Pontchartain Park Community Development Corporation is leading a home building effort that is being touted as one of the largest affordable green housing initiatives in the country.

The Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation launched The Park’s rebuilding initiative in May 2010 with the opening of its first model home.

Before Katrina one-third of Pontchartrain Park residents were senior citizens. Many have given up on the idea of rebuilding their homes or have died while in the process.

Many Pontchartrain Park residents like Marilyn Perkins say they feel that many “working class” homeowners are being denied government assistance to rebuild their homes.

Pontchartrain Park is the oldest planned middle-class African-American community in New Orleans and one of the oldest of its kind in the country.

Built during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in Louisiana, The Park, as natives call it, gave black New Orleanians all the benefits of suburbia within the city.

Five years after Hurricane Katrina many Pontchartrain Park residents say their historic community is not close to where it was before the storm.

According to the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, just more than half, about 55 percent, of Pontchartrain Park households are back in the community.

Once an area populated by several generations of families, five years after Katrina Pontchartrain Park community leaders are trying to help get more residents back.

Many Pontchartrain Park homes, like this one, sill have not been cleaned out.

Bedroom furniture still remains in this Pontchartrain Park home, not touched since the storm happened five years ago

Five years after Katrina, a plaque still hangs on the wall of a Pontchartrain Park home, still ungutted since the storm.

The Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation, led by actor Wendell Pierce, who grew up in the area, is spearheading the community’s rebuilding effort.