Construction affects health of community in East Biloxi

Tonight, the East Biloxi community attended the Biloxi Council Meeting to share their concerns about the way in which the $355 million infrastructure project being carried out by Oscar Renda Contractors has impacted their health and wealth.

The infrastructure work on 55 miles of street north of the CSX railway in East Biloxi has been a controversial topic for over three years now. Residents of the area are now turning to the city for help.  James L. Black with the Center for Environmental and Economic Justice said, “We are demanding assistance from them by way of the Community Development Block Grant funds to aid the citizens that have been impacted dangerously in terms of their health.”

Vincent Creel with the City of Biloxi tells News 25 the city has put pressure on the contractor to speed up the project that is expected to be complete by December 2018. The City of Biloxi reports that there has been a 33 percent increase in manpower since the beginning of the year. “We want to see them get out of there just as quickly as they can. We apologize to the residents. We drive these same streets.”

During Tuesday night’s council meeting, Ward 2 Councilman Felix Gines awarded his council report time slot to Bishop James Black who provided the mayor and council with statistics on the severity of health and wealth issues plaguing East Biloxi. “They have a right to protest. They have a right to complain. We need something done. We need to move it forward,” said Gines.

As a result of the meeting, Councilman Robert Deming has proposed to work towards a more consistent claim process for the residents of East Biloxi. Gines said, “We need a new direction and we need a plan of action and that will help us a whole lot.”