Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Before Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans East was the hub of the city's black middle class, an area of large brick homes and manicured lawns. Now the neighborhood is empty, except for a few mud-filled cars still parked in the driveways and streets that were flooded last August.

It's a place frozen in time. Some homes look as if the owner had just left to run an errand, while many others are missing entire sections and littered with broken windows and punched-in garage doors.

``New Orleans East is the bedrock of the black middle class, but that has been wiped out,'' says Beverly McKenna, publisher of the New Orleans Tribune, a monthly newspaper that serves the black community.

McKenna has lived in the Esplanade Ridge section of New Orleans for more than 30 years (her home escaped the hurricane with minor damage), but she has roots in New Orleans East. She raised her three children there -- and is deeply saddened to see her old neighborhood in ruins.

``I cried every time I went there for the first couple of weeks'' after the hurricane, she says.

McKenna hasn't been able to publish her newspaper since the storm because her staff dispersed to other cities such as Baton Rouge, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. Her readers -- primarily black professionals -- haven't returned, either.

``These are lawyers with no clients, teachers with no students, doctors with no patients,'' she says.

Unanswered Questions

The future of New Orleans East remains unclear. Unlike areas that are colored yellow on planners' maps, meaning they're targeted for early rebuilding, New Orleans East is tinted beige, signaling a wait-and-see approach.

The area is below sea level, making it vulnerable to future flooding even if the city's levees are strengthened.

``It should never have been built on,'' architect Allen Eskew told me as we toured the debris-filled streets.

But New Orleans East reflects the city's chicken-and-egg problem: People scattered widely across the nation may not return without assurances that their commitment will be protected. Will the new levees be strong enough to withstand another major hurricane? Must homes be rebuilt higher, adding thousands of dollars (not covered by insurance) to repairs? Will mortgages and insurance be available? And what about rebuilding schools and libraries?

Black Heritage

If New Orleans East isn't rebuilt, McKenna says it will be a major blow to the city's proud black heritage.

``The charm, the food, the music, the craftsmen who built New Orleans architecture -- it's all been made by African- Americans,'' she says. ``New Orleans is marketing what they contributed.''

A report on the city's future issued by a mayoral commission on Jan. 11 was heavily criticized by former residents of New Orleans East. They were furious at the recommendation to delay issuing building permits if it seemed not enough people would return.

Reed Kroloff, dean of Tulane University's School of Architecture and a member of the Bring Back New Orleans Commission, defended the report.

``No one is deciding that your neighborhood can't exist,'' Kroloff says. ``The planning process is a tool kit for neighborhoods. They'll have professional advice, but no one will dictate the future.''

Will They Return?

The recommendations that would bring people back -- tax incentives, low-interest loans and other financial incentives to spur rebuilding -- haven't been fleshed out and are nowhere close to becoming reality.

Askew, who's also involved in the city's rebuilding plans, wishes there was some way to bring the evacuees back, even temporarily, so they could be more involved in the planning process.

``It is rare that the displaced people are in the room with us,'' he says. ``It totally changes the tone when they are.''

Two people who won't be returning are Dr. Glen Knight and his wife, Grady, longtime friends of McKenna who moved to Nashville, Tennessee, after the hurricane. Glen is a physician who worked at Methodist Hospital, which closed after the storm.

``We tout and romanticize New Orleans, but in other places people find the schools are much better, the wages are better and the neighborhoods are cleaner,'' McKenna says.

To contact the writer of this story: James S. Russell at jamesrussell@earthlink.net .