Don’t know how long it’s been there, but this awesome piece down the street is a powerful reminder to Brooklynites of their Katrina stricken neighbors in the South. The door next to it is tagged “Your Neighbor’s Steps”.

Any relation to the Steps Coalition in Mississippi? Bill Moyer’s Journal did a piece about the organization’s work to help the poor, still waiting for funding, housing and help to rebuild. Shots of solitary steps leading up to empty lots show the haunting inspiration for the name of the group.

As Steps Coalition Executive Director Melinda Harthcock notes, Katrina merely added to the problems of a state which ranks near the bottom in income, education and health. “We had an affordable housing crisis before the storm. Corporations were importing workers. Developers were filling in wetlands. And basically, our quality of life was tanking before the storm. But things were happening so slowly that few noticed the danger. Katrina dramatically accelerated everything.”