re: What will it seriously take to clean up New Orleans and it's senseless crime?

A constant reinvestment in trade schools and Blue collar job training.

A massive overhaul of the bloated and ineffective school boards in the bad areas.

A major investments into the quality of teachers and schools in this areas

A massive grass roots campaign for after-school activities and clubs for the youth to be a part of.

2 or 3 generations of all of those things so that the people who benefit from them pass those benefits back into their communities.

People forget that less than 60 years ago back people didn't have the right to vote, proper education, access to society, etc...... Then the south fought against those rulings. I mean my parents can remember when they integrated some of the schools in New Orleans less than 40 years ago. That means that there is only one generation of adults alive who can't actually rememeber the process of integration and segregation in this city. And the repercussions of those things are still very visible.

There's nothing that can be done immediately. It's going to take time and generations and it's going to take the communities themselves rising above their current struggles and issues.