[3] The development is located along Whitney Avenue in the Algiers area of the city's west bank, which is part of the 15th Ward and is named for William J. Fischer who served as chairman of HANO in the 1950s.

The Fischer Housing Projects was constructed in January 1964 and opened in 1965 on 48 acres (190,000 m2) of land adjacent to the Mississippi River Bridge and its approach roads.

The development was isolated from other West Bank communities by the bridge, the Donner Canal and a Southern Pacific Railroad line.

Officer Gary Dewey, was showered with broken glass and possible metal fragments at 9:38 p.m. in what appeared to be an attempt to kill him.

[13][14] In the summer of 1990 the police arrested 18 people and seized two machine guns as part of a crackdown on crime in the Fischer housing project.

Marked and unmarked patrol cars spent eight to nine hours twice weekly in the 1,500-unit complex instead of the occasional drive-through they use to do the monitor drug dealing.

[15] On Wednesday April 10, 1973 the body of 22-year-old nursing student JoEllen Smith was found near the Fischer Projects, between Atlantic and Socrates Streets.

Two men were charged with the murder of JoEllen, Steven Berry and Timothy Rudolph, both who had violent arrest records prior to this particular case.

[19] On Saturday May 26, 1979, 21-year-old rookie cop Wesley Adams, was critically wounded during a gun battle in the Fischer Projects.

Authorities stated Pierce came back home to New Orleans from Chicago to visit relatives and was rumored to have possibly running drugs for big-time dealer.

After the shooting, officers searched Pierce and found a bottle of “T’s and blues”(street name for Talwin and pyribenzamine).

[20] On November 9, 1980 Gregory Neupert, a police officer, was shot and killed making his rounds near Fischer Projects.

This death sparked a huge controversy and lead to the raid of the Fischer projects by the New Orleans Police Department.

[21][22][7] During the night of August 25, 1987, three children were hurled out of a window from a third story apartment building in the Fischer Projects, resulting in the death of an eight-year-old girl.

Plans for this stage of redevelopment call for construction of approximately 70 homes and 26 rental units, most of which are intended for public housing and Section 8 residents.