Preservationists ask for federal help in Freedmen's Town brick battle

HOUSTON – People living in the Freedmen's Town district are fighting to save the neighborhood's historic bricks in a battle that has been going on for more than a year.

Preservationists called for the federal government to step into the fight Friday. It comes as a result of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee giving money to the city of Houston for the purpose of preserving the bricks. About $579,000 was earmarked for the project.

Lee is calling on the secretary of transportation to investigate where that money is.

"She has assigned staff to stay on it to ensure that we get the info we need as a coalition and all of the people of Houston because it was taxpayers' dollars earmarked for this specific location," Dorris Ellis, the president of the Freedmen's Town Preservation Coalition, said.

Ellis said the plan was to go to court Monday, but that's no longer happening. KPRC 2 is told that Conrad Construction's attorney needs more time.