Residents at Fifth Street School apartments, a senior apartment building at 2770 N. 5th St., pleaded with the property owner for help when drug use, public nudity and other illicit activity took over the public spaces in the complex.
The trespassers, residents said, created an environment where tenants felt unsafe in their own homes. They notified the property manager and owner, Gorman & Company, requesting one thing − a security guard.
Residents who spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said they spent years expressing their grievances to the property management and Milwaukee Police but saw no real change.
Since 2020, there have been over 500 police calls made to the Fifth Street School apartments, according to Milwaukee police records. Despite this, the property was not listed as a nuisance − a designation that could result in fines for the property owner if changes aren’t made and additional enforcement support from the police department and the Department of Neighborhood Services.
Residents in the apartment told the Journal Sentinel, recently, they stopped calling the police to report issues within the building over the last year because they felt nothing was being done.
The Fifth Street School Apartments is not listed as a nuisance because they do not currently meet the number of calls required to fit the designation, according to Milwaukee police. It is unclear why the property was previously not listed as a nuisance.
After about two years of residents pleading for help and a Journal Sentinel investigation into the conditions at the property, Milwaukee Police are now working with Gorman & Company to address the issues at the property, and according to residents, discussions about hiring a security guard are taking place.
Once a property is listed as a nuisance, the departments will work with the property owner to resolve the problems, according to Neighborhood Services.
Still, some residents at the property asked the Journal Sentinel what it takes for a property to be considered a nuisance since the Fifth Street School does not meet the requirements.
“I can’t believe what’s going on here hasn’t been considered a nuisance,” said Piper Thomas, a resident at the apartment complex.
What makes a property a nuisance?
The two main government entities that deal with nuisance properties are the Milwaukee Police Department and the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services.
A property can be labeled as a nuisance when there is regular “activity” that affects the whole neighborhood, residents of the building or workers in a commercial space, according to Neighborhood Services.
Some examples of nuisances include:
- Pets or animals that disturb neighbors
A property can be considered a nuisance if a minimum of three phone calls to the police in 30 days in under a year. Milwaukee police do not need to convict anyone for the three calls to count towards a nuisance classification.
Police also do not need to witness the nuisance activity for the property to fit the classification, according to a Milwaukee police procedural document.
Milwaukee Police stated that the Fifth Street School Apartments do not currently meet the call volume requirements to be listed as a nuisance property, despite receiving hundreds of police calls in the last five years.
Residents told the Journal Sentinel some tenants recently stopped calling the police to report problems within the building because they had lost confidence that something would be done about the issues they faced.
If the property does not meet the call volume requirement, but there are still concerns about resident safety, the police department’s Community Partnership Unit may still follow up with the property.
If the Community Partnership Unit steps in, the next steps may include assigning an officer to lead an investigation into the property and imposing potential penalties if the property owner does not work to resolve the problems with the property.
What happens once a property is labeled as a nuisance?
The Department of Neighborhood Services will send a letter to the property owner requesting a plan to fix the issues once it is given a nuisance designation. The owner must send over their plan for remediation, and if it is approved by the department, they have 45 days to put the plan into action, or they can be fined.
If the owners feel the designation is unwarranted, they can appeal; however, if the appeal is denied, the owner must then send over a plan to resolve the issues or face potential fines.
If there are no calls reporting nuisance activity in those 45 days, then it will remain listed as a nuisance property for one year. The nuisance designation will expire at the end of the year-long monitoring period if no continued issues arise.
If the problems continue, Neighborhood Services will ask the property owner for a modified plan, and the owner will need to submit one within 10 days of the request, and the year-long monitoring period will restart.
The property owner will be billed every 30 days if the problems are not resolved. Three bills in one year will cause the property to be labeled as a “chronic nuisance,” and the citations could increase to amounts between $1,000 and $5,000.
How to get a property investigated as a nuisance
If residents are concerned that a property presents severe public safety issues, they should first contact the property owner or manager to resolve the issues.
Concerned neighbors can use the Department of Neighborhood Services’ property data to find contact information for nearby property owners or call (414) 286-2286 for assistance.
If that does not work, they contact Milwaukee Police through its non-emergency number at (414) 933-4444, or the anonymous tipline, P3Tips, which can also be reached at (414) 224-TIPS. It will help to have photos or other pieces of evidence to show to officers.
Residents can also request an inspector from Neighborhood Services. Depending on the tip, the inspector may come to the property and provide the police with their findings.
Local organizations like Community Advocates can also help with tenant-landlord disputes and things related to nuisance properties. If a resident is living in a Berrada Properties building, the organization has a division dedicated to tenant settlement compensation and assistance.
If anyone is unsure if a property is already listed as a nuisance or for general information, call the city help line (414) 286-CITY (2489).
Everett Eaton covers Harambee, just north of downtown Milwaukee, for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Reach him at ejeaton@gannett.com. As part of the newsroom, all of Everett’s work and coverage decisions are overseen solely by Journal Sentinel editors.
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