Milwaukee, WI
What to know about nuisance properties and how to hold owners accountable
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.
Support for the Dispatch comes from Bader Philanthropies, Zilber Family Foundation, Journal Foundation, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Foundation and individual contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. The project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36‐4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.
Learn more about our community-funded journalism and how to make a tax-deductible gift at bit.ly/MJS_support . Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation with “JS Community Journalism” in the memo, then mailed to: Local Media Foundation, P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
Take flight over the Milwaukee area
Get a bird’s-eye view from a drone over downtown Milwaukee, American Family Field, the Mitchell Domes, and along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Former Milwaukee Common Council member Don Richards died on Dec. 26 at age 89.
Richards served on the Milwaukee Common Council between 1988 and 2004, representing District 9 on the city’s north and northwest sides until his retirement due to health reasons, according to his obituary.
During his tenure at the city, Richards was a member of the Judiciary and Legislation Committee, Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, as well as the Housing Authority and City Records Committee.
Although the two had a brief overlap in city government, former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who was first elected in 2004, recalled Richards as “always smiling and always caring.”
“He was a wonderful man. A very Christian man who cared deeply about the community and the people who live here,” Barrett told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Before becoming a city alderman, Richards participated in the citywide marches protesting a lack of open housing legislation in the city in the 1960s and was a priest in the Milwaukee Archdiocese for almost two decades, starting in 1963. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the St. Francis Seminary and Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
Following his time on the Common Council, Richards began to teach local government classes at Alverno College. He also worked as an economic development specialist with the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation, his obituary said.
Richards is survived by his brother, Bob (Joanne), and was preceded in death by his wife, Doloros; his parents, Gregor and Rose Richards; and his brothers, Jim Richards and Ed Richards, according to his obit.
A visitation is planned at 10 a.m. Jan 8 until his funeral Mass at 11 a.m. at Alvina of Milwaukee Chapel, 9301 N. 76th Street.
Milwaukee, WI
Teen passenger dies in fiery crash after fleeing driver crashes into Milwaukee roundabout
MILWAUKEE — A police chase that began in West Milwaukee on Sunday morning ended in a fiery crash on Milwaukee’s south side, killing 18-year-old Izack Zavala.
The Medical Examiner’s Office identified Zavala as the passenger who died in the one-car crash at 37th and Mitchell streets. His family said he was a 2025 Milwaukee Public Schools Alexander Hamilton High School graduate who loved soccer and would do anything to help his loved ones.
Provided by family
The West Milwaukee Police Department said officers attempted to pull over the driver for a traffic violation near Miller Park Way and Lincoln Avenue, but the driver fled and crossed into Milwaukee.
TMJ4
About a mile later, police say the fleeing driver hit a roundabout, lost control, and crashed into a tree, ejecting both the driver and passenger.
“If they were trying to avoid one of those, and with the weather being cold and slick, and you hit a patch of ice, and you’re gone. You’re done,” Barbie, who witnessed the aftermath, said.
The loud crash woke up neighbors like Barbie in the middle of the night.
Watch: Teen passenger dies in fiery crash after fleeing driver crashes into Milwaukee roundabout
Teen passenger dies in fiery crash after fleeing driver crashes into Milwaukee roundabout
“Like thunder struck the building. The entire building shook. It was insane,” Barbie said.
TMJ4
Looking out her kitchen window, Barbie saw the devastating scene unfold.
“The whole thing just lit up like a torch,” she said.
Steven Huppenbauer
A day after the flames were extinguished, crash debris still surrounded the tree and Barbie’s backyard.
“The car was right there in the center,” she said.
Zavala’s family said his cousin was driving the vehicle. The 19-year-old driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Barbie, who has witnessed crashes before, said seeing this one up close was different.
“I’ve seen plenty of crashes, had people that I care about die in crashes, but to see it up close is something different. I feel bad for the kid’s family,” she said.
The witness hopes the tragedy serves as a warning to others who might consider fleeing police.
“I feel for their family, and I wish to God that that wouldn’t have happened, obviously, but there comes a point, ‘what were you doing’, you know?” Barbie said. “I just think that people need to think before they do, and that’s just not a thing anymore.”
TMJ4 asked the West Milwaukee Police Department if it plans to refer charges for the 19-year-old driver who remains seriously injured at the hospital. The department declined to comment, saying it’s still an active investigation.
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Milwaukee’s real estate market likely ended 2025 in much the same place as 2024, real estate analysts say.
A report from the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors released in December estimated that total home sales in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties will remain flat from 2024.
In Milwaukee County, home sales were down 9.2% in November 2025 compared to November 2024, according to the report.
Still, year-to-date home prices in the four-county Milwaukee metropolitan area rose 7.7% to an average of just over $431,000, the report says.
Here are a few of the oldest homes recently sold in Milwaukee, according to Milwaukee Metropolitan Multiple Listing Services data:
1913 Milwaukee bungalow sells for $365,000
A 113-year-old bungalow on South Wentworth Avenue in Milwaukee sold for $365,000 on Dec. 22.
The 1,500-square-foot home has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, according to the listing from Tom Horigan with Realty Experts, and it sits on a 0.11-acre lot.
The home features hardwood floors, a built-in buffet and leaded glass windows but updated home and garage roofs, according to the listing. It also has an enclosed front porch.
19th-century Bay View home sells for $295,000
A 1,250-square-foot Milwaukee home built in 1890 sold for $295,000 on Dec. 22.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is located on East Euclid Avenue in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood, according to the listing from Alexis Ruzell with Coldwell Banker Realty. It sits on a 3,050-square-foot lot.
The home features wood flooring and a second-story bedroom leading to an elevated porch, according to the listing.
Another century-old bungalow sells for $475,000
A bungalow on North 39th Street in Milwaukee’s Roosevelt Grove neighborhood sold for $475,000 on Dec. 23.
The home was built in 1922 on a 0.96-acre lot with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, according to the listing from Kendrick Taylor with Keller Williams Realty. It spans 2,250 square feet.
The home features a modern kitchen with quartz countertops and a dry bar in the living room, according to the listing. It also includes a finished lower level.
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