Riverwest neighbors still feel victimized by the shooting death of Nathan Potter this summer. Some Bay View residents are tired of noise and commotion in the Lincoln Triangle area. Both groups essentially were told to quit being NIMBYs.

NIMBYs, of course, are people who complain "Not in my Backyard."

The Riverwest residents turned out en masse this week to oppose the re-opening of Smokey's, 2425 N. Dousman St., just down the block from The Gig, which is close to where Potter was shot July 6. Two arrests were made in the case on Sept. 9.

Steven Vieth, who used to work at Smokey's, wants to reopen the bar and asked the he be allowed to put a few small tables on the sidewalk in front. He suggested that it would help advertise the business -- which has no large signs announcing its presence -- and make the street safer.

Neighbors objected not only to the tables outside, but to the bar opening in general. They pointed out that there are four bars in a two-block stretch of Dousman and that there was also a shooting in front of Gee Willickers at Clarke and Dousman the night before Potter was killed.

Gee Willickers, a place where patrons had to be buzzed in, has since gotten rid of its pool table and added security measures.

Third District Ald. Nik Kovac and the rest of the committee were opposed to the tables as well, but approved the license.

Echoing what seemed to be a theme in this week's meeting, Kovac told the neighbors that if they didn't want four bars in a two-block stretch of their neighborhood they shouldn't have moved there.

The sentiment was also expressed by Bay View Ald. Tony Zielinski, who voiced his support for a new tavern license for the Bay View Sports Bar, 2327 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., in the burgeoning bar district around the Lincoln-KK-Howell triangle. Several apartment dwellers who live in the area showed up to oppose the license, saying there were too many bars in the area.

"This is a business district," Zielinski told them, adding that they should have known it would be a busy area when they moved in.

Of course, when people move near the airport and complain about the noise, they get public funds to noise-proof their homes.

Tag Mania: Graffiti complaints in Milwaukee stand to nearly double this year over last, city officials were told, but it's not as prevalent a problem has it has been.

There were 4,855 graffiti complaints in the city from January through Aug. 1, which is usually the annual rate, the city's Anti Graffiti Task Force was told.

But Department of Neighborhood Services officials said there was more "smaller-type" or "low-key" graffiti as opposed to the "in your face" graffiti of the large taggers on the sides of buildings. They called it more "marker-type" as well.

DNS officials told the committee that efforts by the Police Department have put the larger graffiti artists underground. DNS official Sharon Badlow said it wasn't gang graffiti, but "wanna-be taggers trying to hit the scene." She said tagging constituted 90 percent taggers and 10 percent gang communication.

But that didn't satisfy aldermen on the committee.

Zielinski, who chairs the task force and has made graffiti one of his big issues, asked what efforts were made at changing the taggers' mentality.

"Why not tell them to go to school instead of being a bum?" he asked.

DNS folks told him there were no efforts at changing the mentality.

The Department of Public Works said it was running hundreds of hours behind in removing tags since losing three seasonal graffiti-removal employees due to budget constraints.

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5 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by dave on Oct. 6, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. (report)

Tony Zelinski's double standard again.. OK for another bar in the KK/Lincoln area, because it's a business district.. But not OK for the A-K mart to sell beer , because there's too many alcohol vendors in the KK/Lincoln area.. Which is it Tony ???

Posted by Andi on Oct. 5, 2009 at 4:21 p.m. (report)

Smokey's is shady and nothing will change the general feeling the bar gives off. There are always sketch people coming in and out of the building, even while it has been "closed." It does nothing to add to the neighborhood. Yuck. I couldn't make it to the hearing, but I am glad so many of my neighbors did.

Posted by MKEArch on Oct. 4, 2009 at 10:34 p.m. (report)

Regarding Smokie's. The bar has been operating illegally or unlicensed for several years. Also there are residents at the hearing that have lived there longer than the 'smokies' has been in existance. If all of licenses are granted, why are there a public comment portion to these proceedings? I think Bohl's comments where ignorant and unbecoming of his position. If he's annoyed by citizens there are other career options. Also Nik's been very weak when supporting the Riverwest neighbor interest.

Posted by Jimmy_Jones on Oct. 3, 2009 at 11:40 a.m. (report)

Apparently the neighbors weren't contributing enough to Kovac. If they're smart, they'll make their donation and kindly mention their issue, the taverns have been doing that for years. I'm sure another crappy bar is just what the area needs...

Posted by Chrisna on Oct. 2, 2009 at 5:04 p.m. (report)

The only have 4 bars on a two-block stretch? Now, THAT's a crime.