What’s Coming This Summer?
Community Outreach Specialist, Bobby McQuay, and Community Ambassadors, Duane and Savannah, are instrumental to the Near West Side. They are liaisons between residents, city officials, businesses and landlords. Through strategic canvassing, they help find effective solutions for resident concerns in the neighborhood. The team is dedicated to helping the Near West Side thrive, making it a better place to live, work and play!
Exciting initiatives and projects are happening this summer for the team! Here are some highlights from Bobby about what’s to come:
Resident and Employee Clean-up Day
The summer kicked off to a strong start with the resident and employee clean-up day on May 31. Bobby said, “It was a spin-off of earth day,” where employees committed to a day of neighborhood service. Employees of nine businesses- including Catholic Financial Life, Marquette University, Milwaukee Center for Independence, Penfield Children's Center, Potawatomi Business Development Corp., Quorum Architects, the Tripoli Shrine Center, MillerCoors and Harley-Davidson participated. After the day, everyone went to MillerCoors to enjoy the evening. Bobby looks forward to more service days such as this where everyone joins together.
Blight Sweeps
This initiative serves as both an outreach and safety effort. Every Wednesday from 11 to 1 p.m., the team travels to different neighborhoods to evaluate issues of blight. This includes broken windows, abandoned cars, illegal dumps, properties in distress and overt signs of blight on city property. Through an online service request app from the city, the outreach and safety team records incidents of blight in real time and make calls to resolve them. The team also works with an inspector from the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) to issue out letters to hold property owners and the city accountable. Blight sweeps help maintain and beautify the Near West Side, creating a positive image for people in and outside of the community.
The Green Team
Bobby describes the Green Team as a “Rapid Response Team” that works in conjunction with the blight sweeps. Whether complimenting the Department of Public Works for the City of Milwaukee or there is an absentee landlord, the Green Team responds to concerns of blight and works to alleviate the problem. The team cuts grass, help uphold properties, disposes of illegal dumps and more. They also work with Reliant Property Management (RPM) to employee Near West Side residents to aid in clean-ups.
Brats for Your Thoughts
This outreach method connects neighborhood residents through food and conversation. Brats for Your Thoughts is an avenue for residents who may not attend a formal meeting to ask questions and provide feedback about the community. Bobby travels to one of the neighborhoods with his grill, and residents get a free brat in exchange for their thoughts. This is a great way to promote NWSP and initiate candid dialogues about community needs. Elected officials occasionally attend pop-ups, creating strong relationships with residents. Last summer, the team met with 150 new community members as a result of this wonderful initiative.
Upcoming Brats for Your Thoughts:
Wednesday, June 26 from 3- 5 p.m. at Merrill Park
Tuesday, July 16 from 2-5 p.m. at 26th and West State St.
Additional Comments from Bobby
Bobby is looking forward to the lighting and security cameras initiative to increase community safety. He is also proud of the landlord compact meetings and hopes that success will continue. Bobby would like to thank Savannah and Duane. They are making positive strides in the Near West Side, and give Near West Side Partners a powerful presence in the community.
