Please contact the city council and tell them that strip joints are a bad idea for a revitalized Milwaukee.
jwitko@milwaukee.gov
twitko@milwaukee.gov
rdonov@milwaukee.gov
jldavis@milwaukee.gov
rjbauma@milwaukee.gov
jbohl@milwaukee.gov
mcoggs@milwaukee.gov
wwade@milwaukee.gov
rpuent@milwaukee.gov
mmurph@milwaukee.gov
jdudzi@milwaukee.gov
tzieli@milwaukee.gov
whines@milwaukee.gov
Or call council members directly at 286-2221 and ask them to just say no to the blight and crime of a sex business sector in Walker’s Point /5th Ward.
South Side Milwaukee groups oppose proposed strip club
The Fifth Ward Association and the Historic Walker’s Point Association have launched a petition drive to oppose a proposed strip club that they say would erode the character of the neighborhood they’ve been working to improve.
And based on the 100 e-mails he’s received so far, Ald. James Witkowiak, who represents the area, said he can’t support the application for the proposed Satin “exotic gentlemen’s club” at 117 W. Pittsburgh Ave. About 97 of the e-mails were opposed and three were in favor, he said.
“Short of a miracle, I don’t think I’ll change my mind,” he said.
Witkowiak said his office sorted the e-mails and comments and is counting only those received from residents of the neighborhood. He said he’s received e-mails of support from several suburban residents, but won’t count them because they don’t live in the neighborhood.
This week, Witkowiak said, he will share the results with the applicants and ask them if they want to continue to pursue the request for a liquor license.
The license application has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
Katy Venskus, a consultant and spokeswoman for Satin, said the proposed operators are trying to work on the concerns of residents and plan to continue with the application.
Satin would be similar to another strip club, Silk Exotic, 11400 W. Silver Spring Drive, and a similar one in the city of Juneau. Both are operated by Jon Ferraro of Menomonee Falls, who is part of the group that would run Satin and also runs other entertainment clubs in the city.
The property at 117 W. Pittsburgh Ave. would be leased from attorney Timothy J. Olson.
Venskus said the operators would make improvements to the large building, which has been vacant. Satin would employ a staff of 100 and expand the parking capacity, she said.
It would operate from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
A week ago, the operators held a meeting to lay out their plans for neighbors. Many in the audience opposed the club, said area resident Jacquelyn Jaggard.
“I don’t want a strip club in my area because this isn’t just a business area, it’s a neighborhood, and there are children and seniors who live in the area,” she said. “Plus, I think a strip club exploits women.”
Ursula Twombly, who is a principal in an architectural firm on S. 1st St. and also president of the Fifth Ward Association, a business and neighborhood group, said her organization and the Historic Walker’s Point Association have started the petition drive because they don’t believe a strip club fits with the efforts to improve the area.
“Thirteen years ago when I moved here, the area was desolate and empty and there were never any issues of fear because no one was around,” she said. But since then things have changed.
“The area is starting to come alive, and we’ve been working really hard to improve the area,” she said. “A lot of positive things are happening, and a lot of our members have invested a lot of money in redoing buildings and developing small businesses.”
Condominiums also have been built in the area in recent years.
Next year, S. 2nd St. will be reconstructed into two lanes – one in each direction – to slow traffic and make the street more friendly, she said. Bike lanes will be added, along with some green space.
Twombly said she’s also troubled by the large number of patrons the club would attract.
Opponents such as Jaggard say that although the area does have an entertainment element, the taverns are small and tavern owners have worked well with residents and other businesses in the area.
By Georgia Pabst of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Aug. 28, 2009
Plans for a proposed strip club in the south side’s Walker’s Point area will be discussed Saturday at a neighborhood meeting.
Jon Ferraro of Menomonee Falls, who is part of a group that runs other entertainment clubs, has applied to the city for a license to operate Satin, billed as “an exotic gentlemen’s club” at 117 W. Pittsburgh Ave.
He and his partners also operate a club called Silk Exotic at 11400 W. Silver Spring Drive and a similar one in Juneau.
While owners prefer to call it a “gentlemen’s club,” Katy Venskus, a consultant and spokesperson for the project, acknowledged it is a strip club.
She said more than 10,000 fliers have been sent to residents in the area to let them know of plans for the club and the meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday at the proposed site. The Pittsburgh Ave. location was chosen because the property is a “big empty building right now,” she said. The owners plan to develop it into an aesthetically pleasing property that would be profitable and close to the Third Ward, the Fifth Ward and downtown, she said.
There would be music, but it would be played by a disc jockey, she said. There would also be adequate parking and valet service for parking on additional remote lots, she said.
The owners will hold a smaller reception Sunday for other restaurant and tavern owners in the district to discuss the opportunity to partner on possible projects and joint promotions, she said. That meeting is from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Jokerz Comedy Club, 11400 W. Silver Spring Road.
Michael McGuire, an aide to area Ald. Jim Witkowiak, said the office has received about 40 e-mails in opposition to the club and about three in support.
No hearing date before the city’s licensing committee has been set.
Witkowiak does not plan to attend Saturday’ meeting, but may hold a meeting of his own , McGuire said.
Make Milwaukee Great -- Stop Silk Exotic in Downtown Milwaukee 
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