Mayfair Mall has not been having a very good June.
Earlier this week, there was the story of the teen thug pulling a gun on a couple in the Mayfair parking lot at around 2:00 in the afternoon.
Now, we hear about a violent fight that took place at the mall last week.
From WauwatosaNOW:A fight between two 23-year-old Milwaukee women at Mayfair last week resulted in hair scattered on the floor, nearly two dozen punches thrown and a bleeding eye, according to a Wauwatosa police report.
Also from the report:
One of the women was shopping at Journeys shoe store when the second entered, yelling about Facebook, at 6:32 p.m. June 22.
She pulled the first woman out of the store by her hair and punched her repeatedly, resulting in an eye injury.
Security guards arrived and pulled them apart.
Both women were arrested for disorderly conduct and the district attorney is expected to issue charges this week.
This wasn't a minor disagreement playing out in public.
This was a scary, violent incident.
There's nothing wrong with Mayfair.
There is quite a bit wrong with some of its patrons.
This handful of bad people may serve to keep many good people away from Mayfair.
More trouble at Mayfair Mall--
What's especially troubling about this most recent report of trouble at Mayfair is that the incident took place in broad daylight in the middle of the afternoon.
From WauwatosaNOW:A teenage boy pulled a gun and threatened a couple in the Mayfair parking lot last week, according to a Wauwatosa police report.
Also from the report:
The Brookfield couple got out of their car and began to open the trunk, and then they heard a loud stomp and indistinguishable noise. The teen caught the couple off guard, and he and the car owner exchanged words at 1:57 p.m. Wednesday.
When the teen got six or seven cars away, he pulled a gun from his pocket and said "Do you wanna die?" and "Do you want me to kill your wife?"
The couple ran into the mall and called the police.
They said the perpetrator appeared in his late teens and further described him as black, about 6 feet, 1 inch, about 145 pounds and having a swollen left eye. He was dressed in an oversized white shirt, long dark jean shorts and a white baseball cap.
I don't know what sort of words were exchanged between the thug and the car owner.
In any event, nothing would warrant pulling a gun and threatening to murder.
It's very disturbing that one isn't safe in the parking lot at Mayfair at 1:57 in the afternoon.
I must be operating under a false impression.
I thought the reason schools closed when there's heavy snowfall is because traveling is dangerous.
Children aren't safely able to make it to school and back.
Right? Isn't that the point of the cancellations?
I believe it is, or was.
On its website, TMJ4 has some helpful information on ways to ride the storm out, "Where To Go For Snow Day Fun For Kids."
A winter storm is expected to enter the Milwaukee area Tuesday night and continue through Wednesday afternoon. A total of 10 to 14 inches of snow could fall in the area.
Below is a list of places you can take your kids that PLAN to be open Wednesday. Some of these places could close depending on road conditions, so it is best to call before making the trip.
Chuck E Cheese: There are three locations in Brookfield, south side of Milwaukee, and West Allis. Chuck E Cheese opens at 9:00a.m.
Chuck E Cheese Locations:
2701 S Chase Ave, Milwaukee, WI - (414) 483-8655
2990 S 108th St, Milwaukee, WI - (414) 546-3600
19125 W Bluemound Rd, Brookfield, WI - (262) 785-1400
Milwaukee Public Museum: The museum opens at 9:00 a.m.
800 W. Wells Street, Milwaukee WI – (414) 278-2702
Kenosha Public Museum: The museum opens at 12:00 p.m. unless the city closes down.
5500 1st Ave, Kenosha, WI – (262) 653-4140
Discovery World: Discovery World opens at 9:00 a.m.
500 N Harbor Drive, Milwaukee, WI - 414-765-9966
Jelly Belly Tours: Tours are scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
10100 Jelly Belly Ln, Pleasant Prairie, WI - (262) 947-3800
Milwaukee County Zoo: The zoo will be open unless County Executive Scott Walker shuts down the county. It will open at 9:00a.m.
10001 West Blue Mound Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Information: (414)) 256-5412, Main Office: (414) 771-3040
Stone Fire Pizza Company: Stone Fire Pizza Company will have mommy and me from 9 to 11 a.m. It will have a lunch buffet and games at 11:30 a.m.
5320 S Moorland Rd, New Berlin, WI - (262) 970-8800
Betty Brinn Children’s Museum: Betty Brinn will make the decision Wednesday morning.
929 E Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI, (414) 390-5437
Fun World: Fun World is planning to be open 11:00 a.m.
620 Elizabeth Ct, Brookfield, WI, (262) 789-5370
Local movie theaters aren’t adding shows, but there are some early afternoon shows.
Marcus Theaters has showings of Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything. Check your local theater, but most shows start between 1 and 2:30 p.m.
Click on the link under related content for Marcus Theaters show times.
AMC Mayfair also showing Alvin and the Chipmunks and National Treasure 2. Check with the theater for times, most start between 1-2:30 p.m.
Click on the link under related content for AMC Mayfair show times.
Budget South Theater is showing the Bee Movie at 12:15 p.m.
Oak Creek Value Cinema has some family friendly showings, but nothing before 4:00 p.m.
This is nuts!
IF CHILDREN CAN GET TO THESE PLACES SAFELY, SURELY THEY CAN GET TO SCHOOL.
This is priceless:Some of these places could close depending on road conditions, so it is best to call before making the trip.
ROAD CONDITIONS???UNBELIEVABLE. It's crazy.
And this:Local movie theaters aren’t adding shows, but there are some early afternoon shows.
ADDING SHOWS???
Will someone tell me what is the point of a snow day?
Jim Stingl shares a terrific story in his column today, "Pianist makes girl face the music after tip theft."
He writes:Paul Bahr was wrapping up "Strangers in the Night" when it happened.
He sat at the baby grand piano last weekend at Mayfair Mall's food court, where you'll find him nearly every Saturday during the lunch hour.
Out of the corner of his eye, Paul saw someone reach into his tip jar with both hands and grab most of the money.
"I hear this whoomp, and the person takes off. I stood up and yelled, 'Hey!' She went down the escalator, and I went down after her."
The fleeing thief turned around, and Paul could see it was a teenage girl. Paul Bahr has more than a passing interest in the welfare of kids that age because his day job is principal of Milwaukee Lutheran High School.
...The girl bolted out the mall door toward the parking lot with Paul in full-adrenaline pursuit. He's 57 years old, which would seem to give the teen an advantage in a race like this. It didn't help that Paul slipped and fell on the snowy pavement, bloodying his elbow and knee. But he bounced back up and kept running.
"You need to stop," he yelled at the girl as she sprinted toward Mayfair Road with a few bills spilling from her pockets. She appeared to tire, and Paul caught up to her and grabbed her by the coat.
"I said, 'What you did was wrong and you need to give me the money back.' She said, 'OK, OK.'"
The thief was a 15-year-old New Berlin girl.
The Wauwatosa police took her to the station, gave her a ticket, and her mother took her home.
Instead of being bitter, Bahr expressed concern for the girl and sympathy for the girl's parents. ..."I feel sorry for her," Paul said. "My heart goes out to her parents. As a father of six, this is a phone call you never want to receive."
Paul prayed that this experience will help turn the girl in the right direction, though she seemed to take the arrest so casually.
...To anyone else who gets an idea to raid Paul's tips, keep this in mind: He donates all the money he makes at the mall to church and school causes.
"That's probably why I took off after the girl," he said. "It's not my money, it's God's money."
I think that girl was so lucky to have stolen Paul Bahr's tip jar.
It may be one of the best things that could have happened to her.
Hopefully, what Bahr did for her will change her life.
A few days ago, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett signed a measure "to let taverns and nightclubs pay for on-duty police officers to handle their security."The council voted 10-4 to back the measure, sponsored by Ald. Willie Wade, who argued that, considering how often police are called to bars and clubs, it would be better to have the officers there all night, at the bars' expense, instead of calling them away from patrolling neighborhoods.
Perhaps Wauwatosa should consider a similar proposal for the Denny's at 11155 W. North Ave.
From WauwatosaNOW.com:Over the last 12 months, Wauwatosa police have responded to the restaurant at 11155 W. North Ave. more than 160 times.
Wauwatosa's chief of police is worried.
"The amount of incidents and the type of incidents we have had there are definitely a concern," Barry Weber said this week, after another incident over the weekend. "When you see that many incidents, where larger groups of people are present when those incidents occur, we need to review the situation."
Most calls to the 24-hour restaurant come between 1 and 3 a.m. and are for disorderly conduct, but police also have responded numerous times for theft, fraud, suspicious persons, battery and weapons violations.
160 TIMES?
Why has it taken so long to note that there seems to be a bit of a problem at this Denny's?...When officers responded about 2 a.m. Dec. 8, they found a large group of people outside and between 100 and 150 people inside the restaurant trying to push their way out after a fight broke out. Police pushed through the crowd, to find the fight had stopped and one man bleeding from the face. No arrests were made because no one, including the victim, would provide any information on the suspects.
Shortly before 2:30 a.m. Nov. 24, police arrested a 23-year-old Milwaukee man at Denny's for battery after he punched a man multiple times. During that fight, many people fled and the restaurant was left with $487.41 in unpaid bills.
Weber said the restaurant caters to an after-bar crowd, which makes for a volatile environment despite the presence of the restaurant's security guard.
Watch just how volatile the environment can become.
Video: Fight at Denny's
That's a large crowd for so late at night. I bet that Denny's must be doing pretty well in terms of business, unless people make a habit of fleeing the restaurant during disturbances, leaving lots of unpaid bills.
I wonder if the restaurant's lone security guard is armed.__________________
TMJ4 reports:Late Thursday afternoon, Denny’s announced changes because of the serious problems. They say the location will close from midnight until 5:00 a.m. on weekends. They're deciding whether to make that change permanent.
After the media picked up on the story of all the trouble at this Denny's location, it doesn't surprise me that the decision was made to close that restaurant between midnight and 5:00 AM.
A police-in-Denny's plan, similar to Milwaukee's police-in-taverns measure, could be the answer.
Or maybe, like Mayfair Mall, Denny's could try a carding policy. People under 30 need to be accompanied by someone who can order off the Denny's Senior Menu (For our guests 55 and older).
That probably wouldn't work. Denny's might be sued for age discrimination. Then again, it could be argued that the Senior Menu itself is discriminatory.
Obviously, there are no simple solutions when you have a clientele seemingly incapable of behaving.
I'm told that late this afternoon/early this evening there was an incident at Macy's at Mayfair Mall.
A man screamed that everyone should get on the floor. There were other screams.
A number of police squads arrived with sirens blaring.
What happened?
I'm not sure, but I'm sure it wasn't good.
The parental supervision policy at Mayfair may have helped control violence at the mall, but at what price?Is the policy responsible for sending shoppers to the competition? Wauwatosa -- Mayfair Mall, facing reduced sales, has decided to extend its hours on Saturdays and ease restrictions slightly on unescorted teens.
Starting this weekend, the Wauwatosa mall will stay open until 9 p.m. on Saturdays. And unescorted children under 18 may stay at the mall until 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, one hour later than previously enforced.
The changes come after Mayfair's sales turned downward for the first time since 2001, Mayfair marketing manager Nancy Conley said.
"It's a slight decrease," she said, adding that the downturn occurred in May and June.
Adding to Mayfair's challenges are poor sales at Macy's, one of its anchor department stores, and stiffer retail competition in the Milwaukee area.
Since March 30, the retail center has required children under 18 to be escorted by adults after 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The restrictions, called Parental Guidance Required, were put in place after episodes, a few of them violent, that required police intervention.
This weekend's rule changes also relax the requirements for parental escorts. Under the original rules, an adult over 21 could escort only four children under 18. This caused problems for parents taking larger groups of children to movies and birthday parties at places such as Build-a-Bear Workshop and Club Libby Lu.
New rules will allow one adult to supervise any number of children ages 10 and younger during curfew periods. The limit of four youths per adult still applies to children from age 11 to 17 during curfew times.
"We always said it was going to be a fluid program," Conley said.
That's true. Mayfair officials always said that they would make adjustments to the program as necessary.
No one wanted Mayfair to go the way of Northridge Mall, so they put the policy in place.
That was the right thing to do. There's more going on at Mayfair besides the restrictions placed on kids.
For example, Macy's poor performance can't be blamed on the parental escort policy. ..."Macy's has not been received well in the marketplace," Conley said.
The retailer has struggled nationally, reporting Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings fell 77% and sales were down 2%. The company also lowered its outlook for the third quarter, citing its own negative trends and concern about the economy.
"The buyers didn't buy appropriately for the Midwest," Conley said of the situation at Mayfair. The company has addressed the issue, and Macy's is hoping to improve sales with the introduction of fall merchandise, she said.
Oooh. Fall merchandise. How novel!
What is this? "The buyers didn't buy appropriately for the Midwest."
What's that supposed to mean? It sounds like a cut on the people of flyover country.
Now, the buyers have learned what sort of merchandise appeals to Midwestern hicks.Sure.In Chicago, some shoppers have boycotted the Macy's store to protest the name change of the landmark Marshall Field's on State St.
I think Marshall Field's customers were a loyal bunch, both at the Chicago State St. store and at Mayfair.
You can't just plop another store in there and expect things to be the same. Since the weekend supervision policies began in March, they have made an impact, said teens who were at Mayfair on Thursday.
Ciara Camberos, 16, works weekend shifts at Cinnabon in the mall. She said she's noticed a thinner crowd in recent months on Friday and Saturday afternoons. And since the parental guidance policy went into effect, Camberos has opted to shop at Bayshore and Brookfield Square during her weekend off hours.
"They lost a lot of money from me," the Whitefish Bay High School student said.
Michael Czerwinski, 13, of Menomonee Falls said that the one time he tried to venture into the mall alone during restricted hours, Mayfair security stopped him. Czerwinski had to call his parents to retrieve him, he said.
Since then, he and his friends have shopped elsewhere on weekend afternoons, he said.
"We've been going to Brookfield Square," Czerwinski said.
The addition of an hour to the time youths under 18 can shop unsupervised won't affect his habits much, he said.
Of course, the policy had an impact on kids at the mall. That was the idea.
If there is a mass exodus of kids leaving Mayfair and going to Brookfield Square and Bayshore, then some of the trouble that plagued Mayfair should be sprouting up there. Is that the case?
I find the anecdotal evidence presented in the article to be a waste. Do the shopping patterns of a couple of teens reflect the larger population? It's hard to believe that 13-year-old Michael Czerwinski and his friends did a lot of spending at Mayfair.
It would be interesting to see Brookfield's sales numbers. If what Czerwinski says is true, and if other teens have done the same and bailed on Mayfair, then Brookfield and other shopping areas should be seeing a jump in sales.
No matter what, I think that it was wise in the long run for Mayfair to enact the escort policy. It was a move that had to be made. If that was partially responsible for Mayfair's slight drop in sales, it's still far better to endure that consequence than allowing the entire mall to go under the way Northridge did.
March 30 is TAKE BACK THE MALL day at Mayfair. Mayfair Mall patrons under 18 will have to be accompanied by an adult after 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, under new rules announced by mall officials this afternoon.
...Under the new rules, anyone under 18 must supervised by an adult 21 or over at the mall or the AMC theater after 2 p.m. Adults can supervise no more than four youths at one time.
The restrictions also will apply to the AMC movie theater, which has been a source of trouble at the mall. Parents will no longer be allowed to drop off children at the theater after 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Under the new policy, an announcement will be made at 1 p.m. each Friday and Saturday that unsupervised youths have one more hour to shop the mall. At 2 p.m., mall security guards will tell unescorted youths that they have to leave the premises.
Young adults who are 18 and over can ask for wristbands that they can wear at the mall to show they have met the age requirement.
In addition, mothers who are not yet 21 years old will be allowed in the mall with young children.
...For now, the age restrictions will only be in place on Fridays and Saturdays, but Smith said the new rules will be monitored to see whether any changes are needed.
It's possible that the movie theater at Mayfair will see a drop in business. It's also possible that the theater will get patrons back that have abandoned it because of the thug factor.
I suppose it will take a while before shoppers and moviegoers that got in the habit of taking their business $$$ elsewhere will return.
Maybe they'll never return.
I think Mayfair wimped out by choosing to have the restrictions in effect only on Fridays and Saturdays.
I understand that the mall is testing the new policy out and may make adjustments.
But for the time being, if you're concerned about mobs of threatening teens wrecking your shopping or movie viewing experience at Mayfair, avoid the place on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Also, stay away before 2:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Teens and their parents really shouldn't complain about the new policy.
There are lots of hours when teens can freely roam the mall.
There are far fewer hours when Mayfair Mall will be designated a thug-free zone.
In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there is an absolutely idiotic editorial about the situation at Mayfair Mall.It appears that many people in the region think it's time to crack down on the behavior of some young people at Mayfair Mall and other public places. The urge is understandable. The policies being put in place seem reasonable. The region cannot afford another Northridge, the shopping mall that fell prey to the perception that it was not a safe place to shop.
But let's remember: Mayfair is nowhere near that stage. It is arguably the area's premier shopping mall, drawing 17 million visitors a year, according to mall officials. Yes, among those visitors is a small group of young people who - on certain days and after certain hours - make shopping an uncomfortable experience for others. There have been a few incidents of violence and crime that could bode ill for the mall's future if authorities fail to respond.
A few incidents?
I guess it's not a surprise that The Journal Sentinel Editorial Board would minimize the problems.
The Board has a history of showing tolerance for violence, whether it's perpetrated by city of Milwaukee thugs or al Qaeda terrorists or Saddam Hussein's henchmen.Maybe a few teens don't have a good idea of how to behave in a public place. And maybe the perception of some shoppers has a lot to do with race and class.
Perception does matter. It matters a lot.
I perceive the Editorial Board to be playing the race card -- AGAIN.
The Board is accusing Mayfair officials and its clientele of wanting to keep their mall populated with the white and the rich.
How lame!
Is it possible that some shoppers and store owners at Mayfair are racists?
Absolutely.
Is it fair to assert that Mayfair's new policies to control violence and crime there are racially motivated?
Absolutely not.
That's a huge and completely unsubstantiated leap to make.
Has any Mayfair official said, "Keep out the blacks and Hispanics"?
Are shoppers asking for Mayfair to be a Minority Free Zone?
I haven't seen any indication of that anywhere.
So where did the Editorial Board come up with their theory that the policies are grounded in race and class issues?
I think it came out of their little liberal heads. It's their creation.
It's the same old, same old crap.
I give Mayfair Mall credit for instituting a "get tough" policy to combat its thug problem.
It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but it has.
The plan is to card people to keep unruly teen troublemakers from roaming the mall and terrorizing patrons, driving them away. WAUWATOSA -- Mayfair Mall plans on taking a dramatic step to cut down on violence by requiring people to show a photo ID at the door.
The program will be implemented in April and will likely be enforced on Friday and Saturday nights.
TODAY'S TMJ4 has learned most people under 30 will be carded. Those over the "required" age will be given a wrist band and allowed inside the mall. Mayfair has not decided what the "required" age will be.
People who do not meet the "required" age will have to be with an adult, who is 21 or older.
...The rules also require anyone underage to stay with the adult the entire time. Mayfair plans on posting security guards at every entrance. Shoppers at Macy's or Boston Store will not have to show an ID to enter, but will need to show an ID once leaving the department store and entering the main mall.
No plan is perfect.
Some potential problems:Fake IDs -- Just as with going to bars or buying alcohol from stores, I'm sure people will get around the age requirements with the help of fake IDs.
Enforcement -- A LOT of security guards will be needed to patrol the mall checking for wrist bands and making sure that underage patrons are sticking with an adult the "entire time."
What does sticking with an adult really mean? How close? Side by side? A few steps ahead or behind? Does that rule just apply in the mall itself and not in the individual stores with only mall entrances?
Wrist Bands -- It wouldn't be too difficult for a 21-year-old to get a number of wrist bands, each from a different entrance, leave the mall, give the bands to underage friends and return as a group.
Movie Theater -- In order to get to a movie, one has to enter the mall first. That means the new rules will impact the theater's business dramatically.
Forty other malls around the country have a similar policy, so it's not like this is experimental. Its effectiveness has been tested.
Mayfair can look to these places as models for implementing its own strategy.
For example, Mall of America in Minnesota has a parental escort policy.
It states that children 15 and younger must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on Fridays and Saturdays after 4 p.m.
"Anyone 21 years or younger should be prepared to show a driver's license, state identification card or passport during the Parental Escort hours."
That seems reasonable.
This doesn't:
"ONE ADULT CAN ESCORT UP TO TEN CHILDREN 15 YEARS OF AGE AND YOUNGER."
Ten kids per one adult? That's a lot of kids.
Mall of America's problems appear to be different from those facing Mayfair. Restrictions have been placed on younger teens and children. That's most likely an outgrowth of the amusement park within the mall. It seems to be more of a babysitting matter there.
Violence and gang activity doesn't seem to be the issue at Mall of America since people sixteen and older are free to gather. Mayfair's troubles involve older teens as well.
Time will tell if Mayfair's plans provide a solution to eliminate the violence at the mall. Whatever inadequacies the policy may have, it is necessary to take action. Better to do something, anything, sooner than later.
Since no measures will go into effect until April, that does mean that the thugs have another full month to infest Mayfair.
At a news conference today, Milwaukee and Wauwatosa district attorneys are going to say that they're mad as hell and they're not going to take this anymore. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and Wauwatosa officials will announce a new get-tough prosecution policy today for dealing with disruptions and criminal conduct at Mayfair Mall.
Chisholm, along with Wauwatosa Mayor Theresa Estness, Police Chief Barry Weber and mall representatives, will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. at the Safety Building in downtown Milwaukee to outline the new strategies they have developed for dealing with disruptive behavior at the mall.
Instead of issuing municipal citations for disturbances at Mayfair, Assistant District Attorney Kent Lovern said Monday, officials will refer all mall-related cases to be evaluated for possible criminal prosecution.
Also, there will be more coordination between Milwaukee and Wauwatosa police and the district attorney's community prosecution unit.
The way I read this it says that Wauwatosa's leaders have admitted that they are in over their heads and they want Milwaukee to solve their problems.Whatever.
I don't think the thugs causing all the trouble care about municipal citations versus possible criminal charges.
Is that really going to deter a thug?
I hope there will be other strategies announced at the news conference because if this is the best they're got, it's not enough.
The rash of armed robberies in Bay View and on the far south side of Milwaukee continues unabated.
And true to form, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel does a half-assed job of reporting.
Please excuse my language, but it's ridiculous that they don't provide descriptions of the suspects of these crimes.
Today's examples --
From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Gas station clerk punched, robbed
A gas station clerk lost teeth when he was punched in the face by a suspect who grabbed cash from a register and fled from a strong-arm robbery on the city's south side yesterday.
Milwaukee police said the suspect had a scarf over his face when he asked for cigarettes at the Citgo Quik Pik, 1213 E. Howard Ave., about 12:50 p.m.
The suspect punched the clerk, 49, in the face when the victim opened the cash register.
Police are still seeking the suspect.
UPDATE: Clerk lost teeth escaping robbery
A clerk at the Citgo gas station at 1213 E. Howard Ave. who was fleeing from an armed robber, slipped, hit her face on the counter and knocked out some teeth, police said Monday.
The woman was treated at an area hospital, according to police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz. Initial reports were that the clerk was a male and had been injured by a punch from the suspect.
She said at 12:49 p.m. Sunday, a man armed with a screw driver or blunt object entered the station and asked for cigarettes. He then jumped over the counter. The employee ran and slipped, hitting her head and knocking out some teeth, Schwartz said.
The suspect fled the scene, she said.
Obviously, the initial report had some factual errors.
Was the correction due to JS reporting or Anne E. Schwartz calling The JS to clear up the confusion?
It doesn't matter.
The police spokeswoman spoke with a JS reporter about the robbery.
What about the facts regarding the suspect's appearance?
All we know is that he was male. The first inaccurate report says that he had a scarf covering his face.
That wouldn't hide the suspect's race, his weight, or his height.
Surely there must be more details that could be made available to the public.
Their reports are always short on specifics. It's a disservice to the community to keep their news briefs so inexcusably brief.
Within just seven days, The Journal Sentinel reported FOUR ARMED ROBBERIES in the same vicinity, an area of the city that had been relatively free of such crimes.
Bella's Fat Cat
Perkins Family Restaurant
Shell Station
Citgo Station
These armed robberies took place in the span of one week!
Go back a few more weeks and the list gets longer.
There is a serious outbreak of crime.
What's being done about it?
Has Police Chief Nan Hegerty deployed additional officers to patrol the area?
What's Mayor Tom Barrett doing? Whining about better gun legislation?
What's Governor Jim Doyle doing? I know he's preoccupied with his casino woes and Dennis Troha. I guess he's too busy to be bothered with the disintegration of his state's largest city.
Everyday it gets worse. The list grows.
It's a tragedy that formerly safe, peaceful, desirable neighborhoods to raise a family have become crime-ridden.
The good, law-abiding people will flee these areas and leave the city, putting their property tax dollars into the coffers of communities in the suburbs and the ex-burbs.
Milwaukee will continue its downward spiral into chaos.It's a lost cause.One can never completely escape the threat of crime while remaining in an area populated with more people than moose; but it's definitely time to abandon the city. Given the situation at Mayfair Mall, I think it's time to abandon Milwaukee County.
Mayfair, Mayfair, Mayfair.
"Stylish Shopping. Delightful Dining. YOU."
How about "NO"?
The reports of trouble there have been endless.
Incidents of violence and unruliness at Mayfair are nothing new.
Let's be fair. Every public place can be the site of problems and it's not necessarily a reflection of the overall safety of the area.
BUT--
There has been so much trouble at Mayfair that I thinks it's fair to consider the situation serious.
The Mayfair "team" may feel that the media are painting the mall as an unsafe destination by highlighting arrests.
Sorry. That doesn't fly.
The reality is there are some violent, dangerous, creepy people hanging around Mayfair Mall doing violent, dangerous, creepy, ILLEGAL things.
That's news that the public deserves to know.
Let's run through a few recent instances.
In the span of roughly 72 hours, here's what happened at Mayfair:
Thursday, February 15, 2007-- Peeping Tom Tara Cole, 27, is talking about what she called the most comprimising predicament of her adult life. While using the ladies' room at Mayfair Mall about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, she said she caught a man trying to take pictures of her with his cell phone.
"I still had my pants down. I take a look and I bend down, and as I bend down I look at the guy face-to-face. I popped back up and threw my pants back on and came out the bathroom. I popped out, I said, 'Hey, what are you doing?' and he said, 'Oh, I just accidentally came in here.' I'm like, 'You didn't accidentally come in here.' I'm like, 'You were looking at me.' And he had his cell phone like this and I snatched it from him. I'm like, 'Were you taking pictures of me too?' and by that time I'm screaming, I'm like, 'somebody help me,'" Cole said.
Cole's husband wrestled the man to the floor and held him down until mall security arrived and took the man into custody.
"It boggles the mind in terms of what people are thinking about in terms of their behavior in the public areas in this community right now," Mayfair Mall manager Steve Smith said.
The 34-year-old suspect is in custody but has not been charged. The nature of the charges has not yet been determined. The case is now under review with the district attorney's office. The suspect is being held on something unrelated while the Peeping Tom case is being reviewed.
Friday February 16, 2007-- Flying Loaded GunA gun went flying over a second-floor railing at a shopping mall and dropped to the main level during a scuffle between a police sergeant and a teenager who had been carrying the weapon, authorities said.
Capt. Jeff Sutter of the Wauwatosa Police Department said no one was injured in the incident Friday night at the Mayfair Mall, and the 18-year-old male suspect was taken into custody along with a 19-year-old man.
Police received a call from the mall shortly after 8 p.m. reporting two suspicious individuals inside the Champs sporting goods store, he said. Sutter said one of them was said to have a gun in his waistband.
The sergeant, who was patrolling the mall, confronted the two as they left the store, the 18-year-old reached into his jacket and the gun went flying, the captain said. A member of the mall security staff recovered the weapon after it dropped to the first level, according to the captain.
More details on the flying gun:Two Milwaukee men have been charged in the Friday night incident that sent a loaded handgun flying from a second-floor railing at Mayfair Mall, Wauwatosa police said today.
Andrew M. Greenwood, 18, of the 1700 block of S. 12th St., was charged Sunday with being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting an officer and possession of marijuana. Greenwood, who had $1,145 in cash on him when he was arrested, had two prior felony convictions as a juvenile, said Wauwatosa Lt. Dominic Leone.
Cortez R. Brooks, 19, of the 3100 block of W. Glendale Ave., was charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting an officer for giving a false name to police. Brooks, who was with Greenwood at the mall, had an open warrant and was on parole for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Leone said.
The men were arrested at Mayfair late Friday after Greenwood got into a scuffle with a police officer.... During the scuffle, police said, Greenwood pulled the handgun [Emphasis mine], but it was knocked out of his hand and over the second-floor railing.
Sunday February 18, 2007-- Fight at Mayfair CinemaEight people were arrested after a fight broke out in the lobby at Mayfair Cinema on Sunday night, Wauwatosa police said today.
Two Milwaukee women, a 37-year-old mother and her 18-year-old daughter, were cited on suspicion of disorderly conduct and turned over to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department on open warrants against them, said Lt. Dominic Leone. Details regarding the other people arrested were not immediately available this morning, he said.
Police were dispatched to the theater around 9:30 p.m. on a report of several suspects fighting.
Would it be unusual for a mall to have a record of these sort of incidents in the span of a year or even a few months?
No.
An area as large as metro Milwaukee certainly has its share of creeps in bathrooms, gun-toting teens, and unruly moviegoers.
One would expect some of them to show up at the place voted "Milwaukee's #1 shopping and entertainment destination for 11 years straight!"
However, we're not talking about these events happening in the course of a year or six months or a month. We're talking about days.
I wouldn't want to go to a movie and think that I might get caught in the middle of a fight.
I wouldn't want to be walking around a mall where a LOADED gun drops from the upper level. Thank God it didn't fire when it crashed to the lower level. Talk about dodging a bullet! Furthermore, if the gun itself had hit someone as it went over the railing, serious injury could have occurred.
I wouldn't want to go into a mall bathroom worrying that a creep was in there taking pictures with his cell phone. In terms of mall security, how did a man get into the women's restroom? No security cameras caught that?
Worse yet, Tara Cole, the VICTIM, was questioned by security as if she had done something wrong.
Will all the trouble at Mayfair keep patrons away?
Probably not most. Probably not yet.
I suppose some people will think twice before going to a movie there.
Others may stay away on weekend nights, doing their shopping during the week and early in the day, when thugs are less likely to be bringing guns to the mall.
I guess it would be wise to not drink anything before going to the mall or while there. It would be best to do everything possible to avoid using the restrooms since they clearly are not secure.
I think Mayfair is at a crossroads.
Perception is everything. I think that worries the Mayfair "team." At this point, it's not a matter of perception. Reality is working against Mayfair.
The mall is failing to provide enough security and maintain a safe environment.
Wauwatosa's community leaders (Mayor Theresa Estness, Police Chief Barry Weber, City Attorney Alan Kesner) prefer to put on rose-colored glasses.
Milwaukee County leadership is missing in action on the mall's steady disintegration. (Scott Walker? Sheriff David Clarke? Are you there? Any comments?)
Excuses don't fly when it comes to Mayfair Mall.
Guns on the other hand...
Wauwatosa's Mayor Theresa Estness is using the playbook of Milwaukee's Mayor Tom Barrett.
How does a mayor respond to increased crime in his or her city?
Basically, the mayor explains, "It's not really as bad as it seems. And anyway, my hands are tied."
From WauwatosaNow:Recent incidents of bad behavior again are putting a spotlight on Mayfair Mall, but city leaders want residents to look beyond the headlines to the root of the problem.
The rash of reports about disorderly and aggressive behavior at the mall reflect what is happening in suburban areas around the country, Wauwatosa Mayor Theresa Estness, Police Chief Barry Weber and City Attorney Alan Kesner said in an interview last week.
"We are seeing more serious incidents all over the city," Weber said. "Where before there was some respect for authority and the police, there seems to be little now and our officers are actually being attacked."
The numbers support Weber's claims. Disorderly conduct calls at Mayfair Mall have doubled in the last five years, according to statistics obtained from the Wauwatosa Police Department. Incidents that used to be handled by simply escorting someone out of the mall are now escalating into bigger disturbances, requiring mall security to summon police.
...After a near riot three years ago outside the mall's AMC Theater, the city insisted management move the arcade into the theater to cut down on loiterers. The city also asked the theater to manage the type of movies shown, stagger the end times and enforce the city's curfew by not allowing those under 17 to enter movies that let out after 11 p.m.
Mall management also was asked to pay for additional police officers on site, to beef up the mall security force and to install surveillance video inside and outside the mall. A police resource office was opened inside the mall for booking suspects, and the city worked with the mall to institute a "code of conduct" now posted at every entrance that details expected behavior and reasons for removal from the mall.
Late last week, the mall announced a new parental guidance requirement policy, details of which are yet to be finalized. The policy would require those under a certain age to be accompanied by an adult after a certain hour.
While some of the changes were implemented by the mall without encouragement, many of the changes were the result of discussions with the city, Estness said.
"I think there is a misconception that we can just impose strategies on private business," Estness said. "We are limited in what we can do, but we have for the last few years been working closely with the mall to make sure it stays a viable business in our community."
Weber is quick to criticize those who are blaming Estness for the problems.
How have Wauwatosa's leaders responded to the dramatic increase in problems at Mayfair?
They've responded with a lot of CYA and self-serving excuses.
What sort of leader passes the buck?
An ineffective one.
Rather than taking responsibility, Estness and her supporters choose to paint themselves as impotent.
This is interesting:
Is the mall as safe as it was five years ago?
"I think it's more safe," Estness said. "They (the mall) have an awful lot at stake here and want to do what's right. Today, we have far more behind-the-scenes communications between the city, police, mall security and management than ever before."
Kesner and Weber agreed.
It's true that there's more resources being put into mall safety than five years ago; but that doesn't mean that the mall is safer, as Estness, Kesner, and Weber claim.
The numbers:
Total calls to police from Mayfair Mall:
2,254 calls in 2001
2,777 calls in 2006
23.2 percent increase between 2001 to 2006
10 percent of the total calls received by the Police Department each year come from the Mayfair property
Number of calls to police for disorderly conduct at Mayfair Mall:
2001: 156
2006: 306
Increase: 96 percent
What is Estness thinking?
Is the mall as safe as it was five years ago?
"I think it's more safe," Estness said.
Obviously, Estness is oblivious to reality.
FACT: Mayfair is not more safe.
In order to effectively confront the challenges of the problems at Mayfair, Estness has to admit that going to the mall is more dangerous than it was five years ago.
From a political perspective, it's far worse for her to appear blind and out of touch than to acknowledge that the mall has seen a dramatic increase in disturbances and crime.
Cluelessness is not a good quality for a mayor to exhibit.
They just keep coming.
Another day, another tale of violence and disorder at Mayfair Mall.Wauwatosa -- A woman said she and her teenage daughter were chased, terrorized and rammed head-on inside their minivan at the Mayfair Mall parking lot Sunday afternoon by a man who they believed was angry about their reaching an open parking spot before he did.
Kim Stanton-McBride provided this account of the incident, the third recent problem involving the popular shopping center.
Stanton-McBride said she drove to the mall with her daughter, who was looking for a dress for a school dance.
After she had turned down a parking aisle near The Cheesecake Factory, where she had spotted an open spot, a man driving a car that had pulled into the aisle behind her started beeping his horn and became upset, she said.
"I was going to take the spot, but I decided not to," she said.
Although she passed by the spot, the man's vehicle kept tailing her minivan, she said.
"I was scared, and I was like, 'Why is he following me?' " Stanton-McBride said.
She felt some relief when the man's car finally disappeared. "Next thing you know, he comes down the aisle driving the wrong way. . . . He pulled up, and he slammed into our car," she said.
Next, the man got out of his car and began kicking a van door, screaming profanities and pounding on the windows while his passenger stood nearby, she said.
Stanton-McBride tried fleeing in reverse. Eventually, she said, the men got back in the car and fled. She spotted a mall security guard, who called Wauwatosa police. Police caught up with the men soon afterward, and later, police told her that they had discovered a gun in their car.
The Milwaukee area is a mess, and there are no indications that things are improving.
In his State of the City address this morning, Mayor Tom Barrett focused on guns as a way to control the violence.
Barrett pointed to the city’s crime problem and noted that he has increased the police budget by the largest amount in a decade, adding 50 police officers and a community service officer program that brings the force up to its highest strength since 2000. Barrett said the city has also cracked down on curfews and cruising and is installing cameras in high-crime areas of the city.
Barrett said he intends to add 50 additional police this year and will increase cooperation with community and faith-based groups to help prevent crime.
"We must focus on prevention; law enforcement alone will not solve our problems," Barrett said. Barrett said the city must look beyond the property tax to fund police, warning that increased public safety demands could lead to cuts in other essential services and called upon the federal government for assistance. "The federal government needs to focus on hometown security," Barrett said.
Barrett also called upon the state Legislature to pass “responsible” gun legislation that would require background checks for all handgun purchases and prohibit all sales of handguns to those under 21 years old.
"This is not about 2nd Amendment rights. This is not about guns being used for hunting,” Barrett said. “This is about saving young lives and futures in Milwaukee.”
“We have to get the illegal guns and the criminals who use them off of our streets.
And would gun legislation have prevented that nutjob from lashing out and terrorizing the woman at Mayfair?
Barrett is wrong.
The violence plaguing Milwaukee won't be eliminated by "responsible" gun legislation.
Barrett is passing the buck. It's always easier to accuse someone else.
He seems to be saying that a solution to the Milwaukee area's problems lies with the State Legislature.
"If only we could get some gun laws to solve our problems."
I'm so sick of hearing Barrett blame guns.
What you have in Milwaukee is a bunch of thugs terrorizing the city and the metro area. They have a complete disregard for the law and an utter disrespect for life.
Let's be honest. It's too late to "prevent" this generation of thugs.
There's no going back. The entitlement culture created monsters. Barrett needs to deal with them. They aren't going anywhere.
And no one should be fooled by the promise of an employment program for Milwaukee teens.
Summer youth employment programs in the city of Milwaukee are nothing new. They've been around in some form for decades.
It's one thing to provide opportunity. It's quite another thing to seize it.
Personal responsibility, staying in school, and working hard for a brighter future is where the promise lies. What Milwaukee needs is leadership. Community leaders need to stress decency and teach what's not being taught in homes and schools.
Just after last Friday's announcement that Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin would be enacting a parental escort policy to help cut down on the numbers of teens overrunning the place, there was yet another disturbance there that required police intervention.
Three arrests were made.Mall spokeswoman Nancy Conley said the policy, which has yet to be finalized, has nothing to do with recent police incidents, including an alleged racial attack on a city bus en route from the mall late last month.
"This has been in the works for a very long time," Conley said.
Details of the policy are still being ironed out. Yet to be determined are the ages of the teens who will be affected, the hours it will be in effect, and whether the policy will include Mayfair Cinema, a popular teen destination whose entrance is inside the mall. Stores with outside entrances would be able to opt out, Conley said.
...Mayfair stopped short of implementing a parental escort policy after a series of incidents involving police and young people raised racial tensions in the community and threatened to shut down the theater in 2002 and 2003. Instead, the mall adopted a strict code of conduct, boosted security and police presence, and worked with the theater to improve crowd control there.
The measures have been successful in curbing unruly behavior, according to police and mall officials. But incidents continue to flare up.
The most recent "flare up" occurred on Saturday night.
This shows that the proposed policy is desperately needed.WAUWATOSA -- Three teenagers were arrested after causing a disturbance at Mayfair Mall Saturday night.
Police were called to the mall's movie theater after rowdy teenagers cause a disturbance.
About 500 people were leaving the new Eddie Murphy movie “Norbit” when a small disturbance started just before 9 p.m.
A mall spokesperson said a small group was using foul language and being disrespectful.
At least six Wauwatosa Police squads were called in to help mall security.
One boy fought with officers.
Witnesses said police used pepper spray and a stun gun.
In the end, police handcuffed three teenaged boys and took them into custody.
Six police squads.
Pepper spray.
Stun gun.
Although the disturbance was minor compared to other incidents at Mayfair involving large numbers of people, these teens clearly didn't cooperate with police if the use of pepper spray and a stun gun was needed to subdue them.
Obviously, the mall's "Parental Guidance Required" program is long overdue.
It's unfortunate that good, responsible kids will have to suffer because of the actions of a few. But I don't think the mall has a choice.
The problem needs to be brought under control immediately. Unruly teens simply cannot be allowed to take over the mall and drive away customers.
If action isn't taken to PREVENT the flare ups, then Mayfair is doomed.
Of course, some will say that the restrictions are a thinly disguised effort to keep minorities away from the suburban mall.
That's just stupid.
There is no way that an argument can be made that the program is a racially motivated plan to keep out minorities. It's a matter of safety for everyone.
Why would mall patrons of any race want to put up with mobs of threatening thugs?
Mayfair's "Parental Guidance Required" program will be based on age, not race; and its implementation can't come soon enough.
Once again, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane exposes himself to be part of the problem rather than the solution.
I've previously commented on some of his especially offensive columns and remarks.
His column appearing in Thursday's Journal Sentinel, "Bus story cries out for some perspective," cries out for me to pick it apart.
I first read it in the wee small hours of Thursday morning when it was posted online. It was so outrageous that I thought it warranted a post.
I didn't get to it before sleep got to me. I decided not to waste my time. Kane acting as an apologist for utterly unacceptable behavior, deflecting attention from the real issue and the real problem, playing the race card -- same old, same old.
Anyway, I don't really want to give Kane attention. I get the feeling he loves getting under people's skin. I think he relishes the thought of getting people riled up.
That makes his columns in Wisconsin's largest newspaper even more disgusting. I don't like taking part in the sick game he plays.So usually I ignore him. But his most recent column is so irresponsible that I want to make a few comments because the issue of crime in Milwaukee is so serious and Kane's attitude about it is so detrimental to the city. The way Kane mocks the beating of a white man by a group of blacks on a Milwaukee County bus exemplifies an attitude that is at the root of Milwaukee's crime crisis.
Kane dismisses the bus incident as not worth mentioning when compared to the brutal beating of Frank Jude Jr. by off duty Milwaukee police officers.
The cases are in completely different leagues, no question about it; but that doesn't mean that the beating of "a 20-year-old student at Milwaukee Area Technical College" by "a bunch of black teenagers on their way from Mayfair Mall back to the central city of Milwaukee" should be dismissed.
Kane writes:This story cries out for some perspective, particularly in a community where sensational crimes involving homicide, gang rape and outrageous child abuse emerge from both the black and white communities. Given the level of violence in some areas of town, it's hard to muster up any outrage over a fight on a bus.
No, it's not.
It shouldn't be hard for Milwaukee County residents, black or white or any race, to "muster up" outrage at violence.
Why should people not care about what he mockingly calls the "Great Bus Hate Crime"?
Does it pale in comparison to other acts of shocking brutality committed in the dying city of Milwaukee?
Yes.
Does that mean the bus incident doesn't warrant concern?
No.
However, for Kane, the relatively minor beating of a white man by a group of black teens isn't worth getting upset about; and that's a problem.
Why NOT sweat the small stuff?
Why excuse any level of violence?
Why should any hate crime be brushed off as inconsequential?
Why promote desensitization to thuggery?
Yes, Kane is definitely part of the problem. He should be ashamed.
Why were schools closed for two days?
Did it have something to do with the weather?
It's hard to tell.
I thought it was too dangerous to go outside.
The children needed to be protected.
Maybe not.
From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
When Gail Chan heard that school for the Greendale School District was called off Tuesday over the cold weather, she moved fast to hook up her daughter and the neighborhood children for a day of fun.
"We all got on the phone and made a game plan," she said.
Chan and her daughter, Maya, a second-grader at Canterbury Elementary School, headed out into the frigid weather en route to a warm and steamy water park in Waukesha that was packed with schoolchildren.
Cold temperatures prompted school districts across southeastern Wisconsin to shut down classes Tuesday, in some cases for the second straight day, but the weather didn't keep schoolchildren - or teachers - from venturing out to malls, movie theaters, entertainment centers and water parks.
"You could definitely tell that the schools were out and people were out at the mall," said Nancy Conley, senior marketing manager at Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa. "I've also noticed a lot of moms in the mall with grade-school children."
YIPPEE!
Brutal, bitter cold temperatures! Let's go out and have some fun! Make hay while the mercury drops!...But the closures didn't sit well with Jeanne Tarantino, who has three children in the Waukesha School District and sees the closures as "a softening of our people."
"Yesterday was colder than today," she said. "How long are they going to be out of school? All week?"
Good questions.
The wind chills for Wednesday are predicted to be as low as -25. It doesn't make sense that school needed to cancelled on Tuesday, to protect the children, but not today or the rest of the week.
...Others said schools made the right move so children wouldn't have to endure the freeze while waiting at bus stops or walking to school.
"I think it's just too cold to have kids waiting for the bus," Randy Beres, a reading specialist at Canterbury, said as she soaked in a hot tub at the Country Springs' water park. "I think it's a great little winter break for the kids."
What?
"A great little winter break"?
That wasn't the purpose of the closings.
...Wauwatosa School District Superintendent Phil Ertl said he struggled before deciding to shut down school for the second day Tuesday, coming down on the side of avoiding risk to students.
...Ertl said the decision came down to whether the weather constituted a risk for students' well-being.
"I think we save the risk of 7,000 students," he said. "If one has problems, it becomes a good decision."
So the reasoning is that if one student would have a problem because of the cold, then school should be closed for all 7, 000 students.
That's nuts.
Any parent could choose to keep their child home if it would be necessary, just like on any other day.
Explain to me how the weather constituted a risk for students' well-being when so many managed to get out and crawl around the malls, movie theaters, and water parks.
What did the events of the past two frigid days in Wisconsin reveal?
It's not necessary to close school and let the children stay home when the wind chills are dangerously low.
Why?
THEY DON'T STAY AT HOME.
