City of Milwaukee - File #: 250913

Date	Action By	Action	Result	Tally	Action Details	Meeting Details	Video
11/4/2025	COMMON COUNCIL	AMENDED Minutes note: Revocation of the Class B Tavern, Public Entertainment Premises, Food Dealer and Sidewalk Dining licenses based upon the preponderance of the of evidence in the police report, aldermanic testimony, licensee and staff testimony and other evidence presented at the hearing and what was included in the notice that demonstrates the operation results in a threat to health, safety and welfare of the public for the loitering and disturbance of the peace; for the premises located at 618 N WATER St. (“ELMNT LOUNGE”) in the 4th aldermanic district. (Written Objections Have Been Filed) All members indicated they had read the report and objections filed in this matter. Ald. Zamarripa moved that the Council move into a Committee of the Whole. Atty. Michael Maistelman present for the licensee and Atty. Travis Gresham for the City. Ald. Zamarripa moved that the Committee rise. Ald. Chambers moved to return this file to committee. Ald. Chambers withdrew his motion to return to committee and moved for a 30-day suspension. Ald. Chambers moved for a 60-day suspension.	Fail	4:11	Action details	Meeting details	Video
11/4/2025	COMMON COUNCIL	AMENDED Minutes note: Moved for a 90-day suspension.	Fail	3:12	Action details	Meeting details	Video
11/4/2025	COMMON COUNCIL	APPROVED	Pass	11:4	Action details	Meeting details	Video
10/21/2025	LICENSES COMMITTEE	RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL Minutes note: Ald. Brower moved to consider File 250913. There were no objections. The licensee appeared with Atty. Bobot and Atty. Maistelman. The revocation party MPD and Atty. Adamson (City Attorney’s office representing MPD) were present as well. Mr. Bains, MPD Officers and some others in the room were sworn in. Atty. Bobot acknowledged receipt of the revocation notice. Atty. Adamson said that he would like traditional notice of what have been previously filed as exhibits B, C, and D which are the 2021 plan of operations, the 2021 sixty (60) day suspension to ELMNT LOUNGE and the current plan of operations. The police report was read. Ald. Zamarripa asked the licensee if they want to comment on the police report. Atty. Bobot said that he would like to defer the police report to the testimony of the sworn complaint of Captain Thiel because he has some specific procedural questions regarding MPD using the complaint procedure aligned in Chapter 125 versus going thru the committee’s normal procedures. Atty. Gresham said the appeal by the licensee stands, that it can be addressed later and that the procedure is at the chair’s discretion. Ald. Zamarripa said that she will follow her timeline and common protocol. Ald. Zamarripa asked the licensee why no one contacted MPD on the first item on the police report. Atty. Bobot said that the incident happened after 2:05 am when the business was closed, that employees were gone and that the incident happened in a parking lot a block away. Ald. Zamarripa asked if the business utilizes an adjacent parking lot. Atty. Bobot said that many businesses use the parking lots around and that is not related to his client’s business operations. Atty. Adamson presented the case by saying that Mr. Bains started to operate this business in June 1st, 2025 and that within one month and a half, they had two shootings associated with patrons from his establishment in the downtown area which is very important to our economy, it is delicate and that he will present evidence to that end. He added that looking at this business plan of operations and the handwriting filed on 2021 and 2025 are almost identical; expect that the 2025 has more security guards. He explained that the committee suspended the license for sixty (60) days for a shooting occurred in 2021 and that he thinks that we should consider under the totality of circumstances that this plan of operations is not working and that a suspension is not enough. He said that to begin with the importance of downtown called Matthew Dorner first. Atty. Bobot made an objection based on Atty. Adamson started with a closing statement and also for not calling the complainant as his first witness. Ald. Zamarripa noted the two objections. Atty. Gresham said that there is no code, section or statuary requirement to start with sworn in complainant and that the complaint is sworn. Atty. Bobot said that he has a procedural challenge with what was just said because there is a City ordinance that allows the Chief of Police to swear out complaints but that the person who sworn the complaint is not the Chief of Police. Atty. Adamson said that Captain Thiel is not resident of the City of Milwaukee and there is no evidence that the complaint was not properly sworn in. He added that Chapter 125 (WI Stats) have different provisions for revocation proceedings (for the residency challenge) and that the City is enabled to pass its own regulations for the sale of alcohol which it was done under MCO Chapter 90 allowing the Chief of Police to initiate revocation proceedings and the functions can be done thru his designees. Atty. Bobot said that the City Ordinance does not say “by his designees” and that he wants to question the captain whether this was or not a sworn complaint. He added that he has rightfully subpoenaed Captain Thiel and he has the right to question him. Ald. Zamarripa said that we will hear from Captain Thiel. Atty. Gresham said that we can address Atty. Bobot’s objection when Captain Thiel comes up. Atty. Adamson said that he is fine with what the Chair decides to do. Atty. Adamson called Matt Dorner (Milwaukee 21 BID Downtown) and responding to Atty. Adamson’s questions said that the BID’s mission is to create a clean safe and sound Downtown Milwaukee and represents 450 commercial property owners in about a square mile in the business district, that most of the budget goes to the public service ambassadors, clean and sweep ambassadors, funding homeless outreach programs with Milwaukee County and a community prosecutor. He added that they touch base with the stakeholders on a regular basis, that last year they had over thousand people weighing in with the organization and they enforced their top priorities of establishing and continuing to maintain a clean, safe and friendly downtown. He also explained having a strong downtown (3% of the land mass and 22% of the property tax base) is incredible important to protect the tax base revenue, which is very important for the city and that 1 of 3 jobs are in downtown Milwaukee with the highest density of jobs. He mentioned that he is aware of the shooting that happened at the parking lot south of Chase Tower and the shooting in front of ELMNT LOUNGE and affected the perception of downtown for visitors, investors, etc. He added that any tragedy happening in downtown is contradictory to the BID 21 mission and that they covered all the bases on the letter sent to the committee in regards of the revocation for ELEMNT LOUNGE and asked that the letter be considered. Atty. Bobot to Mr. Dorner: Mr. Dorner responded that the boundaries of BID 21 are essentially from the lakefront on the east to I43 on the west to I794 on the south and to the Schlitz Park on the north and that ELMNT LOUNGE is within the BID 21 boundaries, that he is familiar with code red, that it was instituted looking for best practices across the nation and oversees stakeholders which basically adds police presence during peak hours on entertainment districts. He added that BID 21 invests over $1 million of dollars on public service ambassadors (under 20), that they don’t work after 10 pm and they are not necessarily trained on night life. Atty. Bobot asked Mr. Dorner how many times he has testified before committee concerning a business in the BID area. Atty. Adamson said that it is irrelevant for this proceeding how many time this individual has testified or not before committee. He added that Mr. Dorner is here to testify on the economic state of downtown to be considered by the committee due the violence occurred there. Atty. Bobot said that he disagrees with Atty. Adamson because there are other businesses within BID 21 that have challenges like his client and that he would like to know if his client has been singled out. Mr. Dorner said that he took this roll on July 1, 2025 and that he has not been here to testify on this roll. Atty. Adamson called Peggy Williams Smith (CEO Visit Milwaukee). Answering to Atty. Adamson’s questions she said that they sell, market and brand Milwaukee to visitors and that she talks about space, rates and crime when she markets the city. Ms. Williams Smith before she read her statement for the record, said that she met with a national event planner who was here considering a large event for 2028 and witnessed the immediate aftermath of the homicide that happened in front of ELMNT LOUNGE from her window at the Drury Hotel. She added that experience left a deeply negative experience of her and her group and that violence of this nature, threatens the image and economic vitality of Milwaukee. Answering Atty. Bobot‘s questions Ms. Williams Smith said that events like the one that happened at ELMNT on in July 12, 2025 affect Milwaukee’s image, that she knows what she read in the paper, that she knows that it did not happen within the establishment. Atty. Tyler Helsel (City Attorney’s Office) asked that the Chair reiterate that flow must continue as it normally does for this committee, so we can get all the information for the committee to make the proper decision. Mr. Dorner and Ms. William Smith were released. Atty. Adamson called Brian Doherty (appeared virtually) General Manager SP+ to talk about the parking lot at 525 N Water St (associated with the Chase Tower) and answered that specifically Fridays and Saturdays nights they have a lot of loitering, breaking of gates almost every weekend, broken glass, vandalism, and a pair of shootings on the premises that took place late at night. He added that he was aware that ELMNT LOUNGE closing after the July’s shooting and that they noticed less broken bottles and vandalism during those two weeks when the establishment closed but it went back to same situation when they reopened. Answering Atty. Bobot’s questions Mr. Doherty said that they have security 24/7 that monitors the Chase Tower and parking structure, that they are aware of people congregating there, that fees are based per hour, that the incident from June 15, 2025 basically occurred at the parking lot, that the company held a meeting with the DA and MPD regarding that incident, that the security and surveillance cameras were working that night, that the security guard was in the building at the time of the shooting and that they submitted the footage to MPD. He added that they are looking into equipment to avoid the patrons leaving the premises without paying and breaking gates and that they have a third party hired to clean up the litter and broken glass bottles and to fix gates the following morning. Atty. Bobot said that the problem is people congregating at the parking lot on a regular basis for a long period and possibly consuming alcohol and other things there and that it is the responsibility of the parking lot. Mr. Doherty said that he does not think that the parking lot is the problem, he added that people come to park here to go to other establishments in the area and then leave the parking lot without paying by breaking the gates. He added that they are looking to buy equipment to rectify the situation. Atty. Adamson called Herzon Lopez (appeared virtually) who said that he is the property owner of 532 and 534 N Water St for 17 20 years, that there has been an escalation of violence in the area but that the issue goes back before 2025 (and cited the disciplinary actions granted to the premises address of ELNMT LOUNGE). He also said that the pattern of violence has cost him over $100,000 with tenants moving out and not renting his units for years. He added that the parking lot is not the issue but the people who comes to ELMNT LOUNGE and CITY SOCIAL and they also hang out at the Chase Tower parking lot. He also read a letter from a prospect about the reasons why he did not move into his building. Answering Atty. Bobot’s questions, Mr. Lopez said that he has 6 apartments, that 3 are vacant now and that a month ago 2 units moved out because they did not feel safe. Atty. Adamson called Detective William Del Moral who was sworn in and said that he conducted an investigation of a shooting that occurred at 525 N Water St on June 15, 2025, that the shooting happened around 3:00 am and they were dispatched at 3:47 am, that patrons came out from ELMNT LOUNGE and went to the parking structure, that they were pimping there, that one particular vehicle was blocking the southernmost entrance when the shooting happened. He added that there was an physical altercation with multiple parties and there was a female who was hanging out of the sunroof of the vehicle blocking the exit, exited the vehicle to join the altercation, went back to the vehicle to grab an object and few seconds later a gunshot was heard coming from that direction. Atty. Adamson referred to the photo on page 6 of the complaint, Detective Del Moral said that he reviewed the surveillance video, described what he sees in the photograph, that the shooting occurred behind the white vehicle were people are congregating and explained what two witness testified that night, that they came from ELMNT LOUNGE and they were hanging out as after set at the parking lot. He added that during the surveillance video vehicles were exiting thru the broken gate on the exit number 2 (next lane). Answering Atty. Bobot’s questions Detective Del Moral said the individuals went to hang out at the parking lot after leaving ELMNT LOUNGE, that there was no physical security inside the parking lot while he was there, that the surveillance footage came from the building, that he did not investigated the suspects and that ELMNT LOUNGE was closed at the time of his arrival. Atty. Adamson called Detective Jenay Patterson who said that she investigated the same shooting from June 15, 2025, that she identified the individual who fired the gun who has been criminally charged, that the alleged suspect was coming out from ELMNT LOUNGE to hang out at the parking structure to what they call “parking lot pimping”, that she was hanging out from the sunroof of her car, that people were already hanging out there after being dismissed from ELMNT LOUNGE, that an altercation started that made her leave her car and walk behind the pillar where the surveillance system could not reach, then she comes back from around the pillar to retrieve something from her vehicle that the suspect described as her firearm and discharged one round. She also said that the suspect came from Chicago, IL to an event an ELMNT LOUNGE “FreakNik”. Answering Atty. Bobot’s questions Detective Patterson said that she does not know for how long the people were hanging out at the parking lot and prior that shooting event, she had no knowledge that the parking lot was used as a hangout place. Detective Patterson clarified that parking lot pimping term is used in general and does not mean that is for a specific location. Both detectives were released. Atty. Adamson called Officer Mustafa and said that he is familiar with the window falling from the Chase Tower on April 2025, that MPD had to close up the block, that he is familiar with the photograph on page 9 of the complaint and that a bullet was recovered when the window was replaced. He added that Chase Bank Security called MPD on July 19, 2021 to inform the damage to the building and reported that the window had a bullet hole after the weekend fatal shooting that occurred outside ELMNT LOUNGE on July of 2021. He also said that he observed the promotion of the FreakNik event which is an accurate depiction of that promotion on page 4 of the complaint, that after the shooting occurred from that promotion, he held a meeting with ELMNT LOUNGE, that Mr. Bains and his partner were at the meeting to address the shooting at the parking lot of Chase Tower, that the meeting took place before the double homicide in July. He said that Mr. Bains stated that he took over the business on June 1, 2025, that the bar manager Mr. Nick has been managing and booking parties for 22 years, that they typically start to close the bar down the bar at 1:58 am and make a security wall to escort patrons out an down the intersection and; that he would inform MPD by email with the list of events to be hosted by ELMNT LOUNGE. He said that Mr. Bains did not inform him about the event held on July 11 with the same date of the double homicide. Answering Atty. Bobot’s questions Officer Mustafa said the bullet hole at the Chase Tower window was discovered the following day after the reported shooting that happened on July 19, 2021 and that the bullet was recovered on April 14th, 2022 after the window fell. Atty. Bobot said that he cannot explain how the bullet found a year later is attributed to the shooting. Atty. Adamson said that the licensing suspension for this business on 2021 was a sixty day suspension for the fatal shooting on July, 2021 and occurred the same weekend that the window damage happened and besides the reports, nothing else happened until 2022 when the same window fell and the bullet was found during the repair. Officer Mustafa continued responding Atty. Adamson’s questions by acknowledging that looking at the promotion of the July 11, 2025 held at ELMNT LOUNGE, that the host was OG TWEEZY and DJ DWAN and the performing artists were STEVE DA STONER AND MANNY FRESH. Ald. Zamarripa asked Mr. Bains why the July 11, 2025 event was not included in the list provided to MPD. The licensee said that he attended the meeting with MPD after shooting incident at the Chase Tower parking lot and that he committed to inform MPD (because they support the police), that code red is there every Friday and Saturday, that he did not notify MPD about this event but that they always talk to MPD, that they did not had this event in mind, that everything happened so fast and that yet that night there was no red code when the shooting happened because police was busy with a Harley festival. Ald. Pratt said that the agreement was to reach out to Officer Mustafa and asked the applicant if he reached out to him. Mr. Bains answered “no” that night. Officer Mustafa said that the meeting with ELMNT LOUNGE was on June 23rd, 2025. Officer Mustafa was released. Atty. Adamson called Detective Jake Pushnig and said the he was one of the lead detectives for the double homicide that occurred in front of ELMNT LOUNGE on July 12th, 2025 at 12:04 am, that he reviewed the surveillance footage that captured the homicide and described that five people were struck by gunfire and two died, that there 3 4 businesses damaged and that only 12 casings were recovered. He said that the video shows a crowd standing outside of ELMNT LOUNGE and that two vehicles driving south on Water St pulled up and someone from a vehicle yelled “you all thought that I was not going to find you” and started shooting people standing outside ELMNT LOUNGE. He added that there was an individual named Steve Da Stoner, the deceased victim Mr. Hodgins (OG TWEEZY), Mr. Smith (also found deceased) and other two individuals. He explained that they were waiting for the artist to arrive, that OG TWEEZY arrived first around 11:23 pm on July 11th and that Steve Da Stoner arrived couple of minutes before the shooting happened. He said that the security guard spoke to MPD detectives and said that one person from one of the vehicles yelled “you all thought that I was not going to find you” to the crowd. Detective Pushnig said that there is an active investigation and cannot speak on detail. Answering Atty. Bobot’s questions Detective Pushnig confirmed that something along the lines like “you all thought that I was not going to find you” was yelled from one of the vehicles, that there are two suspect vehicles involved, that shots were fired from both vehicles, that the vehicle pulled a little before ELMNT LOUNGE, that the shooting happened right outside of ELMNT LOUNGE and the people was standing right outside of ELMNT LOUNGE. He added that people standing outside were employees of the club and the performers that night. He also stated that the establishment was cooperative with the investigation and supplied the footage. Atty. Adamson called Captain Robert Thiel at District 1 and said that the typical deployment of code red is to assign some resources at the 500 600 block of Water St along with N Water St and Brady St where there are large congregations of individuals with information received in advance. He said that during the time of the shootings on June 15, some officers were assigned to secure the area from what it is called parking lot pimping at the Chase Tower and that for July 12th, resources were stretched thin due a police officer funeral and the Harley Fest event. He also said that if he would have known about the event, he would have deployed more elements to the area. Atty. Bobot asked Captain Thiel if he lives within the City of Milwaukee and who prepared the complaint. Captain Thiel said that he does not live in the City of Milwaukee, that City Attorney Adamson prepared the complaint, that he reviewed the complaint, that some corrections were made and signed and notarized the complaint after it was delivered to him. Atty. Bobot asked if the notary asked him to raise his right hand before notarizing the complaint. Captain Thiel said that he does not remember if he raised his right hand but that he was sworn and the complaint was properly notarized. He asked that this complaint be dismissed because Captain Thiel did not raise his right hand. Atty. Gresham said that we have a question of format of function here and that we have notary public who effectively announces that this was done in the proper process and that we have a testifying witness who has agreed to some of the stages that were required for that and that this is a sworn complaint. Atty. Bobot said that this proceeding is null and void because the process was not done as required and that is why he asked to call Captain Thiel first. Captain Thiel was released. The objection was noted and Ald. Zamarripa said that she is going to move for neighborhood testimony and only one person raised his hand. The individual indicated that he is in support. Armando Saafir DJay Mando – said that he DJ at ELMNT LOUNGE weekly, that it is the most safe and secure in the City, he said that he gets VIP treatment because he brings money to businesses but that at ELMNT LOUNGE he does not get VIP treatment and gets searched and path down like the rest because they are very serious with their business. Atty. Adamson asked DJay Mando for how long he has been working at ELMNT LOUNGE. DJay Mando said that September 22nd was his first date, that he DJ’s on Fridays now and the split is 100% of the door and a percentage of the vip sales, that he held events at Bodega at the beginning year (monthly Friday residency) which is an open format with similar crows and similar music on both places. He added that he gets vip treatment at Bodega and a quick search and path down. Atty. Adamson asked DJay Mando if he hosted an event at Flame 13 on April of this year. DJay Mando said that he remembers performing at Flame 13 but does not recall the date and that it was club night or a concert but that it was his first performance there. Ald. Bauman read for the record the 13 of 20 licensed years’ disciplinary actions for this establishment. He added that he met with the applicant, he was made promises of not marketing the same way it was before and that it turned out to be the same operation and within a month of starting new operations, they ended up with 2 corpses in front of the building and recommended the rescission. Ald. Zamarripa asked Ald. Bauman if the applicant kept some of the same staff/manager. Ald. Bauman said that he has no personal knowledge of that. Ald. Pratt asked if Nick was part of the previous team. The applicant said that Nick worked under the previous operation and still works for him. Atty. Bobot said that they have a lot of witnesses supporting the business. Ald. Zamarripa said that she already call for neighbors’ testimony and only one person stood up. Atty. Bobot said that probably because she called for neighbors and not for people to testify. Atty. Gresham advised the Chair to treat them as relevant testifying witnesses as neighborhood testimony has concluded as indicated by the Chair. Atty. Bobot called the Licensee, Mr. Bains. Answering to Atty. Bobot’s questions said that he and 2 partners own A1 WATERSTREET LLC, that the business was purchased on June 1, 2025 and paid $700K, that the original plan was to hold multicultural events, that some events were booked already and they had the plan of rebranding the entire business. Atty. Bobot went thru exhibits 1, 2 and 3 with his client. The exhibits were submitted at the table. Ald. Burgelis objected to the submission of the materials without time for the committee members to review it. Atty. Gresham advised to accept the exhibits if MPD has no objections. Ald. Zamarripa agreed. Atty. Gresham said that the committee is proceeding as requested. Atty. Bobot asked Mr. Bains if Mr. Murado is his Director of Operations and if he worked with the previous operator. Mr. Bains answered “it is correct”. Atty. Adamson asked Mr. Bains that at the June 23, 2025 meeting, if he said that he was from Brooklyn, that Brooklyn was crazy and that Milwaukee was not Brooklyn and if he underestimated the security risks on his own experience in a different city. Mr. Bains said that he had no comments and that he does not understand the question. Atty. Adamson asked Mr. Bains to identify the handwriting from the business license application. Mr. Bains said that some is his and some is Nick’s and that Mr. Nick helped him with the application. Atty. Adamson asked Mr. Bains how is the situation with the promotions. Mr. Bains said that currently they notify MPD every week about what’s happening and even if they are closed. Atty. Adamson asked Mr. Bains if that OG TWEEZY promotion was on his business website. Mr. Bains said that he does not know but that he did not have the password of the social media platforms and that they did not create new profiles because of the followers. Responding to Atty. Adamson’s questions Mr. Bains said that promoters come to the club, that Mr. Nick is in charge of hiring promoters, that is Nick’s job to check if there have been violent incidents attached to the promoters and that he always calls Nick every Thursday of Friday to be briefed on what they are having that weekend. Atty. Bobot called Nick Murado. Atty. Bobot objected that two members left the table. The objection was noted. Ald. Burgelis moved to reschedule this hearing for another date due the purposely delay and causing a havoc on this committee. There was a roll call, the motion failed 2 3 (Ayes: Burgelis, Jackson; Noes: Brower, Pratt, Zamarripa). Answering to Atty. Bobot’s questions Mr. Murado said that he is Director of Operations, that he has worked at the location for 20 years, that he was present on June 15th, that he closed the club at 2:05 am, that the staff cleared the streets, cleaned around and returned to premises for closing procedures, that he was the last one leaving at 2:45 am and that they did not call MPD because they were not there. As for the July event said that at 12:01 am few vehicles made a u turn on Water St and ambushed people on 610 N Water St, that they had 20 people in the venue, that it was a normal Friday night with no special event. He added that he has been sending emails predicting capacity to MPD because there was also a media interest. He was not advised that there was no code red on July, 11, 2025. He mentioned that they closed voluntarily the following Saturday until the beginning of August in observation of the deceased. Responding to Atty. Adamson’s questions, Mr. Murado said that he started to work at this business when it was Lady Bug and that his duties are to hire, train, coordinate events, regular nights, payroll, that every situation is different and that they hire marketers, no promoters; and gets a flat rate pay based on the success of the event. Atty. Bobot called Officer Owens (MPD) and said that he has been a code red officer the last few months, that his duties are to be present working at night events, that almost worked all the summer on code red in front of ELMNT LOUNGE with a partner, that they engage with the staff, that the staff has been cooperative, that he did not work on June 15th neither July 12th and that he has not have had any bad interaction doing his work with the staff. Atty. Bobot called Ms. Melvin Wilson and said that he is involved in the parking lot operations as an ALIED Universal full time employee at the Chase Tower parking lot and also works as security guard at ELMNT LOUNGE over the weekends. He added that he was not working at either job on June 15, 2025 and that it is not safe for a security guard to be out on the parking lot on his own. He added that he worked at the front door on the July 11, 2025 event, that his vision was obstructed by a vehicle but heard someone saying “you thought that we were not going to find you” and heard gun shots after. He also said that they did not provide first aid but secured the patrons and the area. He also answered that he started to work on 2015, that he checks ids, path downs, do crowd control and walks from the premises until Michigan Av to make sure that no one is around. Individuals’ testifying: Juan Hogans – son of one the victims – said that he has been there, that his father made few dates there and that he does not think that any club could prevent a drive by shooting from happening. Torey Lowe – works at a radio station – said that on July 12 he was on his way there when he got the news, that he frequents ELMNT LOUNGE 3 4 times per year, that he does special events and celebrates his birthday there. Gina Goodwin – 622 N Water St –said that she is the landlord and resides there, that she has known Nick for over 20 years and that she does not have information of other issues besides the shooting. Wendy Burke – 622 N Water St – said that she works for the legal entity that owns the building and that they did diligences to make sure that Mr. Bains was liable financial and morally. Margaret Bailey Stewart – said that she frequented the lounge when she was younger and that she has utilized the place to host different events like her 25th wedding anniversary and feels safe there. Atty. Bobot said that Mr. Bains took over the club on June this year and that no sanctions were given to previous owner neither his client from 2022 to 2025. He added that the incidents did not happen inside the premises, that the first incident happened at a parking lot after the club was closed and that there is no indication that the shooting is related to ELMNT LOUNGE. As for the second item he said that something tragic happened but that it was a drive by shooting, which it seemed that they were looking for somebody, that it was a very serious targeted event with 2 people dead and 3 injured. He also said that MPD was notified right away, that the staff cooperated with the police and even provided the surveillance footage. He said that they have recognized that it was a small event and that they did not informed the police about it. He also said that it is not a small thing when he raised the issue for the sworn complaint. Atty. Adamson said that Mr. Bain just took over in June this year but that it is the same guy with the same plan, same results and that these are the cracks of the foundation and that the two shootings involve people that were at ELMNT LOUNGE for FreakNik and Back Outside events. He also said that he thinks that such shootings in such short time is bad and that this hearing is for what spills on the streets and not for what is happening inside the club and that is why the license needs to be revokes. Atty. Helsel cited the case of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin Opinion 2022 WI 76 https://www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinions/19/pdf/19 2184.pdf in regards Atty. Bobot’s objection to the sworn complaint. Ald. Pratt moved for revocation based upon the preponderance of evidence in the police report, aldermanic testimony, licensee and staff testimony and other evidence presented at the hearing and what was included in the notice that demonstrates the operation results in a threat to health, safety and welfare of the public for the loitering and disturbance of the peace. The motion passed 4 1. Ald. Burgelis said that Milwaukee has an obligation to protect its reputation, its safety for patrons and visitors in the downtown area and that this business has made this neighborhood look unsafe. He added that he did not heard anything about what this business is doing to improve the safety for the patrons and ensure that people go back home safely. He added that he is also disturbed about the lack of safety at the parking lot across the street which is a discussion for another date for this committee. Ald. Pratt said that 10% of the people present on that night are dead and that it is not acceptable. The meeting paused at 4:33 pm The meeting reconvened at 4:54 pm	Pass	4:1	Action details	Meeting details	Not available
9/23/2025	COMMON COUNCIL	ASSIGNED TO			Action details	Meeting details	Not available

Number

250913

Version

ORIGINAL

Reference

Sponsor

THE CHAIR

Title

Motion relating to the revocation of the Class B Tavern, Public Entertainment Premises, Food Dealer and Sidewalk Dining licenses of Rajvir Bains, agent for A1 WATERSTREET LLC, for the premises located at 618 N Water St doing business as “ELMNT LOUNGE” in the 4^th aldermanic district.

Text

It is moved, by the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the Common Council accept the recommendation of the Licenses Committee as attached to this file.

Requestor

Drafter

CC-CC

Laurie Phillip

9/18/2025