00001 1 2 CITY OF MILWAUKEE 3 LICENSES COMMITTEE 4 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 5 In the Matter of the Class "A" Malt renewal application 6 for: 7 MUHANNAD MUSTAFA PRINCE FOOD MARKET, INC. 8 1840 North 19th Street 9 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 10 COMMITTEE MEMBERS 11 ALD. JAMES BOHL, JR., - Vice-Chairman ALD. JOSEPH A. DUDZIK 12 ALD. ROBERT PUTENTE ALD. WILLIE WADE 13 LICENSING DIVISION by REBECCA BARRON 14 NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES by TOM WESSEL HEALTH DEPARTMENT by PAUL ZEMKE 15 POLICE DEPARTMENT by SEARGENT CHET ULICKEY OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY by ATTORNEY BRUCE SCHRIMPF 16 17 18 Proceedings had and testimony given in 19 the above-entitled matter, before the LICENSES 20 COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE, on 21 the 13th day of February, 2007. 22 00002 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: The next item on 3 our 8:30 agenda is for Muhannad Mustafa. Class 4 "A" Malt renewal application as agent for Prince 5 Food Market, Inc. for Prince Food Market at - - 6 at 1840 North 19th Street. Good morning to you? 7 THE APPLICANT: Good morning, sir. 8 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Sir, you are - - 9 Are you Mis - - Mr. Mustafa? 10 THE APPLICANT: Yeah. Mr. Muhannad 11 Mustafa. 12 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. I'm going 13 to need to swear you in, and - - and, sir, if you 14 could identify yourself for the record? 15 THE WITNESS: Tony Gibson, Chairman of 16 Johnson Park Neighborhood Association. 17 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. Thank you, 18 Mr. Gibson. If you could raise your right hand, 19 too, if you intend to testify. We'll swear you 20 both in. 21 (Whereupon those present were sworn.) 22 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: And for Mr. 23 Mustafa, do you acknowledge receiving notice of 24 today's meeting with the possibility your 25 application could be denied? It is cited for 00003 1 items contained within a police report, as well 2 as neighborhood objections to loitering, 3 littering, cleanliness of the store, surrounding 4 areas, failure to comply with ordinances and 5 statutes relative - - or relating to the sale of 6 food, cigarettes, drug paraphernalia, sales of 7 alcohol to underage, drug and criminal activity, 8 and conduct which is detrimental to the health, 9 safety and welfare of the neighborhood. 10 THE APPLICANT: Okay. I never had any 11 problem or any complaint from the neighbor - - 12 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Mr. Mustafa, I'm 13 not asking if you had any problems. I'm saying 14 did you receive a notice that contained those 15 items? 16 THE APPLICANT: Yes, I did. 17 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Or not. That's 18 all I need right now. Thank you. Going around 19 the horn. Health Department? 20 HEALTH: Health has no objection. 21 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Neighborhood 22 Services. 23 DNS: We have no objections. There 24 were recent orders, though, that were litigated 25 in Municipal Court regarding signage. 00004 1 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: And - - And those 2 items? 3 DNS: Proper signs and sign 4 advertising. 5 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Are there still 6 outstanding orders or are you just - - 7 DNS: They were litigated January 23rd. 8 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. And, 9 Sergeant Ulickey? 10 SERGEANT ULICKEY: On 6/27 of '06 the 11 applicant received two citations for outdoor 12 advertising and zoning violations. There - - As 13 the DNS stated, he was found guilty on both on 14 1/23 of '07, and fined 154 dollars and 325 15 dollars, respectively. 16 And on 6/28 of '06 he received two 17 citations for outdoor advertising and zoning 18 violations. Was found guilty. And, again, the 19 fines were at 154 dollars and 325. 20 Additionally, Mr. Mustafa is wanted on 21 a warrant with Racine County Sheriff that was 22 just issued. 23 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Did he have - - 24 Did he have prior notice to that, Sergeant 25 Ulickey, because I don't see that? 00005 1 SERGEANT ULICKEY: No, he did not. 2 This warrant was just issued on January 29th, I 3 believe. 4 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: So it just came 5 into the system. 6 SERGEANT ULICKEY: That's correct. 7 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Thank you. Mr. 8 Mustafa, do you have any questions or comments 9 relating to the - - the two items on the - - 10 contained in the police report at this time? 11 THE APPLICANT: No, but those two 12 signs, I called the City for reinspection for the 13 signs, and nobody ever came to reinspect them. 14 So my lawyer called me and told me that they 15 found me guilty for that. 16 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. And were 17 you aware that you have an outstanding warrant? 18 THE APPLICANT: Yes. 19 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. And - - 20 And, Sergeant, what was that warrant for, again? 21 SERGEANT ULICKEY: It was for 22 disorderly conduct. 23 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: In Racine County? 24 SERGEANT ULICKEY: Yes. 25 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Mr. Chair. 00006 1 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Alderman Puente. 2 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Is that a State or a 3 muni? 4 SERGEANT ULICKEY: It is a State 5 warrant. 6 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Mr. Mustafa, I 7 just want to make you aware, and I know that you 8 did not receive prior notice of it, but it has 9 been the - - the practice of this committee to 10 ensure that individuals take care of - - of all 11 outstanding obligations before we proceed forward 12 with licenses. I - - I just wanted to make you 13 aware. This may be an unusual circumstance in 14 that those individuals typically will receive 15 prior notice and will receive a separate letter 16 notifying you of such. But I - - I just would 17 encourage you to take care of that obligation. 18 This - - This is a renewal. It is 19 cited for neighborhood objections. Other than 20 Mr. Gibson, are there any other persons here to 21 testify in the matter relating to Prince Food 22 Market at 1840 North 19th Street? Ma'am, are - - 23 are you also - - Is there anyone else? Why don't 24 you come forward to the table here, as well, 25 ma'am. And we will swear you in, as well. 00007 1 Linda, if you could do that. 2 (Whereupon the witness was sworn.) 3 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Mr. Gibson, if you 4 don't mind, I'm going to start with ladies first. 5 Ma'am, if you could provide your name and your 6 address for the record? 7 THE WITNESS: My name is Lula Jean 8 Turney, and I stay at 1818 North 20th. And I've 9 been going to his store since '55. I ain't had 10 no problem at it. 11 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. You - - You 12 are in support of his license then, Ms. Turney? 13 THE WITNESS: Hmm? 14 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: I said, you are in 15 support of his license here? 16 THE WITNESS: I am in support - - 17 support him. 18 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Anything else that 19 you want to add here at this point? 20 THE WITNESS: No. 21 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. 22 THE WITNESS: He's just a good guy. 23 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: All right. 24 Questions by committee? 25 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Mr. Chair. 00008 1 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Mister - - 2 Alderman Puente? 3 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Regarding that 4 disorderly conduct warrant, what happened? 5 THE APPLICANT: I missed the court 6 date. 7 ALDERMAN PUENTE: No, about the 8 incident. 9 THE APPLICANT: Oh, the incident. I 10 had a misunderstanding with the clerk at the gas 11 station at the time. And I left. After that, 12 police pulled me over and took me in and told me 13 .. 14 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Did you threaten the 15 clerk or? 16 THE APPLICANT: No, no. I just had a 17 misunderstanding for me filling up with gas and 18 using his restroom in there. Then I walked out 19 of there, just try, you know, pay him the money. 20 He thought I was going to run away and some kind 21 of problems, and I pay him and I left. Then two 22 hours later, police was - - they come - - You 23 know, pulled me over and took me in, but I found, 24 you know, they told me I was free to go. There 25 was no problem and all of that. And I never knew 00009 1 that I had been issued a warrant or none of that. 2 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Usually a State 3 charge means a little more than what you just 4 told us. 5 THE APPLICANT: The - - The only 6 warrant I have from Racine County when I missed 7 the court date, and that's it, and I went there 8 for - - after that and I take care of everything. 9 It was fine. And I don't think I have any more 10 warrants or a problem with Racine County or any 11 other county. 12 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Mr. Chair, I move 13 that the police report become part of the 14 permanent record. 15 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Motion by Alderman 16 Puente is to move that - - recommend that the 17 entire police report become part of our permanent 18 record in this proceedings, and hearing no 19 objections to that, so ordered. Any other 20 questions, Alderman Puente? 21 ALDERMAN PUENTE: No. Thank you, Mr. 22 Chair. 23 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Mr. Gibson, is 24 there - - Floor is yours. 25 THE WITNESS: Thank you. First of all, 00010 1 I'd like to say that I live on 19th Street right 2 down the block from this gentleman's store, so I, 3 on a daily basis, do witness what goes on at his 4 store, unlike someone who lives on 20th Street 5 that's around the corner. And if the committee 6 is interested, I have pictures of - - taken 7 yesterday of the most current condition of the 8 facade of the store, which has - - No improvement 9 has been made. 10 Last year we came before the committee. 11 We had told the committee at that time that we 12 had invited the store owner to one of our 13 neighborhood association mee - - meetings, and he 14 was not interested in working with the current 15 neighborhood association to keep the improvement 16 going on in the neighborhood. 17 Just the - - the items that are 18 presented before the committee today, are kind of 19 indicative of the way he runs his business and 20 what goes on at his store. I have personally, 21 this summer, talked to him about loitering at the 22 store, persons that were at the store conducting 23 drug sales out in front of the store. I went in 24 the store and asked him if he was aware of the 25 persons who were outside of his store loitering 00011 1 and selling drugs. He told me that he doesn't 2 know anything about it. He's got cameras up. 3 And he just pretty much doesn't concern himself 4 with what's going on in - - in the neighborhood. 5 As you can see in the - - the pictures 6 I'm presenting to you is pictures of his 7 property, and also, pictures of new development 8 in the area. And it does not - - It just 9 absolutely does not fit into what is going on in 10 the neighborhood at this current time. There's 11 been hundreds of thousands of dollars of 12 investment in the area. Persons have built new 13 homes, and paid pretty hefty taxes for the homes 14 that are in the area, and I'd just like to, you 15 know, state to the committee, you know, if they 16 would deny his Class "B" liquor license. 17 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Thank you, Mr. 18 Gibson. Alderman Dudzik would move to make the 19 - - the assortment of photos provided by Mr. 20 Gibson part of our official record in this 21 proceeding, and hearing no objections to that, so 22 ordered. 23 Are there questions by committee of - - 24 of Mr. Gibson at this time? 25 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Mr. Chairman. 00012 1 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Alderman Dudzik. 2 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: I'm going to take 3 over a job that you normally do, that City 4 Attorney Schrimpf is supposed to do, and that's 5 ask, did you, in fact, take these pictures? 6 THE WITNESS: Yes, I did. I took the 7 pictures yesterday. 8 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: And on what date did 9 you, in fact, take these pictures? 10 THE WITNESS: Just yesterday. And as 11 you can see, it was - - and they're - - they're 12 black and white for the sake of not using up all 13 my ink and on my printer, but they were just 14 taken yesterday. And as you can see in the 15 pictures, the upper floors of the building are 16 boarded. Side doors are boarded. You know, I'm 17 - - I'm sure there's some type of ordinance with 18 the City as far as the property being boarded up. 19 But he mades no attempt to fit into the 20 neighborhood. And we, as a neighborhood 21 association, you know, 60, 70 people strong, we - 22 - You know, we asked him last year, you know, if 23 you would, you know, supply some items that 24 everybody in the neighborhood would use, that we 25 would patronize your place. We would help you 00013 1 become a stronger business in the community. All 2 he wants to sell is beer, cigarettes, things of 3 that nature, you know, penny candy. And there's 4 a lot of foot traffic that comes to the store. 5 I've seen people leaving the store with 6 inordinate amounts of beer, you know, walking 7 away, which, you know, that's fine. Persons can 8 buy as much beer and liquor as they want. But, 9 you know, these persons are walking down the 10 street through the neighborhood, and it just 11 raises some - - some questions as to, you know, 12 why - - why do patrons pass other establishments 13 to come to his establishment just to buy beer? 14 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Mr. Chairman. 15 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Please proceed. 16 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Just one or two more 17 questions, please. Approximately what time did 18 you take these pictures? 19 THE WITNESS: Those pictures were taken 20 yesterday morning, probably about, oh, about 9:30 21 before his store opened up. 22 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: And these pictures 23 were taken to essentially show that he's in 24 violation of signage ordinances? 25 THE WITNESS: Yeah, just the sign - - 00014 1 signage ordinance and just the overall condition 2 of his property. And if you look at the last 3 photo, it's - - it's - - shows the condition of 4 some of the new homes that - - that were built. 5 And even the older homes in the neighborhood, 6 there's been money provided for homeowners to 7 rehab their homes. So even homes that are 70 8 years old, you know, are in a lot better 9 condition than - - than the store owner's 10 property, itself. 11 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Can - - Mr. Chair, 12 just one or two more questions. Can you tell me, 13 the upper floors, the windows appear to be 14 boarded up on the upper floors? 15 THE WITNESS: Yes. 16 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Thank you. 17 THE WITNESS: Side doors boarded, upper 18 - - upper floor windows are boarded. 19 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Thank you. 20 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Any other 21 questions, Alderman Dudzik? Alderman Wade? 22 ALDERMAN WADE: Alderman Dudzik, is 23 that it? 24 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Yes. 25 ALDERMAN WADE: Okay. Mr. Chair? 00015 1 Man, once again, I'm very familiar with 2 this area, too, and it would be my advice to you 3 to make some changes, because your days are 4 numbered in that neighborhood. And I know you 5 can see it coming all around you. And if you 6 can't see that, you - - you got to be the most 7 blind. I mean, that neighborhood right - - It 8 has transitioned totally, and it's some beautiful 9 properties over in that neighborhood. I know 10 that one with those columns and - - Is that your 11 house? 12 THE WITNESS: No. No, no. I can't - - 13 I can't afford that one. 14 ALDERMAN WADE: Okay. 15 THE WITNESS: But it's right down the 16 street from me. 17 ALDERMAN WADE: Yeah. I mean, 18 beautiful neighborhood, and I'm probably wrong 19 for bringing this up, but it's - - it's a 20 building at the corner on Walnut that you guys 21 need to talk to them, too, about. 22 THE WITNESS: Believe me, as Chair of 23 the Neighborhood Association, I'm also the Chair 24 of the Committee Planning Council for NSB Area 25 10. We definitely take a keen interest in all 00016 1 the properties, and I especially have an interest 2 in the - - in the previous testimony for the - - 3 for the last committee item. But, yes, we do - - 4 we - - 5 ALDERMAN WADE: Are you famil - - You 6 know the property I'm talking about. 7 THE WITNESS: Yes, on - - on 20th and 8 Brown. Yes, a big multi-unit apartment building? 9 ALDERMAN WADE: No, it's - - No, it's 10 on Walnut. It's on the corner of Walnut. 11 THE WITNESS: It would be on the corner 12 of 18th and Walnut. It's - - It's a vacant 13 property, yes. 14 ALDERMAN WADE: Look at that property. 15 THE WITNESS: Yes. 16 ALDERMAN WADE: Anyway, let me stick to 17 the point. 18 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Please. 19 ALDERMAN WADE: It - - It seems that 20 you would have volunteered, just by what's going 21 on around you, volunteer. I mean, we talking 22 about windows, paint, just some basic stuff that 23 don't cost much money. And with the type of 24 people that live in that neighborhood now, it may 25 be a good business move for you to look at maybe 00017 1 offering a different line of groceries or 2 services at the store. I don't - - I don't know 3 exactly what the committee is going to come up 4 with, but I do know that your day - - your days 5 are numbered in that neighborhood if you don't 6 get it together. I do have a question, though. 7 How long have you owned that store? 8 THE APPLICANT: About a year and a half 9 now. 10 ALDERMAN WADE: Because that store used 11 to be owned by some - - someone else, like Mr. 12 Brown - - the Brown family or somebody else? 13 THE WITNESS: If - - If I could. The 14 previous owner was of middle Eastern descent, 15 also. We had no problems with him when he was at 16 the store. After this gentleman took over 17 ownership of the store, all of the problems 18 started coming forward. Not the facade, itself, 19 because the facade is what it was. But as far as 20 the loitering, the drug sales in front of the - - 21 in front of the store, and like I said, we have 22 worked with him. I mean, we have - - we have 23 tried to. We have a lot of neighborhood events 24 throughout the summer. He has the opportunity to 25 come and support the neighborhood association. 00018 1 He distances himself from, you know, the current 2 neighborhood association and - - and certain 3 members. 4 ALDERMAN WADE: So you - - So you're 5 saying he's only been there a year. 6 THE WITNESS: It's been - - 7 ALDERMAN WADE: - - you've noticed the 8 management changed, it's changed some of the 9 activity at the store. 10 THE WITNESS: Yes, as soon as he took 11 over it immediately went to this, you know, the 12 same old - - same old as far as corner stores, 13 you know, a large amount of beer sales, persons 14 hanging out in front of the store, and I don't 15 know if the committee has reviewed any notes from 16 last year's application, but he was warned last 17 year and warned that he would be suspended if we, 18 you know, if the problems persisted. And they 19 not only persisted, they got worse this summer. 20 Because I'm - - I'm not sure what the police 21 report may have said, but as neighborhood 22 association chairman, I do know that there were 23 several residents who had called the police about 24 loitering and - - and drug sales in front of his 25 store. Whether it's included in - - in any of 00019 1 the police reports, I'm not sure. But that - - 2 That was witnessed myself. Because like I say, I 3 live right down the street. I can see his store 4 when I pick up my morning paper. And I - - When 5 I cut my grass, I can visually see what goes on 6 at his store. 7 ALDERMAN WADE: Mr. Chairman, just - - 8 I have just one more comment. 9 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Please, proceed. 10 ALDERMAN WADE: Is that just for people 11 who are listening, coming in front of this 12 committee. There - - There is a lot of activity 13 going on renewalwise on the north side. Some of 14 that stuff that was tolerated as far as facades 15 on businesses and stores, this committee and this 16 Council is starting to get a little thin with - - 17 with that type of, you know, all boarded up, beer 18 signs, covered up. This - - This committee is 19 starting to, if you watch this committee, you see 20 that we're starting to have lower tolerance for 21 people not having their facade together. That 22 - - That's it for me, Mr. Chair. 23 THE APPLICANT: Can I say something? 24 MR. SCHRIMPF: Mr. Chair. 25 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: What - - Hold on 00020 1 everyone. I'm going to take the - - the handle 2 of the - - Ms. Barron, when does this license 3 expire? 4 MS. BARRON: March 20th. 5 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Do we have - - Do 6 we have another Council meeting between now and 7 that cycle? We do not. 8 MR. SCHRIMPF: The problem that you 9 have, Mr. Chairman, is that the next Licenses 10 Committee meeting would be held within enough 11 time, but the next Council meeting following that 12 would be two days after this license expires on 13 March 22nd. 14 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Mr. Mustafa, I 15 know you've been patient. Just hold on one more 16 second. Okay. Mr. Mustafa, I'm just going to 17 call it what it is point blank. Your store looks 18 like a tragedy. It's awful. It's absolutely 19 awful. And - - And, you know, I - - I appreciate 20 that there are businesses that - - that provide 21 services and a vital service through - - through 22 - - through things such as WIC, but I just don't 23 - - I don't understand that when you have 24 businesses, that you've got to advertise it 25 across the entire facade and have it ten foot 00021 1 high. I mean, it just - - It looks absolutely 2 dreadful. 3 I know there's been a lot thrown out 4 and you've been patient here. I'm going to allow 5 you to address those things, you know, in terms 6 of the issues been raised. What - - What's your 7 response? 8 THE APPLICANT: Okay. First, this guy 9 mentioned that he came and talked to me and asked 10 me about anything, and it was all lies. Because 11 I - - This guy's never been in my store before. 12 Never even tried to talk to me about anything to 13 work out together. This thing - - Another thing 14 any thing to take before I opened up my store, I 15 believe that I used to do anything with that 16 before I opened up my store, be there, because 17 you know I open at ten o'clock, and he should be 18 there eight o'clock, nine o'clock, standing in 19 front of my store, some people witnessed that, 20 believe and try to take picture, but the sign is 21 on and take picture for that, because I don't 22 have that much sign anymore. The only two sign I 23 have is by Newport cigarette, and I took them off 24 right. I never put them back after. Unless 25 somebody else came just put them on my wall, take 00022 1 picture of that, because I have cameras outside. 2 There is no drugs activity. There is no 3 problems. I don't believe anybody ever called 4 police or - - And my store from outside or inside 5 a problem. And like I said, this guy's never 6 ever came and talked to me about anything or 7 never been in my store. And all other neighbor, 8 usually I ask the neighbor having a problem, if 9 anything gone wrong, anything this and that, and 10 one time I put sign on door with my phone number, 11 my home phone number on it, if anybody have a 12 problem, just call me at home and leave me a 13 message with any problem that is here. 14 Plus, the building, I'm not own the 15 building. The only thing I own is the store, and 16 there's only two signs from the store, and that's 17 it. I don't know other signs. 18 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Mr. Mustafa, you 19 don't own the building. Even you have to admit 20 it looks absolutely awful. 21 THE APPLICANT: Yeah, because - - 22 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: You know, and - - 23 and I don't want to get into, "he said, he said, 24 or he did do, he didn't do," in terms of whether 25 or not Mr. Gibson's come in, but I will just tell 00023 1 you, your credibility is lacking that you come 2 here a year later. I don't - - If - - If the 3 fact that you removed additional signage from 4 your store, it looks that bad. I'd had to see 5 what it looked like before, because it just - - 6 It's - - It's absolutely awful. It is just 7 awful. And - - And I concur with the remarks of 8 Alderman Wade. You know, the fact is is that we 9 tolerate this garbage. Your store looks like 10 garbage. I - - I personally would go out of my 11 way not to go in it, because it looks like 12 garbage. It looks like trash in a neighborhood 13 that has seen a great deal of revitalization and 14 some new - - new homes that have been built 15 there. The fact is - - is, you know, I don't 16 know who the owner is, but frankly, I wouldn't 17 want to deal with the owner if he's not willing 18 to make that investment, because frankly, it - - 19 it's good for your business in my viewpoint. 20 When - - When that neighborhood has seen the 21 level of revital - - revitalization that it has, 22 frankly, that you would make the improvement 23 would be the equivalent of sort of the rising 24 tide catching all the ships and rising it up and 25 - - and bringing you more business and just being 00024 1 an extra positive, rather than the fact that 2 we've seen all of this - - this - - this nice new 3 development take place around you, and you look 4 like an absolute eyesore that - - that sticks out 5 like a sore thumb. I - - Frankly, I just don't 6 think that you have any excuses. I don't. 7 Ms. Reese, is there anything that - - 8 that you want to add here from the Alderman's 9 office? 10 MS. REESE: Yes. The Alderman's aware 11 of the situation, and he's monitoring it. He 12 asks that the applicant be mindful of the 13 neighborhood, litter, loitering, the upkeep of 14 the building, because the neighborhood is 15 changing. He's not opposed to this license, but 16 he leaves the final decision to the board. 17 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Any other 18 questions of the committee at this time? 19 MR. SCHRIMPF: Mr. Chairman. 20 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Mr. Schrimpf. 21 MR. SCHRIMPF: Thank you very much, Mr. 22 Chairman. To Mr. Gibson. You indicated that you 23 have seen people leave his store and walk down 24 the street and they're carrying beer? 25 THE WITNESS: Yeah. 00025 1 MR. SCHRIMPF: How often do you see 2 that? 3 THE WITNESS: On a daily basis. One of 4 the things that really caught my attention this 5 summer was that there was an unusual number of 6 persons that were going out of their way to - - 7 to come to his store, bypassing other corner 8 stores in the neighborhood to particularly come 9 to his store. And which - - which is not un - - 10 I mean, you have your free right to, you know, 11 shop where you want. But as I stated, these 12 persons, most of the sales that were coming out 13 of this - - out of his store were strictly beer, 14 you know, no food items, things of that nature. 15 MR. SCHRIMPF: When you saw those 16 people leave his store and walk out with beer, 17 was it in any kind of a sack or was it exposed? 18 THE WITNESS: I've seen it - - I've 19 seen it in bags and exposed. 20 MR. SCHRIMPF: Okay. 21 THE WITNESS: And I've also seen pers 22 - - I'm sorry. But I've also seen persons 23 walking down the street with open containers 24 drinking once they have left his store. 25 MR. SCHRIMPF: And that's my question. 00026 1 Have you seen that activity from this store on a 2 frequent basis? 3 THE WITNESS: Yes. Yes. 4 MR. SCHRIMPF: How frequent? 5 THE WITNESS: At least once a week, 6 once every other week. 7 MR. SCHRIMPF: So just so that we're 8 understanding it. You're seeing people once a 9 week, leave his store with an open can of beer - 10 - 11 THE WITNESS: Yes. 12 MR. SCHRIMPF: And consuming it as 13 they're walking down the street. 14 THE WITNESS: Yes, and I've also 15 witnessed people, persons loitering around his 16 store with open containers drinking beer. And as 17 far as me never having any contact with him, he's 18 been to one of our neighborhood meetings. He was 19 invited and did attend one of our neighborhood 20 meetings where the - - the neighborhood 21 association members at that time asked him to 22 kind of change what was going on at his store. 23 And that was even last year before he came before 24 this committee for his previous license 25 application. 00027 1 MR. SCHRIMPF: That's all I have, Mr. 2 Chairman. 3 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Other questions by 4 committee? 5 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Mr. Chair. 6 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Alderman Puente. 7 ALDERMAN PUENTE: You mentioned last 8 year. Did you come and testify last year? 9 THE WITNESS: Yes, I came, along with 10 several other neighbors, and the store owner also 11 had his supporters that - - that came in too. 12 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Okay. With the 13 recent snow and that, does he shovel his 14 sidewalk? 15 THE WITNESS: Yeah, the sidewalks are 16 shoveled. Yeah, that - - that's not a issue. 17 The sidewalks are shoveled. In the summertime 18 litter's not a problem, because we have two 19 neighborhood clean-ups throughout the summer 20 where - - where we pick up litter, whether it's 21 his, ours or theirs, but - - So the - - the 22 litter is not a problem. It's the loitering, 23 some drug sales that were witnessed on his 24 premises. I talked to the liaison officer of the 25 Third District about the problem. Talked to 00028 1 Captain Harpol about the situation. So that's 2 why I said before. I don't know what is actually 3 in the police report, when the police come, what 4 they did find. But I do, in fact, know that - - 5 that residents did call about certain items. 6 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Did you call? 7 THE WITNESS: Yes, I did call. That - 8 - That was part of my contacting Officer Kupsik 9 and Captain Harpol. 10 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Thank you, Mr. Chair. 11 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Other questions by 12 committee? Mr. Mustafa, anything else you want 13 to add at this point? 14 Mr. Mustafa, what - - How close is your 15 relationship with the owner here? How long is 16 your lease on - - on the lease? 17 THE APPLICANT: I got three more years. 18 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: You have three 19 more years. 20 THE APPLICANT: Yes. 21 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: In terms of your 22 lease. And you are the - - Are you the only 23 tenant? 24 THE APPLICANT: Yeah. 25 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: So there's - - I'm 00029 1 assuming that there may be an apartment that's 2 above your store. Is that - - 3 THE APPLICANT: No, he wouldn't rent - 4 - He just kept it closed. Because he want to 5 sell it, too. 6 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: And how often is 7 the owner at - - at this place? Does he ever 8 come back and visit you at all? 9 THE APPLICANT: Twice a month. A 10 couple times a month. That's it. 11 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Does the owner 12 live in the Milwaukee area? 13 THE APPLICANT: Yeah. 14 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. 15 THE APPLICANT: And he just remodeling 16 the building for the last couple months. 17 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Well. 18 THE APPLICANT: It's - - 19 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: That may be the 20 equivalent of my buying a smashed junked car and 21 just putting a new window in while the car still 22 remains smashed and saying that I remodeled the 23 car. 24 With that we are - - we are in 25 committee. Is there a motion? 00030 1 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Mr. Chairman. 2 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Alderman Dudzik. 3 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Based on the police 4 report and the neighborhood testimony, I would 5 move a ten day - - approval with a ten day 6 suspension. 7 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: The motion by 8 Alderman Dudzik is to recommend approval with a 9 ten day suspension based on matters contained in 10 the police report, as well as - - as well as 11 objections testified here. Alderman? 12 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Yes, please. 13 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Is there any 14 discussion on that motion? 15 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Mr. Chair. 16 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: On the motion, 17 Alderman Puente. 18 ALDERMAN PUENTE: I will support the 19 motion with the caveat, though, that this 20 gentleman has a State warrant for his arrest. 21 I'm very concerned about that. More than likely, 22 or hopefully, he'll take care of that before the 23 next Council meeting. 24 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Do you want to 25 offer that as a friendly amendment here, Alderman 00031 1 Puente? 2 ALDERMAN PUENTE: Yes, I would. 3 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Alderman Dudzik, I 4 think the friendly amendment would be the caveat 5 that Mr. Mustafa would satisfy that warrant on 6 the Friday prior to our next Common Council 7 meeting, by that and show us satisfactory 8 evidence of that. 9 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Most definitely. 10 That's fine. 11 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Okay. Mr. 12 Mustafa, the - - the other caveat is going to be 13 that the Friday prior to our Council meeting - - 14 and, Linda, what date would that be by? 15 CLERK ELMER: February 23rd. 16 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: By February 23rd, 17 you would have to go down and - - and at least 18 show satisfactory evidence of your satisfying 19 that warrant to our License Division downstairs 20 here. If you do not provide that, we have the 21 ability to pull you at Council and hold your 22 license and do - - and bring you back to 23 committee and - - and take additional action. So 24 that is - - That is acceptable to the maker of 25 the motion? 00032 1 ALDERMAN DUDZIK: Yes. 2 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Any other - - Any 3 other comments? Again, the motion by Alderman 4 Dudzik is to move approval of the renewal of the 5 license with a ten day suspension, and the caveat 6 that the outstanding warrant be satisfied. 7 I will just say briefly on this motion, 8 Mr. Mustafa, I would - - I have real qualms 9 because you don't own the property. Otherwise, I 10 would have been happy to slap you with about a 45 11 day suspension and hold that open to you, and 12 essentially, just say that if you can't satisfy, 13 at least bring satisfactory evidence that you've 14 signed a contract with some type of contractor to 15 do improvement work in the next couple weeks, and 16 frankly, I think that that almost maybe ought to 17 be done. But I just don't know the difficulty of 18 holding you accountable at the point where you 19 don't own the property. At the same time, I 20 think you got to get your head out of the sand. 21 Because I think that there are some issues here. 22 I don't believe that Mr. Gibson's coming here 23 just to tell us a bunch of stories. You need to 24 get your head out of the sand, and you need to - 25 - to become an active member of that community. 00033 1 And that starts with - - with you dragging the 2 owner of that business - - 3 THE APPLICANT: Okay. 4 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: - - to the next, 5 is it Johnson Park? 6 THE WITNESS: Yes, Johnson Park. 7 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: To that next 8 neighborhood association, along with yourself, 9 work with Alderman Hines, look at some facade 10 grants, but improve that property. And frankly, 11 your owner ought to be doing that, because he 12 ought to - - He ought to be able to charge you 13 more rent, other than the fact that you have a 14 three year lease. Because if he improves that 15 property, I think that he's going to get more 16 value out of it. So, that being the motion, are 17 there any objections to the motion? 18 ALDERMAN WADE: Mr. Chair. 19 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Alderman Wade? 20 ALDERMAN WADE: No objection to the 21 motion. I just want to go on record as saying 22 that everything you just said about us trying to 23 hold the property owner and the business owner 24 responsible for the facade of the building is - - 25 is exactly how I feel. I mean, I really wish 00034 1 that - - that it was something that we could - - 2 we could put in place that would have you have to 3 come forth with some type of improvements to that 4 building. That's ridiculous how that building 5 looks. But since you are not the owner, and I'm 6 not exactly sure what - - what I could or this 7 committee could do as far as holding you 8 accountable for that, I won't be doing it. But I 9 agree with Alderman Bohl. Something needs to be 10 done rapidly when it comes to improving the sight 11 of that building. 12 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: Hearing no 13 objections to that, the motion is going to carry 14 four to zero with - - with one abstention. 15 One last comment. I would not wait at 16 this point here for Mr. Gibson to - - to invite 17 you to the next meeting. When you go out in the 18 hallway, make good friends with him right now 19 here. Make certain that he has your information. 20 Make certain that you set a plan to sit down with 21 him. Try to deal with the owner to rectify some 22 of those issues and improve that property here. 23 Mis - - Mr. Mustafa, I intend to be here next 24 year. Okay. I - - I - - You know what? I'll 25 let you fight it as - - I'll let you fight, get 00035 1 an attorney and fight it in court, because I want 2 these issues rectified. Okay. 3 THE APPLICANT: Okay. 4 VICE-CHAIRMAN BOHL: And the burden is 5 on you. Not on him. Not on any of the neighbors 6 to come invite you. Reach out. Okay. 7 THE APPLICANT: Thank you. 8 THE WITNESS: Thank you. 9 MR. SCHRIMPF: Mr. Mustafa, the 10 committee is going to be doing findings of fact 11 and conclusions of law, recommending renewal of 12 your license with a ten day suspension. You will 13 receive a copy of that recommendation, and you'll 14 have an opportunity to submit written objections 15 to that recommendation, and you must - - If you 16 do that, you must submit them by the close of 17 business, which is 4:45 p.m., February 22nd, 2007 18 in the City Clerk's office of this building. 19 It's on the second floor. If you do that, then 20 you will also have an opportunity to appear 21 before the Milwaukee Common Council when it meets 22 on this matter on February 27th, 2007 at 23 approximately nine a.m. in the Common Council 24 Chambers of this building. Do you understand all 25 that? 00036 1 THE APPLICANT: Yes, I understand. 2 MR. SCHRIMPF: Okay. 3 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Thank you. 4 THE APPLICANT: You're welcome. 5 * * * * * 6 * * * * * 00037 1 2 3 STATE OF WISCONSIN ) 4 ) 5 MILWAUKEE COUNTY ) 6 7 I, JEAN M. BARINA, of Milwaukee Reporters 8 Associated, Inc., 5124 West Blue Mound Road, 9 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53208, certify that the foregoing 10 proceedings is a complete transcript of the Prince 11 Food Market, Inc. that came before the Licenses 12 Committee Hearing held February 13, 2007. 13 14 15 16 17 18 JEAN M. BARINA 19 Court Reporter 20 21 22 Dated this day of April 2007. 23