Martin Drive June E-News

June 2008

Vliet Street Community Green Market is Coming
Sundays 11 – 3 – Starting Sunday, June 1st
The market starts this weekend! Stroll over to the market when you hear the drum circle call to the market. There you will find locally grown, now flow, produce, honey, perennials, and handmade treasures galore. This Sunday’s guests include drum circle call to the market and Adekola & Friends jazz performance.

Martin Drive’s Movers – Walk Club
We have been walking each Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. Next Wed. June 4th, we are walking through Washington Park and doing a tree walk, guided by a map published in the Journal in 1981 that identifies 29 different trees, some that are as old as Milwaukee! I hope we will still find them there. Sandy Folaron, director of Mitchell Park Domes will join and enlighten us on the history of this Olmsted designed park. If you are not familiar with the park, you will be surprised by its beauty and respite from the urban environment. Meet at 4303 W. Vliet St at 6:30 pm on Wed.

Drum Circle and Drum Making Workshop
Martin Drive Neighborhood is sponsoring a drum making workshop. You may hear and see neighbors and our Leader Cecilio Negron Jr. drumming and walking in the neighborhood in hopes of enlisting you to join and make your own drum. Cecilio comes from a family of musicians. He is a musician and educator and has worked with Milwaukee Public Theater, performed in many drum and musical groups; leads drum making workshops and drum circles. If you have not experienced a drum circle, I urge you to try. It is a must experience. Cecilio brings much more than music to his workshops. He uses music and performance as a key to unlocking people’s abilities to spread a positive message about change and improvement in our community. Workshops will be held at the Urban Day School on 46th & State Street in the neighborhood. Ummm – Tasty New Laos, Thai & Vietnamese Restaurant on North Ave. – Mekong Café recently opened at 5930 W. North Avenue and I dined there and found the food and service to be great. Very fresh crispy vegetables, excellent seasoning and presentation made this a place I will definitely return to dine in, or carry out. One hint is that it is on the spicy side but they will gladly modify the level of heat to your taste. Phone 257-2228 for carry out.

Summer Public Art Project. – We will be turning three of our planters into neighborhood signs with the help of our friends. Artist Muneer will lead us in a mosaic project to create neighborhood markers. This will be done at the Senior Center in July. Please donate your broken dishes, pottery, and ceramic left over from the bathroom or floor project to this cause. Donations can be delivered to De Javu consignments on 43rd & Vliet Street for use in the project.

Hey New Neighbor! – We have a stack of literature, historic information about the neighborhood and shortbread cookies to be assembled for a packet that can go to your new neighbors. Looking for volunteers to assemble the packets and new neighbors we can deliver to and invite to our monthly meetings.

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Will Perform at Washington Park on Saturday June 28. Free

88Nine Radio Summer Concert Series at Washington Park -- In anticipation of nice weather and all the fun things it brings, mark your calendars for picnicking in the park on Saturdays in July. This year Radio Milwaukee has taken over the promotions of the summer concerts. Here is the run down:
7/5 Paul Spencer Band
7/12 Fever Marlene
7/19 Northern Room
7/26 TBA

More Police, Less Crime – Chief Flynn announced he would create a neighborhood task force, which will add 150-200 officers to the street starting in June. This is a permanent increase, not a summer initiative. The new unit will be housed in the old Station at 47th & Vliet Street, right outside our neighborhood. We will now virtually have two district stations.

Urban Ecology has Summer Camps – The Urban Ecology Center which is know internationally for innovative youth programs will have five weeks of inquiry-based summer day camps run by UEC professional educators for kids K5 through 8th grade in Washington Park. If interested call the UEC at 344-5460. There are scholarships available.

West End Development has Rebate Money Available
Rebates of up to $750 are available for qualified exterior improvements and code violation repair. Contact Tamara Harris at West End Development at 933-2080 for details.

Metal Scavengers
While I am a supporter of recycling, recent thefts of personal property (i.e. copper planter and custom iron window well guards) has prompted me to be concerned about the metal scavengers with stolen shopping carts seen every day in our neighborhood. Washington Heights residents have experienced theft of metal lawn furniture and garden arbors. These scavengers should not be going onto private property. If you see them taking things from the recycling containers, please report them as there is an ordinance regarding this.

79-5.5. Unauthorized Removal of Contents of Waste Containers.
No person shall remove any material from a waste container that has been furnished by the city for the collection of solid waste. This prohibition applies to portable and non-portable containers.
The Third District has assigned Officer Crist who is building a database of these scavengers. Here is what Officer Crist suggests: “The best thing to do is call the non-emergency number (933-4444) as soon as you see one of those individuals in your neighborhood. Make sure to provide an accurate description of the subject, the location and direction last seen. Provide your name and phone number as a contact and request that the squad issue a citation. If the squad has any questions regarding the charges, please refer them to me (Officer Crist). Also, pass the word in the neighborhood that anyone that sees this activity should call the police. I am trying to build a database of the scrappers so if you have had contacts with any of these individuals and have information, i.e. names or vehicle information I would gladly take that information. “ Officer Crist, Dist.#3, Days 7am-3pm
935-7232


Martin Drive’s Annual Meeting Was a Success
Guest speaker Rosheen Strzcinski, lead landscape architect at Zimmerman Design Group, presented easy, expensive ideas for curb appeal. Michael Murphy kept us up to date on Milwaukee issues as they relate to Martin Drive Neighborhood. Cecilio Negrone with the help of neighbors demonstrated his drumming talents. Those who came enjoyed pizza from Pizzeria Tazza and treats from Eat Cake. Door prizes abounded. There was an opportunity to purchase rain barrels and compost bins, Thank you to everyone who helped donating door prizes, setting up or taking down the room, donating food and time to this neighborhood. We have a true small town in the big city of Milwaukee.

Call For
To support our initiatives I am requesting a few things. Here is our wish list:
Broken shards of pottery, dishes, porcelain, left over ceramic tile.
Pieces of wood ½ thick for our drum workshop.
Remember if you are tossing things to the curb – give Déjà vu Consignments a call. You will be surprised what she can do with your unwanted items especially those that are wood.
Help putting together the New Neighbor Packets.

We must be the change we wish to see. – Ghandi
No one ever became poor by giving. Anne Frank