Milwaukee's Southside Reyna's Events and Mexican Restaurant Gets Tavern B and Entertainment Licenses

The Morales family had struggled since last year to get their Class B Tavern and Public Entertainment Premises licenses after Alderman José G. Pérez had objected.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

April 8, 2015

Milwaukee, WI - On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Common Council Licensing Committee unanimously approved on a vote of 5-0 to approved a Class B Tavern and Public Entertainment Premises licenses to Reyna's Events and Mexican Restaurant, 611 W. National Ave. The Morales family had struggled to get the required liquor and entertainment licenses after Alderman José G. Pérez had opposed the issuing of such licenses to a business while the Esperanza Unida (EU) building ownership was in question. At the time, Ald. Pérez knew that the 611 building was owned and operated by the Esperanza Unida Board, but owed city taxes. The City of Milwaukee eventually took ownership of the building and on March 26 sold it to an Oshkosh developer to create apartments at the historic .

Alderman Pérez was present at the licensing committee hearing when the Morales family received approval and this time around Ald. Pérez didn't object.

Alderman Pérez had an Ethics Board complaint filed by Manuel "Manny" Pérez, the executive director of Esperanza Unida for interfering by attempting to keep tenants from renting at the 611 building. He also allegedly offered a BID job to Damon Dorsey to keep him from working with Esperanza Unida, according Manuel. In the Ethics Board complaint, Manuel indicated that Ald. Pérez, made negative comments to a perspective tenant resulting in questioning whether to rent at EU, in 2013, that Damon Dorsey, a developer contacted EU and notified Manny that he won't be doing any business with EU because Alderman Pérez offered a BID to Dorsey undermining any economic development project for EU without public input.

The Ethics Board never investigated Manuel's allegations or acted on the complaint simply because it was sent via e-mail and was not notarized.

On March 25, the City of Milwaukee Neighborhood Services posted a notice that the 611 W. National Ave. building citing that it was illegally occupied and was unfit for human habitation and ordered everyone to vacate the building within three days. After the building was sold to a developer, the vacate order was removed.

Recently in an unrelated issue, Alderman Pérez in a press release says that he will be proposing an ordinance to further restrict child sex offenders to live in Milwaukee, but one important factor that he has failed to inform the Southside community is that the Forest Home Library will relocate to the historic Hills Building on W. Historic W. Mitchell Street.
Today, the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) Division of Probation and Parole services are located at the Hills Building, 910 W. Historic Mitchell Street and across from St. Anthony's Church school where felony offenders and child sex offenders on paper visit parole agents. The child sex offender Southside hysteria has overlooked the Hills Building and local politicians have remained quiet about the DOC being located across from a church school for years.
The children using the library at the approved W. Historic Mitchell Street location instead of the proposed S. César E. Chávez Drive would be exposed to offenders who could easily have access to the library as well.
Should parents in the Mitchell Street area be worried that offenders are sharing the Hills Building today and will possibly be allowed into the relocated Forest Home library too? 
Alderman Pérez could not be reached for comment.