More Brophy Problem Properties

I read your recent article about Timothy Brophy’s properties (April 2004) with interest. Missing from your list of his properties was the one on my street at 1756 N. Arlington Pl. He purchased this property in December 2002 from a quiet occupant owner and family who, in his own words, finally decided to move to South Milwaukee after 30 years to get away from all the late-night bar noise which has increased especially in this block. Since the purchase, the property has clearly deteriorated. Junky looking repairs, giant muddy ruts in the lawn, cars and trucks parked at random on the property, trash, carts and weeds strewn across the front lawn leave a poor impression on our Brady Street visitors.

What’s interesting about this is that Mr. Brophy seems to be taking advantage of an unfortunate trend seen particularly clearly at this end of Arlington Place. As nighttime drinking-oriented tavern and club entertainment increase in this area, the state of our housing next door to it deteriorates. His is not the only house to take a dive on this street in the last few years. A walk around his house reveals several others in similar condition.

Mr. Brophy of course must be held responsible for code violations on his properties. However, as a neighborhood, we get the housing that we put up with, and apparently, Mr. Brophy and others like him on Arlington Place are finding little opposition to their plans to wring a few more bucks out of these old houses before selling to developers at a large profit.

Scott Stieg