Anyone who knows me knows I love Brady Street. It’s been the Main Street of my life since I moved to Milwaukee in 1970. I’m a neighborhood homeowner. For several summers, I’ve written of my affection for the street in a series of Shepherd Express stories about the annual Brady Street Festival. The decision by the Brady Street Business Improvement District to cancel this summer’s festival has only deepened that affection. An estimated 50,000 potential virus carriers won’t flood my neighborhood this July, thanks to the courage and care of Brady Street’s business owners.
Rachel Taylor is the BID’s new executive director. Her first day on the job was March 16, the very day the city was put into lockdown because of COVID-19. An MBA graduate of Alverno, former events coordinator for WMSE and self-employed business and marketing analyst, Taylor thought that her job would mean “taking care of the street in terms of beautification efforts and running the major events,” she said in a recent phone conversation. “Suddenly, trying to learn the needs of the businesses became far more complicated, because there were no in-person meetings. All the businesses were closed. It was hard to get hold of people. ”
A Difficult Decision
The festival’s fate, in fact, was determined through multiple Zoom meetings with the BID’s board of directors. “It was a very difficult decision,” Taylor confirmed. “We looked at how we could try to re-envision the festival. We couldn’t get a firm answer from the city whether permits would be allowed. It was hard to get any feedback at all from the city. I understand that. They have so much going on. We finally decided that to best preserve the integrity of the event and the importance of it, and for the safety of the street and the area around it, it was best to cancel it this year and hope we can do it next year, assuming the pandemic has subsided.”
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Last summer, the street was so jam-packed I could barely navigate, especially near popular attractions like the men’s and women’s pro-wrestling competitions outside Casablanca, the artisan cheese tent at Glorioso’s, the stunt cyclists between St. Hedwig’s and the old fire station, the stages for local musicians performing in all styles and the famous drag show finale. I always find the staggering number of merchant booths, food stands, political action tables, art displays, the children’s playground, and the crowd’s vibrant diversity in every category dazzling. It speaks to the street’s progressive history.
Future Plans
“And preserving the integrity of that dazzle,” Taylor replied, “was one of the reasons we decided not to have a virtual event and just close off the street. We were concerned that people would come expecting the old school festival and be disappointed. We wanted to be safe. It’s quite a diverse neighborhood age-wise. I remember someone bringing up the idea that because there aren’t other events going on in Milwaukee, we might double or triple our numbers in terms of attendees. We don’t want to be a hot spot for the virus. Nobody wants to get labeled for that.”
I’m 72 and I thanked her profusely. She replied, “We wanted to give the businesses a chance to recoup some of the money they’ve lost as a result of the pandemic, but the concern about spreading the disease or other problems that could cause a shutdown just out-weighed that. We’re still hoping to have our Pet Fest in October and Festivus in December. We’re planning for that. It will depend on where the city is in terms of COVID. We’re also still hoping to do an Art Walk this summer. Some of the bars and restaurants just reopened. Others are taking their time to figure out how to do that in safest way. We’re letting things settle before we look into that option.”
“The BID takes a hands-off approach on reopening,” she continued. “People were struggling financially and needed to reopen. It’s my position to support the business owners in the best ways for them to feed their families. To that end, the BID purchased $16,000 worth of hand sanitizer and hand sanitizer stations to be distributed throughout the businesses to help with the costs of reopening and to provide a safe environment for customers.”
Sadly, I tend to avoid the street now. It’s heartbreaking to see it so bereft of its usual vitality and frightening to maneuver past unmasked visitors. What drinking and dining I see is outdoors. As usual, Nomad World Pub is a trendsetter with its “parklet” seating in an adjacent street parking space. Dorsia just opened one too. “There’s discussion by some businesses to close down some side streets to give themselves more space to serve customers,” Taylor said. “We’re working with the Brady Street Area Association to make sure the neighborhood is comfortable with any of these ideas.”
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