Madison business owners, residents urge council for police presence after repeated violence on Bronner Street

Several Madison residents and small-business representatives told the Metropolitan Council on May 20 they are facing repeated violence and disorder on Bronner Street and asked the council and city administration for more sustained police presence and targeted physical fixes.

The appeals came during the council’s public comment period, where Eldon Spraker, who identified himself as a property owner on Bronner Street, described “major trouble” including drugs and prostitution near properties he owns. "We just there's we can't get control of it," Spraker said, adding that the street has become unsafe for customers and employees.

Tanya Zuckerman, who said she assists the owner with property management at the same commercial center, told the council the landscaping along an Aldi store is being used as a hiding place and suggested gating alleyways and adding lighting. "That area, I'm I'm sure she was waiting on a trick or a fix most likely," Zuckerman said, describing a person she saw who appeared to be waiting for a customer. She urged “not just a letter, but actual presence that continues until we can get it cleaned up.”

Business owner and disabled combat veteran Steven Madlin said he opened a martial-arts business on Bronner Avenue in November 2023 and has since experienced three shootings in a single block, overdoses, prostitution and other disorder that he said have made it impossible to continue. "I'm to the point now that I'm gonna end up closing my doors," Madlin said. "All I wanna know is what is it gonna take? Is it gonna take a child losing its life?"

Joel Cottrell, who introduced himself as the new president of the Fraternal Order of Police representing roughly 2,000 law-enforcement members, spoke briefly and thanked the council for the opportunity to engage with members.

Speakers asked for a mix of immediate and near-term responses: consistent officer patrols, gating or fencing of alleys behind the strip center, additional lighting, code-enforcement follow-up and sustained outreach to property owners such as the chain store identified at the site. Zuckerman offered to volunteer and said she would help coordinate neighbors and stakeholders to protect the tenant she called “a truly worthy individual.”

Council staff said they would try to connect the speakers with the relevant council member and city departments after the meeting. No formal motion, referral or vote on the matter was taken at the meeting.

The public comments follow a pattern the speakers described as long-term decline at that block and underscore the overlap of public-safety, code enforcement and property-management remedies stakeholders said are needed to keep small businesses operating.