RACINE — Change is in the air in Uptown Racine. Or, at the very least, the smell of coffee certainly is.
In partnership with area business owners, the Racine Police Department launched its Coffee with Cops program Monday at The Branch at 1501, an event space and cafe on Washington Avenue.
The program is a way for the police to informally meet with residents, build relationships and address concerns, said Officer Brady Brenner.
All community members are welcome to attend.
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Multiple Racine Police Department members, including Assistant Chief Richard Toeller and Public Information Officer Sgt. Alicia Mitchell attended the Coffee with Cops event March 10. |
Brenner works at the 16th Street Community Oriented Policing House and helped organize the event, which will occur from 10 a.m. to noon every second Monday at The Branch.
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The Branch at 1501 will host monthly Coffee with Cops events from its location on Washington Avenue. |
Brenner said many business owners in Uptown Racine have reached out to the department with quality of life concerns; he specifically cited speeding on Washington Avenue and crime in and around the neighborhood.
Coffee with Cops is a way to address those concerns.
“I personally have no problem having those tough conversations,” Brenner said. “Really that’s all this is, is to be able to build that connection between police and the community again.”
Brenner plans to have patrol and COP officers attend future events. To him, Coffee with Cops can bolster community trust and help police get to the root of the issues they’re responding to.
To the business owners present Monday morning, Coffee with Cops is one of many ways the community is advocating for itself.
Kristina Campbell owns The Branch and chairs the board of Racine’s Uptown Business Improvement District.
Improved communication with local police is one part of making uptown better for businesses, residents and visitors, she said.
“It’s a bigger picture, and this is one part of that picture,” Campbell said. “All these pieces work together.”
Some of the goals include making the streets safer and cleaner, slowing traffic, planting trees and generally improving the district’s walkability.
“We’re all here with the same goal,” Campbell said. “We’re starting to actually stand up and say like ‘Hey, these are the things that we want to see this area be.’”
Bree Smith, an uptown BID board member and owner of Junoesque by Bree at 1422 Washington Ave., said that Coffee with Cops is like a “snowball.” She hopes to see it grow with time.
Linea Anthony of RMM Interiors, which has three locations along Washington Avenue, has been in the neighborhood for 30 years and acknowledged that new business owners have had to inherit old challenges.
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Linea Anthony of RMM Interiors attended the inaugural Coffee with Cops event at The Branch at 1501 on March 10. |
“It doesn’t seem to matter who’s in power,” Anthony said. “We don’t know if that’s because this area is slated to be one thing in people’s minds or because there just isn’t the money or whatever.”
City-owned buildings are falling apart, and interested developers need government support, Anthony said.
But it has to be nonpartisan, she said.
“They’re trying to divide us more and more these days,” Anthony said. “We can’t fall for that trap. We have to be on a neighborhood basis, working together to make sure that we get our voices heard.”
I've attended a Coffee with Cops event put on by the Mount Pleasant Police Department. It's a good thing.
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