MPD Officer Inspires Community Garden Project

June 16th, 2012 by milwaukeepolice

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs will help dedicate Rays of Sunshine Community Garden on  June 16 at N. 24th Pl. and W. Keefe Ave. The event, which will include neighborhood residents and community groups, the Milwaukee Police Department and Northwest Side Community Development Corp. officials, represents a positive victory for the neighborhood.

Nuisance activities like drug dealing and loitering once plagued the area where the park is located, and a few years ago it was the scene of a homicide. After that occurred, the neighbors stood up and decided enough was enough.

” Through the tireless efforts of concerned neighbors, MPD, and several community groups, the abandoned house and fortress of trees that once were a magnet for nuisance activity were demolished and transformed into a beautiful community park and garden. “From nuisance property to neighborhood jewel, this garden and park represents what is possible when people come together and take back their neighborhoods,” Alderwoman Coggs said.

Neighbor Clifford Ray, of Community Hands Neighborhood Block Watch, joined forces with then-MPD Community Liaison Officer Ray Robakowski to organize efforts to convert the lot into a community park – hence the name “Rays of Sunshine Community Garden.”