The Lyon’s Den The Lyon in Dane County

In episode 3 of The Lyon’s Den, retired Madison Detective Bruce Frey sits down for a full-length interview focused on the now infamous Meadowlands Apartments on Madison’s far East Side, where drugs, gunfire, brawling, harassment, and other crimes have spiraled out of control.


 


The first phase of this massive complex opened to renters in late 2022. With alarming speed, it has devolved into a frightening trap for residents and a major boondoggle for law enforcement. Problems have also rapidly spread out from the Meadowlands to surrounding neighborhoods.


 


Frey, who lives near the Meadowlands, has helped draw significant public attention to this ugly and dangerous situation. He also has extensive past law-enforcement experience in successfully partnering with residents to reduce crime in troubled Madison neighborhoods. Frey is extremely well-placed to share insights on what’s unfolded at the Meadowlands to date, why it’s happening, and how to arrive at the right solutions.


Shownotes:
Indianapolis-based KCG Management's web page for the Meadowlands
 
https://www.kcgcompanies.com/portfolio/the-meadowlands/
KCG Management's initial pitch to the City of Madison for the Meadowlands Apartments:
https://www.cityofmadison.com/council/district/districtfiles/district3/documents/The%20Meadowlands%20-%20Neighborhood%20Meeting%208_8_19.pdf
Madison Planning Commission approves Meadowlands Apartments over objections of area residents:
https://captimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/madison-plan-commission-approves-east-side-affordable-housing-complex-over-resident-concerns/article_8be34c6d-c67a-5708-8b93-8ea1cba2c6ad.html
KCG' February 2021 Invitation to Bid for development of the Meadowlands Apartments:
https://www.wheda.com/globalassets/documents/tax-credits/emerging-business-program/solicitation-for-bids/meadowland-solicitation-of-bid.pdf
Local news reporting shows a steady stream of stories on the problems at Meadowlands, starting in at least March 2023, including the City of Madison declaring the complex a public nuisance in April:
March:
https://www.wkow.com/news/increasing-police-activity-leads-madison-apartment-complex-to-be-declared-chronic-nuisance/article_d6f18ddc-c9cd-11ed-9fa8-c301afc07173.html
April:
https://captimes.com/news/community/madison-m-block-housing-complex-declared-chronic-nuisance/article_c6ec9609-a382-5ac0-a17e-dcb2b4db3a81.html
https://captimes.com/news/community/150-police-calls-7-in-one-day-life-at-madisons-m-block-apartments/article_64ddd9d5-acf2-5aea-8724-4a87fc44a131.html
May:
https://www.nbc15.com/2023/05/05/its-wrecking-my-nerves-madison-mom-moves-family-hotel-after-fearing-safety-meadowlands/
June:
https://captimes.com/news/community/how-two-madison-affordable-housing-projects-took-a-turn-for-the-worse/article_7195d9b0-e808-5df3-94ca-3d9a385eaefb.html
August:
https://captimes.com/news/community/troubled-meadowlands-apartments-to-be-focus-of-meeting/article_a4c7649b-d145-594e-bfdc-1f2f80c43764.html
https://www.channel3000.com/news/weve-messed-up-city-property-manager-hold-meeting-on-nuisance-meadowlands-apartments/article_50a9fdb4-47ad-11ee-a0e5-a7c019a4afe2.html
Note: While KCG certainly has much to answer for, they're not wrong about how hard it is to evict people here. It tends to be a very long and arduous process.
September:
https://www.nbc15.com/2023/09/13/madison-single-mom-fears-familys-safety-meadowlands-apartment/

We all know Dane County crime is exploding. But do you have the facts on just how badly things have deteriorated at some of this county's apartment complexes? In this second episode of The Lyon’s Den, we’ll briefly look at one apartment complex on Madison’s East Side, It’s the perfect prelude to our soon-to-be-released interview with a retired Madison police officer, who’ll have a lot more to say on this topic. 
NOTE: We apologize for the audio quality in this episode. We’ll have the issues resolved by the next episode. Thanks for bearing with us!
 
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One thing that most Dane County residents can agree on is that crime is quickly rising in our extended community. The problem isn't just in Madison anymore. In this introductory episode of the Lyon's Den, the Lyon explores some recent stories from local news outlets, shares the troubling CrimeGrade.org gives Dane County, and poses some important questions about your safety and the protection of your rights in the Greater Madison area.
RELEVANT LINKS:
Man Arrested 3 Time in One Week in March
https://madison.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-arrested-for-3rd-time-in-a-week-after-woman-finds-him-in-her-downtown/article_7a760fc5-6d38-5a76-87ff-3c746e7afeef.html
Middleton Dealership Employee Dies in Shooting over Vehicle Sale
https://www.nbc15.com/2023/03/21/middleton-dealership-employee-dies-shooting-over-vehicle-sale/
Shots Fired Outside East Side Bowling Alley
https://www.nbc15.com/2023/03/21/gunfire-reported-outside-madison-bowling-alley/
Individual Arrested for String Wire Across Madison Bike Path
https://www.channel3000.com/news/police-arrest-man-accused-of-stringing-wires-across-madison-bike-path/article_fd6e9d12-d326-11ed-a29d-df7dd56db5f1.html
Woman Sexually Assaulted on Oregon Rotary Bike Trail
https://www.nbc15.com/2023/04/05/250k-cash-bond-set-suspect-dane-co-bike-path-sexual-assault/
Middleton Police Seeking Man Who Exposed Himself to Woman in Laundromat
https://www.channel3000.com/news/middleton-police-trying-to-identify-man-who-reportedly-exposed-himself-at-laundromat/article_7bf920c8-d57d-11ed-865f-cf93e8754089.html
Officers Injured in Arresting Predator Who Sexually Assaulted Woman and Attacked Two Men
https://www.nbc15.com/2023/04/11/2-madison-officers-hurt-sexual-assault-arrest/
Dane County's Crime Grade:
https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-dane-county-wi/
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