The global short-term rentals platform Airbnb is warning users it will ban those who host parties in violation of Dane County’s stay-at-home order and will work with local police to hold violators accountable.
In a strongly worded statement Tuesday, the San Francisco-based company said May is usually filled with Memorial Day festivities and high school and college graduations.
“However, these are very different times, and public health must come first,” the company said. “To that end, we have previously announced that we will not allow for hosts to authorize parties and events in regions where current public health mandates prohibit events and gatherings.”
The Madison City Attorney’s Office has issued dozens of warning letters to people for holding or attending parties in violation of the state’s “safer at home” order, which was issued in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic and rescinded by the state Supreme Court last week. But assistant city attorney Marci Paulsen said there’s no way to know whether any of those violations occurred at short-term rentals. Madison police similarly have not seen reports indicating violators were staying at short-term rentals.
Airbnb spokesman Charlie Urbancic said the company’s statement was “not related to any specific incident, but a broad reminder of our policy to hosts and guests.” He said he didn’t have any information to share about any possible violations of the stay-at-home orders at Airbnb rentals in Dane County.
It’s not clear how many short-term rentals there are in Madison and Dane County. A search Tuesday for available rentals over the Memorial Day weekend turned up 213 in Dane County, including 196 in Madison, on Airbnb, and 107 in Dane County, including 95 in Madison, on VRBO.
Madison approved an ordinance in March regulating short-term rentals and requiring them to get licenses from the local public health department and register with the city Treasurer’s office. The regulations went into effect April 15, but the deadline for property owners to get licensed and registered isn’t until Oct. 1.
Airbnb said it has also temporarily disabled its “event friendly” search filter, which allows users to search for rentals that allow parties and gatherings, and has temporarily removed the “parties and events allowed” rule from any Madison listing that previously allowed parties.
Photo gallery: The evolution of the Mifflin Street Block Party
The evolution of the Mifflin Street Block Party from 1969 to today
Origin: May 3-27, 1969
The first Mifflin Street party in May 1969 turned into a protest by UW-Madison students who were denied permission to hold an anti-war "street dance."
Police responded to a noise complaint and three days of rioting ensued. Seventy people were injured and 100 were arrested, including then-Ald. Paul Soglin.
A few weeks later, on May 25, 1969, a block party was held after the city issued a "parade permit" for the 500 block of Mifflin Street.
"Oh, we'll parade a little bit," Soglin said at the time. "We'll start at this end of the block and walk down to the other end. A couple hours later, we'll walk back."
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1970s
Following the riots of 1969, the city of Madison passed an ordinance legalizing block parties and street use permits on Jan. 20, 1970.
On March 21, 1970, between 600 and 1,000 attended the second block party on Mifflin Street, billed as Madison's first legal block party. With no police in sight, the event was a peaceful contrast to the previous year.
But the following year, about 1,000 young people try to hold a block party in defiance of Mayor William Dyke's veto of a City Council-approved street permit. Another riot resulted in 17 arrests.
There was no party held in 1972. In 1973, newly elected Mayor Paul Soglin attended the party, and some students lamented how the party "just isn't the same without the tear gas."
For the rest of the decade, the party was held every spring and seemed to grow with each year. Upwards of 10,000 people were participating each year by the end of the decade, with no repeat of the riots of earlier years, though there were usually some arrests and hospitalizations.
In 1979, Mayor Joel Skornicka and the City Council created "Mifflin on the Mall." 8,000 people packed State Street Mall and police reported few problems.
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1980s
"Mifflin on the Mall" continued for a few years into the 1980s, and the Mifflin Street Co-op began organizing the annual party.
Attendance waned a bit in the early 80s, but by the end of the decade upwards of 12,000 people attended the party each year.
Starting in 1984 organizers added live music and dancing to the party, with beer stands, fencing and drink tickets added in subsequent years as well.
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1990s
In 1990, following years of mostly uneventful parties, the police presence was removed. The Mifflin Street Co-op hired four off-duty police officers, and the event went off peacefully.
However, in 1991 the city cracked down on alcohol concessions at block parties, requiring the Co-op to limit alcohol to an enclosed beer garden. The co-op decided not to organize the block party that year, fearing it would lose money. Houses hosted parties anyway with bands performing on porches, though police prohibited open alcohol on public sidewalks and streets.
In subsequent years, the block party continued to be a collection of house parties with no permits or notice given to city officials.
The party became more structured in 1994 and 1995, with bands being booked by promoters including Black-n-Tan Productions, Paramount Nightclub owner Gary Taylor and Phil Meier. The 1994 event, the 25th anniversary, drew 25,000 people. That year, two people died nearby in alcohol-related crashes and a woman was sexually assaulted.
On May 4, 1996, the party devolved into chaos after revelers set bonfires in the street and threw bottles and rocks at firefighters who tried to douse the flames. Twenty-two people were injured, including 11 police officers and a firefighter. Thirty-three police officers were at the scene when the bonfires started. Eight people were arrested.
The police presence was much higher for the rest of the decade and the party was once again not sanctioned by the city. There was no repeat of 1996's violence, but police continued to cite partygoers for alcohol and drug-related crimes.
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2000s
The block party attracted just a few thousand people in 2000 and 2001, but in 2002 the city rejected a proposal by a group of students to close the street and revive the block party. As many as 20,000 people showed up anyway.
In 2003, after dealing with vandalism and tear gas at the 2002 Halloween event on State Street, Madison police sent more than 100 officers, including its Special Event Team. A record 30,000 people attended the block party.
Party attendance, police actions and city costs were all high for the rest of the decade, with the city attempting different strategies each year to clamp down on the debauchery.
And the end of the decade a new sponsor, local music and event promoter DCNY Pro, tried to legitimize the party. In 2010, the sponsor secured permission for a city-sanctioned beer garden at the block party for the first time since 1995.
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2010s
In 2011, open drinking in the street was allowed for the first time. The ensuring mass of inebriated young people resulted in two stabbings, three injured police officers and a furious Mayor Paul Soglin. 162 people were arrested in the loudest and drunkest block party in recent memory.
In 2012, UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam posted a video to YouTube imploring students not to go to the 2012 Mifflin Street Block Party. A much-smaller group of about 5,000 people attended house parties anyway. Police arrested or cited more than 400 people during the relatively uneventful block party.
In 2013, police only made three arrests, and issued just a handful of citations, during a much smaller and well-behaved party. The violence from previous years led a group of students to launch Revelry, an event featuring bands and a mix of other events that drew more than 3,000 students to Union South.
From 2014 to 2017 the block party continued to draw thousands of revelers, but the violence and arrests were again much reduced from previous years.
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Police credit 'commitment to public safety' as students forego Mifflin Street Block Party
UW-Madison students appeared on Saturday to have listened to warnings not to attend the Mifflin Street Block Party for the sake of social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, police said.
“As of early this afternoon, residents in the Mifflin Street area have shown a commitment to public health and safety by foregoing to the annual block party,” Madison police Sgt. Blake Hoefs said Saturday. “At 2 p.m., usually peak party time, the neighborhood was quiet.”
No arrests had been made and no citations had been issued, Hoefs said.
West Mifflin Street was marked with signs from the Madison Police Department that said “no gathering” and was mostly empty around 5 p.m. Saturday.
Earlier this week, police announced they would issue $376 fines to non-residents who gathered in the area, and notify the university if any students were cited for potential disciplinary action.
“While MPD has historically taken a fairly tolerant view of the Mifflin Street Block Party, this year is different,” acting Police Chief Vic Wahl said in a department announcement. “Any parties or gatherings occurring are in violation of the Governor’s ‘Safer at Home’ order. Please do what’s best for public health and stay home.”
Usually held two weeks before graduation, the annual springtime event has historically drawn thousands of students to the 400 and 500 blocks of West Mifflin Street.
West Mifflin Street was marked with signs from the Madison Police Department that said “no gathering.”