Crime: Ithaca mayor acts on our suggestion

Ithaca's Savante Myrick (l) chats with some other mayor

South of 5 and 20, December 2, 2011:

In a city of only 30,014 residents, how many police calls to the same address, in less than one year, does it take to raise a red flag - 25?  50?  75?  100?  What does a single police call cost taxpayers?  We suggest Ithaca's mayor-elect  Svante Myrick plan to have a sit-down with Chestnut Hill's owners on inauguration day.

Ithaca Journal, January 2, 2013:

Public safety and security, including crime prevention, will be among the top focus areas for the City of Ithaca in 2013, Mayor Svante Myrick pledged Wednesday as he gave his annual state of the city address.

The security initiative will include a study of the city’s West Hill neighborhood conducted with the Cornell University Public Service Center covering topics such as housing, economics, transportation, landlord-tenant and renter-permanent resident relations, community cohesiveness and infrastructure needs, Myrick said.

The neighborhood has seen violent incidents including a fatal shooting and non-fatal stabbing in December 2011, and it was the site of the October non-fatal shooting of an Ithaca police officer pursuing a car-theft suspect. The problems have been mostly in certain apartment complexes on West Hill, and the mayor noted trouble spots have historically bubbled up in various parts of the city.

While the Mayor waited over a year to act on our suggestion, we understand he's a busy man.  We'll follow the outcome of the Mayor's initiative, and keep our readers posted.  Meanwhile, we stand ready to advise Mr. Myrick on any other issues - all he needs do is contact us via this blog's email link.