A former Major League Baseball all-star player has given the City of Ithaca $12,000 to increase police patrols around a crime-ridden apartment complex, Ithaca Police said Tuesday.
Former MLB player Mo Vaughn and his business partner, Eugene Schneur, own the West Village Apartment complex on Ithaca’s West Hill. The neighborhood has been the site of several violent attacks, including multiple stabbings whose victims have refused to cooperate with police and the shooting of an on-duty Ithaca Police officer in the fall.
The Ithaca Police Department said in a statement Tuesday that it would immediately send out officers in teams of two to conduct extra patrols around the West Village Apartment complex. It will encourage officers to patrol on foot, rather than drive around the perimeter, in the hopes of making headway on investigations stalled by silent witnesses.
“We are committed to continuing the hard work that is involved in restoring the West Hill to a vibrant place to live, work and grow,” Ithaca Police Chief John Barber said in a statement. “This additional funding will put officers on the streets up there, and that will enable us to better improve the service that we provide to the Ithaca community as a whole.”
The West Village Apartment complex is just one of hundreds of properties Vaughn and Schneur own. The pair has bought and developed affordable housing projects in New York, Massachusetts and Wyoming through their real estate company, Omni New York LLC.
Original Author: Akane Otani