BALTIMORE — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that Maryland will invest $500,000 to help Baltimore’s Little Italy community with security and safety upgrades.
Hogan said the goal is to make the historic neighborhood safer for visitors and businesses.
The governor visited Little Italy Wednesday.
He went to lunch at Cafe Gia and took a walk around the neighborhood with community leaders. He was joined by Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, who advocated for the funding.
“Little Italy is a proud community with a storied history, but violent crime threatens to make it less safe and welcoming. We can’t let that happen,” Governor Hogan said. “All of these security upgrades will help bolster law enforcement's ability to make the neighborhood safer, and give more peace of mind to the people who live, visit, and work here. I want to thank the leaders of the Little Italy Neighborhood Association for their tireless efforts and President Ferguson for his partnership, and I encourage everyone to come visit Little Italy.”
Earlier this month, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development met with representatives of the Little Italy Neighborhood Association to discuss these funding requests.
Initiatives that funding will be expedited for this year through neighborhood safety grants include:
Vehicle Tag Readers: $130,000 : Vehicle tag readers will be installed at key intersections, including President and Pratt Streets, to help identify and apprehended suspects in Little Italy and surrounding downtown arteries.
Police-Accessible Cameras: $83,000: A network of strategically placed cameras will be installed on the police network to make it easier for law enforcement to effectively monitor trouble spots in real time. This will be a combination of cameras placed at President and Pratt Streets to monitor this major East-West thoroughfare with clear, high resolution pictures. Pole cameras will also be installed at all North-South and East-West corridor access points to provide police with street-level data to/from neighboring communities and highways.
Street Intersection Reflective Paint: $40,000: The entrance streets to Little Italy will be painted at major intersections to provide safer, clearer crosswalks for vehicle and pedestrian traffic from tourists and residents.
Initiatives that the governor will direct future budget funding for include:
Creating a Business Improvement District and Extending the Waterfront Partnership to Little Italy: $250,000: The state will commit funds to help Little Italy create a Business Improvement District that receives safety services from the Waterfront Partnership—similar to surrounding neighborhoods. At present, the Waterfront Partnership includes Inner Harbor, Harbor East, Harbor Point, and Fells Point.
