‘I’m moving because I feel scared’: Violence pushing some to leave city’s North Side

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Violence continues to rattle the community. Some are packing up and moving away from North Clinton Avenue.

“There is a lot of drug activity going on and I just don’t feel safe on Clinton anymore,” resident Clorie Fairley told News10NBC.

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The community is shaken up over city violence. A toddler had to pay the price of reckless gunfire. Other community members and action groups along North Clinton Avenue say they’ll keep fighting for peace in their neighborhood.

But when Fairley heard a 3-year-old baby was shot in the head over reckless violence, that was the last straw for her. She’s been living in the area for a little over a year.

“People just don’t care who they hurt anymore and how they’re hurting people’s families,” she said. “We are losing our babies to the streets. They die at young ages and they deserve a chance to live their life.”

3-year-old Marlo Joseph was sitting in a car when he was caught in the middle of a firefight Wednesday night. He’s in stable but critical condition.

The Clinton neighborhood has stores left and right. The president of the North Clinton Business Association, Albert Algarian, is stepping in to try and help alleviate the stress put on Rochester police.

“Putting security vehicles on the street going from business to business and giving more safety besides police because they’re short of cars, so if we can be a second eye for them and we can reduce some visibility of crime this can be a better place,” Algarian said.

Community action groups like No Más Rochester were back out on North Clinton to pray and have a moment of silence for Marlo, his family and the neighborhood.

“People who are in this neighborhood doing these types of things are here every day,” Scrantom St. Block club chair Ida Perez said. “So for us to give an hour of our time and say enough is enough.”

Algarian says he anticipates those security cars to be up and running in about a month or so.