CLEVELAND, Ohio — Little Italy’s Mayfield Road is known for bustling patios, bocce courts and live music. But now, the neighborhood is wrestling with how to keep the area safe, and whether residents must pay extra property taxes to make that happen.
A taxing district is forming in Little Italy to fund private police patrols and cleanup crews. But some residents are crying taxation without representation, saying the restaurants and landlords that line Mayfield Road could outvote them and leave residents footing a bill they didn’t approve.
Tax district or not, the neighborhood has until 2027 to either pay for or lose patrols from University Circle police. It’s a deadline that has left residents, business owners and neighborhood leaders alike caught, as Councilman Blaine Griffin describes it, “between a rock and a hard place.”
Little Italy, big debate
Little Italy has become both a destination for visitors and a hotbed for dense development. But after a series of carjackings in 2021, Cleveland moved to not just double, but triple police protection in the neighborhood…