ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester Mayor Malik Evans says his administration will be focusing more resources on a zip code that has seen recent violence just as the city marks another homicide in that very area.

On Thursday, the Rochester Police Department says the city reached 70 homicides this year with a fatal stabbing on Frost Avenue. 

Prior to the stabbing, Mayor Evans held a news conference Thursday afternoon saying there will be an increase in foot patrols and replacements for street lights in the 14611 zip code after he says there have been several shootings there. The area encompasses a large portion of Rochester's west side, including the area on Frost Avenue where police say the city's 70th homicide took place on Thursday.

It was right around this time in November last year that Rochester saw its record-breaking 70th and 71st homicides of 2021. The city went on to far exceed that with a final total of 81 homicides for the year. So far, Rochester remains on track to reach or exceed that number this year, officials say.

The 14611 zip code is also one of the poorest in New York state, according to Internal Revenue Service data.

"We need to make sure that we send a message that we expect these neighborhoods to have the exact same services and benefits that other neighborhoods might have in other affluent communities," said Mayor Evans. "The only way we can do that is working together."

Rochester city leaders are hoping to bring a pharmacy to the area after the Walgreens on Thurston road announced it will close this week.