News Briefs Mayor Marty Walsh's 2021 State of the City Address

VOL. 125 - NO. 3 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, JANUARY 15, 2021 $.35 A COPY Mayor Marty Walsh’s 2021 State of the City Address “We must keep drawing on our strength — and on each other.” Good evening, my fellow 2020 was a tough year. 2021 to close schools; pause construc- I’ve spent every day for seven Bostonians. One year ago, I is a year for healing. But we have tion; turn our convention center years working with you to delivered my State of the City some work to do fi rst. So I’m into a fi eld hospital; and cancel strengthen our city. We set a address at Symphony Hall with going to talk tonight about how the Boston Marathon for the fi rst new standard for fi scal manage- an audience of over 2,000 peo- we must keep each other safe; time in its history. ment, earning perfect triple-A ple. Together, we celebrated our get through this fi nal stretch of These decisions, and many bond ratings every single year, city and I laid out plans to move the pandemic; and build a recov- others, were not easy. But we even 2020. Boston forward in 2020. ery that moves all our neighbor- had to act, to save lives. So we Now, that hard work is paying The year turned out different hoods forward. worked with the state; with off. A national study reported than we expected, to say the I’m also going to talk about hospitals and universities; with in the New York Times named least. Tonight, we may not be in how we will sustain this work businesses small and large; Boston the city best prepared to the same room. But we are still through an upcoming transition. nonprofi ts and residents in every come back strong from COVID. together, united by our belief in As you may know, President- neighborhood and culture — We made the right decisions in Boston. And we are still moving Elect Joe Biden and Vice and we moved forward together, the good times, so Boston has forward. President-elect Kamala Harris one day at a time. the strength to move forward I’m joining you live from one have nominated me to be Labor The urgency of our work has now. of Boston’s newest civic trea- Secretary in their administra- never been more clear. Last Here’s what that means for sures, the completely rebuilt tion. I have accepted this honor. summer, George Floyd’s mur- you. Roxbury branch of the Boston If confirmed by the United der sparked a long-overdue It means this beautiful new Public Library in Nubian Square. States Senate, I will step down reckoning with racism. I thank library in Roxbury. It’s part of Despite the pandemic, we made as Mayor, and City Council our COVID response, will con- black Bostonians for the way a $130 million citywide invest- sure to advance this project — President Kim Janey will tinue smoothly. And I want you you made your voices heard. ment, the biggest upgrade for along with new parks, schools, become Acting Mayor. I have to know, the work we have done And I thank everyone who joined Boston’s libraries since the and affordable housing — to be spoken with Councilor Janey. I together for the past seven years the movement — black, white, branch system was created, over ready for you as we recover and am confi dent that the operations has prepared Boston to build Latino, Asian, and indigenous 100 years ago. rediscover our great city. of City government, including back stronger than ever. peoples standing together. You’ll also see completely I want to start by honoring the The gravity of this moment rebuilt parks and playgrounds 1,060 Bostonians we have lost weighed on me. I’m proud of the from the North End to Mattapan, to COVID-19. They are loved and work we’ve done in Boston. But and major upgrades at Boston missed and their families are in doing better than before isn’t Common and Franklin Park. News Briefs my heart. enough. We need to address all We’re investing more in our We’re a city aching with loss. the ways systemic racism hurts parks than any time since the by Sal Giarratani Not a day goes by that I am not people in our city. Emerald Necklace was created speaking with a grieving family In the end, I went back to what in the 1800s. Ousted Puerto Rico Governor Returns member; a worker facing unem- I learned in recovery. I listened You’ll also see a new senior Pedro Pierluisi just became the governor of Puerto ployment; or a small business to those who have been there center in East Boston, a fully Rico, 16 months after he was bounced out of offi ce owner struggling to hang on. tell their stories and speak their renovated Curley Community by the PR’s Supreme Court. The new governor, the COVID has affected all of us, truth. Young black members of Center in South Boston, revi- head of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, was but there’s no doubt, it hit some my team shared their thoughts talized public housing in elected in November in a six-way race with 33 percent harder than others. In black, fi rst. I held Zoom calls with our Charlestown, and a world-class of the vote after having beaten sitting governor, Wanda Latino, and immigrant com- Black Employee Network, to Boston Arts Academy high Vazquez in an August primary. munities, inequities in health, listen. I reached out to leaders, school in the Fenway. In 2019, Pierluisi served six days as de facto gover- housing, and work opportunities activists, and clergy. They spoke You’ll see a renovated EMS nor during the period after Gov. Riccardo Rossello was caused more illness and job loss. about daily fears that something Academy and a new ambulance forced from offi ce by mass protests over insulting text Older Bostonians and those with will happen to a loved one. bay in West Roxbury, for quicker messages, however, the island’s Supreme Court ruled disabilities face the highest risk They described lifelong anxiety response times, and Boston’s that Pierluisi, who had been appointed Secretary of and the most isolation. Most around being pre-judged and fi rst brand-new fi rehouse in 30 State, but not confi rmed by the island’s Legislature, students have been out of class- denied opportunities. I heard years, at Engine 42 in Roxbury. could not legally serve. rooms since March, and families grief, not just over lives lost You’ll see miles of resurfaced This time, Pierluisi took the oath of offi ce in an out- have struggled with childcare. — but over children’s futures roads and rebuilt sidewalks, door ceremony in San Juan due to COVID-19 protocols. There’s a mental health impact limited. with new bus and bike lanes to Antifa Storms Hawley Home to all of this. I encourage anyone I will never forget those con- make getting around our city feeling overwhelmed to reach versations. And I resolved to safer and easier. A group of far-left radicals carried out a protest out to the City. We have help. take action. We declared rac- To top it off, we’ll complete the at U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s Washington, D.C., If you call 311, we can connect ism a public health crisis. We fi rst full makeover of City Hall home over his decision to object to President-elect you to resources, counseling, or launched a Health Equity plan Plaza since it was built over 50 Biden’s Electoral College victory, while his wife recovery services. to end the disparities for good. years ago. and baby were home alone! On Monday evening But if 2020 was a year of We shifted millions of dollars These are the goods we hold (January 4th), Hawley (R-MO) tweeted “Antifa scum- struggle, it was also a year that into youth, trauma, and mental in common as Bostonians. We bags came to our place in D.C., and threatened my brought out the best in our city. health programs. We enacted have strengthened them more wife and newborn daughter, who can’t travel. They We saw nurses, doctors, and historic police reforms, with than ever, and now we need screamed threats, vandalized, and tried to pound medical staff gearing up and black and brown Bostonians them, more than ever. They are open the door.” going into battle to save lives leading the work. The result is the places we will gather as we Kamala Tale Has MLK Ring to It and provide comfort. We saw a new national model for over- emerge from this pandemic, A story Vice President-elect Kamala Harris related EMTs on the frontlines of a sight and accountability. And we to reconnect, bring every voice in an interview for the October issue of Elle magazine pandemic, helping over 4,000 re-organized City government, into our democracy, and build has resurfaced after readers saw parallels to a story COVID patients. Firefighters appointing a Chief of Equity to a future together. once told by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965. brought recovery coaches to drive the work forward. I believe in Boston. This is the (Continued on Page 10) calls, to help those struggling The pandemic made it clear: city that welcomed my immi- with addiction. Police offi cers a community crisis demands a grant parents. This is the city took 800 guns off the street, community-wide response.

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