My Top Moments of 2018
Creating Boston’s Way Home Fund
On January 1st, I had the honor of being sworn into my second term as Mayor of Boston. In my second inaugural address, I talked about the progress we have made together as a City, and the vision we have built together of an even brighter future. Our vision is of a Boston where every person and every community participates in, benefits from, and elevates our leadership as a global City. On that day, I asked Boston to embark on a citywide movement: the Boston’s Way Home Fund. Our goal is to raise $10 million privately, to create 200 units of permanent, supportive housing over the next four years.
Since we launched our action plan to end veteran and chronic homelessness in Boston, we have housed 900 homeless veterans and over 652 chronically homeless individuals, ending over 4,000 years of homelessness combined. Together with our partners, we are going to be the first major City to end chronic homelessness.
Opening the Dearborn STEM Academy
Here’s what we envision for Boston’s students: a system where all students have access to beautiful new buildings, 21st-century classrooms, and nurturing environments that give them the most opportunity for success. Under BuildBPS, our 10-year educational and facilities master plan, we are investing $1 billion in schools all across our City to make this vision a reality.
This August, we were excited to celebrate the opening of the Dearborn STEM 6–12 Early College Academy, the first newly-constructed BPS school building in 15 years designed and built for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning. This beautiful new building will be able to accommodate 600 BPS students by 2020. The Dearborn opening reflects our City’s promise: we’re going to continue to make historic investments in our youth and our communities, and for years to come. I can’t wait to see this school grow, and know that Dearborn students are going to do remarkable things in their new home.
Appointing our New Police Commissioner
I knew that Boston’s first African-American police commissioner would be historic. But this community, in its response, showed me it’s more than historic. It’s personal. Willie Gross doesn’t just reflect this community in his identity. He reflects this community in his ability and his values. That’s why he was the right choice to be Boston’s 42nd Police Commissioner.
Commissioner Gross is building on the record that has made our neighborhoods safer and made Boston a national model. It’s a strategy that he helped to create and implement: in community outreach; in training and technology; and in getting guns off our streets.
We are going to continue to support this work with our resources and with our commitment to heal trauma and stop the cycles of suffering and violence and to provide our young people with the education, the supports, and the jobs they need to thrive. We are about lifting people up, not locking people up. And Commissioner Gross will continue to lead the way for the Boston Police Department.
Creating the Bureau of Community Engagement
Community policing is at the heart of Boston’s public safety work, and this year we created an entire bureau at the Boston Police Department to further these goals. This fall, Commissioner Gross and I announced the formation of the Bureau of Community Engagement at the Boston Police Department. It’s headed by Nora Baston: BPD’s newest superintendent, and one of the best examples our City has of what it means to care for your community, and make a difference in the lives of others. She will oversee a citywide effort to further strengthen community policing in Boston, focusing on ways to build relationships and trust between law enforcement and residents, create new and innovative partnerships, and promote inclusion and diversity within the department.
Anyone who works with young people in Boston knows Nora well. She’s everywhere — always smiling, positive, and supportive. An incredible role role and mentor, she’s a product of our City, our schools, and our police department. Every year, I continue to be proud of our men and women officers and their tireless commitment to creating the best police force in the nation right here in Boston.
Holding the Pharmaceutical Companies Accountable
I know what addiction is like. It’s tough, it’s ruthless, and you have to fight hard to get out from under its grip. Any company that turns a blind eye to how their business fuels and profits off addiction must be held accountable. Sons and daughters have been lost, families have been torn apart, and opioids have taken their toll on thousands of families and lives in Boston and across the country. Simply put: they put profits over people, knowingly fueling addiction at the expense of human lives.
In September, Boston filed a complaint in Suffolk Superior Court against 13 opioid manufacturers, four distributors, and one local doctor that have contributed to the local opioid epidemic. Their misleading marketing and reckless dissemination of opioids have led to the deaths of more than 730 Boston residents since 2013. As part of the litigation, the City is seeking to recover both past and future damages and injunctive relief associated with addressing the opioid epidemic in Boston.
Boston will use all the tools we have to end this epidemic, and we’ve made expanding access to recovery services in Boston a top priority. Our groundbreaking Office of Recovery Services continues to study substance use in Boston and lead the City’s strategy around substance use disorders, addiction and recovery. We won’t rest until the scourge of addiction has been wiped out from our City.
Rebuilding Long Island Bridge
Tackling the opioid crisis means using each and every tool we have. That’s why, this year, we’ve pledged to rebuild the Long Island Bridge, and allow Boston to invest in a comprehensive, long-term recovery campus on the island.
Rebuilding this bridge is an important next step to ensure Long Island can serve as a resource for those in Boston, and those from surrounding areas, who are struggling with substance use disorders. By restoring access to the island, we’ll be able to expand essential recovery resources in a safe setting, and provide services spanning the whole continuum of care such as harm reduction, detox, residential treatment, transitional housing and ongoing peer support. For many people, including myself, Long Island played a vital role in Boston’s recovery landscape — and soon, it will again.
Protecting Boston with Resilient Boston Harbor
In my annual speech to the Boston Chamber of Commerce, I was proud to announce our City’s next big step toward fighting climate change. We announced “Resilient Boston Harbor,” a plan that lays out a major strategy along Boston’s 47-mile shoreline. It will increase access and open space along the waterfront while better protecting the City during a major flooding event.
We’re not just planning for the next storm we’ll face; we’re planning for the storms the next generation will face. A resilient, climate-ready Boston Harbor presents an opportunity to protect Boston, connect Boston, and enhance Boston — now and for the future. As we enter a new era in our Harbor’s history, Boston can show the world that resilience is not only the ability to survive adversity, but to emerge even stronger than before. That’s the promise of a Resilient Boston.
Hosting Mayors from Across the Country for the US Conference of Mayors
This past July, the City of Boston welcomed hundreds of mayors and leaders from across the country for the United States Conference of Mayors annual convening. I was incredibly proud to showcase all the best that Boston has to offer, from the Freedom Trail where we pioneered free speech, to the Black Heritage Trail, where we paved the way for freedom and equality. Together with mayors, we marked a moment in history by marching in unity in the annual Boston Pride parade, a celebration of love and inclusion.
We also shared our innovative approaches to solving some of toughest challenges facing cities across the nation. For example, Boston has some of the oldest fire departments in the nation, but we lead the way in firefighter safety by investing in equipment and apparatuses to minimize harm caused by dangerous toxins. Check out a video of me playing the part:
Another major topic of our discussions was climate change. In a time where federal leadership is lacking, cities must step up and find ways to mitigate its effects and protect residents. Our convening made it clear that cities are ready and willing to take the lead.
That’s why cities are moving forward — because mayors get the job done. When we get together, share ideas, and join our voices for change, we take our work to another level. We forge a new national conversation, the kind Americans deserve, and the kind that will benefit everyone.
Tackling the Regional Housing Issue and Increasing Boston’s Housing Goals
As Boston grows, we must keep our focus on the families and communities that make our City the diverse, welcoming, and world-class place it is. To do that, residents must be able to afford to live here in the City they love, families must be able to grow, and young people must be able to make our City their home.
That’s why we’re working hard to increase Boston’s affordable housing stock. That includes building housing across a range of incomes, and ensuring there are income-restricted homes being built throughout Boston. We’ve increased our overall housing goals from creating 53,000 units to 69,000 units by 2030 to meet Boston’s growing population and increase housing opportunities for residents.
As we build more housing in Boston to relieve housing pressure, our regional partners are also working to ensure their cities and towns keep up with the demand for affordable housing. Together with the Metro Mayors Coalition, this year we set a new regional housing production goal for coalition cities and towns to meet the demands of a robust regional economy by setting a target to create 185,000 new units of housing across the region by the year 2030. Working together, we’ll be able to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing our City and country and support a strong middle class in Boston.
Honoring Our World Series Champions
It wouldn’t be a year in Boston without celebrating the teams we root for: win or lose, Boston’s sports fans are the most passionate around. This year, the Boston Red Sox made Red Sox fans here in Boston and around the world proud by winning the 2018 World Series in Los Angeles.
They couldn’t have achieved this success without the leadership of their new star manager, Alex Cora. And Alex is much more than a baseball manager. He is an advocate for immigrant communities — here in Boston, and in his home country of Puerto Rico. Last winter, I had the opportunity to travel with him and the team to Cora’s hometown of Caguas to help in the recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria. I was especially proud of our championship team that day.
I’m proud of all of Boston’s sport teams — but not just because they throw the fastest pitch, or bring home the most rings, or win the most games (although we do all that too). I’m proud of the spirit we all share — and what we can accomplish when we work together. Whether it’s serving Thanksgiving dinner at the Bruins stadium, or bringing support to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, or launching a mobile health initiative, Boston always has a big heart for our community, our neighbors, and our friends in need.
Helping a Family Buy their First Home
When I look back on all our City has accomplished this year, I am most proud of the people we were able to help — through our programs and services that made a difference in their lives, and the dedicated public servants who supported them all the way.
Take Patricia Brown, a former resident of Whittier Street housing development. This summer, she and her family became first-time homeowners in Mattapan. Using resources the Department of Neighborhood Development provides, Patricia, a single mom of 4, purchased a home in Olmsted Green with help from the DND, a grant from the Whittier Choice Neighborhood Initiative, and advice from the Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath) and the Boston Home Center.
Expanding Our Boston Saves Program for Students
Another moment was talking with Seanie, one of our first graders at Boston Public Schools, about how Boston is investing in the future success of our students through the City’s Boston Saves program.
Seeing the real difference in people’s lives is the reason why serving as Mayor has been the greatest honor of my life, and the reason all our City workers — whether it’s a member of our street outreach team, or a teacher at the Kenny Elementary School in Dorchester, or a public works hokey — put their hearts into the work they do every day. Thank you to everyone in our city for doing your part to make Boston the best city in the world.
