The moments that defined Boston’s resilience in 2020
2020 will go down as one of the most challenging and pivotal years in our city’s history. We came together to face a devastating pandemic, and launched an all-hands-on-deck effort to protect the most vulnerable members of our community. At the same time, we reckoned with the social and racial inequalities that have persisted for far too long in our country. At every turn, I have been deeply humbled and inspired by the people of Boston; by their strength; their generosity; and their commitment to working together to emerge from this difficult year more resilient and united than ever before. Here are some of the moments from the past year that exemplify that spirit.
1) We built the Boston Hope field hospital in five days.
At the onset of the pandemic, it was clear we needed to take decisive action to keep people safe. So we brought together City and State government, the healthcare sector, the business community, and the labor community to build the 1,000 bed Boston Hope field hospital in 5 days. It was an all-hands on deck effort to take care of the most vulnerable members of our community, and protect hospital capacity.
The day we officially opened Boston Hope was a powerful and humbling experience. I’ll never forget greeting the medical personnel and social workers as they arrived. Over the course of three months they would treat about 700 patients, and make a difference in the lives of countless families.
Boston Hope showed us how strong and effective we can be when we work together to care for the most vulnerable among us, and we’ve continued to bring that sense of focus and urgency to every challenge 2020 had in store. It will forever serve as a testament to our city’s strength and character.
2) We saw an outpouring of support in the Boston community, and harnessed that generosity to create the Boston Resiliency Fund.
When the seriousness of COVID-19 became apparent early in 2020, I knew we had to use every tool at our disposal to help people. In a matter of weeks, we restructured daily life in a city of 700,000 people, and zeroed in on health equity, bringing testing and treatment to the communities that needed them most. Our fight against this virus also required us to confront an economic crisis. So we drew on City and federal dollars to get immediate help to low-income residents and struggling small businesses through newly created relief funds. We were able to expand on this work thanks to the generosity of so many Bostonians who wanted to help their city. We created the Boston Resiliency Fund to get these donations to the grassroots organizations that are feeding, clothing, housing, and caring for the most vulnerable residents in Boston.
We’ve raised more than $34 million and distributed more than $29 million to hundreds of local nonprofit organizations who have served over 400,000 families. These funds are helping to provide food for children and seniors, technology for remote learning for students, and support to first responders and healthcare workers in the City of Boston. We harnessed the generosity of Boston’s residents, in order to help people who needed it most.
3) We mobilized a citywide coalition to keep food on people’s tables.
Food access is an equity issue that we have been addressing since long before COVID. When the pandemic began, we made it a top priority to ensure that all Bostonians, especially children, seniors, and other vulnerable populations have uninterrupted access to fresh, healthy, food. Our Office of Food Access worked with partners all across the city to establish a large network locations where people could pick up free food on a daily basis, including at Boston Public School buildings. At BPS sites alone, we’ve served more than three million meals since the pandemic began, and we continue to dedicate resources where they’re needed most.
4) We found more ways to help people stay safe and secure in their homes.
Safe and stable housing is essential to people’s health and wellbeing, and since long before the pandemic began we’ve been working hard to address housing instability and keep people in their homes. During the pandemic, we took this work to the next level, creating a Rental Relief Fund that has helped about 1,300 residents stay in their homes, and counting. We enacted the Housing Stability Notification Act, which helps tenants understand their rights and take steps to avoid eviction. And we created more medical respite space so homeless individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 had a safe place to go. This year alone we’ve also housed more than 100 homeless youth and young adults and provided permanent housing to over 200 individuals. At a time when Federal leadership was sorely lacking, Boston has stepped up to the plate and done whatever we can to help people who are struggling.
5) We built on years of progress creating more homes that are affordable to a range of incomes.
This has been a major focus for the City of Boston since long before the pandemic began, and it will continue to be central to our plans for an equitable recovery. Since the construction freeze was lifted, the City restarted construction on 1,200 affordable homes and started construction on 500 more.
With 120 units of affordable senior housing completed, 2020 was our best year on record. We launched the ONE+Boston product, increased our first-time homebuyer loan amounts and tripled the number of homebuyers we assisted. We also established the Foreclosure Prevention Pledge, getting 17 banks to agree to loan deferments. We became the first city in America with fair housing and anti-discrimination measures written into our zoning code, and we committed to build on our historic investments in affordable housing with a commitment of $500 million over next five years.
6) We thought outside the box to help our small and local businesses.
Our small businesses and their hardworking employees are the backbone of our economy, and they’re the lifeblood of our neighborhoods. Since the pandemic began, we’ve been doing everything we can to support them so they can continue to serve customers while protecting public health. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Boston has allocated more than $15 million toward direct grants to small businesses. Our Office of Economic Development is providing one-on-one assistance and technical support to help small business owners comply with public health regulations, and we’ve lifted several restrictions so that restaurants and other small businesses could continue to serve customers safely.
Our outdoor dining pilot was a great team effort that helped us protect public health while helping small businesses survive. For the 2020 outdoor dining season, we approved more than 550 requests for outdoor dining licenses including over 415 on public property. Restaurants in every single neighborhood of Boston were represented. And our Disabilities Commission distributed 90 portable ramps to restaurants at no cost during the 2020 outdoor dining season.
We saw the benefits that outdoor dining can have on our neighborhoods: like more vibrant streets and a fun new experience for restaurant goers. I remember eating outdoors at a local restaurant in Dorchester this summer, and thinking about how our Outdoor Dining Pilot was an example of how we can continue to make our outdoor spaces more lively and accessible, throughout the pandemic and beyond. I recently announced that we will continue the outdoor dining pilot program for the 2021 season, starting in April.
7) We got creative and adapted some of our most beloved traditions.
The pandemic began at what is normally a very special and happy time in the City of Boston. Any other year, we would have been gearing up for the Saint Patrick’s Day parade, getting ready to welcome athletes and fans from all over the world for the Boston Marathon, celebrating the home opener at Fenway Park, and holding the first of our annual coffee hours in neighborhood parks across the city.
Cancelling these events was a difficult decision, but it was the right one. And what struck me was that despite how disappointed people were, I didn’t hear many complaints. The overwhelming reaction has been cooperation and creativity. I’ve been inspired by how our city has come together to find new ways to celebrate our traditions safely. We moved community events online, and even held a virtual Boston Marathon, where athletes brought the spirit of the Marathon to neighborhoods all over the world.
One of my favorite examples of that creativity happened on One Boston Day, April 15. One Boston Day is a tradition we started six years ago to commemorate the tragic events of the 2013 Boston Marathon. It’s a day of service and reflection, when we honor the victims and survivors with acts of kindness. It’s a day when Boston shines brightest.
For One Boston Day 2020, we called on the Boston community to stand together by staying apart. We held a virtual interfaith service, where religious leaders from across Boston’s neighborhoods shared messages of hope and healing. We shared a list of acts of kindness that everyone could do from home, and people shared their thoughts, experiences, and acts of service on social media and got #OneBostonDay trending. It confirmed what I already knew: nothing can stop Boston from shining.
8) We took significant steps to address systemic racism.
This year, racial injustice was brought to the foreground, from disparate health outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the shocking murders of Black Americans in cities across our country. After the death of George Floyd, I had conversations with Black members of my administration that deeply moved me. Mr. Floyd’s murder was part of a history of hatred and violence that’s rooted in our country’s past and continues today through systemic racism. I made it clear that we do not and we will not tolerate that kind of brutality here in Boston, and we will continue taking the steps necessary to prevent it.
That’s why this year I declared racism a public health crisis, and we moved 20% from the police overtime budget into anti-racism and community health programs. We established the Boston Racial Equity Fund, which will invest in local nonprofits that empower Black and Brown residents in economic development, public health, youth employment, education, the arts, and more. And we established the first Equity Cabinet in Boston’s history, and I appointed Dr. Karilyn Crockett to lead it.
We also introduced a set of comprehensive reforms to the Boston Police Department, which included filing a Home Rule Petition to give Boston high school graduates a preference in police hiring through Civil Service, which will increase diversity and lead to more officers drawn from the communities they are serving. I directed Chief Crockett and other City leaders to work with the Police Department on updating their policies through an equity lens, as well as create a Diversity and Inclusion Unit in the Department. I accepted all of the recommendations of our Police Reform Taskforce, and took immediate steps to enact them. I signed an Executive Order to create a Civilian Review Board, the first of its kind in the City of Boston. I signed an Executive Order to turn what was our CO-OP board into a stronger Internal Affairs Oversight Panel. And I filed an ordinance with the City Council to create the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, or OPAT.
These are powerful steps, and they’re only the beginning of the steps we will take in order to achieve true, systemic change that reflects our values and the promise of our city.
9) We made it clear that there can be no recovery from COVID-19 without climate action.
There are clear parallels between climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. Both crises have hit low-income communities and people of color first and hardest. Both crises have emphasized how vital it is that we listen to science and prioritize public health above all else. And both have proven how important it is that we make significant investments in the long-term wellbeing of our communities now, or face devastating consequences down the line. So as we plot the course for our national recovery from Covid-19, climate action must be central to our strategy. Absent any leadership from the climate-denying Trump administration, cities have been leading the charge to stop climate change on our own.
In Boston, this year, our commitment to climate action never wavered during the pandemic. We’ve continued to rollout new programs to cut carbon emissions and prepare our coastline for the impacts of climate change. I was also named Chair of the US Climate Mayors, a bipartisan coalition of more than 450 cities representing tens of millions of Americans committed to urgent climate action at the local and national level. President-elect Biden and Vice-President elect Harris have already made it clear that climate will be a major priority for their administration. They’ve committed to re-entering the Paris Agreement, strengthening our energy standards, and investing in green jobs in all 50 states. The new administration is ready to do all of these things, and the Climate Mayors are ready to support them.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-22/climate-fixes-can-help-cities-lead-covid-recovery
10) We saw years of responsible fiscal management pay off.
For the 7th year in a row, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s assigned Boston AAA bond ratings. What that means for City government is we can invest in Boston’s future, and put ourselves in a strong position to recover and grow. We can devote resources to infrastructure, parks, libraries, school buildings, affordable housing, a resilient waterfront. And we can continue to work with all of you to grow good jobs that are available to the residents of every single community. Because of this, and because of Boston’s steady economic growth over the last several years, Boston has also been named the city best prepared to recover from the COVID recession. When I got that news, it emphasized what I’ve known for a long time: by investing in our communities, and focusing on inclusive growth, we are better prepared to face the hard times.
11) We launched a historic, $100 million investment in the Boston Public Schools.
At my State of the City address last year, I announced that over the next three years, we will provide $100 million in new revenue for direct classroom funding. This level of planned new investment, over and above cost increases, has never been done before. It will reach every school and it will be carefully targeted, so every dollar makes a difference. We’ll begin with intense support for underperforming schools, so we can become one great district.
We made this commitment, even before the pandemic began, because nothing is more important than making sure that each and every young person in Boston has access to a quality education and the support they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Now, with the additional challenges facing our young people — socially, emotionally, and academically — our investments in public education are more important than ever. We will continue to invest in our schools and our students as a crucial aspect of our COVID-19 recovery.
And at the same time, we’re devoting new city resources to assist our most vulnerable students and their families. At the height of the pandemic — we secured permanent affordable homes to over 1,000 families of Boston Public School students who were at risk of homelessness. This year, we’re launching new plans to combat youth and family homelessness. And, we’ll build more of the permanent, supportive housing that is the key to ending homelessness for good.
My thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, and loved ones of the more than 1000 Bostonians who lost their lives to COVID-19 this year. Know that our city will continue to rally around you, now and always. Hopefully, by next New Year’s, things will be a lot brighter, and it will be cause for celebration. Until then, we’re going to continue to stand together, as one City, with hope and determination in our hearts. We will get through these difficult times, with a deeper understanding of how strong we can be when we stand together.
