Mayor Jared Nicholson

Last week, I delivered my second State of the City address to highlight our recent achievements in the last year and our top priorities for 2024. In my address, I highlighted our commitment to investing in infrastructure, creating more affordable housing opportunities, prioritizing our educational facilities and programs, building on our momentum to connect more residents to good jobs, and combatting community violence together. To read or watch the full State of the City Address, visit https://lnkd.in/eBEDythD

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of joining Lynn Public Schools and Senator Elizabeth Warren to celebrate the expansion of early education in our community. We officially opened eight new preschool classrooms and the Early Childhood Center at Bennett Street—a significant milestone for our city’s youngest learners made possible by $1.65 million in federal funding. This expansion provides approximately 100 new preschool seats, a cafeteria, and an outdoor play space. This growth means there are now 50% more preschool seats in our city than just two years ago. Expanding preschool classrooms in the City represents a tremendous investment in our children’s future, providing them with a nurturing environment to grow, learn, and thrive and to meet the needs of families in our community. This investment in our youngest learners is also a testament to our commitment to fostering educational excellence from the very start. Thank you to all those who supported this significant project! Photo Credit: Spenser Hasak

I am excited to announce that the Lynnside Out Festival is returning this year! Lynnside Out is a citywide festival that brings City Hall to you in an effort to make municipal resources more accessible, approachable, and visible for our residents. There will be various live entertainers, food, and activities. Additionally, over a dozen City departments will also be available to discuss the resources and services they provide and share current and upcoming initiatives and projects that benefit the City and are most impactful to residents. We hope that you will join us at the Lynnside Out Festival on Saturday, September 7th from 11-3pm at Frederick Douglass Park.

Last week, I was joined by Senator Warren, Congressman Moulton, MassDOT Secretary Tibbits-Nutt, our State Delegation, Council President Walsh and Councilor Hogan along with several Lynnway developers at the Lynn Harbor Park site for a discussion on housing and Lynn’s recent receipt of the Federal Reconnecting Communities Grant.

Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus and Mayor Jared Nicholson, a member of Governor Healey’s Housing Advisory Council, will kick off the Council’s first regional listening session on Thursday, April 11th, at North Shore Community College in Lynn. Community input gathered during the statewide listening tour will help to develop the Healey-Driscoll administration’s first five-year strategic housing plan for the Commonwealth. Registration and networking for the April 11th session will begin at 12:30pm with the session running from 1pm-3pm in the East Wing of the McGee Building, at 300 Broad Street, Lynn. Online registration is now available: https://lnkd.in/eNCkqSHp

Honored to have participated in Early College Day at the State House where I joined leaders across the region to highlight the importance of growth and sustainability in early college programs and centered Lynn's early college program as a stellar example of its immeasurable impact and success. Early college continues to empower students of all backgrounds and provide opportunities for our youth that ensure college completion and career success. The Massachusetts Alliance for Early College (MA4EC) has recognized Lynn's early college program as a model that is committed to breaking barriers to higher education, especially to our first-generation students and English language learners.

Honored to have joined Senator Markey and local leaders at the Lynn Public Library to push for an extension of funding the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Our residents need to be online. We should not let financial barriers block residents from the internet. The loss of the ACP is a loss for all our residents and families, who utilize this program to have consistent access to the digital world. The City of Lynn is proud to take advantage of the ACP—roughly 7,300 households in Lynn currently participate. That number represents so many of our students’ ability to get their homework done, so many of our residents’ ability to attend critical telehealth appointments, and for some, to actually do their job with remote work. The ACP plays a critical role in closing the digital divide, and failing to extend the program will cause so many of our residents to lose access to several opportunities and advantages. Thank you, Senator Markey, as well as the digital equity organizations involved, for your advocacy to preserve broadband access to residents in Lynn and beyond.

This year, as we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and celebrate his life, we think of what his work for justice and equity means today. The words and actions of Dr. King and the movement he led continue to reverberate here in Lynn and beyond: “I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.”

As we close off 2023, the Nicholson administration would like to share a year in review and highlight 24 noteworthy accomplishments in seven key areas. In 2023, we took bold steps together and achieved significant accomplishments and milestones, as well as meeting several of our goals for the year. From the beginning, I have been committed to providing forward-thinking leadership and inclusive growth for all Lynners. In working towards these goals, we set a path for advancing equitable solutions and community sustainability for the City. We faced difficult moments in 2023 as well, and we continue to believe that coming together in the hard moments and marking our successes is important to the overall health of our community. ?? Visit our 2023 Year in Review website to see some of our major accomplishments over the past year: https://bit.ly/3HdVQj9 It is an honor to serve as your Mayor and I am excited to enter 2024 with an ambitious agenda to continue to drive the City forward. All that we have accomplished would not have been possible without the support of our community. Thank you to all who helped make our progress possible!