LYNN — Arrival of language interpreters, multilingual signs and the switching of department offices took place this week as City Hall underwent a transformation.
Four language interpreters started work on Monday and are located in the foyer by the entrance of City Hall. The languages they interpret are Arabic, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Khmer. They are set to work 10 hours a day.
The hiring of the four interpreters comes on the heels of 12 new multilingual signs installed on the four floors of City Hall. Installed on Feb. 9, the signs are in English and Spanish and serve as directories for visitors and residents.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Officer Faustina Cuevas said the signs and the interpreters are a first in City’s Hall’s history and are the first step of a long-term plan to become a more accessible building for all residents — including those whose native language is not English.
“We are getting better with representation in our hiring of City Hall employees,” Cuevas said. “There is still more work we need to do but modernizing signage and hiring interpreters is a step in the right direction.”
Cuevas said English and Spanish were chosen as the two languages on the sign because they are the most common languages spoken. She acknowledged it would be difficult to place all of the languages spoken in Lynn on one sign.
“We have 50-plus languages spoken in Lynn,” she said. “That’s why we have the interpreters to help visitors and residents coming to City Hall.”
Additionally, the Public Health Department, located on the fourth floor of City Hall and the Inspectional Services Department (ISD), located on the first floor, will be swapping offices.
Mayor Jared Nicholson’s office said the switch allows for health-department staff to be on the same floor instead of being on different floors under the current floor plan.
The ISD’s physical office on the first floor is temporarily closed for refurbishing and painting. It will reopen at the end of the month, but employees and services are still available.
The initiative to replace City Hall directories and hire interpreters was Cuevas’ idea. The plan began in May 2021 when she was hired to serve as the city’s first DEI officer under former Mayor Thomas M. McGee’s administration. The sign initiative was completed on Feb. 9, under Nicholson’s administration, where Cuevas still serves as the city’s DEI officer.
Cuevas said the reason for the eight-month timeline was that her team wanted to ensure the graphics and language of each sign were accurate.
She also said she wants to add Braille to the signs to accommodate those who are visually impaired.
As for future additions to City Hall, Cuevas said she is holding conversations with other staff members on how to make the front of the building more accessible for those who have disabilities — namely for those who cannot walk up the flights of stairs leading to the entrance.
“We have had the wheelchair ramp elevated, but there are still concerns about the front entrance’s accessibility,” she said. “Eventually, we will have a public discussion about this but right now we are still having conversations with staff.”
