LYNN — Activists and Lynn residents gathered outside City Hall Tuesday evening, pushing for $18 million of the city’s remaining $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to be allocated toward the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
A crowd of protestors led by three different organizations: Lynn United for Change, Essex County Community Organization (ECCO), and Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts rallied outside City Hall Tuesday evening to petition Mayor Jared Nicholson and members of City Council to allocate most of the remaining ARPA funds toward expanding affordable housing in the city of Lynn.
The crowd, comprising approximately 55 residents, activists, and union leaders chanted, to the beat of a snare drum, “housing is a human right,” and “the people, united, will never be defeated,” were met, primarily, with support; cars honked with hands extended outwards and a handful of pedestrians walking down North Common Street joined in the rally. One individual, standing across the street, yelled a bigoted comment at the Spanish-speaking protesters, which was met, by-in-large, with nothing more than eye rolls from the crowd.
According to results from the 2020 census, Lynn bears an average individual median income of $30,346, and has seen an increasingly large demand for affordable housing in recent years. This summer, Lynn United for Change, alongside Concerned Citizens of Lynn, protested developers’ bids on the construction of luxury housing at the 811 Lynnway site.
Additionally, in Aug. Mayor Jared Nicholson, when asked what he thought the greatest issue facing the city was, responded that it was the city’s high costs of living.
“Especially with the uncertainty around the economy, and people’s livelihoods and the way rents are going, I think that is a huge priority,” he said.
While many seem to be in agreement that the city needs to expand affordable housing, those in disagreement with the activists argue that the remaining $20 million in ARPA funding should be dispersed to address a variety of the city’s needs, not just affordable housing.
City Council President Jay Walsh, in an interview Tuesday said that the city, through establishment of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and affordable housing zoning practices, has worked to expand affordable housing. He said that while he recognizes the need for affordable housing in the city, he does not think that the remaining ARPA funds should all be allocated toward one project.
“The 18 million allocation in one shot, It’s not something that I support. You know, there’s a lot of need for different things in the city; housing is a very important one, we recognize that. But we’re not going to put $18 million all into one basket,” Walsh said.
Walsh cited the mixed-use apartment complex, King’s Lynne, as a model for the kind of mixed-use developments in the city he would like to see replicated.
“That [King’s Lynne] was a federal program that allowed that type of development. There are a lot of moving pieces, but we’d like to see some of that happen again,” he said.
This summer, three million dollars in ARPA funding were allocated toward affordable housing expansion in Lynn through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Allison Luke, an ECCO activist who spoke at the event, said that affordable housing remains a significant priority for Lynn families, and should be prioritized as such when the city allocates funding. She said that since home ownership often acts as a first step toward growing wealth, the city should prioritize affordable housing as a means to provide working class families a chance at financial stability.
“We live in an America where apathy toward poor and working class people has become concretized,” Luke said. “Lynn is the largest city on the North Shore, especially when it pertains to working class and poor people with a majority of the population, the city put at least $18 million into parks. Now anybody with two working brain cells knows full well that when you have the majority minority sitting, for working class people and what have you, and you invest in parks, you’re investing in gentrification.”
Nicholson, in a written statement Tuesday afternoon, said that while the city will consider all applications for ARPA funding, city hall remains dedicated toward expanding affordable housing.
“We have worked hard with the City Council to run an open, transparent and inclusive process for ARPA funding. We look forward to reviewing all the applications submitted. We also plan to continue our administration’s focus on affordable housing, from creating an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, to rolling out an inclusionary zoning proposal later this year, to the ARPA investments we made last round and will make in this next one. We appreciate all the input we have received throughout the process,” Nicholson said.
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected]
