LYNN – As Mayor Jared C. Nicholson enters the fourth year of his term, he took the time to speak with the Item and go over some of his key accomplishments from the past year.
Nicholson cited housing, safety, education, finances, jobs, and infrastructures as some of the key categories in which progress has been made over the past year.
“One of the top issues that faces our residents continues to be the cost of housing, so we make that a huge priority,” Nicholson said. Some of the highlights include the disbursal of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which included $2 million in rental assistance and $1.5 million in vouchers through the Lynn Housing and Neighborhood Authority Development, which helped 650 Lynn families stay in their homes. Additionally, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which was started in 2022, finished granting $3 million in initial seed funding for several projects. Nicholson also worked with the City Council to pass the Housing Stability Ordinance, which helps make sure tenants are aware of their housing rights.
Regarding safety, Nicholson stated that “Safety is always a top priority. In 2023, we experienced a really painful uptick in gang violence, and so a huge priority this year has been the community response to that, and I think we’ve made significant progress.”
In 2024, Nicholson tripled the city’s youth summer jobs program, which also led to the amount of summer job applicants doubling. “We were able to make a commitment early in the year that any young person who wanted a job would get one.” Alongside being able to provide more jobs to young people, the program also included curriculum on things like financial literacy and job preparation.
Nicholson also discussed the continued challenges associated with substance use disorder and the opioid crisis, and how the city has started making grants from opioid settlement funds to aid community organizations in prevention, recovery, and harm reduction programs.
In education, Nicholson pointed to the building of the new Pickering Middle School, a “flagship project” that broke ground this year. Additionally, the recent acquisition of the former Eastern Bank headquarters will allow the Frederick Douglass Collegiate Academy to double in size. However, Nicholson emphasized that education access is still an ongoing issue. “We added about 100 seats [in 2023], and we added well over 100 [in 2024]. So I think we’re making significant progress in closing the gap, but there’s still a gap in terms of access.”
In finances, one highlight included the finished allocation of all ARPA funds, a process that relied heavily on community input and involved the distribution of more than $75 million. The city was also accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Accelerated Repair program, which helped replace doors and windows at Sisson Elementary. Regarding jobs, Nicholson was able to work with Lynn Tech to triple the size of adult evening program seats from 20 to 60.
In terms of infrastructure, Nicholson mentioned that the city was able to set a record for the amount of roadway paved in a single year, also thanking the Department of Public Works for all its contributions. The city also made progress in opening or refurbishing a number of parks, such as Kiley, Lynn Woods, Barry and Cook Street Playground, while also improving their wheelchair accessibility. Nicholson also talked about the continued success of the city’s ferry service, which saw increased ridership this year.
Looking forward to the new year, Nicholson explained that the city has built “really great momentum” on many key issues, but that more work can still be done. Nicholson also mentioned that “a new priority will be sorting out the new federal administration and how that is going to affect the city and our residents.”
“I greatly appreciate the trust that the residents have placed in me in this role, and am thrilled at the progress that we’ve made working together … In the whole community, I think there’s a really collaborative spirit right now with businesses and community groups and residents generally, that’s excited about the progress we’re making and the potential that we all see,” Nicholson said.
On Dec. 1, Nicholson announced that he would run for a second 4-year term in the 2025 municipal elections.
