LYNN — For Charlie Gaeta, public service was never a career choice as much as a natural extension of how he was raised.
Long before he became one of Lynn’s most influential civic leaders, Gaeta was a young boy growing up on Vine Street, walking daily to St. Mary’s School and spending afternoons at the Boys & Girls Club while his mother worked to support their family. His father left when he was young, and what followed was a childhood shaped by resilience, close family bonds, and a deep awareness of how fragile stability can be.
Those early years left a lasting impression.
“I didn’t realize how poor we were at the time,” Gaeta reflected. “But I understood what it meant when people struggled to make ends meet. That never leaves you.”
It is that understanding — earned, not abstract — that has guided his almost five decades of leadership in housing, economic development, and community service in the City of Lynn.
Gaeta entered public life early. At just 23 years old, he was elected to the Lynn City Council, representing Ward 5. What followed was a remarkable tenure marked by trust from his colleagues and a reputation for steady leadership. By age 25, he had already begun a historic run as council president, holding the position for seven consecutive years, an achievement unmatched in the city’s history at that point.
Housing quickly emerged as his central concern. Gaeta understood that without safe, affordable places to live, progress in education, health, and economic mobility was nearly impossible. That conviction would later define his life’s work.
As a city councilor, he supported efforts to convert vacant buildings into affordable housing in the downtown and surrounding area. Examples included the Vamp Building, Daly Drug Building, St. Mary’s Grammar School, and the Louis Barrett Residence, which became home for many and continue to be a housing resource today. He was also a strong supporter of tenants throughout his tenure.
In 1984, Gaeta became executive director of the Lynn Housing Authority, taking over an agency in need of structure and long-term vision. One of his first moves was a comprehensive reorganization, setting the stage for decades of coordinated housing strategy. Today, the Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) provides housing or housing assistance to more than 4,000 residents, many of them seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children.
Under his leadership, housing in Lynn became not only about units, but also neighborhoods. When LHAND assumed responsibility for all city housing programs in 1998, it marked a turning point. The move allowed for a unified approach to development, preservation, and neighborhood investment. Through Neighborhood Development Associates (NDA), the city’s affordable housing arm, more than 200 homeownership opportunities have been created, along with support for the construction of low-income and affordable rental units.
The most significant projects, completed in partnership with the mayor’s office, city council, state delegation, Department of Community Development, neighbors, and community groups, include: Gateway North, Brickyard Village, St. Jean-Baptiste Apartments, Herbert Street, Water Works, and a partnership with General Electric on new housing in West Lynn, which have added more than 180 total units. Working with EDIC, LHAND, and NDA have converted former Brownfields sites into 16 units of housing and removed blight from those neighborhoods.
Gaeta credited positive relationships built over many years with funding partners at the state and federal levels, which have contributed to programs that assist public-housing residents and others throughout the community. He is grateful for a partnership with the United Way and their ongoing commitment to the people of Lynn and the North Shore.
Under Gaeta, LHAND has greatly expanded its programming and the number of employees has increased fourfold, to more than 100. The agency has become a resource for the entire North Shore.
Gaeta’s influence is not limited to housing. A founding member of the Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC/Lynn) in 1978 as a city councilor, he has spent decades helping shape the city’s economic development initiatives. As longtime chair of the board, he has supported small businesses, encouraged inclusive growth, and helped expand opportunities for minority entrepreneurs. His commitment was recognized with a Volunteer of the Year award from the Northeastern Economic Developers.
Yet those who know Gaeta best say his proudest accomplishments aren’t measured in dollars or development statistics.
He helped establish St. Jean’s Parish Drop-In Center, an idea he formed through a college work study job. He also helped start Serving People In Need (now Centerboard) and Affordable Housing Associates, organizations created to meet people at their most vulnerable moments. He oversaw the transformation of the former Lynn Community Development Housing Corporation into Neighborhood Development Associates, an organization for which he remains president.
Gaeta and his staff continue to work with non- and for-profit developers to create affordable housing. They are currently working with 2Life on a development of 150 units of senior housing at the Solimine House at the former Union Hospital site. In partnership with Affordable Housing Associates, LHAND has begun a redevelopment project on Andrews Street that will create 51 units for homeless and other individuals, with a set-aside for homeless veterans. They are in the final stages, along with NDA, to renovate the Lynn Armory into 52 units of housing for veterans and their families. LHAND also continues to aggressively pursue assistance for renters to alleviate the burden of increasing costs through various rental-assistance programs.
Gaeta has served on numerous boards, including All Care Hospice, the City of Lynn Site Plan Review, and the mayor’s development team currently, and has consistently used his influence to elevate voices that might otherwise go unheard.
Ask him about his success, and he is quick to redirect the credit.
“I’ve been fortunate,” Gaeta says. “I’ve worked with people who care deeply about this city. Whatever vision I had, the team around me made it real and any success I have had can be attributed to our staff and committed board, past, and present.”
That humility has remained constant, even as Lynn itself has changed. Gaeta speaks proudly of the city’s growing inclusivity and renewed sense of possibility. He remains deeply involved in projects addressing homelessness, senior housing, and veterans services — work he sees as unfinished and ongoing.
Gaeta was inducted into the Hall of Fame at St. Mary’s High School, which he credits for instilling in him a sense of community and the responsibility to help others, and the Boys & Girls Club of Lynn. He received the prestigious Philip Chase Award for community service from the Lynn Museum & Arts Center. The Latina Center MARIA presented him an award for advocacy and support of the Latino community.
At home, Gaeta shares life with his wife of 42 years, Liz, their sons, Charlie and Christopher, daughter-in-law Justina, and grandchildren, Christian and Mia. Family, like community, remains central to who he is.
Today, from his office on Church Street, Gaeta can look out and see the places that shaped him and the projects that bear his imprint. Few people have devoted as much of their life to one city — and fewer still have done so with such consistency, compassion, and quiet resolve.
For his enduring commitment to Lynn and its people, Charles J. Gaeta stands as a clear and deserving choice for Person of the Year.
