Mayor Malik Evans’s 2024 State of the City painted a rosy picture of a Rochester on the upswing.
The speech, held at the Linc on East Main Street, sought to highlight a city experiencing growth and revitalization. Among the key notes covered were growing employment, increased generational wealth, and strides in public safety. The room was packed with dignitaries from across the Rochester area, from Monroe County administration to City Council.
“From City Hall to the County Office Building, to the State Capitol in Albany, to the halls of Congress in Washington, all of Rochester’s elected leaders are working together toward the same fundamental goal: empower the people of Rochester to reach their full potential, so the city of Rochester can reach its full potential,” Evans said.
Evans is in his third year in office, having defeated former Mayor Lovely Warren in 2021. His time in office has been marked by code enforcement, expanded development, and anti-violence as key policy initiatives.
In the realm of public safety, Evans cited progress, but noted that there is much work to be done. Last year, the city saw 288 shootings and 59 homicides, compared to 419 and 85, respectively, in 2021.
“While crime and violence are systemic issues with factors that touch almost every aspect of society, we are seeing that we can make a difference,” Evans said. “We are making a difference: one illegal gun at a time, one arrest at a time, one hotspot for violence at a time.”
Evans also noted the rising property values in the city, a controversial topic in the community. This year, the city finalized its first property reassessment in four years, with an average increase of 68% across the city. Every neighborhood of the city saw net increases. Some, like the neighborhoods bordering Webster Avenue in Beechwood, saw home values more than double, on average.
Councilmembers Willie Lightfoot, Stanley Martin, Kim Smith, and Mary Lupien have supported an endeavor to “pause” the reassessments, concerned the city is pricing people out of their homes.
Evans urged homeowners to turn to a “prosperity mindset” and learn how to leverage the equity in their houses.
“The reality is that the market conditions have changed and likely for good,” Evans said. “So it is important that we work together, because we can always do more together than we can do alone.”
Evans also touted a new Childhood Savings Account initiative as a key plan for poverty elimination. Beginning in 2025, every Rochester City School District student entering kindergarten will receive a savings account and a “nominal” amount of seed money.
“Just imagine the excitement they’ll feel as they watch their very own money in their very own savings accounts grow and collect interest year after year,” Evans said.
Evans also noted the city’s investment in affordable housing amid a spike in rental costs in recent years. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Rochester has risen 35% since 2020, from $775 to $1,050.
“This paradigm of rent burdening perpetuates the insidious damage of the poverty mindset. Children watch their parents scrape from paycheck to paycheck and learn that living in the moment is more urgent than preparing for the future,” Evans said.
Evans touted a total of 605 new affordable units currently under development in the city. Evans said that the city has developed 1,700 affordable units citywide since 2022.
“Too many people are rent-burdened, spending more than 30% of their incomes on housing,” Evans said. “This leaves them with too little to spend on other necessities, like food and clothing, let alone establishing savings accounts to serve as buffers against emergencies and improve long-term prospects.”
Evans also touted ArtsBloom, an iteration of the city’s longstanding effort to fund local arts, as a major step forward. The program awarded a total of $100,000 to six organizations, including the Avenue Black Box Theater and Borinquen Dance Theater.
“It’s hard to think of anything that promotes a prosperity mindset, or a growth mindset, more than the arts,” Evans said.
Evans concluded his speech with a 1957 quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., alluding to Rochester’s need to continue progressing.
“And so let us go out and work with renewed vigor to make the unfolding work of destiny a reality in our generation. We must not slow up. Let us keep moving,” Evans said.
