Politics

Wu tackles BPS struggles, affordable housing in second State of the City address

“Home is all the little points of light that give tomorrow its glow. It's the place and the people you refuse to give up on," the mayor said

Mayor Michelle Wu delivers the State of the City address at MGM Music Hall. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

January 9, 2024

3 minutes to read

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu focused on perseverance and hope during her State of the City address Tuesday night, speaking on the city’s housing crisis and school struggles and announcing a new perk for Boston Public School students.

The mayor’s second annual address was initially interrupted by protestors, with two protesters standing in front of the stage with a Palestinian flag. The beginning of her speech was overlapped by cries of “ceasefire now,” and in Wu’s view was a banner hanging from a gallery that read “Boston complicit with genocide.”

“This is our democracy at work. We are a city for all voices,” Wu said as the protesters were led away.

Wu stresses Boston’s hopeful future

Wu’s speech highlighted hope within the city of Boston, from the Dorchester Eagles winning their first Pop Warner title to continued lows for gun violence. Last year, Wu highlighted a historically low gun violence rate, and this year Boston had the lowest level of violent crime on record, the city has said.

She also celebrated the removal of homeless encampments at Mass and Cass, long an epicenter of the region’s joint opioid and homelessness crises, as a step in the right direction, saying Boston “has refused to give up on health and stability person by person.”

Wu’s speech continued through the highlights of business, climate tech, and Boston’s planning and development, while breezing over the MBTA, currently in the midst of unprecedented shutdowns, and transportation.

Affordable housing in Boston

But the mayor eventually got to two hot-button issues in Boston today: affordable housing and Boston Public Schools.

“Tonight I can say the state of our city is strong, not because the challenges that remain are simple or small, but because they’re big and they matter and we are rising to meet them,” Wu said, “and that starts with housing because home is a place where everything starts.”

Wu said Boston permitted the highest ever ratio of affordable housing last year and has plans to identify 3,000 more public housing units this year, which would be maintained by a $100 million federal grant.

She told stories of residents achieving their home ownership dreams, including a single mother moving from public housing to a home in Hyde Park with a yard for her children.

Boston Public Schools

Wu said BPS is in the “strongest” place to tackle its many issues, with Superintendent Mary Skipper at the helm. BPS, currently facing declining student populations and dilapidated schools, released a plan last week to restructure BPS with fewer but larger schools.

“Boston is the birthplace of public education founded on the belief that knowledge belongs to everyone, but we have yet to deliver on that vision,” Wu said. “In too many of our neighborhoods, the disinvestment (Black families) fought persists to this day, deepened by the transitions and disruptions of the last decade.”

Wu did not mention the plan but said 10 major capital projects are slated for 2024, which is as many as were completed in the last 40 years combined, she said.

The crowd cheered the loudest for Wu’s announcements about Franklin Park, the largest park in the city. The 485-acre park’s historic White Stadium will be renovated for the National Women’s Soccer League’s new Boston team as part of the city’s restoration effort.

Wu’s final announcement of the night brought the crowd to its feet. She introduced it with a story about her mother bringing her to a free-admission day at a museum when, new to the country, her parents were struggling to make ends meet.

She said that starting next month, BPS families will get free admission at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Science, the Boston Children’s Museum, the New England Aquarium and the Franklin Park Zoo on the first and second Sundays of each month.

“Home is all the little points of light that give tomorrow its glow,” Wu said. “It’s the place and the people you refuse to give up on.”

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