Mayor Malik Evans delivered his State of the City Address, highlighting how Rochester is strong and getting better every day because city leaders and partners are making critical investments that are empowering residents, perpetuating sustained growth, and expanding wealth.
In his remarks, Mayor Evans began with safety, pointing to the partnerships with law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels to focus on the most violent offenders, illegal guns, and areas with the highest levels of violence. As a result of these efforts, firearm violence has seen a significant reduction over the past two years, with shootings down by 31%, firearm-related deaths by 29%, and total homicides by 32%
On equity, Mayor Evans shared programs that focus on helping residents achieve economic mobility and generational wealth. He noted that the city’s Housing Bureau has been investing in affordable housing and homeownership programs, helping people who pay more than 30% of their income toward housing costs emerge from being rent-burdened.
The Mayor emphasized the hundreds of millions of dollars in investment toward capital projects across Rochester, including ROC the Riverway, Inner Loop North Revitalization, and the Bull’s Head Revitalization. Mayor Evans shared that since 2022, the city has completed or started projects to build or renovate more than 1,000 market-rate rental units and nearly 1,700 affordable units for a total investment of $685 million.
Watch the Mayor’s full address here.
At a time when our rights, freedoms, and futures are under threat, Democratic Mayors are showing the nation what real leadership looks like.
