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Walsh delivers final State of the City address

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh delivers his final State of the City Address at Grant Middle School, Jan. 16.
Abigail Connolly
/
WRVO
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh delivers his final State of the City Address at Grant Middle School, Jan. 16.

In his eighth and final State of the City address, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh painted a picture of resurgence and hope.

Walsh delivered his address inside Grant Middle School on the Northside of Syracuse completing his goal to deliver the address in each city quadrant. The theme for this year: "the sky is the limit." Walsh said this address gave him an opportunity to reflect on the progress of his administration.

"This year is a little different because I'm not going to be mayor a year from now. But, so we did focus more on our successes and our wins, but still acknowledge that there's much work to be done and that for the next 11 months, that's what I'm going to be focused on."

Walsh touched on the four cornerstones of his administration: increased economic investment, delivering city services effectively, achieving fiscal sustainability and providing quality constituent engagement. Speaking about current housing, investment and job opportunities, Walsh his work is not done and expects his goal of creating 2,500 new housing units before leaving office at the end of the year will be met.

"It's a combination of the, the infield housing development in our neighborhoods and the large, dense redevelopment of historic buildings and new buildings along our business corridors. And, and again, in doing so, we're providing a diverse set of housing options at a time when we really need them.

But things like fiscal responsibility and addressing the high rates of poverty continue to be some of the biggest issues. Walsh acknowledged the struggles of creating a fiscally sustainable, less poverty stricken city but emphasized that over the course of his administration, programs like Syracuse Surge and Syracuse Build are starting to create more jobs and generational wealth. Walsh says continuing investments like these and moving toward new revenue sources are still a priority.

"You have to think about this both in the short term and the long term," Walsh said. "We're doing both and again, I think we have certainly have, progress to show for those efforts. But again, we're acknowledging that it's going to take time, and we need to make sure that we position the next administration, to just take that baton and continue the progress forward."

Walsh concluded his address emphasizing the need to continue collaboration and progress.

Abigail is a temporary WRVO News Reporter/Producer working on regional and digital news stories. She graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2022 where she studied English and Public Relations. Abigail enjoys reading, writing, exploring CNY and spending time with family and friends. Abigail first joined the WRVO team as a student reporter in June 2022.