Mayor Evans talks progress, public safety in State of the City address

ROCHESTER, N.Y Rochester Mayor Malik Evans gave his first State of the City address Wednesday.

He spoke about progress, public safety and prosperity for the city. Mayor Evans left no stone unturned speaking of his plan for Rochester. He spoke about everything from public safety to jobs for youth and cultivating prosperity in the community.

Mayor Malik Evans has been in office for just over a year. Standing at the podium today at the central library of Rochester he delivered his State of the City address in front of local and state leaders, law enforcement and the community.

“Every home in Rochester is home to people who have hope,” Evans said.

He says when you deliver an opportunity to someone who has hope it looks like Bukiyah Binion, owner of Decades Beauty Salon on Lake Street, who received funding through his office’s Kiva loan program.

“I’m in the entrepreneur program,” Evans said. “I’m one of the first people the mayor is working with and helping get funding to improve my business and expand as well.”

Mayor Evans highlighted the progress of his work since he took office in January 2022. Funding from the American Rescue Plan Act is helping combat poverty with programs like Buy the Block, the Guaranteed Basic Income initiative, and the Lead Service Line Replacement program. Safety is a priority for the mayor as well. Social media challenges to stealing cars are pulling teens into violent crimes.

“I’m gratified but not satisfied that the numbers of shootings and firearm-related deaths are trending downward and I help to accelerate that trendline in the months ahead,” Evans said.

He says every child who wants a job should be able to get a job. It’s the key to getting kids off the streets and away from trouble.

“I want our kids to be so tired from working that they will not have time to respond to some Tik Tok challenge or get pulled into Instagram or Snapchat that could get them killed,” Evans said.

Jim Kraus lives in the 19th ward and says the mayor’s address was uplifting.

“For Mayor Evans, the glass is half full not half empty,” Kraus said. “I like that mindset and it was mind-boggling how many projects we have going on.”

While we’ve been dealing with historic spikes of crime and violence like a lot of cities across the country, Mayor Evans says our law enforcement has been focusing on the most violent criminals and streets in the city.

You can watch the full address below.