WALCZAK RELEASES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN; CALLS FOR HOLISTIC APPROACH TO INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT TO BRIDGE BOSTON’S GROWING INCOME INEQUALITY GAP

BOSTON - Bill Walczak, candidate for mayor of Boston, today unveiled his economic development blueprint in which he calls for strengthening community and business partnerships.  Walczak’s plan will further innovation in Boston, quell the influence of poverty, and create pathways so that every Bostonian has a stake in the city’s growth and prosperity – in every neighborhood.

“Boston is poised to drive the 21st century economy,” said Walczak, “however, we will only move forward as a world-class city when opportunities and good jobs are accessible in every Boston neighborhood.“

Walczak plans to drive Boston’s growing economy by collaborating with surrounding communities, local innovators, and the city’s cultural institutions to keep Boston on the cutting-edge of the 21st century innovation economy. Walczak’s plan calls for the creation of new innovation districts throughout the city, including his proposed innovation district in East Boston as an alternative and replacement for a casino, and additional innovation districts throughout Boston including Allston and Roxbury.

Walczak plans to address the city’s inequality gap by improving early childhood education opportunities, providing vocational and employment training for cutting-edge industries, creating career pathways for Boston students, and the creation of more affordable housing by working regionally to create more transit-oriented development.

His plan also calls for empowering Boston’s neighborhoods by enabling their residents, entrepreneurs, and community leaders to partake in the planning process, something Walczak points out is currently missing.

Walczak’s economic development blueprint includes:

·      Easier city permitting and strategies to increase customer service in the city’s administrative dealings with businesses and entrepreneurs so that city agencies are more navigable and more helpful to businesses.

·      Collaborating regionally with the communities with which Boston shares transportation systems, workforces, and other infrastructure, in order to build the economic engine and innovation hub of the region.

·      Strengthening the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s planning function to include neighborhood input and transparent practices in all aspects of the planning and development functions of the agency.

·      Partnering with local hospitals, universities, entrepreneurs and innovators to keep Boston at the forefront of the 21st century innovation economy and to provide career pathways for Boston students.

·      More Innovation Districts throughout Boston – including East Boston, Allston, and Roxbury – to keep local talent in the city and to attract more high tech, life science, knowledge industry, and international businesses to Boston.

·      Working with city merchants and restaurateurs to make Boston into a 24-hour city, with extended-hour transit options to support both patrons and employees.

·      Strengthening Main Street programs and working with neighborhood business leaders to enhance business districts and support new and small businesses with services and mentoring to encourage their development.

·      Expanding local cultural offerings to ensure that Boston and Boston’s cultural institutions continue to be destinations for local, regional and world-wide audiences.

·      Enhancing the Boston Film Office to ensure that movie and TV shows that want to shoot in Boston get a “one-stop shop” with easy access to permits and location information.