LIST | Mayor Andre Dickens State of the City address takeaways

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens mainly focused on safety, youth and affordable housing in his address.

ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens delivered his State of the City address Tuesday morning.

During the address he highlighted some of the city's success in 2022 and his vision for this year, which he has deemed "The Year of the Youth."

Mayor Dickens mainly focused on safety, youth and affordable housing in his address.

Here are some key takeaways from the mayor's address:

Affordable housing

Mayor Dickens said Tuesday that the city has made multiple efforts to improve affordable housing.

Atlanta's mayor also announced that his office will freeze property taxes for seniors for the next 20 years in a new pilot program for this year. At least 100 low-income seniors will participate in the program.
Mayor Dickens has also teamed up with Tyler Perry to also pay the back property taxes of 700 seniors.
In Tuesday's address, he announced that the City bought a high-rise building next to Underground Atlanta to help build more affordable housing.
He also mentioned the Forest Cove apartment initiative in his address where he helped relocate multiple families to affordable housing units as the city works to rebuild the dilapidated complex. Many residents complained about the conditions before the city stepped in.

Watch more about Atlanta's affordable housing pilot program below:

In partnership with Police and residents, Atlanta has over 28,000 working cameras that helped solved crimes. The mayor thanked the community and business owners who signed up through the Connect Atlanta system where they registered their cameras.
The mayor briefly mentioned that the Public Safety Training Center's efforts. He said the center would personnel get the proper training needed to keep Atlanta safe.

In his speech, Mayor Dickens stressed that he wanted to make the city "the best place to raise a child."

Mayor Dickens announced that the city has been able to secure at least $20 million in funds for early childhood education in Atlanta Public Schools. The funds will be awarded this year.
The mayor also mentioned that the city teamed up with the Helping Empower Youth initiative to give young entrepreneurs like the Water Boys a space to receive opportunities.
He also stated that at least 3,000 young people are now making at least over the new federal minimum wage at $16.63/hr through the mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program. The young adults were employed by the City throughout the metro.
The Atlanta leader also added Tuesday that he is encouraging business and organizations around the metro to hire young people for internships and other opportunities.
To learn more about Mayor Dickens' initiative for youth, click here.