Around the Island: Looking back at 2023 with a top-10 list for the city of Alameda
The other day, someone on social media pointed out that the last day of the year will be 12/31/23 — or, 123-123 — and while it’s just a number, it feels like a sign of something positive to come. As we ring in 2024, let’s all take time to remember the journey we have been on together and appreciate the community we share. On that note, here’s the city’s annual top-10 list, with highlights from the previous 12 months, as we look forward to a healthy, happy and peaceful new year.
10. March 2020 feels like an eternity ago, but this year, the city continued to be Alameda Strong by returning to in-person meetings, while adapting to the continued impacts of COVID with an option to participate by Zoom. Shout out to the city clerk’s office for all their work to create this format where everyone can participate.
9. We started the year with strong new leadership under City Manager Jennifer Ott. We continued to strengthen the team throughout the year, with new department heads working to expand city services, identify new opportunities and address Alameda’s most pressing problems.
8. Dignity Village, a 47-unit interim supportive housing project, was constructed and occupied this year, serving 61 individuals experiencing homelessness. This award-winning project was built after receiving a state Homekey grant and county funding and is an important step toward reducing homelessness in Alameda.
7. Across the country, law enforcement agencies have experienced a crisis in police officer recruitment and retention. This year, Alameda used salary savings to fund the largest police officer incentive program in the nation, bringing in a pool of qualified, diverse and ready-to-serve candidates. We’ll continue to swear in new officers until we are fully staffed, which is expected before the end of the new year.
6. Alameda’s CARE (Community Assessment Response & Engagement) Team moved from a pilot to a permanent program in 2023. Led by the Alameda fire department, the CARE Team utilizes a mobile crisis team staffed by a licensed paramedic and an emergency medical technician (EMT) and provides a 24/7 alternative response to nonviolent individuals facing a mental health crisis.
5. Alameda’s guaranteed income program, Rise Up Alameda, launched this year. Across the country, guaranteed income programs are rising up to prevent poverty and reduce economic instability. Alameda’s program provides 150 randomly selected low-income Alameda households with $1,000 a month for 24 months — funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the federal stimulus program — to encourage economic recovery during the pandemic.
4. Anyone who has made their way to Alameda Point recently has seen the reactivation of the area. The city reconstructed sections of West Tower Avenue and Saratoga Street for people walking, biking and driving, with raised bikeways, new sidewalks, street trees, bioswales, utilities and landscaping. Radium Runway, the future performing arts center, provides an outdoor events venue with arts programming designed to inspire, educate and experiment. And the city is planning Alameda’s next park on the western side of Seaplane Lagoon. De-Pave Park is an ecological park that will welcome sea-level rise and provide opportunities for public access and environmental education.
3. Providing housing for all continues to be a key priority, and this year, the City Council approved the Alameda Point West Midway and RESHAP development plans, which will break ground in January and provide more than 300 affordable-housing units.
2. This year marked the launch of $3.4 million in grant-funded adaptation sea-level rise efforts for the Oakland Alameda Estuary and Bay Farm Island. These high-priority projects will provide shoreline protections to reduce flooding at the Webster/Posey Tune area, Bay Farm Island and along Doolittle Drive.
1. In 2023, there have been a lot of transportation improvements across the island, starting with the expansion of the city’s free AC Transit Pass for seniors and people with disabilities to over 15,000 rides per month, with over 800 people enrolled. Many thanks to Caltrans for completing the paving and restriping on Encinal Avenue between Broadway and Sherman, including traffic calming measures and new bike lanes.
And, what we are most excited about in 2024? Woodstock! This spring, we will see the launch of a new water shuttle, a yellow pontoon boat that will connect Alameda’s west end with Oakland’s Jack London Square area. See you on board!
Let’s stay united and continue to create a community that models peace and love to the rest of the world. Happy New Year!
Sarah Henry is a public information officer for the city of Alameda. She can be reached at 510-747-4714 or shenry@alamedaca.gov.