Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown delivered his 2025 State of the City address Wednesday night at the DeYor Performing Arts Center, offering a hopeful message of progress and outlining key priorities for the city’s future.

The event began with remarks from leaders at 717 Credit Union and Huntington Bank, both pledging support and financial commitment to the betterment of the city. Their opening comments emphasized collaboration between the public and private sectors in addressing Youngstown’s most pressing needs.

Mayor Brown opened his speech by acknowledging the resilience of the city in the aftermath of the Realty Building explosion, which occurred nearly a year ago. He spoke about downtown’s recovery efforts and praised the ongoing construction projects and blight removal that are clearing the way for both residential and commercial development.

“We’ve invested $13 million in rescue funds for home improvement, access to affordable housing and new home ownership programs,” Brown said.

A major part of that investment is the city’s “At Home” program, designed to help new homeowners with down payment and closing cost assistance. He also promoted a façade improvement program, offering up to $10,000 for upgrades like windows, doors, shutters, and driveways — aimed at revitalizing neighborhoods and improving property values.

The mayor emphasized that shared values such as improving quality of life, supporting youth, and serving senior citizens will remain central to his administration.

“All we can talk about, all what we do if we don’t invest in our youth and our next generation, all is fair,” Brown said, highlighting recent accomplishments by Youngstown students in statewide programs.

Public safety also took the spotlight, with the mayor discussing new technologies like license plate readers that are helping police better monitor movement and improve response times in high-crime areas.

“That’s what’s been helping us. That’s what’s been advancing us,” he said. “And that’s how the chief and his team are able to use technology to help advance and keep your community safe.”

In closing, Brown called on residents to remain engaged and continue working together to move Youngstown forward.

“We’ve come so far, but we have so much more to do… help me continue to fight and continue to finish the job that we started,” he said.