Eastside Round-Up: December 2025

Dear friends and neighbors,

As 2025 comes to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect on the year.

It’s been a year full of ups and downs for our city, our state, and our country. Together, we’ve faced an onslaught of very real, seemingly insurmountable threats to our core values and well-being. And while I’m not naive to the fact that our challenges are far from over, I’m ending the year feeling hopeful.

I’m feeling hopeful because Hoosiers continue to show up. Throughout the year - at town halls, community meetings, office hours, and door-to-door while walking across the Eastside - I met with hundreds (if not thousands) of Indianapolis residents who care deeply about the future of our city. I am heartened and emboldened by the fact that Hoosiers are not only paying attention, they are making their voices heard: whether it be to beating back the unprecedented, mid-decade redistricting efforts at the Statehouse, standing against unfettered expansion of data centers that pose threats to our environment and to our wallets in the form of higher utility costs, or calling for strong accountability of our leaders and systems in clear moments of right versus wrong. Hoosiers are not sitting idly by, but instead are organizing, leaning on community to take care of one another, and finding ways to drive progress toward a more vibrant, safe, and inclusive Indiana. I am proud to stand alongside you.

It is your voices and your advocacy that drive my work each day as your Councilor. I’ve heard loudly and clearly what matters most to you: making sure that our government is working better and harder for people.

Throughout the year, I’ve focused my attention on three major priorities:

• Strengthening Public Services

  • Investing in public infrastructure (aka: fixing the damn roads).

    • I don’t need to tell you that our roads are in bad shape, which is the direct result of Indiana’s road funding formula providing Indianapolis less than its fair share for years. During this year’s legislative session, I worked closely with Council leadership and my partners at the Statehouse to advocate for changes to the funding formula that will result in $50 million in additional funding for Indianapolis residential road repair (matched by $50 million in new funding from the City). These changes have the potential to be transformative for Indianapolis, and I look forward to continuing to work to ensure we take full advantage of this new funding opportunity in the upcoming budget cycles.

    • In addition - in budget and fiscal package, we secured $18 million in strip patching (tripling the 2025 budget).

  • Improving our snow response.

    • In January, Indianapolis was hit by a snow storm that left many trapped in their homes for days, unable to get to the grocery, work, or doctors appointments. It became very clear, very quickly that the City’s snow policy needed serious updates, so we got to work. The Council passed an updated policy that requires all streets - including residential - be plowed when there is a snow event of 4+ inches, AND that all dedicated bike lanes be plowed. We’ve already seen the new policy in action this winter, and I am a pleased with the progress we are making.

  • Establishing Indianapolis’ Vision Zero Action Plan.

    • The Vision Zero Task Force, of which I am a member, released its Action Plan for City of Indianapolis. This represents both the culmination of years of effort, and just the beginning of the next phase of the work to ensure our streets are safer for all users. As we know, it will take a multi-pronged approach - including strong enforcement, continued education, and improved infrastructure and design - to meet our goal of eliminating traffic fatalities by 2035.

    • In addition to the Action Plan, the Council secured $1.5 million in new funding for Vision Zero-related street safety improvements through the spring fiscal and budget packages. This funding is not sufficient to address the urgent need, but it does represent a first-of-its-kind dedication of resources by the City of Indianapolis to Vision Zero.

• Improving Quality of Life and Economic Development in District 14

  • Expanding and improving our green spaces.

    • The Council’s $27 million spring fiscal package, of which I was a proud co-author and sponsor, included $2 million in Indy Parks maintenance and upgrades and $1 million dedicated to urban forest preservation. Through this funding, Ellenberger Park and Jake Greene Park will receive upgrades to the pickleball and tennis courts (including new lighting for Ellenberger Park’s courts).

  • Launching TWO new Indianapolis Cultural Districts in District 14.

    • In October, Irvington and Community Heights were both recognized as new “Cultural Districts” for their cultural contributions to the Eastside and to Indianapolis. Eastside community leaders have been advocating for the addition of new cultural districts beyond the downtown and mid-town corridors for YEARS, and I am incredibly proud to have worked alongside my colleagues to create the opportunity for new designations AND funding to support projects within these districts. Congratulations and thank you to leaders in both neighborhoods!

  • Establishing Indianapolis’ first Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA).

    • This year, I worked alongside many Irvington business owners to establish Indianapolis’ first DORA, which helps to level the playing field for our brick-and-mortar businesses during large events in the neighborhood, including the Irvington Halloween Festival. The DORA is consistent with current open container laws in Indianapolis, and will require participating businesses to install new trash cans and maintain cleanliness within the district. Thank you to everyone who reached out and shared feedback throughout the process - the updates made to further refine the map and to require the use of non-plastic containers were the direct result of your advocacy, and I am incredibly grateful to you all.

    • There are several additional steps that must be taken before the DORA is operational, including submission of application materials, review, and approval by the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission. I will continue to share updates as I have them.

Addressing Affordability and Basic Needs

• Investing in proven, compassionate, and fiscally responsible strategies to address homelessness and housing insecurity.

  • The 2026 budget package includes $10.2 million in flexible funding for homelessness intervention, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing to take the most compassionate and humane, effective, and fiscally responsible approach to long-term housing stability.

  • The budget also continues funding for the Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP) to provide those at risk of eviction with legal representation and housing navigation services, and for the City’s immigrant legal defense fund to provide legal services to individuals in immigration proceedings.

• Standing up against AES’ proposed rate rate increase.

  • Earlier this year, AES proposed its SECOND rate increase request in two years. I was proud to join hundreds of neighbors who testified and submitted comment against the request, which would negatively impact individuals and families across Indianapolis and District 14 - especially neighbors who are already struggling to make ends meet and pay for basic needs like electricity. The proposed rate increase on residential customers is especially concerning as it will inevitably be used to subsidize rates on large industrial and commercial users, like data centers and factories, that use an enormous amount of electricity. The case is still pending before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. In the interim, I will continue to stand up against utility companies profiting further on the backs of ratepayers.

• Improving enforcement of habitability standards for renters.

  • Over the last year, I have been working closely with housing advocates and several of my Council colleagues to address concerns about how Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County (HHC) handles enforcement cases for renters who raise concerns about unsafe living conditions. I am pleased that HHC has updated their policies to continue inspections of units with violations when the original tenants move out and new renters move in (which helps to ensure that issues are actually addressed, and not just passed along from renter to renter).

  • I will continue to work with HHC, the Marion County Public Health Department, and housing advocates to strengthen enforcement practices even further to be more proactive in protecting renters - both current and future.

Finally, I’m incredibly proud of the work that my colleagues and I have led to reinforce the Council’s leadership in the budget process to ensure the fiscal decisions being made in our City reflect the priorities of our constituents. And while the 2026 budget is far from perfect, this year marked a definite turning point in the Council’s role as the fiscal body for the City and I look forward to strengthening the process even further (including building in more opportunities for community feedback earlier in the process) in 2026 and beyond.

I am also closing this year with gratitude. Gratitude for the drive and focus of our community in District 14 and our city. Good people, friends, and neighbors who show up, keep it about the work, and keep our city moving forward. Thank you.

Kami and I are wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Yours in service,
Andy

Join us for our annual MLK Day of Service! Each year, I organize a volunteer opportunity to help us honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and give back to the community. In past years, we’ve volunteered with groups like the PourHouse and Old Bethel & Partners Food Pantry.

This year, we will be back at Old Bethel to help restock the pantry in preparation for food distribution throughout the week (see below a photo from our 2025 MLK Day of Service event).

Join us on Monday, January 19th from 8am - 12pm. Sign-ups are open now!