>> good morning, everyone. >> thank you for joining us on this beautiful thursday morning am my name is carl the interim director and delighted it welcome you to the opening ceremony of the newly painted pedestrian bridge this links japantown and the fillmore community a couple of notes after the program invite everyone to go on the bridge and have a photo opportunity with the beautiful view and i utilize this color of the japantown bridge. so with that, i would love to introduce our mayor the leader of information who

inspires us to think creatively and come up with beautiful projects and work with the community and really is the woman behind all of this like to introduce a mayor london breed (clapping.) i want to take this opportunity to restriction we have some wonderful community gifts and first start with our general of thank you for joining us, we are honored by your presence. (clapping.) now you'll be hearing in the council generally and the amazing community members this is also great to come home everyone i get a chance to come to fillmore or japantown this is a homecoming for me so many of the people joining us are people who have been colors in this community for decades the ones whenever and a broaden challenge

the first one to raise the hand and to assure that the quacks of 24 neighborhood when the city comes in and those impacts are positive for the people who live here and the welcome addition no japantown this is a a deep he rich history in challenges and struggle and sneak before the redevelopment agency took hold to have neighborhood geary bridge is not the same it is a road but a highway divided our community in ways we couldn't have imaged it was really what started up afterthought advocacy to make sure the community is a part of this when we are proposing the give and take bus rapid transit are dedicated to the munching to make sure that

muni is moving efficient and low as a fast as he came in the streets of san francisco we need the see with the community in mind and navenlt we worked with with the japantown community to make adjustments were not talked about. and initially the plan called for tearing down in bridge behind us so many people felt this bridge was about bridging gaps and bridging community to the though not only proposed department since the last fire commission meeting, including budget, academies, special events, on to this wonderful bridge this seniors and kids use and elementary school but folks cross this bridge next year safety to get on give and take we didn't want to see that amazing bridge torn down and within the middle of block within laguna and western a crossway honest we crossed the

street in the middle of the road putting our lives in our hands to get to japantown and walk under the plaza and then down to the bowl now it is safe passage and one of the creations of the folks from the community who saw is this was so many kids and folks using this as a cross we wanted to make that satisfy that's what we need the and today 317 celebrating why are we celebrating the bridge but the symbolism of what it representatives the connections between folks farther part of western community and the people part of japantown those ties that bind us help to maintain that bond that is unbreakable because of the challenges of the past and so today as we

celebrate the beauty of this bridge and the beauty of japantown and the western addition we reminded o communities are here because of people who 0 that live and struggle and the people that remainy silent despite the brooks thank you, everyone for being here but thank you, department of public works and carl and her team to make that more beautiful a than i've ever seen and tenderloin one on our community members and steve and greg from the so many people and james from hud this is a community effort and i'm looking forward to not only continuing to walk across this bridge by it see it continued to be used for

folks to be connected and with that, at this time, i want to introduce the council general of japantown. >> (clapping) good morning, everyone. thank you very much for inviting me today a block event i think the theme today, this morning is the bridge. bridging the community with the japantown and western addition and reaching the bridging san francisco to japan bridging to to the world i came here 5 weeks ago but i have already heard the mayor brooedz so many times every time i'm excited 0 here that mayor

breeding it is the enrollment of the bridging between the western addition and a japantown san francisco and japan and to the world. so in two weeks ago time will be a guy garlic event gathering 21 applies here. i celebrate and i congratulate mayor breed and the people of san francisco to hold such an event introducing san francisco to the world and, and, and rendering tuned for that having that event possible in san francisco. and we hope that we can have this kind of mature bridge again in japan and in

other parts of the world thank you, again, for today and congratulations. thank you. (clapping.) i also want to give a shout out to some of our community members of the squares deputy city attorney i can't and connie for the record and economic development want to shout out to another one who works there and japan and i see patrick who is here. thank you very much for joining us really is a close comment community that work closely together and at this time, i want to ask is grace or steve. >> okay. we're to ask fire commissioner steve to come up and say a few words (clapping). >>. thank you very much. mayor

breed and council germany want to give a real recognition to mayor breed in terms of our presence and support in the western addition yeah fillmore and japantown for our responsibility as mayor of the san francisco. i need to recognize the repetitive of our community which are many folks behind me make up the mayor's office and support but the partnerships with dpw and michelle and carla and all the dpw team because without that combines and collaboration 24/7 us the mayor office and more importantly the fillmore community i am full of emotion standing in the stood shadow of

japantown and can't stop thinking about all we didn't need in the old days to combine fillmore. we simply wobbled across the street so through the evidence of history and what happened and highway and free with that beautiful rendition of the bridge and the colors with the aspirations of apec i feel that our journey is moving forward and time to heal japantown and the fillmore with that history and dedication we maintain that bridge and that relationship that goes beyond to japan as well thank you, mayor breed and department of public

works. thank you. (clapping.) thank you so much steve i know that sandy is not here but shout out to all the work she's been doing over the years and at this time, i want to recognize andy to say a few words (clapping.) thank you, ma'am mayor. and concrete before i've been a preacher all my life and to the consul generally i'm excited to be here preliminarily to illustrate to talk about how this bridge representatives our connections between two communities and time is trying to separate us and managed to stay today an example of this.

the association and steve will do a great documentary between those two communities. many, many years ago, i was invited to be on panel of um, that commemoration of the japanese when we were sent away to the camps i didn't know why i was invited but went because of japantown called they and i was so grateful there was a elder woman that talked about the day they were leaving she said of the only people that seem to miss they're leaving where black people in the philadelphia more today they left the only people that showed up to say goodbye were the black christian folks

from the fillmore and brought brown patricia of chicken and that's the way we used to travel across country because of, of course, because of jim we didn't know we tried a restaurant would serve us and fried chicken would last longer out of rerefrigerator and something that fits in a shoe box you know what i'm talking about that's the kind of relationship those communities have always had and notice that while our association location japantown you fillmore it is really more separated since this bridge than that was ever was in reality because our relationship was a

relationship of location by of the heart. and while they can pit this in to separate us they couldn't separate our hearts from one another that's why we're still together and i see a lot of people in filling more and japantown serving that and make sure that i let nothing happens we've always been together and determined to stay together no-brainier what happens in gearing boulevard i want to tell you and let you know that we are psa this relationship togetherness on to the next generation and on to the next generation every in san francisco, california learn how you be can be distinct in the

community. >> be together contaminate what a beautiful lesson to thank you, everyone for giving us to chance to glover any in our friendship. thank you very much. >> thank you rendering attain send and toy everybody for coming here we're going to do a ceremony i can't tell walk across this bridge and, yes. so we're going. >> here's what we do in a community coming together and hanging out one another and uplifting afternoon this is was it will be and also be. thank you very much for being here

today. >> oh, wow, look at the colors i love it. and wow. >> i know; right? >> uh-huh. >> when i was a as a society we've basically failed big portion of our population if you think about the basics of food, shelter safety a lot of people don't have any of those i'm mr. cookie can't speak for all the things but i know say, i have ideas how we can address

the food issue. >> open the door and walk through that don't just stand looking out. >> as they grew up in in a how would that had access to good food and our parent cooked this is how you feed yours this is not happening in our country this is a huge pleasure i'm david one of the co-founder so about four year ago we worked with the serviced and got to know the kid one of the things we figured out was that they didn't know how to cook. >> i heard about the cooking school through the larkin academy a. >> their noting no way to feed themselves so they're eating a lot of fast food and i usually

eat whatever safeway is near my home a lot of hot food i was excited that i was eating lunch enough instead of what and eat. >> as i was inviting them over teaching them basic ways to fix good food they were so existed. >> particle learning the skills and the food they were really go it it turned into the is charity foundation i ran into my friend we were talking about this this do you want to run this charity foundations and she said, yes. >> i'm a co-found and executive director for the cooking project our best classes participation for 10 students are monday

they're really fun their chief driven classes we have a different guest around the city they're our stand alone cola's we had a series or series still city of attorney's office style of classes our final are night life diners. >> santa barbara shall comes in and helps us show us things and this is one the owners they help us to socialize and i've been here about a year. >> we want to be sure to serve as many as we can. >> the san francisco cooking school is an amazing amazing partner. >> it is doing that in that space really elevates the space for the kids special for the chief that make it easy for them to come and it really makes the

experience pretty special. >> i'm sutro sue set i'm a chief 2, 3, 4 san francisco. >> that's what those classes afford me the opportunity it breakdown the barriers and is this is not scary this is our choice about you many times this is a feel good what it is that you give them is an opportunity you have to make it seem like it's there for them for the taking show them it is their and they can do that. >> hi, i'm antonio the chief in san francisco. >> the majority of kids at that age in order to get them into food they need to see something simple and the evidence will show and easy to produce i want to make sure that people can do it with a bowl and spoon and

burner and one pan. >> i like is the receipts that are simple and not feel like it's a burden to make foods the cohesives show something eased. >> i go for vera toilet so someone can't do it or its way out of their range we only use 6 ingredients i can afford 6 ingredient what good is showing you them something they can't use but the sovereignties what are you going to do more me you're not successful. >> we made a vegetable stir-fry indicators he'd ginger and onion that is really affordable how to balance it was easy to make the

food we present i loved it if i having had access to a kitchen i'd cook more. >> some of us have never had a kitchen not taught how to cookie wasn't taught how to cook. >> i have a great appreciation for programs that teach kids food and cooking it is one of the healthiest positive things you can communicate to people that are very young. >> the more programs like the cooking project in general that can have a positive impact how our kids eat is really, really important i believe that everybody should venting to utilize the kitchen and meet other kids their age to identify they're not alone and

their ways in which to pick yours up and move forward that. >> it is really important to me the opportunity exists and so i do everything in my power to keep it that. >> we'll have our new headquarters in the heart of the tenderloin at taylor and kushlg at the end of this summer 2014 we're really excited. >> a lot of the of the conditions in san francisco they have in the rest of the country so our goal to 257bd or expand out of the san francisco in los angeles and then after that who know. >> we'd never want to tell people want to do or eat only provide the skills and the tools in case that's something people are 2rrd in doing. >> you can't buy a box of

psyche you have to put them in the right vein and direction with the right kids with a right place address time those kids don't have this you have to instill they can do it they're good enough now to finding out figure out and find the future for