>> good morning everybody! [applause] good morning. [applause] and welcome. [applause] there's my grandma. well come. welcome to san francisco james r herman cruz terminal at pier 27. the first stop for all most 300 thousand people who come here

every year from around the world to our beautiful city. i want to tell you about another jewel of the san francisco port that just celebrated 125 years. the san francisco ferry building. [applause] in the 19th century, commuters and visitors traveled by train or ferry or both. a ferry terminal on the waterfront downtown was a practical necessity. it was the sfo of its day. grand central station. but as we so often do, san francisco built a practical space a world class beauty, with a 245 foot clock tower along arched arcade, and a interior worthy of a renaissance cathedral. at the foot of market street, a beautiful bridge from water to land, the ferry building announced to every commuter,

every traveller, this is san francisco. you have arrived. until that is, [applause] until that is, in the late 1930's when two new bridges the bay and golden gate and rise of the automobile made the ferry building seem outdated and unwanted. soon the grand interior converted to drab cuneals cubicles and in a act of urban planning catastrophes only the 1950 could respond, a double-decker slicing it from the city it served. for decades, this great landmark was isolated. nearly forgotten, a crumbling shell of its former glory. no one went there. no one bet on its future. its time had passed, but then the freeway came down and the

city created a new walkable grand embarcadero with the giants on one end and the restored ferry building at the center with patience, smart planning, investment and time. san francisco turned a discarded transit hub back into a global icon. a famous city most famous landmark as herb cane called it. today the ferry building hosts shops restaurant, artists and torests and locals and just a few month ago during apec hosted leaders from around the world. this one building at the heart of downtown says a lot about our downtown and about our city. first, beautiful places, world class desirable places are never forgotten for long. second, our local government with the right vision and right

investment and right support can spark monumental turn-arounds. third, and most important, never ever bet against san francisco. [applause] we never stay down for long. we have faced incredible challenges in the fast 5 years, two unparalleled health crisis. one in the form of covid, the other in the form of fentanyl and national reckoning on policing and sublic safety and some people inside and out of san francisco feel these challenges have overwhelmed us. i don't begrudge people frustrations. i don't dispute these have been a tough 5 years, but rather then destroying our city, the storms revealed our strengths, our spirit and service to each other.

i believe past is a precursor to our rise. this is a year of the dragon and we will soar again. [applause] we all know the story. shortly after i took office, we began to hear thisquiting reports of the new and deadly virus. soon enough, covid-19 would up end the world. san francisco declared a emergency february 2020 and then with our partners around the bay, issued the first shut-down or order in the country. my administration then marshaled department of emergency management, public health and staff throughout city government to mobilize and turn our convention center into a global command-covid command center. we cut through the bureaucratic red tape to set up testing sites, community hubs and vaccination sites around the

city. city workers fanned out to tend to our most vulnerable residents and as nursing homes across the country saw ballooning death rates, we protected our seniors at laguna honda and elsewhere. [applause] we were one of the first cities in the country to reach an 80 percent vaccination rate and as deaths climeed across the u.s. and the world, san francisco saw the lowest death rate of any large city in the country. [applause] people want to say our civic government is dysfunctional. we can't collaborate, we can't get hard things done. tell that to the thousands of san franciscans alive today because of what we did. [applause] our city faced a storm unlike anything we have seen in a

hundred years. is anybody here a hundred years old? you didn't see it either. [laughter] through hard work, collaboration, ingenuity and simple decency of people we orchestrated the most successful response in the country and as covid wane and vaccinations froze we entered the second phase of my tenure, recovery. the pandemic lead to a massive shift how our economy functions all most overnight. work from home, exposed to weakness in economies and big cities, especially tech forward san francisco, we were too dependent on fields that can work from home. our downtown had never been designed as a neighborhood with many homes and round the clock residents. downtown was office and office was hit hard. simultaneously the pandemic constrained our efforts to

house the homeless. then the murder of george floyd and ensuing national reckoning devastated police recruitment and staffing here in san francisco and around the country. even as they brought to light the systemic racism that many of us have known for far too long, the department of justice has called the police staffing shortage a national crisis. these are national challenges, exacerbated by local conditions. what did we do? we didn't throw up our hands we got to work, on public safety. we divertsed non emergency, 911 calls to free up officers while providing better overall responses for those struggling on our streets. i appointed a former hate crime prosecutor as our new district attorney and brooke jenkins began prosecuting crime. [applause]

we used bate cars and plain clothe officers to disrupt auto break ins . we coordinated every public safety agency you can name. local, state and federal. shareal miyamoto conducted deputies to conduct warrant sweeps. i appealed to governor newsom and he sent the california highway parole. delivered the u.s. attorney and drug enforcement agency to interrupt the sale and trafficking of fentanyl. [applause] and all of these efforts have paid off. we doubled the number of drug arrests in 2023. retail theft and car breakens

plummeted. the arrest was 25 points higher then the national average. our crime rate is the lowest it's been in 10 years. [applause] not including 2020 when we had to shut the city down. yes, these figures are accurate. they coincide with the arrival of the chp national guard, u.s. attorney office, da jenkins increased in prosecutions. i do recognize that some people don't feel the lower crime rate yet, and if you are someone you know is a victim of a crime, all the stats mean nothing. i understand that and i hear your concerns and that's exactly why we are not letting up. we will roll out 400 automated

license plate readers at a hundred intersections across the city this month. [applause] thanks to the voters approving proposition e on tuesday. [applause] we will be installing new public safety cameras in high crime areas, deploying drones and changing police department rules so our sworn officers are out in the field and not behind a desk. [applause] and yes, we are adding more police officers thanks to our effort san francisco is now the best paid major city in the region for starting police officers. retention is improving. officers are transferring here. we have the most police academy applicant in more then 5 years and the next academy class will be the largest since before the

pandemic with 50 cadets. [applause] with all that, we will add 200 more officers in the next year and get to full police staffing in three years. [applause] at the same time, we are not sacrificing our reform work. the san francisco police department is on track to reach the 272 department of justice reforms by april of this year. [applause] thank you to those who lead these efforts including our police chief, bill scott. [applause] of course, we can't talk about public safety without talking about the other health crisis. this is a national tragedy,

fentanyl is impacting our city both large and small, urban and rule. it is awful and heart-breaking and while i'm stepping up enforcementf oour laws because that is what our residents deserve and what pour city means, i remain absolutely committed to saving lives. our approach-- [applause] our approach is about accountability, resources and new pathways. this means arresting and prosecuting dealers, and when necessary arresting users who are a danger to themselves. it means expanding existing treatment options and creating new ones like abstinence based treatment solution. [applause] yes, offering service is

critical, but frankly we must compel some people into treatment. we will have a additional tool thanks to the voters who helped pass proposition f tuesday. [applause] and i directed the human service agency to create a action plan for prop f implementation. if we can provide cash assistance to more then 5 thousand people can screen recipients for substance use disorder and get them into treatment. [applause] and we have the services they need. including 15 free clinics across san francisco that can administer bupomor 15 day one. we are delivering the goal adding 400 new treatment beds and if governor newsom prop 1 passes we have a real opportunity to add hundreds more. we are not waiting, we are doing the work with supervisor mandelman so when the state opens the pipeline for new beds, san francisco is ready and first in line.

[applause] that brings me to homelessness, which also remains a key focus of our recovery. now, since ifen polk been mayor, we helped over 15 thousand individuals exit homelessness. we are the only county in the bay area to see unsheltered homelessness go down in the last point in time count. we did it by increasing shelter capacity by 66 percent and increasing housing for formally homeless people by over 50 percent. my office of invasion funded by bloomburg philanthropy is appointed new accountability tools to track data, outcomes and hold non profits we fund accountable. [applause] our encampment teams are bringing people indoors and bringing down the tents, despite attempts by the court

and by some advocates to obstruct or efforts with city attorney david chui we fought hard and helped more then 1500 people into shelter from encampment just over the past 6 months. [applause] the number of tents on our streets are down by 37 percent this past 6 months. at the lowest levels it has been since 2018. the other day a gentleman asked me, how can we help so many homeless people and still have thousands more? well, we know people fall into homelessness for many reasons and we have programs preventing homelessness for san franciscans every single day. but we also know we keep housing people and people do keep coming here. the advocates and some elected officials want you to believe san francisco isn't a

destination. they want you to believe people don't come here for drugs or other reasons. we all know that's not true. of those arrested for public drug use in the tenderloin and south of market over the last year, over half were not san francisco residents. half. i had enough of it and clearly the voters had enough too. we are not letting up. [applause] we are continuing to add new housing, new shelter. we are setting a new goal of a thousand people a year for homeward bound program. the program that provides unhoused people a ticket back to their home cities. [applause] and we have a new tool for those struggling with mental illness and addiction. for decades, state laws have prevented us compelling people into treatment, even if their

families are begging us to do so. the people truly suffering you see walking in and out of traffic or screaming at nothing in particular, the people who so desperately need help. i fought to change the state conservatorship laws for years and we finally succeeded. [applause] now we are implementing the changes faster then any county in the state. so far this year yee increased the number of people submitted for conservatorship by 170 percent compared to last year. that is how we make change. that is how we save lives. and of course, there is the pandemic related issues felt most acutely in san francisco. our downtown recovery. i have always believed we need to start with a question and if not, how do we make downtown what it was, but rather, what do we want our downtown of the

future to be? in 2022, 2023 we worked with trade groups, business owners, builders, neighbors and city departments to create the road map to downtown san francisco future. a comprehensive plan for a dynamic resilient downtown with resident night life and businesses. a neighborhood that keeps going around the clock, downtown 24/7. [laughter] the first year focused on stabilization, filling our empty store fronts, creating attraction and night life activity and delivering tax incentives. we recruit new businesses and continue to see new leases signed lead by ai which alone is projected to add 12 million square feet of office space by 2030. and it won't be ai alone. this is one of the most

beautiful urban environments in the world with a unrivaled pool of talent and builders and dreamers and largest collection of deployable capital in the country, but downtown cant just be about jobs, it can't just be the 9 to 5 financial district. we also need more people to live and study there. so, our new initiative, 30 by 30, 30 thousand more residents and students downtown by 2030. [applause] to do that, we first need to create more housing downtown. we already passed the few local laws to reduce fees to office conversion. our first office conversion is happening now. 32 new homes at the warfield building that would not be happening if we hadn't stepped in, and more are coming.

[applause] now, we are working on state laws to change state laws with senator scott wiener to spur production and speed up housing production downtown. that is housing, but 30 by 30 is also about bringing students down down, and a lot of them. we are working with thought leaders, business folks and educational institutions to make downtown a hub, a center of excellence. we invited the university of california and historically black call jss and universities to join us and some are coming as early as this summer! [applause] we are working with other universities and existing anchors, uc law, usf and san francisco state university. imagine, student professors

researchers and employees working from dorm room to classroom to start up from the ferry building to city hall. cross pollinating ideas, cross pollinating companies. we will lead in ai, climate tech, bio tech and things we haven't imagined yet are. housing students, invasion, that is our future. tearing out the bike lanes on market street going backwards will not move us forward and it won't magically revive downtown. [applause] but 30 thousand more people living and going to school down there will. downtown has always been the economic engine that funds the services we care about, and it is post pandemic difficulties are the driving reason for the deficit we now face. we no laupger have the luxury to penalize. we need to incentivize.

so let me make two things clear, number one, the board of supervisors and i will close this deficit and we will not weaken our public safety to do so. [applause] number two, i have a clear vision for downtown future and my administration will make it happen. [applause] our vision is a vibrant mixed use neighborhood with transit, bar s, restaurants, venues, where people live, work, study, and play. we are through the valley of covid. we endered the slings and arrows of recovery, and now we rise to our next chapter on housing. we are changing our reputation. as a city of no to a city of yes. yes.

[applause] yes to reducing fees, yes to eliminating barriers and yes to any idea that overcomes obinstruction and builds the new homes we so desperately need. there is one housing no i will commit to, any piece of anti-housing legislation that comes across my desk i will veto. [applause] every single one. we have a state mandate, so let's build our projects like the power station where we broke ground last year and treasure island just this week we relaunched a new phase of housing. let's work with our land use chair, supervisor melgar to keep advancing pro-housing laws through the board. and let's-

[applause] and let's bring 30 thousand residents and students to the downtown. if we do that, more people and more neighborhoods will be able to afford to live here. more housing means more opportunity. and san francisco will remain the city of yes for our children and their children and it's not just a vision, our work is actually delivering change. crime is at record lows. san francisco is a ai capital of the world. the birthplace of the next economic boom. the la times reports in 2022, san francisco companies raised 5 times as much funding as the companies in florida and texas combined. [applause] that is what they do to us.

our small business reforms like first year free championing by supervisor ronan are filling empty storefronts across the city. [applause] we are a national leader in early child care and education. doubling the number of kids getting care and subsidies in 2018. [applause] and paying our educators a real wage that recognizes them for the work that they do. [applause] we just hosted leaders from around the world for apec, the biggest global stage for san francisco since the signing of the united nation charter in 1945. [applause] our parks are the best in the world and we massively expanded outdoor public areas from jfk drive to india basin coming to

the southern waterfront. [applause] muni is leading the bay area transit recovery, who would have thought, willie brown? carrying more riders then all of the other regional transit operators combined. we are on pace to hit our goal of zero green house gas emission by 2040. we are launching a wnba franchise hosting [applause] hosting the nba all star game, the super ball and fifa world cup! [applause] and i envision a san francisco of walkable, safe, thriving neighborhoods with great schools that teach algebra and a strong economy. [applause] where people get the help they

need and where everyone is welcomed. i want to thank the voters for supporting this vision on tuesday. by backing these various propositions and the strong rejection of proposition b. [applause] thank you supervisors engardio and matt dorsey on algebra and police staffing and conulateulations on scott wiener, matt haeny and [indiscernible] as well as all the new comers come bravely step forward to run for county committee. [applause] and let me say something to those in the press claiming tuesday election means san francisco is not a progressive city anymore. building homes and adding treatment beds is progressive.

[applause] wanting good public education and effective police force valuing the saturday safety of seniors from chinatown to bayview, immigrant and working families in the tenderloin, is progressive. [applause] we are a progressive diverse city living together celebrating each other. lgbtq, aapi, black, latino, palestinian and jewish. [applause] that is not changed and that will not change. so, i don't know about you but i'm tired of the negativity. i'm tired of the people who talk about san francisco as if our troubles are inevitable and our success a flukement our successes are not a fluke, and they are not fleeing.

they are the products of years of hard work, collaboration, investment, creativity, perseverance. they are the output of thousands of people in government and out who believe in service, not cynicism. [applause] i want to say something to those inside san francisco and out, who traffic in negativity. to sell ads to advance right wing causes to tear others down or to simply stroke fear for their political convenience. i want to say this on behalf of the real people who you have been disparaging, on behalf of the nurses, the gardeners, janitors, counselors, commissioners, engineers, emergency workers, teachers, the transit operators who dedicate themselves to this city.

[applause] on behalf-on behalf of our firefighters, 911 dispatchers, the sheriff deputies and police officer who do life-saving work under difficult circumstances. on behalf of the small business owners thrks bartendser, the artists. on behalf of the women. on behalf- [applause] on behalf of the women here who let women everywhere know that we trust them to make their own decisions and offer them a safe haven when they do so. [applause] on behalf of the housing advocate said who started a

movement here that has taken root all over the country. [applause] on behalf of the transgender activists and their families chosen or otherwise who made san francisco and outpost of hope. [applause] on behalf of the city i called home my entire life, which i'm proud to serve every single day, i offer these words from our 26 president of the united states, teddy roosevelt. you exceez me for updateing the pronouns. [laughter] it is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong woman stumbles, or where the doer of

deeds, could have done them better, the credit belongs to the woman who is actually in the arena. [applause] who strives valantly. who sends herself in a worthy cause. to those outside the arena watching from the side-lines, who offer only criticism, i have a message for you. san francisco is not wearing the shackles of your negativity any longer. [applause] i'll say it again, san francisco is not wearing the shackles of your negativity any

longer! [applause] to the public servants who have been here during the city's most difficult time, doing the work all along, thank you. thank you for your service. we will continue to move our city forward to be the city of yes. no longer will we allow others to define us, because we know who we are. we are a city on the rise. we are a dragon taking flight. now, let's soar san francisco! let's soar! thank you. [applause]

>> this is one place you can always count on to give you what you had before and remind you of what your san francisco

history used to be. >> we hear that all the time, people bring their kids here and their grandparents brought them here and down the line. >> even though people move away, whenever they come back to the city, they make it here. and they tell us that. >> you're going to get something made fresh, made by hand and made with quality products and something that's very, very good. ♪♪ >> the legacy bars and restaurants was something that was begun by san francisco simply to recognize and draw attention to the establishments. it really provides for san francisco's unique character. ♪♪ >> and that morphed into a request that we work with the city to develop a legacy business registration.

>> i'm michael cirocco and the owner of an area bakery. ♪♪ the bakery started in 191. my grandfather came over from italy and opened it up then. it is a small operation. it's not big. so everything is kind of quality that way. so i see every piece and cut every piece that comes in and out of that oven. >> i'm leslie cirocco-mitchell, a fourth generation baker here with my family. ♪♪ so we get up pretty early in the morning. i usually start baking around 5:00. and then you just start doing rounds of dough. loaves. >> my mom and sister basically handle the front and then i have my nephew james helps and then my two daughters and my wife come in and we actually do

the baking. after that, my mom and my sister stay and sell the product, retail it. ♪♪ you know, i don't really think about it. but then when i -- sometimes when i go places and i look and see places put up, oh this is our 50th anniversary and everything and we've been over 100 and that is when it kind of hits me. you know, that geez, we've been here a long time. [applause] ♪♪ >> a lot of people might ask why our legacy business is important. we all have our own stories to tell about our ancestry. our lineage and i'll use one example of tommy's joint. tommy's joint is a place that my husband went to as a child and he's a fourth generation san franciscan. it's a place we can still go to

today with our children or grandchildren and share the stories of what was san francisco like back in the 1950s. >> i'm the general manager at tommy's joint. people mostly recognize tommy's joint for its murals on the outside of the building. very bright blue. you drive down and see what it is. they know the building. tommy's is a san francisco hoffa, which is a german-style presenting food. we have five different carved meats and we carve it by hand at the station. you prefer it to be carved whether you like your brisket fatty or want it lean. you want your pastrami to be very lean. you can say i want that piece of corn beef and want it cut, you know, very thick and i want

it with some sauerkraut. tell the guys how you want to prepare it and they will do it right in front of you. san francisco's a place that's changing restaurants, except for tommy's joint. tommy's joint has been the same since it opened and that is important. san francisco in general that we don't lose a grip of what san francisco's came from. tommy's is a place that you'll always recognize whenever you lock in the door. you'll see the same staff, the same bartender and have the same meal and that is great. that's important. ♪♪ >> the service that san francisco heritage offers to the legacy businesses is to

help them with that application process, to make sure that they really recognize about them what it is that makes them so special here in san francisco. ♪♪ so we'll help them with that application process if, in fact, the board of supervisors does recognize them as a legacy business, then that does entitle them to certain financial benefits from the city of san francisco. but i say really, more importantly, it really brings them public recognition that this is a business in san francisco that has history and that is unique to san francisco. >> it started in june of 1953. ♪♪ and we make everything from scratch. everything. we started a you -- we started

a off with 12 flavors and mango fruits from the philippines and then started trying them one by one and the family had a whole new clientele. the business really boomed after that. >> i think that the flavors we make reflect the diversity of san francisco. we were really surprised about the legacy project but we were thrilled to be a part of it. businesses come and go in the city. pretty tough for businesss to stay here because it is so expensive and there's so much competition. so for us who have been here all these years and still be popular and to be recognized by the city has been really a huge honor. >> we got a phone call from a

woman who was 91 and she wanted to know if the mitchells still owned it and she was so happy that we were still involved, still the owners. she was our customer in 1953. and she still comes in. but she was just making sure that we were still around and it just makes us feel, you know, very proud that we're carrying on our father's legacy. and that we mean so much to so many people. ♪♪ >> it provides a perspective. and i think if you only looked at it in the here and now, you're missing the context. for me, legacy businesses, legacy bars and restaurants are really about setting the context for how we come to be where we are today. >> i just think it's part of san francisco. people like to see familiar stuff. at least i know i do. >> in the 1950s, you could see

a picture of tommy's joint and looks exactly the same. we haven't change add thing. >> i remember one lady saying, you know, i've been eating this ice cream since before i was born. and i thought, wow! we have, too. ♪♪ government television. >> my name is kevin roger tang one live owners and at a 2 owe 50 that's it avenue in the sunset so the bayview original hip hop store we have music so every purchase counts for either the charts and the tri work chart that is acquired by 3 best friends we love k pop and why

not share that and would the community here in the bay. and originally supposed to open up an eco but unfortunately, the covid hit by the we got creative with the social media and engaged and bring in people within the being sure like pop and the instagram live or hip hope to bring that connection with the bayview k pop community and we grow. and hello we're a collective store so the cc around us within us has the cards people like to collect and try to collect limited edition mr. sincroy manufacturers like a state university or memorial and we have which is a venue for

people to kind of make new friends and open up they're a goods and invite people to stay and oftentimes see the context we're very, very fortunate and everyone is super sweet and loveable to sum up i guess two words is a second home (background noise) and a lot of people visit. >> and connect this place even if it is really cool. >> san francisco is a city known for music and art and we at the pop store we to go show the k love and added to the diversity of music and the way of the community. >> it is safe place it is a great way to dmrofr new things

and any friends and it is saying hello 2050 carville from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and followup on the safety. >> folsom street in san francisco south of market home to some of the fill pens and lieutenant governor culture integrity and major it 25er789 and decisions the streets originally developed for industrial activity and move vehicles and goods through the area now the area is a culture at that particular time economic and residential and has more people walking and biking and taking public transit the folsom

goals include improving safety and for walking new street trees and ailed street light. thank you very much. sass decorative crosswalks and part of vision zero high energy network part of the 12 period of time of streets in san francisco that gets 58 percent of cashes and industrial challengers pedestrians not sign by car vehicles and walk to block to block bicycle challenges the future bike lanes in full protection next to the moving vehicle and no way from vehicles to park in the bike lane and with the people thank you for the opportunity right creating unsafe actions at the

folsom will include for a moment from 2 to 11th street two-way abag and medians and transit only lanes and street crossings andevages and now street trees and landscaping the folsom street part of the greater effort to howard street and went there a three year public engagement set the record straight in 2016 improving traffic safety to people walk and biking and folsom street within second streets yerba buena benefit district is a significant tree place no our neighborhood home to the residents. it provides access to the gardens that includes children's facility and have a

traffic hub and offers buildings and small businesses and a lot of excellent restaurants as well. so insuring that into it is safety for the variety of entertainment is important and the be available improvements insuring the safety for transportation and the measure to keep contract at a safe course for drivers as well as pedestrians who walk along the streets we the the hold outs an excellent amenity for our seniors and children for the streets and provide opportunities for businesses for amenities and beneficiaries to enjoy the neighborhood outside and, of course, the graphic crooks is exciting to us as we pride ourselves on the hub of

san francisco and bringing in those additional artistic elements that safety officer as safety features for biking and some of the filing pens directors think that residents and community work in the south of market work with the sfmta to help with the straight projects and access to address pedestrian safety when it comes to biking and the transportation network and making changes that address the high speed of cars impacting some of the sidewalks. and she states we're excited please keeping and place making component like and some of the street signs and proposed giveaway will be bio street neighborhood improvements to the today's experience of residents and community members. and the

sfmta is partnering with sf puc and a contracts engineering for improvement only folsom street and it is expected to begin in early 2024 the project team will work with the community and for outreach and businesses and openhouse in here stay tuned as we describe for >> there is a lot of unique characteristics about visitation valley. it is a unique part of the city. >> we are off in a corner of the

city against the san francisco county line 101 on one side. vis station valley is still one of the last blue color neighborhoods in san francisco. a lot of working class families out here. it is unusual. not a lot of apartment buildings. a lot of single family homes. >> great business corridor. so much traffic coming through here and stopping off to grab coffee or sandwich or pick up food before going home. >> a lot of customers are from the neighborhood. they are painters or mechanics. they are like blue color workers, a lot of them. >> the community is lovely. multi-racial and hopefully we can look out for each other. >> there is a variety of businesses on the block. you think of buffalo kitchen,

chinese food, pork buns, sandwich. library, bank of america with a parking lot. the market where you can grab anything. amazing food choices, nail salons. basically everything you need is here. >> a lot of these businesses up and down leland are family owned. people running them are family. when you come here and you have an uncle and nephew and go across the street and have the guy and his dad. lisa and her daughter in the dog parlor and pam. it is very cool. >> is small businesses make the neighborhood unique. >> new businesses coming. in mission blue, gourmet chocolate manufacturing. the corridor has changed and is continuing to change. we hope to see more businesses coming in the near future.

>> this is what is needed. first, stay home. unless it is absoluteliness scary. social distancing is the most important step right now to limit spread of virus. cancel all nonessential gather everythings. >> when the pandemic litly land avenue suffered like other corridors. a few nail salons couldn't operate. they shut down. restaurants that had to adapt to more of a take out model. they haven't totally brought back indoor seating. >> it is heartbreaking to see the businesses that have closed down and shut because of the pandemic. >> when the pandemic first hit it got really slow. we had to change our hours. we never had to close, which is

a blessing. thank god. we stayed open the whole time. >> we were kind of nervous and anxious to see what was going to come next hoping we will not have to close down. >> during covid we would go outside and look on both sides of the street. it looked like old western town. nobody on the street. no cars. >> it was a hard eight or nine months. when they opened up half the people couldn't afford a haircut. >> during that time we kept saying the coffee shop was the living room of the valley. people would come to make sure they were okay. >> we checked on each other and patronized each other. i would get a cup of coffee, shirt, they would get a haircut. >> this is a generous and kind community. people would be like i am getting the toffee for the guy

behind me and some days it went on and on. it was amazing to watch. we saw a perfect picture of community. we are all in this together. >> since we began to reopen one year later, we will emerge stronger. we will emerge better as a city because we are still here and we stand in solidarity with one another. >> when we opened up august 1st. i will not say it was all good. we are still struggling due to covid. it affected a lot of people. >> we are still in the pandemic right now. things are opening up a little bit. it is great to have space to come together. i did a three painting series of visitation valley and the businesses on leland. it felt good to drop off the

paintings and hung them. >> my business is picking up. the city is opening up. we have mask requirements. i check temperatures. i ask for vaccination card and/or recent test. the older folks they want to feel safe here. >> i feel like there is a sense of unity happening. >> what got us through the pandemic was our customers. their dogs needed groomed, we have to cut their nails so they don't over grow. >> this is only going to push us forward. i sense a spirit of community and just belief in one another. >> we are trying to see if we can help all small businesses around here. there is a cannabis club lounge next to the dog parlor to bring foot traffic. my business is not going to work if the business across the street is not getting help. >> in hit us hard.

i see a bright future to get the storefronts full. >> once people come here i think they really like it. >> if you are from san francisco visit visitation valley to see how this side of the city is the same but different.

on i'm bleiman we will start with announcements. >> lands acknowledgment. [ramaytush ohlone land acknowledgment] >> this meeting is in hybrid format in person