>> good morning. and welcome. it is a glorious day here in san francisco. my name is mia, meeting place manager san francisco. i am thrilled to be here today as we welcome part of our meeting place here at san francisco. this is a really special moment for all of us. i coulden be more excited to be here together with all of you. at inca centers we are committed to transform this beautiful beautiful building into a meeting place, a place tobring people together to meet and eat, to shop and have fun. our journey began last august,

and many of you were actually here that day, when the ikea city store opened for the public. and then in january, we welcomed industerous or flexible coworking space on the 5th floor. today we are here, this is our next big milestone to celebrate opening of the hall. this incredible space really showcase the hard work, the dedication, the commitment from so many of you, and i want to take this special moment to thank each and every one of you who have been supporting, helping, contributing, driving, sometimes even pushing this through and making this day happen become possible. as we stand here today, i am really excited for the future, and what the future holds for us and i'm really looking

forward working with together with you to make this hall concept be successful here in our meeting place and in san francisco. let's make today the beginning of something truly remarkable. thank you. [applause] >> the city of san francisco has been a great partner to us throughout, and mayor breed, you and your team have been amazing support along the journey that we had. and now, we want to of course thank you from bottom of our hearts. i'm excited welcome, mayor breed. [applause] >> thank you so much. it is so great to be here finally. this is really a long time

coming and it goes back to 2018 when i had a chance to meet with the leadership of inca to talk about this empty mall space and a opportunity to do something extraordinary. something that they have not done before here in the u.s. in fact, it was when we hosted the global climate action summit in san francisco where we had leaders from all over the world, companies, mayors, it was amazing. san francisco was on the global stage and san francisco has been an environmental leader in sustainability and so many things. so, it was a perfect fit to make something like this happen, and look at how far we've come. we opened ikea, coworking space and now the thing that brings all of it together, food. food and drinks. opportunities to come together to socialize in the mid-market

area. we are excited about the plant based options with so many great restaurants that are upstairs. we are excited about the bars and coworking spaces even within the hall footprint. we are excited what this will do to bring people together and an opportunity for the workforce, for the hotel and folks who are in this neighborhood to be a part of this. i also want to express my appreciation for working with our office of economic and workforce development and making sure people who live in this community received opportunities to work in this community. that was a big deal for us, so we are very appreciative of what that entails, and being so very intentional about the different cuisines, the restaurants and people who

establish the first porta rican cuisine in the state of california, and not only that, it is plant based. we have a award winning vegan tacos upstairs . we have all kind of great cuisine, because that what san francisco is known for. diversity and incredible cuisine. you don't need to travel around the world to get any kind of food from around the world, all you have to do is come to san francisco and salu hall will provide that opportunity. if you want a cooking demonstration or if you is a small apartment and want to host a bunch of friends, come to the hall. if you want to have drinks after work and you want to hang out with friends, come to salu hall. if you want a party or experience in a private room where dollar there is a bar and you are order food and

baked goods, come to salu hall. it has everything is more. this is why i'm really excited and in fact, if you want to host meetings i know supervisor dorsey said this is going to be his new office. why work in city hall, when you can work at salu hall? that is my goal. [applause] from baked goods to eat yourself or take back to the office, from food you want to purchase and eat at lunch or take home later for your family, and then if you want to go shop at ikea and pick up a few items, maybe couple glasses after breaking all your glasses because you are clumpsy, whatever the case is, the options are here and the options are endless. i'm excited about being here today and i really want to thank inca for just really believing in san francisco. for investing in san francisco. [applause]

and for bringing joy to san francisco. people are trying to write a different story of our city and yes, like any major city, we have challenges, who doesn't have challenges? had just like our family, we have challenges, but you know what we see outside, clean streets. you know what we see outside, urban alchemy and others we see safe streets, we see opportunities, we see change and sunshineing and it is shining bright on san francisco today because salu hall is open for the city to enjoy and the people who visit will have a opportunity to experience it as well. thank you so much for being here. [applause] >> thank you mayor breed. the opening of salu hall in the san francisco meeting place is definitely a big milestone for us in inca center and our journey in nort american market.

today happy to have cindy anderson ceo with inca center here with the wonderful celebration. welcome cindy. >> thank you. thank you mayor breed. yes, this is a very very special day for us at inca center. thank you so much for welcoming us to this fantastic city of san francisco. we are so thrilled that we can bring salu here. this is our absolutely first development of salu hall and it will take place here in san francisco in our first meeting place in the u.s. [applause] and, the whole goal is we want to be an integral part of the rich food culture that we know and that we can experience here in san francisco.

i always had a deep admiration for san francisco and community spirit. i have been here several times with business travels and also brought my husband and my kids. for me personally it feels extra special standing here today. for inca center, we believe that it is so important when we come to a place that we are also really integrating into the community and being a part of the location where we are at and that is what we also feel we will do with this amazing location here in san francisco. and, what we have done is we also believe that food is one of the most important drivers also for our business. this is the reason why people want to come together, socialize, share memory and laughter and also spend time. and, therefore it makes it very natural that we launch our own

food concept together with amazing partners. so, that's why we partner with curb, who are world class with new food businesses. as well as the culinary entrepreneur [indiscernible] also helping and advising us to create this amazing place. and we also upstairs, we also fantastic local food businesses and entrepreneurs that really represent the bay area in this beautiful city. and, we have worked together with ambition to build a place that is really offering a great experience around food. we not only calling this anything place, for us this is a true meeting place. what we hope is that this brings something new also to the mid-market district. so, this is a fantastic day for us. it is really embarking on a milestone of our journey here

in san francisco, and also several mentioned before, we opened ikea store fall last year and earlier this year launched inca center here. now having also salu hall openinged to, it marks the time when we will have a complete meeting place and destination so we are feeling extremely excited about that. what the openings for us represent is we are creating content not just about offering space, it is about offering rel vens for people and the community. we think also with what you mentioned here mayor breed, in terms of the culinary experience, the culture, i think this is the perfect scene also for us to start this concept for first time. and, we don't believe in a one size fits all. wherever we go in the world when we create meeting places we believe it is important to

blend into the local commune ity and respect the local customs. for us, therefore it is important every meeting place is really really reflecting the people that are living and working nearby to our destination and why i feel extremely proud the majority of everyone working and fantastic team we have are also locally. and, none of this of course would have been possible without the dedication of so many people that have been con tributing on the journey to get to this point and there is so many. sometimes you are not there to list some because i'm afraid i would exclude so many contribute. it includes the amazing team at the inca group, inca center, ikea retail who has been contributing into the work and the development what we see today and overall meeting place.

it is also includes curb and fantastic team here at salu hall and partner with [indiscernible] and many many more contributesing to this. and then also of course specifically i like to thank the city of san francisco and of course also mayor breed, because without your help, this wouldn't have been possible and we felt a really strong support on our journey. so, i can't wait now to see this place really busting with people. people coming in in the morning and afternoon in the evening and then not only that creating a experiences. so, i hope that you will love this place as much as i already love it. i fell in love already when i flew in from europe monday, and when i tried the food i fell in love a second time. don't tell my husband, but i'm completely loving so i hope you will share thefullying when me also. you not only experience the

venue and trying the amazing food. so, with that said, big thank you to everyone who has been part of making this possible and now i hope that all of you will also join me for a bit of a bite to eat. thank you. [applause] >> thank you cindy. our next guest speaker here is supervisor dorsey. he is the district 6 supervisor and district covers most of the downtown area, the south of market and of course our neighborhood in mid-market. supervisor dorsey, welcome. [applause] >> thanks so much. i want to express my gratitude for believing in san francisco and bringing something to my district and my neighborhood because i only live a few blocks away. a place i already-a regular shopper here at ikea and as i mentioned as i was coming in, i said i'm supervisor matt dorsey

and here for my new mid-market district office. i i'm surprised the signage doesn't reflect that. i won't need the wifi password and access to a printer. but you will be seeing a lot of me because i like to be in the district on my laptop especially on the weekends. on the way before i got here this morning, i went to another part of my district because there was a opening for a coffee shop, and yesterday in another part of my district there was a restaurant opening there. izy and wooks the first restaurants to open since the pandemic and i have a couple other things opening and one thing i want to say the mayor touched on, there is a lot of negative press played out, the doom loop, that narrative is so 2023. in 2024 san francisco has come back is underway and this is proof of it, and i want to express my gratitude to mayor breed for the leadership you

are bringing and especially here. mayor breed went out and was the best sales woman for san francisco to get this happening in mid-market. it means the world to my district, it means the world to me, so thank you mayor breed for your leadership on leading the come-back and thank you ikea for everything. really looking forward being a regular here. you will see a lot of me. bye. [applause] >> thank you supervisor dorsey. and now, it is time to invite it the managing director of salu hall and partner in operating this unique food destination. ellyse, welcome. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you all speakers and thank you so much for being here, a part of the opening it here at salu hall. my name is ellyse, the managing director at salu hall leading

the operation for curb. welcome to our hub for celebrating food cultures and connecting with each other. there are so many layers here which i believe the mayor literally read my speech. there is a lot that is the same. we have so many aspirations to the space. what does place making mean for salu hall sphis in we are proud to hire from the community. we play a active role in mid-market surrounding districts. we share with you the richness and the aspirations of this community. giving everyone a feeling of ownership is literally being a part of our success. hiring and training for salu hall is a ongoing brauj r project so we are grateful for the work the community of san francisco offered for economic and workforce development. thank you so much for taking that- [applause]

it is really really important. our good will partners. we will always be on the look-out for people to join our team who are eager, passionate about learning and open to new experiences here. empathy is at the heart of hospitality. the people are thoughtful, attentive, and bringing energy to the hall. how else do we create a sense of place and belonging here? that is everyone's question i'm sure. salu hall is a commitment to culinary invasion and human connection. we are the center of joy and dining. we invite guests to indulge their senses and saver the pleasures for good company and good food and drink. salu hall is designed to have fabulous food experiences, most simply put, salu hall offers something for everybody. we have 11 food concepts

explore breakfast lunch and dinner from locate roasted coffee and fresh pastry to whole grain danish style open face sandwiches to mushroom, tacos, noodles with specialty tofu. sip craft beer and local spirits while you learn how to bake up in the cooking school. like we are saying, there is something for everyone at all the times. we are proud to be a partner of the curb family and operating partner with inca centers. curb has a outstanding track record in recording activating pubic spaces and surrounding the world with good food and drink. we are thrilled to open our door s and what we worked so hard for. on behalf of our chefs, our bartenders, local restaurants,

and front of house chain, welcome to salu hall. [applause] >> thank you ellyse. so, without further delay, this is now the moment we are all waiting for. mayor breed, cindy, ellyse, please get into your positions and let's open the doors to salu hall. [applause]

>> good morning everyone. welcome. i'm katie lamont and with me isroxany huey and together we are leading tndc as interim co ceo. so pleased to have you with us this beautiful day to celebrate the reopening of ambassador and ritz hotel. exactly! this day has been a long time coming, and it is so wonderful to share with all you who help make it happen. as many know, tndc experienced a tragic loss with the sudden passing of our ceo. it is meaningful our first

ribbon cutting without him is on the pavilion of this historic building. the bricks of the ambassador have witnessed pain, suffering and loss and they have also seen care, compassion, restoration and joy. we hold an amazing tenant talent show every summer where you all are standing and it is one of my favorite things about tndc. to preserve the life of the ambassador and ritz as supportive and mindful homes where people live and develop community with their neighbors and with the people that work here, this is part of mor ilo vision endureing vision providing stable homes for all members of our community. i like to read a few words spoken by morilo about the ambassador and follow with a moment of silence in his remembrance. he said, the ambassador holds a rich and cherished history in the heart of

san francisco. during the 1980 and 90 served as a sanctuary for newerous aids patients extending compassion and support to those without means to care for themselves or connect with support networks. we take great pride in continuing endureing legacy by preserving as affordable housing for our commune ity. let's take a moment. [moment of silence] thank you. it is now my pleasure to get this ribbon cutting started by inviting district 5 supervisor dean preston to say a few words. [applause] >> thank you katie and roxanne

and thank you all for being here and i want to first just start by acknowledging what a difficult time this is for the tndc team with the passing of morilo and thank you all for pushing forward and honoring his legacy of which this reopening of the ambassador and the ritz is a part. i also want to say, i am really thrilled that katie and roxanne are at the helm, two incredible leaders and we are looking forward to continuing to partner with them and tndc. this is very exciting. to be here at this opening, i have the honor and privilege of representing the tenderloin in city hall. i wish i could take credit for all this, but there was this thing called redistricting in 2022, so the

plans here were actually underway before i was even representing the district, so i feel i'm cheating coming in at the ribbon cutting and celebrating work that definitely pre-dated me here in the district, but i got my start as a housing lawyer in the tenderloin. have been in and out of pretty much every sro and as someone who represented tenants in sro's, mostly in the privately owned ones when they were not up to code and tenants needed repairs, i can tell you the huge difference between some of the poorly maintained dilapidated old sro's here in the tenderloin and buildings like this, that actually get the care, the renovation and the supportive services to make these units real homes,

safe, decent habitable and supportive homes in the tenderloin. our sro's here in the tenderloin are a huge part of why this community in the tenderloin continues to be a place and one of the few places in san francisco where low income people can afford to live, and it is really exciting to see this kind of attention and love and funding poured into making sure these homes will remain low income housing for years to come thanks to the hard work of tndc with support from the city and i want to thank and acknowledge dan adams and mayor office of housing who are here and also other partners, including u.s. a bank and others who you will hear from, but looking behind me at the ambassador, i think one thing i'm struck by is i have never seen this kind of rehab.

the combination of old and new here, i think it is fantastic. and looking at the exposed brick and the historic building maintained in this way, but updated so that folks who need affordable housing have top notch affordable housing in our district. we are proud to be a part that and looking forward to supporting not just the reopening here at the ambarder and the ritz but expanding even in touch budget times to make sure we support the renovation and expansion of our sro housing stock here in the tenderloin so thank you for being here today. thank you again katie and roxanne and i don't know if i'm turning the mic back to you or whether turning it over to our next speaker. am i turning it over to the next speaker. alright. i'm pleased to welcome lisa gutierrez from u.s. bank. thank you so much. please give her a warm welcome.

[applause] >> thank you. i want to start by sending deepest condolences to tndc on the loss of your fearless leader morilo but can't think a better way to celebrate his honor with affordable housing with the beautiful day and beautiful grand open. i'm lisa gutierrez with u.s. bank and thrilled to be part of today's event for the ambassador hotel project we provided nearly $70 million in construction lending and nearly $67 million in tax credit equity. at a time when other financial partners hesitateed to move forward with the investment due to the complexities, u.s. bank leaned in and that seems to be part of our natural course and i'm proud of our team. some who could not be here today, so not nearly going to take all the credit it took to close this transaction. it was a real labor of love

between the tndc, mayor office of housing and u.s. bank. we specialines complex development like this other 30 years. understanding the relocation plan of the vulnerable resident population to align with many public funding sources and rental subsidies all while managing the building rehab needs of this beautiful historic building. tndc and impact finance worked together nearly providing $120 million in finance and $67 million in equity and regionally in san francisco metropolitan area impact finance provided $1.36 billion in construction lending and $1.40 billion in equity. since 2005, the u.s. bank foundation donated approximately $265 thousand to tndc. in fact, we look forward to

support the 43 anniversary this may and we hope we see all you there. we believe everyone deserves a place to call home and in collaboration with many of you, we are truly making a difference in this community and across the state. our efforts care and creativity going forward will be critical as we continue to make affordable housing in our communities a prioorty. congratulations to all involved in bringing this transformational development and get the well deserved refresh for the residents who call the ambassador hotel home. thank you so much. [applause]

>> good morning everyone. thank you for coming out today to celebrate the regrant opening of the historic ambassador and ritz hotel. project manager with housing development team. i had the privilege to work on both projects during my tenure at tndc working on these complicated hybrid and scattered site projects really helped me understand and appreciate the hard work that goes into providing affordable housing. i still remember the first time i attended a walk at the ritz. mind you, i never worked in construction before. the team handed me a roll of blue tape and said put a piece of tape where you see imperfections. i was so excited because i might not know construction very well, but very good spotting mistakes. in that moment, i knew being a project manager was for me. there were many people i want to give thanks to. the design team, the partners

architects, construction managers, joe blanco and chris rivera, historic architect, tndc property management and countless consultants on the project. it took so many smart creative people to bring these rehabs to fruition. i like to thank the construction team who from day one were ready to help problem solve the uniquely difficult financing and construction issues at these buildings. fantastic partners on a extremely difficult rehab. and now that i have been at tndc a few years i recognize how special it was to have a all woman project management and construction team on the ritz. thanks to their hard work, the ritz hotel has expanded community room, totally rehab common spaces and new

windows. the team on the ambassador was especially patient with us as we work through so many potential ways to seismically strengthen the building. i like to thank jonathan, scott and the team for the incredible team work. you have a creative solution for every construction challenge we had. the enormous structure is part of the seismic upgrade work and don't know how they fit all the steel in the building. finally, i like to thank chris comings, emily and alberta for housing development for leadership on the project and for being amazing mentors. thank you spending hours to explain the intricacy of the financing structure of the ambassadors and the ritz to me and others. i can tell you that there is nothing more fulfilling having tenant move back in and seeing how much they appreciate the new spaces. and that's it. next we have kevin, tndc

overdose prevention outreach coordinator. thank you. [applause] >> thank you hang. good morning everyone. my name is kevin lu, a member of community organizing team as our overdose prevention outreach coordinator. you may wonder what that means. a important aspect of my work is meeting with residents in the sro's to inform on the challenges associated with preventing overdose in san francisco as well as facilitate discussion around folks experiences and their overall sort of understanding of drug overdoses and what that looks like as far as solutions that they can come up with to this problem. that includes meeting with residents in this very building and we also outreach to folks in the surrounding community as well as the residents in the buildings. we partnered with department of public health to kick-start a project to

install boxes that hold narcan on each floor of our three sro buildings including here at the ambassador hotel. with the help of the residents i meet with, i hope to collect survey and interview responses to understand how to better support and resource residents to reverse and prevent overdoses. what inspires me to do this work is sth legacy of hank wilson who operating the ambassador as de facto hospice at the height of the aids epidemic. the sick were welcomed here. extraordinary care givers doctors nurses family members and volunteers and these providers learned the culture of the folks that stayed here and spoke to them as partners in care. full of compassion. the hotel was about caregivers finding

way to reduce suffering and health risk due to drug use and hiv. community base harm reduction was the cornerstone. the efforts helped establish vaeft for residents and move the city of san francisco to establish needle exchange programs. as the overdose prevention coordinator, building community is key if we solve the substance use challenges in the tenderloin and owe a lot to healthcare and public heth cares in the city. tndc is committed to bolstering the efforts. building community we can empower and educate folks to cocreate solutions that are grounded in the lived experiences and collective wisdom. i truly believe that when we amplify community voices, we can build the long-term systems we need to support those and address addiction in the city, so thank you very much and next up we have bob ostertech.

[applause] >> thank you. i'm going to talk a little bit about the history here. i made a documentary movie about the early years of the ambassador in the 1970's and hank wilson, the force of nature behind it all. the story actually begins before aids in 1970's when san francisco was just becoming the gay mecca and dozens of people were arriving at the grayhound station every day. many of them very young, teenagers, gay boys, transjnder people arriving by the dozens every day with no money and no where to go. a former kindergarten teacher named hank wilson decided he would

make a place for them to go and answered a classified ad in the newspaper that says the ambassador was looking for a manager. he became the manager at that point. the building did not look like this when hank took it over most of the rooms didn't have doors, everything was completely trashed. hank furnished the building with donated furniture he found here and there and created a space very very different then what we have now. there were no banks supporting the ambassador at this time. in fact, there were no non profits supporting the ambassador at this time. this was all done out of pocket and trying to make it work. check day was quite the thing at the ambassador. hank would go to the bank empty the bank account and cash into his

socks and then walk back to the ambassador and cash everyone's checks. somehow made the thing work financially without any support from anyone. it was very important to hank that he didn't-he wasn't constrained by any organization, because he wanted to make things work. he wanted-if something didn't work, he wanted to try a new thing and new thing and didn't want to ask for permission from anybody, and that's how he made it work and then aids arrived and the early days of aids are hard to explain to people who didn't live through it. there was a level of stigmatization that is hard to imagine, but all the other hotels in the tenderloin

would not allow a person known to have hiv to enter the hotel, and so hank opened the doors and this became an unfunded, seat of the pants, diy hospice for indugent people dying of aids. many hundreds of people died of aids in this building. one day five people in one day died in this building. they had memorials for them in the lobby. this was the time when it was difficult to even get a ambulance to come to the hotel. just making it work, hank was basically inventing harm reduction before we even

had the term, harm reduction. he did it all out of the seat of his pants. he lived in a one room roach infested apartment. he didn't own a bed. he was very curious person, hank wilson. slept on the floor, lived on nothing and for 20 years he did this. so, i'm very glad to be able to share that story. it is story that san francisco can be proud of. very unique story that i think shows the heart of this city. if there was anybody i have ever known who did not want to be

recognized for anything it was hank wilson. very very big guy with a very very small ego. the running joke about my movie is he wouldn't have wanted the movie to be made about him. i walked in the lub lobby and shaw a beautiful mural painted by this wonderful artists and i think maybe hank would have been okay with people coming into the hotel and seeing his smiling face welcoming them into the hotel. thank you. [applause] >> i'm now pleased to introduce our mayor, london breed. [applause] >> first of all, let's give brandon another round of applause! [applause]

many have tried and have failed to do whitney houston justice and he definitely is one who has succeeded. it is so great to be here with each and every one of you and i just want to start by expressing my condolences to the tndc staff, morilo was such an amazing person and full of life and excitement for housing justice and i know it's a big loss to the tndc community and we appreciate the fact that so many of you are still rolling up your sleeves and continuing the important work that he cared so deeply about. today is a perfect example that. both the ambassador and the ritz, not the ritz carlton, i know somebody probably used that joke. the fact is, we have a important responsibility here in san francisco to not just build new housing and

be as aggressive as we can to remove the barriers on new housing construction, but we also have a responsibility for preservation, because we want to insure that no matter what happens, whether there is a earthquake or anything else, we are able to protect our existing housing stock, and by making the kinds of investments we are making today that provided an opportunity to do significant rehabilitation on over 200 units, which includes as you know, the ambassador as well as the ritz, as a way to protect and support our most vulnerable residents, those with challenging disabilities and making units accessible. it was so critical that we did this work for preservation purposes, so we are grateful to be here to celebrate the milestone as a huge

improvement not just for what we did and what we made happen, but for the lives of the people that this will impact. the people who will live here and will be able to enjoy this beautiful courtyard and enjoy their units and the people that they live with. it is truly wonderful to be here. it is such an incredible blessing that these individuals will have a chance at a new start at life, but also for those who were moved temporarily and moved back, a new beginning with a new place with new opportunity and hope for a better day. so, ypt to thank you for the work they do for affordable housing for so many in our various communities. many people want us to do the job of helping people transition into housing and permanently supportive housing, but

organizations like tndc do the work and in fact, since 2018 when i first became mayor, we increased our permanent supportive housing stock where we provided additional support for those who need additional help, we increased that by over 50 percent and that takes partners, that takes resources, that takes investment and that takes the opportunity for us to work and support the incredible things we know we need to do to get the job done, so it is really great to be here to celebrate such a milestone, so thank you all so much for your work, your advocacy, and making it possible for people to have a safe affordable place to call home. thank you. [applause] >> do a quick photo op and then

a closing. >> thank you mayor. appreciate your comments today. this past sunday was international transgender day of visibility, which is a good reason to remind us that where we stand right now is only steps away from the riot at compton's cafeteria, which was a turning point for lgbtq plus activism. this building and this district have always been welcoming for the most marginalized people of the city and

tndc is a part that. as a transwoman, i'm proud to be here now with katie and all the other tndc staff that are with us today who have the great responsibility to take care of this building and to take care of the residents of the ambassador hotel. i like to thank today's guest speakers, the residents of the ambassador hotel and all community leaders who made this day possible and celebrated with us. i invite you to make the way to the pavilion. in the pavilion you will see a mini-art gallery features images of residents of the ambassador hotel provide pd by documentary photography darcie padilla who spent time in this building between 1992 and 1996.

finally, if you wish to take a tour of one of the units, go talk to one of our staff at the tndc table and they can help you with that. thank you again for your support of tndc.

>> in the bay area as a whole, thinking about environmental sustainability. we have been a leader in the country across industries in terms of what you can do and we have a learn approach. that is what allows us to be successful. >> what's wonderful is you have so many people who come here and they are what i call policy innovators and whether it's banning plastic bags, recycling, composting, all the different things that we can do to improve the environment. we really champion.

we are at recycle central, a large recycle fail on san francisco pier 96. every day the neighborhood trucks that pick up recycling from the blue bins bring 50 # o tons of bottles, cans and paper here to this facility and unload it. and inside recology, san francisco's recycling company, they sort that into aluminum cans, glass cans, and different type of plastic. san francisco is making efforts to send less materials to the landfill and give more materials for recycling. other cities are observing this and are envious of san francisco's robust recycling program. it is good for the environment. but there is a lot of low quality plastics and junk

plastics and candy wrappers and is difficult to recycle that. it is low quality material. in most cities that goes to landfill. >> looking at the plastics industry, the oil industry is the main producer of blastics. and as we have been trying to phase out fossil fuels and the transfer stream, this is the fossil fuels and that plastic isn't recycled and goes into the waste stream and the landfill and unfortunately in the ocean. with the stairry step there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. >> we can recycle again and again and again. but plastic, maybe you can recycle it once, maybe. and that, even that process it downgrades into a lower quality material. >> it is cheaper for the oil industry to create new plastics and so they have been producing more and more plastics so with

our ab793, we have a bill that really has a goal of getting our beverage bottles to be made of more recycled content so by the time 2030 rolls around t recycle content in a coke bottle, pepsi bottle, water bottle, will be up to 50% which is higher thatten the percentage in the european union and the highest percentage in the world. and that way you can actually feel confident that what you're drinking will actually become recycled. now, our recommendation is don't use to plastic bottle to begin w but if you do, they are committing to 50% recycled content. >> the test thing we can do is vote with our consumer dollars when we're shopping. if you can die something with no packaging and find loose fruits and vegetables, that is the best. find in packaging and glass, metal and pap rer all easily

recycled. we don't want plastic. we want less plastic. awe what you we do locally is we have the program to think disposable and work one on one to provide technical assistance to swap out the disposable food service to reusables and we have funding available to support businesses to do that so that is a way to get them off there. and i believe now is the time we will see a lot of the solutions come on the market and come on the scene. >> and is really logistics company and what we offer to restaurants is reasonable containers that they can order just like they would so we came from about a pain point that a lot of customers feel which wills a lot of waste with takeout and deliver, even transitioning from styrofoam to

plastic, it is still wasteful. and to dream about reusing this one to be re-implemented and cost delivery and food takeout. we didn't have throwaway culture always. most people used to get delivered to people's homes and then the empty milk containers were put back out when fresh milk came. customers are so excited that we have this available in our restaurant and came back and asked and were so excited about it and rolled it out as customers gain awareness understanding what it is and how it works and how they can integrate it into their life. >> and they have always done it and usually that is a way of being sustainable and long-term change to what makes good

financial sense especially as there are shipping issues and material issues and we see that will potentially be a way that we can save money as well. and so i think making that case to other restaurateurs will really help people adopt this. >> one restaurant we converted 2,000 packages and the impact and impact they have in the community with one switch. and we have been really encouraged to see more and more restaurants cooperate this. we are big fans of what re-ecology does in terms of adopting new systems and

understanding why the current system is broken. when people come to the facility, they are shocked by how much waste they see and the volume of the operations and how much technology we have dedicated to sort correctly and we led 25 tours and for students to reach about 1100 students. and they wanted to make change and this is sorting in the waste stream they do every single day and they can take ownership of and make a difference with. >> an i feel very, very fortunate that i get to represent san francisco in the legislature and allows me to push the envelope and it is

because of the people the city attracts and is because of the eco system of policy thinking that goes on in san francisco that we are constantly seeing san francisco leading the way. >> kids know there's a lot of environmental issues that they are facing. and that they will be impacted by the impact of climate change. they will have the opportunity to be in charge and make change and make the decisions in the future. >> we are re-inventing the way the planet does garbage founded in the environmental ethic and hunger to send less to landfills. this is so many wonderful things happening in san francisco. i feel very fortunate and very humble to live here and to be part of this wonderful place.

>> i'm also the chair of laco, local agency formation commission. and it's a pleasure of mine to be here with you on a friday afternoon, and it will be all you people clearly. with us here today on a friday afternoon, clearly it's very sunny outside and you have enjoyed the out doors today but here you are with us for conversation around our environment and i really appreciate that. for the last 20 years, the san francisco board of supervisors, moan