>> alright. good morning. my name is ann, ceo for nor cal affordable at related and i'm joined here at the podium by doug, the president of mercy housing california and it is our honor to welcome you all here to the topping out ceremony for sunnydale 3a and 3b. thank you all for coming. [applause] we are so happy to have everyone here to celebrate. it is a big crowd, very exciting and we are also honored to have such distinguished speakers with us today. we will soon be joined by mayor breed, we have senator scott wiener, supervisor walton, dr. tonia, [indiscernible] from the state of california, so a really amazing

line up of speakers. i want to say that, passion and determination patience are what the residents and the community have shown for more then a decade while participating in the creation and evolution of the plan not just for housing, but also for jobs, for services, for families, for children all here at sunnyvale. and while it is incredible to see and celebrate the progress, which we are doing today, we know there is a lot of work that still needs to be done, and in fact, work being done in the background behind us. there is a lot of work that still needs to be done and we are here for it and hope you are all too. we do want to take a minute to celebrate this really important milestone. we are celebrating the construction of two hundred percent affordable apartment communities together

will provide 170 new homes, including 127 that will be set aside for the sunnydale residents. and amazingly, this is not just housing. we also will have 24 thousand square feet of ground floor space that will house vital resources, including child care, health and wellness, neighborhood serving retail and that is in addition to the 30 thousand square feet right next door under construction at the hub, so incredible resources here at sunnydale. and it is windy. turning my page for me. alright. i do want to acknowledge that this development would not be possible without so many of you. pat yourselves on the back. there are so many people who have given so much time, energy and commitment to this development starting with the san francisco mayor's office of housing and community development.

thank you all so much. you know who you are, but in case [calling names] [applause] and of course, the san francisco housing authority, dr. tonia. linda mason-board of commissioners including joaquin torres we saw here behind me. thank you again for all that you have done for this project and our partner. i am really-i am honored-- >> [indiscernible] >> i'm too. nothing to do about that. i'm honored to be standing here with doug. doug and i have known each other for i don't know, 25 years. we have been in and around this industry, and it has been so rewarding to really lean into something

that we both feel passionately about and think is so important. i'm so imprezed and amazing by doug and the entire mercy team. cannot thank them enough. i'm looking at ramey who moved on, but still her heart is here and gave so many years and commitment. elizabeth, ashley, claire murphy as well as the entire mercy real estate development team, property management and the community leaf team. thank you all so much. it is a honor to partner with you. i will turn it over to doug to say a few words. [applause] >> ann and i have dueling script s. nobody knows what will happen today. i will return the complement. when mercy housing california years ago decided we were interested in trying to work with the residents, we knew it will be a struggle to do this, not

alone because there are so many other folks involved, but jean reached out to bill whity here. he was a teenager at the time, and said, do you want to work on this with us and for whatever reason bill said yes, and so the partnership has been great. i also want to thank ann and bill and the other folks on the related team. it has-you can't imagine how much work goes go into these projects and developments so it is a real team effort. just really thrilled we are here today. i'm very excited. and keep looking over there at the center at the hub and getting more and more excited about the opening that, so i just also want to thank all the city folks here today. we'll be introducing a couple of them in a second, but it is a unbelievable amount of work for all the parties involved. i see the mayor breed is not yet arrived, which means that we have the opportunity to introduce

supervisor--sorry, senator wiener. >> dueling scripts. here we go. i am so honored to introduce our very first speaker. i had the pleasure introducing senator scott wiener in the past and feel i never do him justice because he is that amazing but i'll try again. senator was elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020. and he represents the 11 sinatorial district. senator scott wiener worked tirelessly on so many very important causes, transportation, lgbtq, criminal justice reform, clean energy, poverty eleaveiation and most important to many is-they are all very important, but housing. he chairs multiple communities including the senate budget committee so important now and authored 75 bills

that have been signed into law. he is so productive in sacramento. thank you. among the recently passed bills is--i know, yes. [applause] i'm not naming all 75, but among the recently passed bills, sb4 [indiscernible] the landmark laws of sb35 and sb43 which has changed the landscape of entitlement for housing and resulted in thousands of new affordable homes. some that are now being occupied by residents instead of on the planning books, so it has been a huge change. we are so grateful. please join me in welcoming, senator scott wiener. [applause] >> thank you thank you ann. always happy to stand in for the mayor.

so, i love coming down to sunnydale to see the progress and i go out of my way to do it, because i'm so excited about this project. yes, the buildings that we are talking out today, but the entire master plan for what's happening here. the housing, retail, the community, support services. the hub is so exciting. when the state still had money, which we don't anymore, hopefully temporarily, but when we had money we were able to get $5 million from the state to support the hub, which is just to me so essential in terms of the health of the community for young people for older people, allowing people to be physically active and have a place to go. it is super exciting. and of course, i love this project because it is lots of new

housing and i love anything that adds a lot of new homes. i'm for it. it is fantastic, but what is exceptionally exciting about sunnydale project at large, i think a lot of times some of the fights we have around housing is there is sometimes a perception that housing like is being put in not for the people who live there, and we can have all our discussions about the overall housing market and building more homes is a good thing, period, but sometimes there is that tension and that frustration like, how is it going to benefit our existing community. and this project is such a perfect blend of adding a lot new housing and lot of new capacity period for a lot of people, including people who don't live her now or born yet but intentionally and directly benefiting the local community.

benefiting the residents of public housing who have struggled for so long in public housing that is simply not up to par. benefiting the young people and older people who are here and need recreation, directly benefiting the local community in a very specific and tangible way, while also helping the city of san francisco meet our very ambitious housing goals and just putting the city on a more solid footing with housing. lastly, i just want to say that, our south eastern neighborhoods and supervisor walton and i had many conversations about this as i did with supervisor cohen, before when we served together on the board of supervisors, south eastern neighborhoods have been just so neglected for so many years, and you know, it needs to end. i think it is ending.

we are seeing much more focus on the need of this community. it is a essential part of san francisco, of the fabric of our city and long past due for us to be making these incredibly important investments, so congratulations to everyone and just very very exciting. thank you. [applause] >> thanks so much senator wiener. it is also my pleasure to introduce someone who doesn't need much introduction in this neighborhood. very well known from time as president of the board of supervisors, district 10 supervisor and well known to the community long before that for his work as a non profit leader working on jobs, community development and really every issue that facing these communities. he dedicated his life improving the communities particularly of southeast and proven track record for

positive change. needs no introduction, supervisor shamann walton. [applause] >> thank you doug. good morning! >> once again, it is no surprise the sun is shining in the southeast sector of san francisco. since the early start of the millenia, we had several conversations about what it would look like to rebuild in sunnydale to make sure that the community had the housing that it deserves. obviously that conversation is also a big part of hope sf and making sure that all our major housing developments in the southeast sectorer were revitalized so folks could have the homes they deserve. so, we are here again really just to celebrate another milestone and fulfilling a promise. we said that we would build new housing. we said that folks wouldn't get

this place. we said we would bring an amazing facility to community where young people would actually have a place to go. often times people get frustrated with the youth and they talk about the fact that they may hang out in areas where typically people don't think young people should be, but they never put their money where their mouth is, so i want to thank senator wiener, i want to thank mercy, i want to thank--i want to thank of course the folks in community who really worked hard to make sure that we could realize the space where our young people would actually have a opportunity to thrive, poorticipate in activities, participate in programs right in their very own community. if you look at the building that is being built, the hub, if you look at the new housing, you can kind of get a feeling and understanding that people were not coming to the table to say they are getting things done but

working together to make it happy. i'm happy to be here with all of you today. we are not finished yet. there is still much more work to do, but most certainly over the course of the next couple years we will see a vibrant space in sunnyvale in the heart of the community so thank you for your work and participation and thank everybody not just coming out today, but continuing to understand how important it is to make sure that folks thrive here in sunnydale and in the southeast, because so goes district 10, so goes san francisco. thank you so much. appreciate you. [applause] >> thank you so much supervisor. now it is-before i introduce mayor breed, as i said, ann and i work different scripts and forgot to mention something very important, which is our staff works work together with the resident to try to figure what

the two buildings should be named and i think naming has a incredible importance and tells you where people are from and what people's history are and where people are going so the residents came up with these names and ultimately voted for them so happy to announce these two buildsings are called nia, swahili for purpose and [indiscernible] swahili for peace. give it up for the residents. i think it will be fantastic. p [applause] >> with that, my honor to bring up mayor breed. obviously the mayor of san francisco. she's been working on just like the supervisor for years back as a district supervisor, a redevelopment agency commissioner. she has been working on issues of housing, community development, economic insocial security all her life and career. unbelievable champion of the work we do here and also particularly of the work in public housing, so with that

i bring you mayor london breed. [applause] >> okay. it is a little windy, so bear with me, because i don't want my hair whipping all over my face! i am so excited to be here, because it has been a long time coming and i when i say a long time coming, even before i was mayor, a lot of the work that the community here in sunnydale wanted to do to help address the conditions that they were living in it, was a ongoing battle and i remember there was hope 6, and hope 6 promise to rehabilitate public housing all over san francisco and at the time, i remember the director ronnie davis and i was living in plaza east public housing when we were given all of this hope of rehabilitation and investment and then the money ran out. gavin newsom was at the mayor

at the time where he made a commitment to create a program called, hope sf. even though the funds to rehabilitate public housing were not longer completely available from the federal government, he made a commitment from the city and county of san francisco to put together all the state, federal, local resources to fulfill the promises we were making and ed lee came along and said enough of new promises, let's work hard fulfilling the old promise s and when i came along, one of the first budget or i forget which speeches i gave was here in sunnydale to make a commitment that we were going to make sure that we did everything we can to deliver on that promise, but also work hand in hand with the community to do it. this is a long time coming and there is a lot of blood and sweat and

tears to get to this point, and i couldn't be more excited and proud to be here with so many people who have had a real important role in helping us to get there. it does start with the residents and the people who live here and the people who lived here when it was problematic to the people who are still here, larry, who are a part of the solution to make it happen. we are finally getting to a better place, not only the 222 units that have already been completed but 170 units we are topping off today to make sure there is a real one for one replacement to support the existing community in sunnyvale. [applause] but, having housing is just one part of it. making sure that the amenities, the grocery store, well ness center, child care and i got to say, you go,

working with mercy and working with related has been different for this project more then anything else. they have made it very personal and they have gone out of their way to not only help us to raise the private dollars necessary to get this project done and the community center we are seeing here today built, they actually put up financial resources themselves so i really want to thank bill whity and related for their work and advocacy to help invest in this project, and to thank mercy and doug for all of the work that they did as partners to really get us to this point. thank you for being more then just developers but being a important part of the fabric of making sure we have the financial resources to get the job done. [applause] and of course, success has many parents, because there is a lot of money that is needed to get it

done. between supervisor shamann walton, senator scott wiener from the state and also one of my favorite people from the state--i'm talking about him, because let me tell you, san francisco is very expensive to build, and we need a lot of tax credit, state resources. we need a real partner in this work, and he understands the importance of getting the job done. he has done incredible work hand in hand with the city and county of san francisco not just in this project, but also through the pandemic where there were serious challenges around housing and we want to appreciate you because we wouldn't have been able to get the all most 5 thousand affordable unit we have been able to build since i have been mayor, we would not have been able to do that if not for your leadership and the governor at the state level so thank you so much gustauvo.

i think there is a bunch of other folks who need to speak, but i'm so happy to be here. i don't know what to do. this is a long time coming and i am so grateful to each and every one of you, whether niby, whether the community, whether the boys and girls club, whether it is all the folks who are part of the community. this is extraordinary. i want to give a shout out to housing authority. tonia has been able to work with our hud secretary who we brought out here at one point. she just retired, former mayor my friend marsha fudge who made a commitment to section 8 vouchers for this project. all the things that had to happen to make this pencil out to get this work done has been extraordinary and i just want to thank from the bottom of my heart, the people who put the time in, who put the resources in, who

made it really personal and who helped deliver this project for the sunnydale community. thank you all so much and thank you everyone for being here today. [applause] >> so, by way of introduction of the housing authority, we are lucky to have commissioner torres with us. he has many other rolls. you pay your taxes through him among other things and also a unbelievable champion and want to echo the mayor's comments. i was thinking about it last night bought tonia was nice enough to attend our event and just thinking what a incredibly hard job to run a housing authority thin midst of a transformation. no one gives you the credit for propping up a very very difficult ship and i think i just want to say thanks to you and everybody else there. it must be a unbelievably different psychology to do that then to build

something up and i think she has been a incredsable partner so ypt to thank tonia and introduce commissioner torres. [applause] >> thank you doug and thank you mayor breed and senator wiener, supervisor walton, all attending today. there was a extraordinary opening in the novel by james baldwin, another country and metaphor what is happening here today. and response to that story. a young man without any hopes, no dreams was slapped in the fanc when he looks to see a shiny ball with so many glittering lights of reflection but can't seem to see himself reflected there. for so many in this community the dream is look across at the city and sky line and still not able to see themselves reflected there. so, i was so important when mayor breed talked about opportunities for

all of our community members. and now because of this event and the stewards who believe in the promise of making sure that people can see themselves reflected in their own communities and images of success and hope and possibility, that this extraordinary accomplishment and this momentum being built in sunnydale can be rep ruicated for so many lives at home, units, at play and is severs and centers and hub as and require s extraordinary leadership doug talked about and mayor breed talked about and we are so lucky to know we have the steward in dr. tonia who has been leading the authority through a reform process to insure we can live up to that promise to the people can see themselves reflected and respected in the sirty city and county we love so dearly. with that, tonia of the san

francisco housing authority. [applause] >> thank you. i have a script but i want to speak from my heart. every time i come to this site, i come to the site often, and i just think about the amazing opportunity that mayor breed gave me to be able to come to the housing authority and when i came to the housing authority, it was in a lot of trouble. we are still working through many decades of challenges and issues, but what's been so important to me, each and every time i come to one of our sites is to see this transformation. because i know that this transformation makes the difference in how individuals can see themselves, how individuals can believe that anything is possible. i grew up in a house where my

parents told me, you can be anything you want to be, and when you have a place that you can call home, and it feels like home, it looks like other people's home and it is filled with lush green grass and trees and you can look at the nature and you can breathe clean air, and things seem to be moving well, you can thrive in your life. each and every time i look at the new buildings and i still have to address what's going on in our old site, and i always tell myself, i don't have a magic wand i can wave and make it all work together, but with each and every one of you with our mayor, who deeply in her heart she cares about each and every residents in the city, on this site. she is committed to this work. it makes my work easier.

when i work with doug and we are problem solving how to get to the next place and the next place, it makes my work easy because they are committed to the transformation, to the lives. when i talk to supervisor walton, and we are trying to figure what is going on, why it is going on, but it makes me work easy when i see new buildings coming online and residents moving to the next place in their life to their new building. to see this community center coming up that will provide economic opportunities. that will provide different types of services that are so necessary to have a vibrant and fervent life. i love when the mayor said that, this is a opportunity for individuals to have their-to live their best lives and she has been shepherding the opportunity for sunnydale members to

have-to thrive and to have a way to live their best lives and i just want to thank you for that mayor breed, because each and every day when i wake up i wake up with our community on our mind. i go to bed with our community on our mind and i told her numerous times, i love each and every resident we serve, even though i don't know them. i'm deeply committed to the work, because i know the difference that it makes when you have support, when you have the things you need to live your best life. when i look at the children that are here and our youth i always tell myself, i'm not willing to lose another generation. we cannot lose another generation. each and every one of us have a responsibility to this generation t. is easy to complain what they are not doing and where they are and why they are where they are, versus saying, what can i do to make a difference for this generation. every day that i'm committed to

this work, i'm like, i'm here for the next generation. i'm here for their parents because i want them to be well and i want them to have a life that they believe is worth living and i'm a part of the mission. mayor breed thank you for the opportunity to come to the housing authority. thank you cend rubecause there are many things she explains things to me i don't necessarily understand that have opened my eyes to the community and helped me to have a very different passion and understanding about things that i didn't necessarily know. this job has been phenomenal. yes, i have a doctorate but the education i gained academically is nothing compared to the life education i have been experiencing here. i want to say thank you to the sunnydale residents. i want you to know i'm committed to you. that i love you and i appreciate how you have been patient with the housing authority, how you have been patient with the city, how you have

been patient with mercy because you are living among all of the construction. as you are watching your community transform, i want to thank you for being patient with us and i want to thank you for trusting us with your life. thank you so much again. [applause] >> thank you dr. i think everyone is really starting to understand and already feels and knows how personal this work is. how important it is to all of us to everyone involved and thank you for those remarks. mayor, thank you for all of your comments. they were all so wonderful. i really appreciate hearing the parents to success and i will build on that, because there are so many parents to the success of this, including all of those with check books, so i really do appreciate and i like to just

comment and acknowledge the commitment and the contribution from our financing partners. wells fargo bank is a very big participant in these phases. 40 million in tax credit equity, over 100 million between the two buildsings in construction financing. city bank, 40 million befween the two phasing. mayor office of housing, thank you all you are doing day to day is and also the financial commitment that made this possible. over $40 million for housing. over $10 million for ground floor retail and over $27 million for infrastructure. i know we don't have the emotional attachment to those roads we do to some of the buildings, but i have to tell you, they are so important and they also are blood sweat and tears inducing i will just say. alright. also, to the san

francisco/california housing finance agency. combination the bond recycling program. we were the first to use the bond recycling program here in san francisco, so innovative and thank you for $20 million in recycled bonds. the california department of housing and community development. you are going to hear from director vulas cz in a moment, but significant dollars in the accelerator program. the infill infrastructure program. a combination again with hcd and the strategic growth council with asec. i will say and talk about our staffing in a minute, one thing that in the last several years happened, we had a in-house conversation that related about continuing on, because we kept submitting application after application after application and we were not getting the traction and looking right at you two. there was a moment of,b what do we do?

how are we going to make this happen? will this happen? how do we continue and all of a sudden we started getting funding awards and all a sudden all this became possible and i cannot tell you how amazing that was, so thank you very much. it is my- [applause] it is my honor to introduce our next speak er. this is very very exciting for me, i have to say. this year marina wiant appointed by treasurer fa executive director of the california debt limit allocation committee and credit allocation committee. both committees are chaired by-role promoting private investment and affordable housing through tax credits. has a huge job and will continue doing excellent working forging partnerships befween state agency jz all the

developers and cities and local partners throughout california to produce more affordable housing just like this. thank you to marina and are please help me and welcoming her to the podium. [applause] >> thank you. good morning. i will go off script too. my grandparents were immigrants in the late 40 and settled in san francisco and my mom was born and raised here and so, when i come to the city i am reminded of the opportunity the city provide for all people and it is a city for all, a city of opportunity, and but it is rooted in community and my family had the lack of having a very strong russian community that held together and lifted them up when they came to this country and so knh when i look at sunnydale and hear the remarks of the speakers talking about the community here,b it means so much to

imagine the lives that would be changed from this community today we are building and it is such a honor as a executive director and on behalf of the chair of treasurer to be here today and to be part of this project by providing the tax credits and the bond financing for it and it is-proud to be part of this amazing team that brought this dream to fruition to the development team and staff and city and county and housing authority, you name it, it sounds like a lot of people were involved and just really honored to be here today. i have two certificates to present to mercy housing and related on behalf of the treasurer as a thank you for all the hard work around sunnydale. best wishing and congratulations. [applause]

>> thank you. that was exciting. this is a exciting day. alright. it is also my honor to introduce our next speaker, directser vulas quz. in 2020 appointed by the governor gavin newsom as director of the california department of housing and community development, hcd. he leads california housing policy agenda and administers a wide range, a huge range of programs that produce affordable housing in communities across the state including this

community. affordable housing after years of trying this partnership--i referenced that. years and years of trying this partnership received significant support from hcd to fund this development. please help me welcome gustavo. [applause] >> thank you, good morning. thank you. great to be here in sunnydale. i appreciate two of my favorite not just mine, but state capital, two of the favorite people in the affordable housing industry, doug and ann. build wide groups that are partnering are just phenomenal across the state. we are so happy to be holding hands with them. i want to thank the mayor, thank you for your very kind words mayor. she knows, we only hold hands--the local powers continue to be

important, significant, critical in order to continue to build the housing that we need in the city of san francisco and she's been the champion working hard with the planning commission, board of supervisors, but it is you that is making projects like this possible, which is a facilitator and partner in the process. thank senator wiener for just support of hcd programs. protecting our programs and being certainly the champion of such consequential policy across the state. it is just been remarkable. he's tinnier tenure in the senate. i just want to say, as you know, last year there is a lot of talk about the roll role of the state department. not only helping finance affordable housing, we have shortage across the state. more then 2 million homes short

to stabilize the housing market, especially at the low income side of income scale, but obviously our work on working with localities for housing creation that is needed. that's been our housing accountability work that has been kind of growing, growing and last year there was a lot of talk about this review that the state started working with the city around delays in the entitlement and approval of affordable housing. the mayor was the first one to embrace alongside senator wiener these efforts, because they travel across the entire city, not just any particular political district, but across the city. they know how important it st. to speed up the creation of housing. for all to say, this is really about partnership.

this is not only about reviewing the localities complying with state law, but demonstrating committed partnership behind those efforts, and one of them is this project with a state financial assistance in the amount of nearly $75 million across different programs. the program that supports enhancement in infrastructure, a program that demonstrates the connection between our climate goals and housing goals in the state, and of course, the program called california housing accelerator that was a idea by the governor since we had so many projects that were stuck for the limitations of tax credits and tax exempt bonds and they needed an infusion of dollars in order to go into construction and this project was one of the 58 awardees for that funding. i'm sure there will be probably a reporter that will start writing about

so much taxpayer subsidy to one particular project, but let's just get the facts straight. first of all, this project is all about density. it is dense. something that will keep people in place in the sunnydale community. this is with everything we hear about housing creation, creating the pressure for the displacement and gentrification, this project does the exact opposite. this project is about building community, mercy and related are here not just to build homes, but to create an entire project around the community and community of sunnydale. this project is about the proximity to so many services that the residents will need, which helps reduce the green house gas emissions that are created by use of vehicles.

deeply affordable units, which is the biggest shortage and i can go on and on. again, it is a lot of fundsing into one project, but it is about the rebuilding. continued community that has to be put in context before we start really talking about so much money going into a project. it really is community rebuilding and that is why we are here, because we see this project and the community of sunnydale as a bright spot in the continuing efforts to have san francisco continue to be the big hope that it has been under your leadership, mayor. thank you very much and thank you for inviting me. [applause] >> okay. our last speaker is lynn, executive director of the strategic growth council. for those that don't know what-10

member council that helps put together funds for issues related to climate change and strengthening communities around the state. invested over $4 billion arounds california. this is my fortunate second timeane week to be with lynn. the last time she kicked my hard and why she has a cast on her foot. but, lynn, welcome and thank you for all your support. [applause] >> thank you doug. good afternoon. it is such a pleasure to be here today. we have been speaking in the governor's office administration so much this year about implementation, implement ation. making sure that all of the work that we have been doing over the last couple years on building programs, working with the legislature, thinking through solutions gets to these moments where you see the work in place. you see the community being benefited so directly by the incredible investments, ideas and visions that come through projects such as

these. now, one thing that i enjoy so much about working on the affordable housing sustainable communities program is this program is really centered around this idea of building homes near people's daily destinations. supporting folks where their are at with high quality affordable housing so close to the places they work, educated, go to school and play. making sure that then not only is it a housing project, but also then wrapping around the transportation and the support services that it will make it easier more comfortable and more climate resilient in terms of able to be supported in moving around a space in a given day. so, all the folks today talked so much about the housing and the affordsability and units and i want to take a minute too to also talk about the transportation components we'll see here.

in addition to the housing this also purchase two electrical units for caltrans corridor, bike facility and bike path and cross walk and sidewalk improvement for crossing between the community garden and playgrounds. this provides unlimited monthly transit passes for the next 3 years. not only is this a incredible place to live, it is easier to move, easier to get to your daily destinations and going to help build up the transit system which are so important to able to meet our collective climate goals in the state. so, getting to this point it takes a village and it is so incredible to hear the stories, hear the personal connections, hear the testimony of what it took to get to this moment and so the strategic growth council we are so proud and honored to be part of this moment and we thank you for allowing us to be part of this partnership. we know it is a year of community organizing, engagement,

planning, partnerships, i think there was a blood sweat and tear reference earlier to get to these points where you have this collective moment of success and celebration, so congratulations to everybody here for the places that you participated the role you played and the incredible community investment that is here for the community of sunnydale. thank you so much and again, congratulations. [applause] >> come on up. so, we are closing up now and want to thank all the folks here today and particularly the staff that run and operate these buildings. the residents, many whom work in various based community organizations on the site. everyone on the sunnydale work is trying hard to make sure the community is running and operated by folks from the community as much as possible. that is what we are hoping for

in the retail space. i want to thank the folks out here every day when there are not tents and cameras it makes a difference in the lives of people. [applause] >> i couldn't agree more. thank you thank you thank you. very very quickly, just want to very quickly say thank you also to the folks who are building these buildings. thank you to our architects [applause] who are doing such an amazing job. please come back for the ribbon cutting and see their beautiful beautiful work. to our construction manager, to our legal team, to the related team, to bill whity, who was here at the very beginning and continues to be committed. he is leader er and joined by carlos,

kaitlyn [calling out names] i want to thank everyone for being here today and give you the instructions now. we are going to invite all of the speakers to walk over to the beam behind us. i think we are going to sign it.

>> i don't want to be involved in the process after it happens. i want to be there at the front end to help people with something in my mind from a very early age. our community is the important way to look at things, even now. george floyd was huge. it opened up wounds and a discussion on something festering for a long time. before rodney king. you can look at all the instances where there are calls for change. i think we are involved in change right now in this moment that is going to be long lasting. it is very challenging. i was the victim of a crime when i was in middle school. some kids at recess came around at pe class and came to the

locker room and tried to steal my watch and physically assaulted me. the officer that helped afterwards went out of his way to check the time to see how i was. that is the kind of work, the kind of perspective i like to have in our sheriff's office regardless of circumstance. that influenced me a lot. some of the storefronts have changed. what is mys is that i still see some things that trigger memories. the barbershop and the shoe store is another one that i remember buying shoestrings and getting my dad's old army boots fixed. we would see movies after the first run. my brother and i would go there. it is nice. if you keep walking down sacramento. the nice think about the city it takes you to japan town.

that is where my grandparents were brought up. that is the traditional foods or movies. they were able to celebrate the culture in that community. my family also had a dry-cleaning business. very hard work. the family grew up with apartments above the business. we have a built-in work force. 19 had 1 as -- 1941 as soon as that happened the entire community was fixed. >> determined to do the job as democracy should with real consideration for the people involved. >> the decision to take every one of japan niece american o japanese from their homes. my family went to the mountains

and experienced winter and summer and springs. they tried to make their home a home. the community came together to share. they tried to infuse each home are little things. they created things. i remember my grand mother saying they were very scared. they were worried. they also felt the great sense of pride. >> japanese americans. >> my granduncle joined the 442nd. when the opportunity came when the time that was not right. they were in the campaign in italy. they were there every step of the way.

>> president truman pays tribute. >> that was the most decorated unit in the history of the united states army. commitment and loyal to to the country despite that their families were in the camp at that time. they chose to come back to san francisco even after all of that. my father was a civil servant as well and served the state of california workers' compensation attorney and judge and appellate board. my parents influenced me to look at civil service s.i applied to police, and sheriff's department at the same time. the sheriff's department grabbed me first. it was unique. it was not just me in that moment it was everyone. it wasn't me looking at the crowd. it was all of us being together. i was standing there alone.

i felt everyone standing next to me. the only way to describe it. it is not about me. it is from my father. my father couldn't be there. he was sick. the first person i saw was him. i still sometimes am surprised by the fact i see my name as the sheriff. i am happy to be in the position i am in to honor their memory doing what i am doing now to help the larger comment. when i say that we want to be especially focused on marginalized communities that have been wronged. coming from my background and my family experienced what they did. that didn't happen in a vacuum. it was a decision made by the

government. nobody raised their voice. now, i think we are in a better place as country and community. when we see something wrong we have change agents step up to help the community affected. that is a important thing to continue to do. you talk about change and being a leader in change and not knowing whether you have successes or results. the fact of the matter is by choosing to push for change you have already changed things. through inspiration for others, take up the matter or whether it is through actual functional change as a result of your voice being heard. i think you have already started on a path to change by choosing that path. in doing that in april of itself creates change. i continue in that type of service for my family. something i hope to see in my children. i have a pretty good chance with

five children one will go into some sort of civil service. i hope that happens to continue that legacy. >> i am paul, sheriff of san francisco. [ music ]

pen. >> well to edge own little square we are a new culture "accelerating sf government performance - taking accountability and transparency to the next level." the artist and culture of chinatown. as an immigrant giveaway we tell the stories of chinatown the people that are here and the culture and history our presence and future through arts and culture. it is a 35 community. there is so many to see come come in and buy certify increases and ongoing exhibitions here t >>

>> a century ago, building a dam in the high country of the sierra to bring a supply of fresh water to the san francisco bay area was a monumental undertaking. mayor sunny jim rafh turned to michael to mastermind the project. michael was a force of nature. air fwant in some ways but also a man's man. he supper advised the construction and it was the greatest engineering seats in the united states. >> the remow location of dam and reservoir made getting to the site a challenge. >> they had to get access to the slopes of the sierra nevada so they her to build a railroad to get construction equipment and materials into the site. they had to generate power so they built another reservoir to generate power and they did a

remarkable amount of work with much less sophisticated equipment than what we have today. >> concrete for the dam was processed at a plant just upstream from the construction site, using sand and rock from the valley. nearly 400,000 yards of cubic concrete were poured around the clock. >> oshansee was a detailed oriented guy. he was having his man dig down the bedrock and they would dig and dig and pull, you know, out debris and they come and say, okay, we've gotten down. we're down far enough. we need to personally look at it and say, no, dig deeper. >> in may 1923, the dam was completed and named first chief engineer and behind it, an 8-mile chef of the hetch hetchy valley was flooded and holding back 115 billion gallons in the new reservoir. it would take

another 11 years to finish the system and bring that water across california to the san francisco bay area. >> this was the moment. it was made pososososososososososososos >> assistant chief david lazar, chief of operations for san francisco police department and i like to welcome you on behalf of mayor london breed and chief of police bill scott to our quarterly officer of the month celebration. this has been such a beautiful venue to honor our officers for their work. i want to thank you mayor and chief for continuing these programs, so thank you very much. round of applause, yes. for our mayor and for our chief! [applause] i would like to acknowledge a

lot of special guests that are here today. first, san francisco police command staff that are here. can i ask you to stand up if you are part of the command staff and give you a round of applause. thank you for your leadership. [applause] from the board of supervisors, president aaron peskin, supervisor myrna melgar, supervisor rafael mandelman. thank you for being here. [applause] i would like to recognize our police commissioners, commissioner walker, commissioner yee and commissioner benedicto. thank you commissioners. [applause] i would like to also recognize the mayor's chief of staff, shawn elseburn and also i like to thank from the mayor's team, ivy lee and martha for making sure everything is perfect. [applause]

thank you martha for getting us all organized. i see in the crowd as well, rodney fraung from the chamber of commerce, thank you rodney for all your support. what is exciting about this ceremony every quarter is the list of sponsors continues to grow and we cannot have this event unless we have sponsors willing to step up and support us. first i like to start out with the bxp team. steve colvin, rod dale, of course our former chief of police greg sur and deputy chief john loftus. thank you for being here for your sporelt. also like to thank tracey the president of san francisco police officer association who is here today. round of applause for tracey. she always likes to stand in the back but definitely front and center. the entire list of sponsors.

the [indiscernible] mccall catering, decker eelectric, [indiscernible] hok, metro service group. pag nini electric. -bay area host committee. jma, parks hotel group, hilton hotel, jp morgan chase. in addition to that, some of the larger sponsors have boma, the hotel council, union square alliance, neighbors for better san francisco and of course the chamber of commerce so round of applause for all the sponsors that helped make this happen. [applause] this has been a remarkable 24 hours for the san francisco police department. i just want to share with you we started out 24 hours ago

notifying a captain and new lieutenants and sergeants of promotions. daniel dudley is here today. starting-some were at the department of emergency management as the mayor kicked us off for the unveiling of the new dist patch center. we are very grateful for dem and all the support for the officers in the field. and then after that, we are at headquarters honoring sexual assault victims by denim day. a great event with all the special victim investigators honoring them. couple hours later, we were honoring the professional staff. this is administrative staff, professional staff we had a chance to honor them. then, we took our photo for the 175 anniversary of the san francisco police

department. that photo, will be a tremendous history piece as we look back years from now and see who was in the photo so thank you mayor breed and everyone who showed up for photo. now we end the night honoring our police officerss in san francisco so it has been a incredible day and grateful to be part of the department and entire team. okay, with that we'll move right into the ceremony and we have three separate captains that are going to describe the heroic or great work of the officers, but before we do i will have there mayor and chief say a few words and we'll start with mayor london breed. mayor breed. [applause] >> thank you assistant chief lazar for recapping the last 24 hours with all the incredible activity that occurred for the san francisco police department.

as was mentioned, i want to give another shout out to our former police chief, greg sur for bringing forth this incredible idea to honor our officers and all the incredible work they do for the city and county of san francisco, and bringing bxp along to be a sponsor as well, so thank you again chief sur. [applause] assistant chief lazar mentioned we were just out in front of city hall taking a commemorative photo to recognize the 175 year history of the san francisco police department. when i looked around at the men and women of the department, there was something very different in the photo of today then the photo of 175 years ago. there were not only people of color in this photo today, there were women and in fact there were so many people leading this department that

had a great opportunity to insure that the diversity of the department reflects the city that they serve. it is so great to be here today and to honor the men and women of this department. the people who put their lives on the line every single day and to say thank you. thank you for your work and your service, and thank you for choosing to be a part of making san francisco safe. the thing that was not mentioned is what is happened recently that we should all be very proud of. the fact that this year-this past 2023 and continuing has marked one of the lowest crime rates that san francisco has seen in the past 10 years. not including the pandemic, and that is attributed in most part to the hard work of the men and women of the department, their investigations going above and beyond and doing all the amazing work they do to keep the people of san francisco safe and today

you will hear about some of those stories. they may sound as though they are easy to do when you talk about them, but can you imagine the action that it takes? the intuitive nature they possess and use in order to have the skillset necessary to combat a lot of challenges in san francisco. today we recognize their work and that they have gone above and beyond and we celebrate the department and the history that has been made in this department over the past 175 years. so, i'm excited to be here and excited to honor the officers and grateful to each and every one of you for what you do to may san francisco better and safer on a regular basis. thank you all so much. [applause] >> okay. thank you mayor breed.

i now like to call up our chief of police, bill scott. [applause] >> thank you assistant chief lazar and thank you mayor breed. good afternoon everybody. first, i want to say hello and welcome to the families here supporting these officers who will be awarded today with the officer of the month. it is really really gratifying to hear about your work, to see your work and to be here to give you a personal thank you for all the things you have done to get this award today. to the families, i just want to say just a few things and then i'll turn it back over to assistant chief lazar. those in the administrative positions, we live through the work of the officers on the street. we live through the work of the investigators on the streets and this isn't a easy job as we all know and you

hear that said. there is a lot of ups and downs but the one thing that keeps us going is when we see the fruit of all the investments this city buts in its police department, work its way down to the people doing the work and we see it work the way it is supposed to work. we see it work right, and this is the example of what it looks like when it works right. it is uplifting when i hear your stories and we read your reports and read your commendations and captain comps, that keeps this department going and what keeps us going, and don't stop doing what you are doing. we have momentum now, mayor mentioned about the crime statistics. things have turned around from a couple years ago when seems like everybody was against law enforcement and we know not everybody but it felt that way, and now we have tons of not just support, but vocal support, visible support, people are cheering us on and are that

momentum and wind behind our sails propels us forward. i want to personally thank the officers officer vincent, officer daniel dudley, officer taylor, officer--and officer cameron. i remember your names. and officer cameron stokes because when you hear the stories and the work they have done, it is not only heroic, but this is what we do. this is what the city is here for, the police department is here for, so thank you again and going to turn it back over to assistant chief lazar and the captain so they can read the commendations and you can hear about this heroic work, so thank you. [applause] >> okay, thank you chief scott. i now like to call up captain tom harvey commanding officer of

mission statement. [applause] >> hello everybody. my name is captain harvey, mission station and tonight i have the pleasure of presenting the following award recipients for both officer vincent and officer daniel dudley, mission station. i will be reviewing two incidents with everyone that involve both of these fine police officers. the first incident is regarding a crew of middle of the night garage door burglars had been hitting the west side of the city in the early weeks of january this year. the organized group case garages in the middle of the night while people slept and successful committing

burglaries stealing bicycles and other items before escaping to a van. for clarification, the hot burglary describes a burglary where the suspects break in while the people are at home inside their house. due to the superb investigating efforts, department wide e-mails and alerts kis tributed regarding the suspects believed to be involved. officers from mission station are soon enlisted in the operation to apprehend the offenders. after locating the suspect vehicle, a surveillance was conducted on the 1,000 block of clayton street in park district of san francisco. officer vincent learned the vehicle occupants were on foot and standing next to a open residential garage. officer working undercover began foot surveillance on the suspects.

he watch as they use flashlights to peer in garages and able to communicate to the arrest team when this group successfully burglarized a garage stealing bikes, scooters, among other items. once the burglary had been completed, officer advised the arrest team to move in and all 5 suspects were arrested and booked into custody and all stolen property returned. as a result of this, the string of burglaries that plagued the west side of the city was over, thanks to these two officers and their team, which is right over there. [applause] the second incident on february 9, investigation was underway to the where abouts of the suspicious vehicle which fled from mission station officers the night before. the vehicle occupant suspected of being involved with vice related crimes. as early as the very next

morning the investigation lead to oakland california. in oakland, officer vincent and his partners who i will quickly acknowledge, officer dan dudley to left, officer glen griffon, officer cody, officer--located the vehicle and observed the suspect as he entered a liquor store. the team had a preing plan to safely take the suspect into custody. officer was the first in. he was the first officer inside the liquor store and that is where he encountered the suspect who was 6 foot 4, 250 pounds and standing in a narrow isle. with the assistance of officer daniel dudley, officer moslang ordered the suspect to let go of the gun. officer had his hand inside the suspect pocket while the suspect was

holding and grabbing to a gun and refused to let go. these two gentleman to my left with the assistance of their team wrestled with the suspect well over 2 minutes. it was a long physical struggle and as i said, the suspect was tall, he was large and strong. none the less, they persevere jd able to take the suspect safely into custody after a very close call. the gun was recovered. the arrest was made and are this suspect was booked not only for the fire arm related charges and also the person h a burglary warrant out of palo alto, domestic violence and probation warrant out of contra costa county. congratulations to officer vincent and dan dudley, soon to be sergeant, daniel dudley. [applause]

[applause] >> okay, thank you captain harvey and congratulations to the officers. i would now like to call up captain luke martin, commanding officer of southern is station to make his presentation. [applause] >> alright. thank you everybody. good evening. i'm luke martin, commanding

officer of southern station. i have the privilege to present this award to officer taylor, officer luc and like to go into a little about each officer before we get into the incident we are here to talk about. officer taylor has been in the department 6 years, total 8 years law enforcement. she works midnight shift for those that are in the police department that is like grave yards. she has been doing that the entire time by choice. she has seniority to work easier shifts but chooses to work the night shift. also a field training officer and i can probably talk to you about 3, 4 dozen different incident officer taylor is involved in. she is extremely hard working, amazing work ethic and generally does impeccable work. she is a joy to have as commanding

officer. i sleep easier knowing she is out there tonight. officer luc did her probation at southern station and recently finished that and transferred to central station. our loss, their gain. very impressed with officer luc right away. she showed a real eagerness to get out there and learn about the job and do police work. she showed a tremendous work ethic, very fearless out there and showing all the officers on our team she was out to do this job and do it the right way so hoping she transfers back to southern, but we'll see. hopefully chief can make it happen. the incident we are here to talk about, like i said there are many we could have reviewed, but this is a particular one it happened on thursday morning february 8 at about 1 a.m. in the morning. the officers were on patrol and one of the rougher neighborhood in the southern, which incompass 7th

and mission, 8th and mission. we tend to have a lot of narcotics activity, a lot of violence in that area as it relates to narcotics and i asked the officers to do a lot of work out there and being the good officers they are, that is what they were doing. as they patrol they noticed somebody riding their bike on the sidewalk. didn't seem to have much purpose just roaming around and they decided they needed to stop that person for that violation. officer taylor was driving the car and officer luc in the passenger seat. officer luc exits the car to stop the person and immediately the person drops the bike and takes running on foot. so, officer luc without hesitation is in a foot chase with the suspect not knowing what is going on but thinking there is probably more then just riding a bike on the sidewalk. being the veteran officer officer taylor is, she didn't bail out

of her car too, she knew to stay in the car and keep the pursuit going but in the vehicle. lot harder to outrun a vehicle as you can imagine. so, as they continue the pursuit, the suspects runs up an alley where they lose sight of suspect for a short while. officer luc makes the turn to the alley and the suspect is waiting for her. they order the suspect to the ground. he is refusing all lawful orders. in the mean time they call for backup. backup is coming from tenderloin and southern station officers, and they end up physically trying to take the suspect into custody. as they are doing it, the suspect is fighting and resisting but they are able to safely take the suspect into custody. they do a pat down search for weapon jz don't find any. they are very confused why the suspect might have been running, so as good officers they retrace their foot pursuit to see if the suspect

tossed anything and sure enough, short ways away locate a 9mm hell cat fire arm that appears to be loaded. so, they are able to recover that and in order to really solidify this case for prosecution they start canvasing the area for video surveillance and they locate a video that captures that suspect pursuit travels. sure enough, on video they see clearly the suspect with his hand dumping the fire arm on the street to avoid him actually being caught with that fire arm, so excellent work by the officers from start to finish in this case. that wasn't all actually. so, as they continue their arrest search of the suspect, they find a scale and several different types of narcotics, fentanyl, meth, marijuana i

believe as well and enough for sales-possession for sale of narcotics so all in all an amazing case, one of many the officers do on a nightly basis. congratulations. thank you very much for all your hard work. [applause] [applause]

>> okay, thank you captain martin and congratulations to the officers. i now like to call up, captain jason soyer, commanding officer for northern station for his presentation. [applause] >> good afternoon everyone. jason soyer, captain of northern station here with officer cameron stokes. where is your family at? alright. [applause] buckle up i will tell a story what a fantastic and heroic family member you have here. march 18, just over a month ago, just after 6:30 in the morning after her shift starting, officer stokes

responding to call for service of a man asleep in his car as octaveia and lombard. a wellbeing check and that is all anybody knew. officer stokes responded by himself, made contact with the driver who was asleep and keen sense of observation noticed a fire arm within reach on the floorboard of the car. realizing he did not have time to wait for backup, officer stokes quickly seized the fire arm in front of the suspect and able to secure the fire arm and ordther suspect out by himself without any use of force to get the suspect into custody. then the backup came. isn't that how it works? after the scene is rendered safe officer stokes decided to do investigation instead of leave it there. a search of the car revealed large quantities of crack cocaine,

meth, mushrooms and american all packaged for resale. this is something that happened every day that the public thought was a wellbeing check, but because officer stokes doing what he was doing to be trained correctly was able to safely take a situation far bigger then what people thought it was and able to defuse it into a arrest. needless to say, the gun was illegally in position, it was was a stolen fire arm. the car was not the suspect. everybody about it was wrong but this happens every day when a officer using proper training, safety techniques is able to do his job and i also want to point out, thank you for putting something like this together, because this is a arrest that happens virtually every day at northern station and most part doesn't get noticed. this the work the san francisco police officers do daily you don't hear about.

it doesn't make the paper. as a quite professional does this work on a daily basis as other officerso extremely proud to work with officer stoke jz for your family members you have a great person here. we are happy to have him at northern. come get your award. [applause] [applause] >> okay, one more large round of applause for all of today's honerees! [applause]

okay. the ceremony may be over, but the celebration continues, so i like to say a couple things. first, we'll have mayor breed and chief scott along with the honorees and their captains proceed out to the photo area, and secondly, we hope you enjoy the refreshments that have been provided. my gosh, mayor breed always has to remind me, i get a c plus overall. mayor breed, thanks for the reminder month after month. the honorees receive and would be remiss if i didn't tell you this, each receives a $500 gift certificate and they also receive a night at the hyatt regency at the embarcadero for their great work thanks to the sponsors and thank frz the remindser, mayor breed. [applause]

yes! okay. thank you for that. now, if i may ask the mayor and the chief and the honorees to make their way up to the photograph area. stick around, say hello to everyone, enjoy the refreshments and have a wonderful evening. thank you. >> alright

everyone. it was a long flight. about 11 hours. hi, i'm san francisco mayor london breed and it is definitely great to be home. me and a contingent of folks from san francisco just got back from being in china for the past week. it included members of the san francisco airport, people who

were part of sf travel, the bay area council, the san francisco chamber of commerce. there were so many business leaders and folks who participated in our desire to promote business opportunities, tourism, and of course what everyone is truly excited about, pandas. we were truly successful in our trip. we had numerous meetings with government officials, with airlines and with business leaders. we held a business forum of people who have interest in not only doing business in san francisco, but investing in san francisco. we as i mentioned earlier, signed an agreement to bring pandas to san francisco, and we are aggressively moving towards entering into the appropriate agreements that would allow us to move in that direction. so, what we set out to accomplish on

this trip, i think we did that, and of course, there's plenty of other things we need to do. a lot of follow through, a lot of paperwork and we are excited and hopeful what this means for san francisco's future. overall, i think especially with regards to the pandas that everyone is so excited about, it represents so much joy. i had a chance to go to the shanghai wildlife park and it was the first time i actually saw a panda in person, and it was amazing. it was amazing to see them walk, to eat, to sit up, to pick up things with their hands and to look directly at us as they were eating as if they were wondering why we were looking at them while they were trying to eat, so it was a really cool experience and we are looking forward to making this

realty for san francisco and putting thin work to get it done. with that, i'm willing to take a few questions. i will say that my favorite favorite part was definitely watching the panda eat for the first time and seeing a panda for the first time live and how close she was to us and staired right as us while she was eating as if she wanted to have a conversation. it was an amazing thing to witness. we expect a pair of pandas and they are hopefully anticipated to come as soon as we are able to raise the resources, do all the permitting, continue to work with the wildlife and conservation group to facilitate all the

paperwork. we had engineers and folks in san francisco facilitating and working with our architect and working with the zoo, because we still need to build out the location where the pandas will be. we need to make sure that we are prepared to receive them so when they do come to san francisco, their environment, their food, their support will allow for them to be healthy and to thrive, so there is still a process and hopefully we will be able to welcome the pandas here as early as some time beginning of next year, but there is still a process and depending on all the other issues or delays that may come up and the build-out and work we need to do at the zoo, we are keeping our fingers crossed, but we'll move as quickly as we can to make it happen.

>> [indiscernible] >> so, we as i mentioned we were the airport members of the airport team joined us on this trip and we met with a number of air lines, including shinjen and air china to talk about increasing the number of flights. we before the pandemic had about 50 flights per week here in san francisco from china, from asia and we have increased that number since the pandemic to about 20 and about a third of the flights coming into the u.s. from china actually come through san francisco. we know that there is a real demand. we heard it from tour operators who said we want more flights. we heard from people who said, we want to come to san francisco. the flights are a little expensive but we want to come to san francisco. you have people who have relatives and

connections and relationships. you have tourists who want to come to our city. you have people who want to do business. many of our business leaders in shanghai expressed interest. they talked specifically about the one flight they knew they could count on that comes to san francisco and a strong desire to have more in order to get back and forth a little bit more--in a bit more rapid speed, so we are hopeful that we are able to deliver on that. we had a lot of canversations and san francisco international airport offers great incentives for air lines who want to do business here. we know there is high demand, especially because we see flights from other countries that are exceeding pre-pandemic levels so we know the demand is there because the amount of flights that actually come into san francisco international airport as well, so real possibilities and we are going to continue to work on

making sure that we make the possibility a reality. >> [indiscernible] >> so, we don't have a cost estimate just yet on the pandas. the work that we have to do in terms of the architectural design, cost estimates of the build-out, of the appropriate staff and food and all that would entail, so we are in early stages preparing the analysis for what it will cost and going through the permitting process. as far as safety concerns, we of course want to insure that the pandas

are thriving and healthy and safe and will work closely with wildlife conversation team to insure we do what is appropriate to insure the safety, security of the pandas and we'll continue to work with the zoo to meet those needs. >> [indiscernible] >> well, we think that with increased flights, with business opportunities, with pandas and all that we are talking about, the economic opportunities for san francisco can be significant and just to put into perspective, we are not pre-pandemic levels for flights comes in from china, but already last year we saw over $633 million in economic impact to the city just from tourist who came from china to our city, so we want to make sure

we open up that door for folks to visit and folks to have experiences in our city. we excited about tourism and people are excited and i was well received in china. a lot said they love san francisco and look forward coming back to san francisco. they have pandas there so the excitement was just san francisco, but i think the panda excitement ll be for a lot of people here in the united states. >> [indiscernible] >> well, that wasn't really a conversation that came up with anyone. it was really the thing that people talked about mostly--first of all, they said i love-constantly, i love san francisco. the flights are really expensive, but i want to come to san francisco. san francisco is a beautiful city and they talked about different experiences. there was a lot of excitement and desire, so the interest is

there, the excitement is there. people want to come, but the flights and the need to move quickly around visas is also a important part of getting more tourists here to san francisco, but the desires are definitely there. >> [indiscernible] >> yeah. so, our delegation had a opportunity to go to fondu university and have conversations there but we had a number of conversations with friends group which is part of the sister committee as a way to develop the possibility of student being supported and going to china from san francisco as early as this summer, so we are already having conversations about that, and they are looking at san francisco as a way to do the student to students exchange, more so then anything else.

>> [indiscernible] >> well, the university was more interested in the student exchange component of our students coming to san francisco-i mean their student comes to san francisco and our students going there, so that was more of what they were interested in. >> [indiscernible] >> yes. >> [indiscernible] >> well, i was extremely impressed with their electric vehicle and their electric vehicle infrastructure, as well as i had a chance to take the high speed rail. i did that before when i went to china in 2013, it was a great trip. they said it was faster, brut but i thought it was fast the first time i took it. so, it was really a great

experience. and, the excitement around the number of automated things that they are using, technology and how they are using technology. there seems to be a very interest in technology and connections around technology in san francisco and manufacturing and so those conversations with the bay area council and the san francisco chamber of commerce were had. we had a forum and we learned about a number of items and things that they developed and there is similar items here in the united states as well, so it was great to hear them talk about the environment and the planting of trees, increasing the number of parks and open space, and having conversations around san francisco's climate action plan and the desire to be green house gas free, similar to san francisco. there were a lot of great green conversations going on, which

is exciting to hear. alright. thank you. [appla week. >> ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ the san francisco. the reporter: has many opportunities to get out and placing play a 4 thousand acres

of play rec and park has a place win the high sincerely the place to remove user from the upper life and transform into one of mother nachdz place go into the rec and park camp mather located one hundred and 80 square miles from the bay bridge past the oakland bridge and on and on camp mather the city owned sierra nevada camping facility is outings outside the gate of yosemite park it dates back before the area became is a popular vacation it i sites it was home to indians who made the

camp where the coral now stands up and artifacts are found sometimes arrest this was the tree that the native people calm for the ac accordions that had a high food value the acorns were fatally off the trees in september but they would come up prosecute the foothills and were recipe the same as the people that came to camp camp is celebrating it's 90th year and the indians were up here for 4 thousand we see every day of them in the grinding rocks around the camp we have about 15 grinding sites in came so it was a major summer report area for the 92 hawks.

>> through there are signs that prosperity were in the area it was not until the early part of the century with the 76 began the construction of damn in helpfully a say mill was billed open the left hand of the math for the construction by which lake was used to float logs needed for the project at the same time the yosemite park and company used the other side of the camp to house tourists interesting in seeing the national park and the constructions of damn when the u son damn was completed many of the facilities were not needed then the city of san francisco donated the property it was named camp mather the first director it was named after him

tuesday morning away amongst the pine the giant sequoia is the giants inventories first name if our title is camp means there's going to be dirt and bugs and so long as you can get past that part this place it pretty awesome i see i see. >> with a little taste of freedom from the city life you can soak up the country life with swimming and volley ball and swimming and horseback

riding there you go buddy. >> we do offer and really good amount of programming and give a sample p of san francisco rec and park department has to offer hopefully we've been here 90 years my camp name is falcon i'm a recession he leader i've been leading the bill clinton and anarchy and have had sometimes arts and crafts a lot of our guests have been coming for many years and have almost glutin up, up here he

activity or children activity or parent activity here at camp mather you are experiencing as a family without having to get into a car and drive somewhere fill your day with with what can to back fun at the majestic life the essence of camp mather one thing a that's been interesting i think as it

evolves there's no representation here oh, there's no representation so all the adults are engine i you know disconnected so there's more connection the adults and parents are really friendly but i think in our modern culture i you know everyone's is used to be on their phones and people are eager to engagement and talk they don't have their social media so here they are at camp mather how are i doing. >> how are you doing it has over one hundred hundred cabins those rustic structures gives camp mather the old atmosphere that enhances the total wilderness experience and old woolen dressers and poaches

and rug i do lay out people want to decorate the front of thaifr their cabins and front poefrnz their living room is outside in this awesome environment they're not inviting their guests inside where the berms are people get creative with the latin-american and the bull frogs start the trees grow and camp mather is seen in a different light we're approaching dinner time in the construction of the hetch hetchy damn the yosemite park built jackson diane hauling hall to serve the guests it does was it dbe does best service s serve

the food. >> i'm the executive chef i served over 15 hundred meals a day for the camp mather folks breakfasts are pancakes and french toast and skranld eggs and hash brown's our meal formulate is we have roost lion it's reflecting of the audience we have people love our meals and love the idea they can pick up a meal and do worry about doing the dishes can have a great time at camp mather

after camp people indulge themselves everyone racks go in a place that's crisis that i air after the crackinging of a campfire a campfire. >> the evening is kept up with a tenant show a longed tradition it features music i tried this trick and - this talent show is famous for traditional things but we have new things ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ the first 7, 8, 9 being on stage and being embarrassed and doing random things >> unlike my anothers twinkling stars are an unforcible memory ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ admission to camp mather is through a lottery it includes meals and camp programs remember all applicant registration on line into a lottery and have a rec and park department family account to register registration typically begins the first week of january and ends the first week in february this hey sierra oasis is a great place to enjoy lifeiest outside

of the hustle and bustle and kickback and enjoy and a half >> everything is so huge and beautiful. >> the children grew up her playing around and riding their bites e bicycles it's a great place to let the children see what's outside of the city common experience is a this unique camp when you get lost in the high sierra wilderness camp mather is waiting and we look forward to city manager's office you here soon

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> (music). >> my name is - my business name is himself mexican america.

>> i started my business a year ago the process was a year ago by business by waving (background noise.) about $1,000 and also guided me there the whole process. (background noise.) that was helpful i was already paying the construction and other fees for the restaurant the city we put together to honor my city and comes with (unintelligible) on the (background noise.) and. >> (multiple voices.) >> and some go with ebbs and eggs (unintelligible) and a side

of roadways and beans. and be able - have my restaurant here in the district of the mission is such an amazing i grew up around the mission area and respect to school around here and so i was able to come in as establish any restaurant here (background noise.) really a feels like

>> welcome to the san francisco city and county board of supervisors regular meeting this afternoon at 2:00 pm., tuesday, may 14, 2024.) >> madam clerk, call the roll. >> supervisor chan present. >> supervisor dorsey present. >> supervisor engardio present. >> supervisor mandelman present. >> supervisor melgar present. >> supervisor peskin present. >> supervisor melgar present. >> mvrnld esent. >> supervisor safai