[applause] supervisor mirkarimi: there are a lot of very special people here tonight. this is an awesome crowd. it is wonderful. but i would be remiss if i did not recognize someone who is sort of like our local mick jagger. mayor willie brown is also here, too. [applause]

very popular and i'm very glad he is here. i keep telling because of the people who want to line up and how photographs with him that we should charge $5 apiece and help reduce our city deficit. i think we could get there. anyway, thank you, everybody. program is wonderful. [applause] >> that was very nice. the next dance is a dance that i absolutely love. it is called a model airtran -- immortal iran. it is amazing for any immigrant who is homesick for their own country.

please join me in welcoming our next performer. [applause]

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♪ >> i am -- i am the person santa claus. -- p histe sayserian sauc ersias

i said, i'm going to go see my friends in city hall. i'm going to go see the people of san francisco. i am going to go see supervisor avalos arenas -- supervisor mirkarimi. i'm going to see our new mayor. he said, why? i said, because it is our new year. are you kidding? i said, this is a different new year. this is persian new year. [applause]

our culture has a different new year, the beginning of spring when everything blooms. the flower carts bloom, the earth becomes fresh, it refreshes itself. -- the flowers and birds abloom. he said, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way." i said, not to that kind of new year. our new year has a different song. [singing]

[singing] he said, ok, bye. because he was my older brother, i let him go. i said, i will see you in nine months. persia in new year is the beginning of the spring, everything refreshes. we also refresh just like the earth. we refresh our friendship even with our enemies. we forget our sorrows and we look to the new year with bright eyes and full of hope, full of hope. let me see what i have in this

bag. ah-ha! my brothers, he forgot. in the persian new years, we put seven items on the table. we start with the letter "s," which represents the goodness of the earth. everything that comes from the earth. we celebrate, we celebrate these blessings, we love these blessings so we represent them

with seven "s's." this is a sign of health, the apple. please, can you put it there on this table? next, we have --, this is sour but it is good for your health. this comes from any other fruit. this is the vinegar. it was very hard to carry out. oh, -- is good for many things. persians knows for what.

this represents wealth. i don't know why. let me see what i have. egs-- eggs, i don't know why we put these. it does not start with s. we put this on kabob. we love this. do you love this? yes, you do. c'mon, this is very good for your health. this is garlic, for your health. everything is for your health.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. one more. oh, money. this is for wealth. those people who are wealthy, they have a lot of this. yes. there are many more but i forgot to bring them. i came in a hurry. this is kind of crushed now. this is the greenery. we love this. i don't know for what. there is a big one, you can go and eat it. [laughter] ok, that is an asset. and, we put the book, usually hafiz or other books.

i will read a few verses. but, i have to put my glasses because i am very old. [speaking foreign language] morning breeze, and the old world will once again sale [speaking foreign language]

to libs will bring a red cup to the meadows -=- tulips will bring a red cup haifz -- hafiz will tell the tale [laughter] we will celebrate the rest of new year's in that room. this new year is for friendship and to put your sorrows away and to walk in love in the garden of your heart, that not the rows of

love. let's celebrate new year for justice, peace, and everyone in the world'. [applause] please follow me. ♪

♪ i think you are already celebrating. ♪

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♪ >> my name is mark buell and i have the pleasure of being the chairman of the america's cup organizing committee. nice to see you today. a number of distinguished guests in the audience and on the podium, and i will do my best to knowledge most of them, so do not get your feelings hurt. today, we are presenting one of the conditions in the host city agreement. when mayor newsom and i signed that agreement, we committed to doing certain things to enable the city to put on the best of it possible. one of the most -- i cannot imagine a more critical element to this plan than how we move people during the event. if san franciscans care about anything, it is traffic, parking, movement, and i think today's press conference at the

beginning of this effort acknowledges how seriously we take this situation and how much we want to get it right. there is a provision that by march 31, we begin this with a document, and it will continue until the environmental impact report is finished. there will be plenty of chance for people to comment on it, contribute to. we want that. it is really important for this process to get that. with that, it is my pleasure to introduce to you our newest, biggest supporter of the america's cup in san francisco, our mayor, ed lee. [applause] mayor lee: have the opening day at the giants. [applause] -- happy opening day. i want to give our -- a shot up to are daniels. i wanted to again thank him. right here, we are enjoying the

beautiful sun, and maybe a few decades ago, we would not have been able to do that because of some freeway. but i wanted to thank can because he has been a big supporter and a great advisor of mind and someone who early on enticed me to join government rather than throw stones at it. as markets unveiled earlier, one of the most important plants that will not only have to do, but we must do, if we are going to invite 200,000 people a day to come to our border share along the waterfront and view one of the most spectacular races, the america's cup 34. as i began my -- a couple of months ago, i was forewarned as we made the initial announcements of how already we are, i had gotten some phone calls from quite a few friends, both new and old, who reminded me that the big challenge is

going to be if we are successful in getting this and if it works, how are you going to move people around? how are you going to do its motley? those people came from very good friends, who spent their lives not only dealing with the interactions in our city, but transportation issues as well. so i am unveiling to you today what we have dubbed the people plan, which is our initial draft. and it is just the initial draft. it allows you to see how we are going to take care of these big challenges. i want to thank president chiu, ross mirkarimi, all of the supervisors here in the front row for working with me. all of the mta. with the court, the public works. all the city agencies that have come together. the department of environment as

well. working together with the even authority that formed and with mark and others to help give the initial launch of this draft plan. this plan is a framework, has quite a few details, but it emphasizes how we will approach moving some 200,000 people on a daily basis to the waterfront to view this great race. and it is important that we begin with this draft plan that talks about transit and talks about how we can work with our friends in the bicycle coalition, our friends that are pedestrian-oriented routes, as well as municipal transportation routes. we want to emphasize those modes of transit, just as we just did as we came down from city hall on our municipal railway's. this draft