there have been other discussions about pension reform. our city assessor started the conversation about prop. 13. there are several things in place on the state and local level having an adverse affect on our financial health locally. we are in a quandary. we cannot really move beyond that until we remove the pocket. prop. 13 is a serious block. it would free up hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be brought into public schools and could also be in fused in our local -- infused in our local and state economy. that is a very complicated question, and one i have only brush the surface on. that is another segment. >> we will follow that by another complicated question. i would like to get your thoughts on homelessness and

what the city is doing about homelessness, what direction you think we should be headed in, a big issue in san francisco. >> homelessness is interesting. when you look at it as a sociological perspective, we have some of the people in the homeless community enjoying being on the street. others want help. i think when we also -- we need to do a better job of taking care of those mentally ill. when you are on the street and you listen to the homeless folks or you watch them interacting, you see they are a little disturbed. i think the city overall has done a good job in terms of housing and taking them off the street, providing services. mayor newsom started a private -- program connecting members of the homeless community to services, dental, vision, therapy, housing, mental health.

these are things that you and i probably take for granted. we have access and resources we can leverage. this community doesn't. in the southeast part of the city, we don't have many homeless facilities. there is one that i know of, providence baptist church. every night, i have seen this line wrapped around the corner. it is cold. this is a men's shelter in particular. they're coming in, they are on a floor of a gymnasium. we are not talking a lavish existence. four seasons here. definitely, i think we are a very compassionate city and just continue to extend the compassion to the homeless community. >> what is happening with crime in your district? how do you think the police department is doing to address the issue of crime in district 10? >> statistically, we have a lot of crime.

homicides, there were two in the last week in my district. i am vice-chair of the public safety committee. safety and how we define safety, not just in terms of crime, but over a public safety, is something that is very important and one of my priorities. what i would like to see is more of a community policing approach. maybe engaging more the community. that includes organizations like safe, which is a neighborhood- based organization. neighbors get together and they're watching the streets, giving information to the police department. think about taxicabs. they are all over the city. they can be the eyes and ears of the police department if trained properly. we can also better utilize the sheriff's department. it has the same training as members of the police department.

i think we could have a healthy conversation in considering partnering -- creating a stronger partnership with the sheriff's department. overall, crime, yes. we need to reduce the number of homicides. we need to reduce the number of aggravated assaults, petty crimes, misdemeanors. i do get my fair share in my district. that is one issue that is universal between safety and education. everyone is very concerned about it. >> talk to me about the progress on environmental cleanup in the areas of san francisco where that is a growing concern. >> you know, in san francisco, specifically in the southeast quadrant, san francisco is the industrial armpit. we have got the two major toxic

sites, we have the shipyard and the lock site. both of those toxic chemicals that are still in the ground are from earlier activities, business activities. we also have the puc, the water treatment plant, in the district. for me, the quality of the environment is very important. it is a direct relationship with the high breast cancer rates, a cancer rates in particular, but also breast cancer, and to some degree childhood obesity, there's a correlation between the environment people are growing up in. when we talk about my legislative priorities, the environment is also on that list of priorities. minimizing asthma, maintaining the asman task force, that we will keep implementing that my predecessors started, educating

people on healthy lifestyles, exercise, healthy diet. we talked about the environment. it is about the food we are taking into our body, our stress level, and a component that is not often discussed as our mental health -- is our mental health. mental health and physical health factor into the environment that people are living in. it is in their home, it is in the neighborhood, it is the whole southeast quadrant. any way you guys sit up, we have had our disproportionate share -- you dice it up, we have had our disproportionate share of problems that are happening. the policies and priorities of the city have been implemented. we have an opportunity -- this goes back to jobs. the puc will have a billion dollar project of rebuilding the digestors, the waste water

management treatment plant in the district. making sure that people are hired from the neighborhood for the project, a pathway to a career that will be sustainable, and one where people can provide for themselves. they put money back into the local economy. they are buying houses, paying taxes, money is going into the school district, kids are being educated. we are raising help the community. >> thank you so much for joining us on sfgtv's "meet your supervisor." we will be back with another one of our 11 supervisors.

>> many people are not aware of this building was built in 1936. as a board to preserve the history and make the students aware of that history. the partnering between sfmoma and the arts commission means they will be more aware of the artwork that we have here, the artists that painted a, and the history behind this itself. >> students came from george washington, and it was wonderful to have them on a panel. people from the school board, those who have been painting for

years, some conservative errors from the getty. to have them tell us about the works of their school was important. it represents african-american artists to during the 20's and 30's used an incredible body of work. it is one of the most incredible works of art in the city, bar none. it is a huge mural of incredible works. >> the san francisco civic arts collection has been in existence since the turn of the century. it consists of everything from monument to golden gate park to market street, other works in the collection, from the wpa era, the quite tower, the works from the george washington high school. we have the contemporary education, where they depict some of the vocational arts that

were taught at george washington high school. what is interesting is the artist's and corp. of some of the -- incorporation of some of the architectural elements. they used the speaker from the p a system as part of the design. on the opposite side of the library, we have a large fresco which depicts the academic subjects that were taught at the time. it serves as a foil to the other fresco in the library, we have academic subjects on one side, vocational subjects on the other, and result is the concept of a well-rounded education. additionally, what we plan to do is the academy of hospitality and tourism will be part of, so the students can share with other students, faculty, the neighborhood, and others to come

by and what to look to the artwork we have. >> by working with the students, we hope to raise awareness of the collection and foster stewardship. we brought diego rivera to the city. i think the wpa art work is characterized by stylized robustness and a pervasive occupation with a historical. in this panel, we have a depiction of george washington moving west. what is interesting about it is the image of lewis and clark here is in black and white, something that is occurring in the future, painted as though it was in the past. what is interesting about it is

the very obvious conclusion of slavery. the number of students were expressing unease around some of the themes. the additional mural would be placed in the school, one with more positive representation of the student body. in 1974, they completed three panels that were placed in the library -- in the lobby. they depict native, latino, asian american, and african- american heritage and culture. >> that artist was talking about the history coming alive. that is what we want for the students here. i also think they might share that with past alumni and the community, so they could no the

treasure that we have here in the schools. many people have the same experience i did when i first walked into this building three years ago, being the new principal. the grandeur of these murals is fantastic. many of the students who have come here have come here and are very proud of these murals. they're so happy that they're still here and are being preserved. >> to learn more about the civic art collection, visit

>> welcome. we are here doing our building san francisco tour. we're going to have a very interesting tour of elevators in sanford cisco. we have all gotten into an elevator, the doors have closed, and it has carried us to our destination. have you ever wondered how

elevators were -- work? we check out the need outside the elevator using current technology and we learn about the latest destination elevated technology all here in san francisco. we will also visit the machinery where all the behind- the-scenes gears control these incredible machines. we are very fortunate today to have an expert with those who is going to walk us are around elevators in san francisco. can you tell us about the history of elevators in san francisco? the measure -- >> sure. the history of elevator technology evolves with the city. first elevators were installed for moving materials in the 1860's. in the 1870's, the first passenger elevator was installed, and that allowed building heights to go up to

about seven floors. starting in the 18 eighties, 1890's, the first electric elevators were installed. that allowed for buildings to go up even higher, even more than 10 floors, and those were the first elevators that became representative of what we consider modern elevators today. >> so the height of buildings is related to elevator technology. >> both of these technologies encourage architects to build taller buildings. engineering and materials science provided a higher quality of steel to build with, and having passenger elevators meant it was the necessary anymore to climb a long flight of stairs to get to the top of the building. the elevator made the upper floors of the building more attractive than they were before. >> here we were at the historic st. francis hotel, which was actually a representation of the evolution of elevators.

can you tell us more about san francisco history here at the st. francis? >> sure. st. francis demonstrates well the evolution of elevated technology. and substantially damaged the 1906 earthquake and rebuilt in 1907 or 1908, and extend it again in 1913. then a new tower was added in 1932, so there is all sorts of elevator technology you can see at the st. francis that very much represents the building history of san francisco. >> i understand there is a really old elevator still operating here. >> that is right, the elevator installed in the 1913 expansion. we can go look at that. >> let's go take a look. here we are in a spectacular st. francis lobby. here is the clock. when people say "meet me at the clock in the st. francis." let's look at that elevator.

>> ok, let's do it. >> here we are in the elevator installed as part of the expansion, and this is the way it was originally installed about 100 years ago. it has a manual switch just like elevators did back then, and it runs on dc power. this was from a time before elevators ran on ac power. >> when did they switch? >> decided to switch in the 1920's, so this elevator predicts that by about 19 years. the doors are also manual, so this elevator predates the use of automatic doors on elevators.

>> can we take a ride? >> absolutely. going down. >> how many troops do you think this elevator has taken in its lifetime? millions. >> yes, this one probably has. certainly hundreds of thousands. >> very smooth. >> it really does run smoothly. >> there we go. take some serious operation. there we go. >> this is really beautiful. >> this is served by that old elevator we were just in. >> built at the same time, also in 1913. >> what a gorgeous room. i think we should have a party here. >> that is a great idea. >> let's look at the machine room for that old elevator. >> ok, let's go.

>> here we are in the machine room with all these wonderful, old, a burly, industrial-era equipment. tell us what we've got here. >> this is really the beginning of a modern elevator. what we would describe as an overhead traction-geared elevator. that type of elevator still exists. even though this was made in 1913, elevators like this have continued to be manufactured up until the present day. >> so overhead means these cables attached to the top of the car. >> correct, exactly right. >> our hoist machine is located overhead, and this is a traction machine, so it is an evolution beyond the winding from elevator. this is the drive ship. this is the gear box, and this is original from 1913. it is a heavy-duty design that we really do not see any more today. that is probably part of the reason why this elevator has already lasted close to 100

years. this is the break for the voice machine -- teh brake. >> we have the original controller here. fortunately, the power is turned off. >> this room was built in 1913, but the national elevator cut actually was not introduced until 1921. >> tell us about this antique controller. what makes it different from a modern controller? >> the elevator is running on the original d.c. power. really simple in operation. does not include a lot of the features we would have in an elevator today, automatic door operation, dispatching, push button operation. none of those features are present, but this is the original from 1913. on this side, we have all the relays that actually control the elevator. the safety service -- city

circuit, position, speed, and control of the power to the motor. >> here is a really interesting piece of historic machinery. tell us about this. >> this is one of the main safety devices of the elevator system, and the device still exists today even on modern elevators. it detects if the elevator is going into unsafe over speed conditions. it is attached to the road itself, and the car over speeds, bees fly balls would come out, and the governor jobs would come out and grab on to the governor wrote, which would hold the break or the safety on the elevator to cause it to stop. >> if you have problems, i see right here, we call garfield 7171 for service. member that is right. operators standing by. >> from here, we are going to look at those wonderful elevators that go of the outside of the high rise building that everyone wants to take a ride

in. >> let's go do that. >> here we are in the most exciting elevator in the city of san francisco. this is the outside elevator that goes into the 32nd floor. tell us about this. >> we are in one of the tower elevators now. these were originally installed in 1972. 1,000 feet a minute, outside observation elevators, so a great view of the city. some of the most popular elevators in san francisco, as you mentioned, and these cars run a lot. they run about 2000 starts per day. about 700,000 starts per year for an elevator like this, and these are pretty hard working. >> must be hard to maintain these elevators. mechanical devices in the rain. >> this is much more difficult to maintain. normal elevator installation is all sealed from the elements, but in this case, it is all exposed to the outside, so there are issues with whether proofing and sealing the equipment from

the elements. >> the controls and motors are up here on the top floor. >> very simple -- similar to the elevators we looked at. this is similar to that technology. >> i saw a crowd of people downstairs waiting to take a ride on the elevated to get this fabulous view. that is a terrific view. >> yes, it is great. >> can you tell us about the history of the modern elevators? >> what we consider the modern elevator is the elevator with a safety device that was built in new york in 1853 in response to a freight elevator accident in new york city. until that time, elevators were quite common in buildings but typically used just for handling freight.

elisha otis -- elijah otis successfully demonstrated the safety device he had created. even of the elevator and he cut the device, and he did not fall. everyone was impressed by that. in 1857, the oldest brother's company installed their first passenger elevator on broadway in new york. believe it or not, many of those first elevators were actually started and stopped by a hand broke. >> what drove those old elevators? what was their motive power? >> in some cases, they might have even been hp. >> and then changed to electric? >> electric cited to come in the 1890's, and that was around the time when the elevator stopped from material handling and started to be used more frequently for passengers. in 1878, there was a

demonstration of the other thing that allowed architects to build taller buildings was the advent of a higher quality steel manufacturing. in 19003, the first production year track models were introduced, that it was when things took off. >> that mostly happened in new york city? >> lower manhattan was the first place that took off, then chicago. those early passenger elevators always had an attendant that would take a passenger's request and then operate the car. the big change was the emergence of a electric elevators. starting in 1880, the electric elevator allowed building dollars to go much higher. we evolved from steam hydraulic

elevators to the electric elevators that are not that much different from what we are going to see now at the top of the tower. this is the steam room on the top of the state st. francis. -- on top of the state francis. the equipment you see painted green, that is all the original equipment from 1972. we are just now in the middle of modernizing this equipment. >> why modernize? doesn't the equipment works fine? >> it does, it is of analog and intensive, and there are some additional controls. let me introduce the foreman to you. this is vince. he can do a better job explaining the project details.

>> what is happening here, what are you doing? >> we are doing a major modernization. we are tearing out the old system, logic controls, and generator controls, and we will be going over to solid state. this is not your standard selector. it does not have a tape that runs it. because these are outside elevators -- these are unique to the city. >> and this is going away with the upgrade. >> that is right. none of these will be here. we have retrofitted three elevators so far and now we're doing the outside cars. >> so this is what will be replacing -- >> this will be replacing the generator controller and control system. we are down to about 15 or 20

relays, down from about 100, which means much less maintenance. this thing had been running for about six months now, but we still have eight cars here to do. >> great job. >> we have looked at past the elevators and present. now let's look at the future. we are taking a look at some of the most exciting technologies in elevators. george, tell us about destination elevators. >> this is the technology of the future. probably the biggest single investment in elevators.