>> hello, everybody. is everybody else there? i see people here, but nobody is applauding. good morning. there you go. welcome, everybody, to the groundbreaking ceremony for the model block. my name is fred blackwell. i am executive director of the san francisco redevelopment agency. we are going to move through swiftly with our program, but i just wanted to say a couple of things before i introduce some of the folks who are going to say some words to you. the program was established in

2005. the purpose of the program was to make sure that as research and implement a redevelopment program here in the view-hunters point, that we focus on all aspects of redevelopment, including making sure that we are committing resources, time, and energy to improving the lives -- the quality of life for existing residents and homeowners. this program was created for that purpose, and it has three components to it. one is the private realm where we have provided low-cost loans in order to deal with deferred maintenance issues, or upgrades to do with code issues. the second component has to do with the public realm, and much of what we will be talking about is that. streetscape improvements, traffic calming, dealing with flooding issues, and things like that. the third component really is a kind of bread that runs through

everything. that is that we are using kind of a community organizing approach to accomplish the two things i mentioned earlier. everything you see here is happening because of the hard work of the people who live on this block, which is a very important thing. [applause] just a word in terms of process -- one of the things that we established in this block is we had a competitive process, and so they apply to be the model block, and the group stepped up and put a good group forward, and we ended up selecting them. in addition to what i talked about in terms of residence being in the lead, there was a lot of city collaboration on this project. there were financial contributions made by the epa, dpw, the redevelopment agency, and puc, but beyond those financial commitments, much

staff time has been put into coordination and people from the planning department, the mta, all the agencies that have contributed money that have also contributed time and energy in order to try to make the residence dreams a reality in this block. before i introduce the mayor, i wanted to introduce and point out that i have the president of our redevelopment commission sitting in the front row, who has been a big proponent of this program. when we go through our budget process, he is always asking how we can improve this, but i want to introduce mayor lee. i think it is very appropriate for him to kick us off because we are moving forward, and i think the spirit with which he has approached his work over the last few months. i think everybody who is here and who witnessed his work can

testify to the fact that the notion of this being a community-driven project, the notion of this being a project where we are trying to find ways to help the residents here realize this vision is right in line with the way that the mayor has been working over the last few months. without any further ado, mayor lee. [applause] ed lee thank you -- mayor lee: thank you. good morning, everybody. welcome to newcob avenue -- newcomb avenue in the baby. i also want to commend fred because we are going to be working so closely together that you will be looking at us as brothers. we are that attached to what his agency, with his commission has been doing, and i want to signal to all of you that we are going to fight like the dickens for every ounce of resources that we need. redevelopment is right there in every neighborhood of our city

doing good work, so i will continue to fight with you, fred, and your commission. but i want to thank the residents for welcoming me here. this is your neighborhood, your home, and it allows us in government that if you allowed -- and by us here, that means you trust government to work with you, not to work against you. there are so many other years where we said things different and felt differently, and now, we are kind of moving past that and getting to where we ought to be working very closely together more and more. so it is my heartfelt thanks that you invite us to your home, allowing us to then be created, think outside the box, be more supportive of the community needs, so we can possibly change what has historically been a street that people drive through, rather than a street that people want to be on.

i want to make sure this transformation continues with every one of you feeling that it is your partnership working closely with supervisor cohen and the mayor's office, making sure things happen the correct way, every level of it, so one of these days, maybe even espanola might buy a house out here. [laughter] but i wanted to signal a number of things that have happened to bring everybody together on this project. it is, as fred said, a very serious collaboration, and it began with redevelopment having a different kind of local discussion with residence here, getting the support of our local leaders on board, and making sure you saw a vision that could actually be accomplished -- not a vision that you see sometimes where it may not even happen in

your lifetime, but now, you see something right in front of your door that is going to bring about slowing the traffic. some trees, permeable landscaping, streets that are paid -- paved, all kinds of things that you see other neighborhoods getting, to be candid with you. the great st. project had not been presented in all the neighborhoods of san francisco because it has been focused many times around our commercial corridors. this is the first time it has taken to a purely residential area, and it is important that we do it in the baby because it means a lot to the residents here, to get something that everybody else has been looking at, embracing. we need to get something here to make sure we understand the benefits of what city hall is trying to do for everyone else. it began with your embracing of that vision. then, it was very dedicated the last couple of years. you got public works and got

our public utilities commission here. you got planning department. you got our bayview pact. we got the urban estuary institute. you got all kinds of agencies coming together, planning this thing out, mta included, and everybody saying, "i can also add value to this." you even got the city administrators community challenge grant money twice to come in here. you got all of the different agencies working together under planning with redevelopment with the different agencies. they all got a piece of this, and they all decided they would put it all together. and include the smallest locally hiring companies to do this right that was hired the right way and would do it the right way. you have so many great elements here. then you have people used to be

at a problem but also know the value of local jobs. jared lowenthal at epa, you got him aboard with serious money from the quality quality fund that they have. while he left the employment of the city, i do not think he ever forgot all the things we're still trying to do year and had not done while he had his years here, so he will continue helping us out. right, gerry? all right. all right. that is the case of serious money totaling all, everybody coming together, $1.6 million to put on this street. that is an incredible value, incredible contribution, and the whole collaboration, talking to people to make sure nobody is left out, their viewpoints are left out about how we get the sun. all that collaboration doing the right way, i think, results in this great vision now being able to reproduce. and i am going to look forward

because i will be back here not just at the end, but during the time it is under construction. i want to see those trees going up. i want to see permeable landscaping and those sidewalks bill. i want to see at the end of these streets, the crosswalks where cars are driven and a half slowdown -- they have to slow down for your safety, for your kids' safety. is that kind of street that we all wish our neighborhoods would have. we get to produce that year. i will be your more than once, more than twice to make sure and oversee that the city does all of its work. it is not lost upon us back it is public works week again the next week -- it is not lost upon us that it is public works week again next week. they are a key part along with the puc and planning and all the other agencies -- mta and others

-- that are coming together putting their best efforts forward to make this happen in a coordinated way. you will not see all the trees getting done in one month and then the streets, and suddenly, they have to break up the sidewalk again because nobody did it the right way. all of that coordination is being done smartly. it has to be done smartly because it is your money, ultimately. even though it comes from all the agencies, it is your money coming back to you in the best and smartest way. i want to thank every agency year that has a piece of this. all of the sacrifice time that they do because it takes a little extra effort to coordinate everything and to make sure we do not step on each other's toes while we do it the right way, and you are going to hold us accountable, but i want you to do that because i want to make sure you bring me out on happy occasions, places where we can see people hired, people going to work, and ultimately, they can live decent lives. that is what it ultimately comes

down to. then, you can produce the kind of street that we feel represents what san francisco is to everybody else. we are not just tourists. every single day, we are going to feel this, and we feel this being a lively street that everybody can live on. not to other negative things on. i want to thank you again. comes back to the neighborhood. thank you very much for inviting us to your house. [applause] >> thank you, mayor lee. the partnership here starts on the 1700 block of newcomb but it goes all the way to the 1600 block of pennsylvania avenue in washington, d.c. to represent hud -- or the environment protection agency, who has been a great partner here, jared blumenthal.

[applause] >> thank you all for coming out. it is great to have a mayor that does not care about politics but cares about getting stuff done. [applause] that is what we need. that is what we need. i remember back in the dark days when we were trying to get rid of hunters point power plant, he was the city administrator. he was pushing. he got it done. now, it is time to get something good. environmental justice is something we talk about a lot. it makes a case for not only getting rid of the bad stuff like hunter's point power plant, but also making sure that you get the good stuff first, and that is what this project is about. it is about a new concept called green infrastructure. we think about our streets. we think about our sidewalks, our street lights, it is now part of a system that provides a service. we had two things that have been

neglected. one is the bayview. the other is the day. since the gold rush, 90% of the wetlands in the bay have been filled in. those wetlands act as a filter for all of the water that goes in. when you do not have that filter, you need to recreate one. that is what we're doing here today, making sure that all the rain water that falls down here does not lead on the radius days to ed harrington. he runs one of the cleanest shops right down here. you want to make sure that those combined sewer overflows -- they have about 10 times a year. by doing this, not only do you increased your property values, not only do you know that you are doing your part for the environment, but you are also putting less of a strain on the waste water treatment plant and helping the bay. and it really needs our help. it is in trouble. when i came down here, we

passed the shore. there is a reason is called bay shore. that is where the shore of the bay used to be. a lot of the area this bill. when we think about infrastructure, we are also securing this for the future, making sure the street is ready when we have the next big earthquake, and it looks very much like a green street when we are finished. you are providing not only all the beautification that you are going to get, but the reason the epa -- and when the president talked about winning the future, this is what it is about. it is about investing money in communities that have not had that investment. about making sure that local people are deployed where they are not employed today. it is bringing all this together. people say what is happening in newcomb of it today, and i say that you won the lottery, but he should have won a long time ago. we're thrilled that you are getting what you deserve and what you need.

thank you so much. [applause] >> next, i would like to invite supervisor cohen to say some words. as you know, she is your newest supervisor. this area has a very bright future, i think, and one of the reasons is you have a great supervisor who has just been elected and is already taking the mantle for a variety of issues that i think are of real importance to this community. supervisor cohen. supervisor cohen: thank you. it is very apropos where we are, and for those of you who know the history of the bay view, third and newcomb has had a sordid past with the police, with a lot of activity that has had a negative effect on the community, but here we are, a few blocks off of third street, still on newcomb to celebrate

the beginning, the rebirth, frankly, what i consider to be the reverse of the southeast part of the city, the southeast part of our community. i say this -- no matter where i go, what is critical is when bayview becomes healthy and robust, all of san francisco becomes healthy and robust, and streets make up communities. streets make up neighborhoods, neighborhoods make up cities. i am pleased the city is making an investment right here on this street that has been neglected for a very long time. with this investment, it will begin to bear fruit. it will be a model, not just newcomb but for all of the environment surrounding it. what we focus our energy, we will continue to see this kind of growth and revitalization of our community has been in need of for a very long time, and i am very excited that fred is also year and the mayor is also

year as well as our other partners -- dtw, puc --dpw, puc. all of us are committed to making sure that people who are not working get work and continue to put in an investment in this community, which is beautiful, that i absolutely love. i am delighted to be your. and congratulations to all the persons that made this a reality. i thank you on behalf of the community. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor cohen. we could not have dpw week without hearing from the dpw. would you please come up and say something? >> thank you. good morning, everyone. it is great to be out here. this is one block of the many streets of san francisco that together with our sidewalks cover 25% of our city.

25% of the city is covered with streets and sidewalks, but as the mayor said, they were designed more for people to drive through then to be on. as jared alluded to, they were designed to cover up the environment rather than work with its natural processes. what we have coming to get a year, a great lead up to public works week for us, is great partnership among a lot of different city departments, a lot of different binders for the region, the federal government to make a community-driven project happen, and to do it with a local contractor. as a matter of fact, all local contractors -- ashbury construction and all their subs, all my grow lbe contractors transforming this block into one that will be higher performing, safer, traffic calm, more attractive, and will function in

a way that much better reflects the environment that we are sitting in here adjacent to the bay. i want to thank everyone for the many years of work to make this project happen. i know it was a long time coming. i want to thank you all for your patience and specifically what technology some of the folks really driving making this happen. from our end, our project managers, our great landscape architects, the resident engineer, and she is the one who is going to make sure that this job gets done, the construction gets done on time and on budget with as little disruption to the neighborhood as possible, and that this beautiful rendering we see here comes to life. our resident engineer, our contractor from ashbery, and some of our other partners, the lead from redevelopment, from

the planning department, from the hrc, who has helped to make this a 100% local project, and our infrastructure partner in the city, the puc. it is a great partnership, all of us working together on behalf of you, the community. this is your project, your street. we are going to make it a model for the rest of the city. i want to thank the redevelopment commission and director and particularly the mayor for their leadership to get us here today. congratulations. [applause] >> thanks. we are going to finish up strong so that you can hear from a resident of the model block, but before bringing her up, i wanted to acknowledge some of the people standing in the back of the audience who have been very involved in working with other city departments and with residents here, and that is some of the staff of the

redevelopment agency to have been working very hard. vanessa d'andrea is in the back. she is the project manager for this project area. she is standing next to our assistant project manager. she is standing next to our compliance person. he is the one that makes sure that as we let contracts and hire people, that we hire locally and we also bring on contractors who are from bayview hunters point. david, who has been involved in much of the work. bill o'brien. olson, who is in many ways the architect of the model block program. thank you for being here. i hope i am not leaving anybody out who has been working on this. as always, it is dangerous when you start naming names because you always leave somebody out, but there are a lot of folks at the agency who worked very hard on this project. this project has taken a lot of energy from residents, a lot of

tenacity, a lot of commitment, and in keeping with the way that we do work here in san francisco, a lot of patience. always takes a long time for us to get stuff done, but ultimately, we get it right. i would like to invite michelle to come to the microphone and give you some closing remarks from the perspective of somebody who lives on the block. [applause] >> ok, well, we are truly excited, all the residents, that this actually came to fruition. the initiative of the redevelopment agency, the model block program was our opportunity to get to know our neighbors and become activists for our own community and to raise our voice. i think one person that was not recognized was eric hale. i do not know if he is still here. [applause] when we had our first initial meetings and really did not know exactly what we wanted, he allowed us to really dreamed big.

people from architecture for humanities -- i believe that he now works on his own design -- one world design, which we should keep looking at. what they actually did is volunteered countless hours of volunteer hours, and paid hours, to come up with a plan that was super ambitious, that inc. all of the things that we the residents wanted or that we feel we deserve, that we feel is not a privilege, but a right as taxpayers and homeowners in san francisco. i am a native san franciscan, and i have lived in many areas of the city, and i finally feel like we are being noticed. i feel like eric's work, why it was so important -- and his colleagues because he worked with other people -- but together, things we are not supposed to what as people of color in the community -- we are not supposed to care about the ecology or storm drainage

containment. we are not supposed to care about -- we are supposed to be complacent and not feel like we can be activists and make a change. when he presented the plan to us, it was so over the top -- there were water streamers coming out of the ends of the blocks of the people would not drive through quickly. but it gave us a lot of ideas, some of the tangible idea is still being realized in the current plan. making the street wiggly so people have to slowdown. the narrowing of the street. the lighting. we're dealing with a lot of issues, and we did not just want to make the street pretty. we wanted to make it functional and environmentally sustainable. so we are doing that. we are building all the promises that the city has made about breeding the city. we are having them here in this community, and by the end of the project, we will probably have

some aspects of our streetscape that are enviable to other people in more privileged areas and areas that have not had to protest. because we are getting semi- permeable pavement. i do not know too many places in the city that are getting that. we are getting trees. we will have air and better lighting, but our work is not over. we still have to try to drive down the crime in this area, to stop the dumping, public dumping which goes on every day on the corners of newcomb and newhall. we hope that because of the attention we are getting and because the weather in the cap that we can give to the mayor by realizing this plan, that it is a model for a resident-driven program. because we have worked really hard. our seniors have worked hard. our neighbors have worked hard

to realize the dreams that are beyond many people's imaginations. many people thought they would not do anything. that we were troublemakers having these meetings. this is where we live. this is the ghetto. we are reclaiming our streets and the initiative of this project help us to do so. we are continuing to work with agencies and many people. the police will have to contend with a new police capt. we are going to inform him and bring him up to speed on what we are trying to do, but it is a cooperative venture, and it is a partnership with many of the city agencies. we are glad that people are working together and left hand knows what the right hand is doing, which i think is kind of rare in the city. but it is a really good thing.

we are excited. we know our work is not done. we are trying to augment our street lighting because of safety issues, you know? we are going to keep fighting because we feel it is important and we feel it is important for the quality of our lives while we are here and we can make a change, and we have to be the catalyst for that change. the residents have to really be involved. we are going to make this change, and it will have effects on not only our generation, but on the generations to come. hopefully, it will be able to be replicated time and time again throughout the bay view because this is needed everywhere. i mean, it is one block, but it should be all over the city, all over this community. we deserve the same things that other people get in the city as taxpayers, thank you so much, and thanks for coming out. thank you. [applause]

>> all right. to close, we are going to grab some shovels. i have invited the mayor and ed and everybody to join us in bringing the shovels over here. we are going to break ground over here in front of the tractors.