>> thank you. let's hear it for the band. [applause] >> thank you. let's hear it for the band. [applause] welcome, everybody. once again, i have the honor of being your master of ceremonies for the annual lighting of the snowflakes on market street. great event. i love being part of it. good to have you with us. i should point out that we just saw a spectacular light show under the dome over west field center. you probably have not seen it because we are the first to see it. you should get over there and see it during your holiday shopping. tonight, we have the dancing snowflakes from the san francisco ballet school. they are currently preparing

for the annual performances of the "nutcracker" at the san francisco opera house. here's something you may or may not know -- san francisco was the first city in the country to premiere the "nutcracker" in 1944. the san francisco ballet is america's first professional ballet company. how about that? [applause] in a few minutes, we will have the snowflake lighting, but first, i want to bring up to say a few words someone who has been instrumental in putting this event together. he is the director of the department of public works here in san francisco. [applause] >> thank you all for coming out. we are very happy to join all the businesses along with all the other city agencies to continue to improve and improve the quality of market street. four years in a row, we have been adding a few blocks in a time, and step-by-step, we will get all the way to the castro.

i am very happy for this event, and i look forward to all the lights coming on. happy holidays. >> don't you love short speeches? i did the best? another instrumental person in putting this together is the public facilities commissioner. >> thank you. this will be short also. we do the street lights in san francisco. it is wonderful to join downtown and like the street up and be part of the community. it is great. hetch hetchy green power lighting up the street. have a wonderful holiday. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. now, joining us i think for the first time for this event is mayor ed lee. mayor lee: thank you. i will be short, too, because i am. happy holidays, everybody. i want to especially thank these

beautiful snowflakes. aren't they wonderful? i wanted to be on time because i know i have a lot more closing than they do. i wanted that iqbal dpw and our puc director -- i wanted to thank our dpw and puc directors. we have increased this netflix by an additional 20. there's a total of 162 snowflakes on our wonderful market street. we have some 81 leptos that are covered. we're going to continue expanding this every year we get more participation. i want to especially thank market street as well. we also want to signal that we are seeing changes along our market street happened. this is a commitment that i have made. not only the campaign, well before running for this mayor ship, i was proud to participate

in all the changes the former mayor did to signal that we want our businesses here on market street as well. you are going to see in the next few months twitter. you're going to see zendesk. you are going to see burning man come aboard. the companies we have asked not only to start here but to stay and grow. all these wonderful companies creating fantastic jobs will join the events we have all along our great market street. you will see united nations plaza with its wonderful market parts -- arts festival starting out through mid december and there will be joined by so many events. i want to thank everyone for coming tonight. spencer, with that, are we ready? are we ready for a count of? >> i think we are ready. we want all of you for joining us. i want to thank the participants

once more because once we do the countdown, you may not be able to see them. thank you very much. we are going to start the countdown. are you ready to join us? >> 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 >> like the snowflakes -- light these netflix. >> here we go. [applause] >> happy holidays, everybody. -- light the snowflakes.

>> we're going to get started before everybody freezes. we want to welcome everybody to the groundbreaking of cayuga playground. is an important milestone for us. it was built in the 1950's and renovated almost 30 years ago. we are long overdue for the next renovation of this park. this particular neighborhood has

become a family neighborhood. it is so important that we keep our playgrounds clean, safe, and fun. we're so grateful to the voters for supporting the 2008 neighborhoods park fund. the project is a $9.3 million project. about $8 million is from the bond. we're thrilled we received an $800,000 grant from the state to cultivate the open space. it has been a team effort. i want to acknowledge some folks who are here. this is in no particular order. i really want to thank barbara, josie, and all the folks from the cayuga improvement group.

mohammed will speak and make some introductions. i want to thank lizzie hirsch, richard yee, marvin yee, our capital planning director. i want to thank courtney representing the parks alliance. steve courier is here. thank you for being here. i want to thank the rec and park staff, bill o'brien, our new gardner. perhaps the biggest thank you and acknowledgment is to our beloved retired gardener at the cayuga playground, demnny. he immigrated to the country in

1973. he worked in the law firm became a gardener and singlehandedly took over the park. you can see some of his work scattered throughout the trails and beautiful urban landscape. he crafted about 350 beautiful sculptures and characters. some of them have been safely tucked away for the renovation project. he will still see about 100. -- you will still see about 100 of them out here. you are a demigod to this park. thank you for being here. when the project is done, you will see a beautiful new clubhouse with a living roof. there will be landscape improvements. the street behind you will be part of the park. pavement to park. i want to introduce the park champion in chief who will say a

few words, mayor ed lee. >> phil has gone through virtually all of the details that need to be mentioned. i feel safer being here with the cia. [laughter] i know the cayuga improvement association was born back in the 1930's, 1937. it has been a stalwart group of volunteers in the community. i do not live far away. 10 years ago, i met demi. we did some cleanups here with you. i recall all the wonderful sculptures. i have snuck in here with my kids and visitors to show them how great it is to have these parks with people volunteering to do special things.

i want to thank you for your leadership and sacrifices, all of your wonderful years of work. the park's alliance for your wonderful relationship and support, and our arts commission. they will be commencing another great piece of our work here. it just goes to show all the city agencies working together and that we honor our parks in this city. this is a wonderful commitment. we are not leaving this district alone. you know that. we're coming out your for a great purpose. we want to show and demonstrate that every part of the city is worth every investment that we do, a special building strong neighborhoods. we have done that correctly here. this is well worth $9.3 million. it is a good investment. we will do more.

phil will make sure that the commitment carries on. we do that by finishing the things we have committed to in the future. i know the staff is excited to be out here making commitments. we are shovel ready with jobs. i want to thank mohammad for making sure that they work closely with the parks and a neighborhood association to do this. i am here to announce this but also to make sure that this is part of the long term commitment to every neighborhood in the city. we will continue this -- doing this and doing it well. >> you talked about the importance of jobs. there will be about 50 local jobs as a result of this construction project. you also talked about the importance of art in the parks.

i want to recognize the president of the arts commission. there is a profoundly between art and our parks. that is probably no better exhibited than in this park thanks to demi's great work. i want to call up susan to talk about that. >> this is a very unique opportunity for us here at cayuga park. we were called in to help preserve the unique sculptures. my colleague came out and catalog, photographed and catalog all 375 sculptures. within selected 130 to be taken and stored -- we then selected 130 to be taken and stored and stabilize to be reinstalled on the park is reopened.

it is no small feat to stabilize wooden structures in a damp park. they have to be cleaned out, debugged, and then a protective coat is put on them so they will be able to be in the park for years to come. it will continue the landmark status of this park. in addition to the conservation work, there is the new public art commission. eric was inspired by demi's work and has created these gateways sculptures that feature vignettes drawn from these works.

the design echoes of how the plant life enhances the sculptures overtime. crowning the opening day, it will have the name of cayuga on it. it will announce the injury to the park. it will be adorned with birds and wings. we're pleased to be part of a new park, new public commission, and preserving the work that came before us. thank you. >> thank you, susan. projects like this are all about partnership. i want to call up the director of public works. we work closely with them. we are incredibly grateful to you and your staff for all of your support, the engineering

work, and your assistance with the construction management of the project. thank you. >> it is always a pleasure to join the parks department, arts commission, cayuga improvement association, and community to celebrate this ground-breaking. we did relocate the street that leads into the park. as part of the design, there are a number of unique features. the first one is the living rooftop garden similar to ortega. dole be adding more green space and areas for butterflies and other creatures to enjoy. when i was raising my children, i came to the spark -- this part many time with the kids.

we watched demi carve many of the sculptures. there are many hidden trails along the hillside and all- around. those will continue. tdx will be the builder. it is a contractor we have worked together on a number of projects. they just finished the library at bernal and another library. they are a very good contractor. they work very well with the community. we have our team of architects, landscape architects, and the whole team along with our construction management team they will all make sure the project is finished on time and on budget. thank you for being here today. i am looking forward to the construction to start.

>> last but certainly not least, i want to bring up chris dillon , the president of the cayuga improvement association. they have been involved in the design and planning process from the outset. this is a neighborhood park. we will engage in our best efforts to make it what you want it to be. >> i wish i had the mayor's ability to speak so beautifully. i am going to lead. my comments are getting in thankfulness. this is testimony to the fact that collaboration among all stakeholders is possible and of the greatest value to the community. i am thankful that demi share his philosophy of life with the community. he transformed our failing part into a beautiful sanctuary full of amazing art. he has renewed our committee and created a beautiful community

in our park is treasured by the residents of the neighborhood. it is recognized throughout the world as a uniquely sacred site. his powerful design and philosophy are validated by the fact that there are many stakeholders that come to the park seeking peace, renewal, fun, exercise. it cannot be categorized. as a volunteer, i have witnessed the community to flourish. i am thankful for marvin yee's leadership. he embodies the best qualities of a civil servant. he has put together an expert team to focus on our shared vision. as a former leader, i know it is an almost impossible task. he has done it successfully. he has made this work appear easy. he is not only a consummate professional, he is a friend in our community. because of his leadership, every

aspect of the project has been blessed by a spurt of respectful collaboration. he has never wavered from the mission of enhancing our sanctuary well-respected and protecting demi's vision. i also want to acknowledge others for their many years of advocacy on the behalf of the park and playground. i am profoundly thankful to barbara and jesse -- josie the hours of hard work on this project. they have listened to committee members, they have mastered and grasp technical material. they've gone to meetings and hearings. they have made reports for our members and the committee. they've stretched far outside their comfort zone at times. as demi's chose an apprentice, josie has provided a vision for

our team to work with. barb's communication has been indispensable to the project. if they had not volunteered for the project, it would have been diminished. our community is a special part of the city. words cannot capture the magic of our part. it is a park in unique sanctuary. our community has been blessed by demi's vision, spirit, and artwork. we're blessed by community volunteers and residents. we're blessed to be served by our great city prepare to the park is at the heart of our city. -- request to be served by our great city. cayuga cairo the park is at the heart of our city. >> let's break some ground and cut the ribbon.

marvin? [unintelligible] the shovel. [laughter] are we ready? all right. [applause] >> so exciting. [applause] [laughter] >> where do you want it, marvin? [laughter]

the biggest issue in america today? segregation still exists... racism... the repression and oppression of women the educational system stem cell research homeless people cloning government health care taxation announcer: so, is there anything you're doing to help make a change? i'm not really doin' anything. ummmm [sighs] got me on that one...