to kim nash, along with catherine edsel. kristy wong is here with her new project, a little baby. she took over the project and patiently got me up to speed. i want to thank the senior management team, particularly, for his guidance. he is my boss. [laughter] finally, i want to express great appreciation to my project to administrator who works extremely hard and is extraordinarily dedicated. thank you, jamie, somewhere out there. there are many people we could not include on the list. i apologize.

thank you all for your support on the project. the mayor is here. great. i will hand it over. he is here. [applause] >> thank you, everybody, for being here today. supervisor, thank you for your leadership here as well. dejon, it is good to see you. [laughter] 1st of all, this is a ground- breaking for yet another project that i put in the category of transforming to. we made a commitment along time ago with the assistance of redevelopment. we said any time we have an opportunity to build housing targeted to people that really needed our help, we would do so. that was reflected in the 10-

year plan for homeless housing objectives. at least 3000 units in the next 10 years. this project of 120 units gets us to about 1977 about commitment. we still have to move forward. i would like to resonate about my disappointment about the elimination of redevelopment. i cannot do that today because we have a valuable time to get this project up for other people. as disappointed as i am about the project, we have got to move forward. that is why we have tiffany and many others who were on the re- development staff before. we finally got an agreement last friday to move forward on many fronts we have to get done to build more housing. they keep to the wonderful work from our staff and -- thank you to the wonderful work from our staff and agencies.

they could probably complain about us wallowing in our despair about this. we move forward with an idea of a housing trust fund, getting more partners like those who have worked so hard to be part of the production of affordable housing. knowing this is going up, it is more than taking the dust. we are actually digging in the ground with a commitment to see this project through to its finish. i want to thank people from the transkei transbay joint powers board, all the other groups we have assembled today. thank you for your cooperation in getting this project done. thank you to rene. [applause] i know he has a family member

here that i have yet to meet. i want to suggest the legacy he left behind will be honored with this project with his name on it. he was able to say not only do we work and housing, we work on hold -- whole communities to represented in government. that is what i have embraced. even as challenging as it was when i became director of public works, to transform the agency into one that served 11 different districts in honor of being more representative of our san francisco community. then to turn around and see it one of the largest projects in our whole city, the trans-based terminal and have this product be one of the first out of the ground for many more to come.

it is a community project that will revitalize many parts of our neighborhood. dejon knows that because he has been involved in many transform to projects that use the theme of transportation and transit- oriented centers and become the mainstay of many other good aspects of our lives. i want to thank the many people involved in this. i look forward to these units going up. they are invaluable, 120 units. they are all affordable housing for formerly homeless folks. we have dedicated nine of them to another important commitment, that is to people with aids, people we need to see sheltered and getting the services they need. this is going to be a fantastic project. it represents the values we have in our city. they are the values reflected in everything we do. we utilize this.

any major projects in our communities, we have to reap as much of the benefits as we can out of it. it is not to tax the developers but to see if we can get other partners on viable land we have near the freeways and transportation centers so that people can live the lives they deserve to live in this expensive, challenging city. i am here to celebrate the kickoff of this, but also to signal to you that we aint done yet. we have thousands more to go. calvin and others on the trust fund be, we will not indicate ho -- we will not end it with the conversation. we have to make sure that for generations to come, we have revenue streams as much as

redevelopment represented to us, that continues to struggle for to make sure housing is affordable and a lot more people can be in this great city. congratulations to bridge, chp, and all the wonderful participants. congratulations to the city and county of san francisco. thank you. [applause] >> the next time you take a muni bus or train, there could be new technology that could make it easier to get to your destination. many are taking a position of next bus technology now in use around the city.

updated at regular intervals from the comfort of their home or workplace. next bus uses satellite technology and advanced computer modeling to track buses and trains, estimating are bought stocks with a high degree of accuracy. the bus and train our arrival information can be accessed from your computer and even on your cellular phone or personal digital assistant. knowing their arrival time of the bus allows riders the choice of waiting for it or perhaps doing some shopping locally or getting a cup of coffee. it also gives a greater sense that they can count on you to get to their destination on time. the next bus our arrival information is also transmitted to bus shelters around the city equipped with the next bus sign. riders are updated strictly about arrival times. to make this information available, muni has tested push to talk buttons at trial

shelters. rider when pushes the button, the text is displayed -- when a rider pushes the button. >> the success of these tests led to the expansion of the program to all stations on the light rail and is part of the new shelter contract, push to talk will be installed. check out the new technology making your right easier every day

>> want to thank you all for coming out on this beautiful san francisco winter day. we are delighted to be here in chinatown. thank you to all of you who came out. there's going to be some noise during this event. this is a very busy street. that's one of the reasons we are doing this project. we are here today -- i am transportation director with the sfmta. thank you, boss. we're geared today to mark yet another important milestone and the steady, continued progress that we are making for the future generations of san francisco in this critically important project criticallyphase 2 of the light rail, otherwise known as the central subway. it is a project that is very important for building capacity, to move san francisco in the future. it also has benefits for current generations of san franciscans.

the benefit comes in the form of jobs. you cannot mention the word jobs these days without thinking of our great mayor lee. out further ado, i want to ask mayor lee to come up and say a few words. mayor lee: thank you. thank you for your great leadership. we would be dryer if the subway was built. we would be right here. i'm looking forward to it for the work that is about to happen. right behind me, you see this. i cannot be prouder of our mta. they're moving on this with the funding, with the schedule. they have been working hard with the neighborhood. we have the president of the chinese society here today. she has artist and a sense of old and new and it is reflected behind me.

a vision of what the station will look like, and also the sense of history that this represents, only in transportation, but for this community. david represents the modern san francisco as the board president and also as a our supervisor in this district. of course, clearly, the chinese- american supervisor for this district 3. very thankful to him. working with the chairman and making sure this continues to happen. we have some challenges with central subway. we have straighten them out. we step forward and continue to get really good news from our partners in the federal government. today, again, we earn the highest ranks with this central subway and all of the different

federal and state agencies. right up to president obama's administration, to have set $150 million in his budget for this station, the central subway. that adds to the green light we have gotten through the notice to proceed with the tunnel contract that is essential to this. today, the unveiling here. this will be geared towards the end of this year. you also need to know the little story behind this. how well our mta has been working with all the elements of the community. there's a little story here that i fit a lot of attention to, simply because my background is an attorney representing low- income tenants in chinatown. living above this building --

some eight small businesses that used to be in the front. while they're physically gone here, what does not go unnoticed is the way in which there was a solid communication with those businesses, those business owners, the employees, those 19 households to get them to understand and agree that they had to temporarily relocate themselves. they have done that. they have done that without lawsuits, without protest, because we've taken care of their needs. i need to thank mta for this. we've had other projects in our city's history where the relationship with the impacted community was not as smooth. this is really to the credit of the whole mta family, working in concert with our community-

based agencies, all these wonderful agencies that came together at a very early stage, identified resources that had to happen to make sure that the quality of life was going to be treated as importantly for people who are going to be displaced temporarily. we are going to find permanent homes for all of 19 households. they are in temporary places right now. we have assured them and they trust us to find them permanent homes. we're going to do that. we've gotten temporary relocation for all the businesses. that is as important as announcing that we are forging ahead with a $235 million new subway station anin chinatown. then another station at union square and another at fourth. all part of a project that will be invaluable to connecting the whole city. i am here today to not only

revealed the latest chapter, but to kind of congratulate everybody for doing it really well to this point in utilizing our federal relationships. i need to thank president obama, a minority house leader nancy pelosi, senator boxer, all of our leaders who have been with us from the beginning. i'd like to say there's no stopping us now, but we have to get reviewed every step of the way. we are glad to do that. we've had the team together. we've done everything right. we are moving forward on it. the bid for the station is already on the street. there is a bidder's conference that will be held next week. the rest of the three stations that i just announced -- those bids go on throughout the year. i think every three months. every two months.

we are on a very good pace to complete this. this is the moment i have been waiting for. i think this is the strongest indication. it gets stronger every time we are out here to announce it. today, it's about thanking the community. they have never lost faith. i want to thank the board of trustees, the board of directors, the mta. thank you for your great leadership on this, as well. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, mr. ma. yor. he has been a steadfast supporter of this from its inception. the board president who happens to represent this the district has also been a strong supporter of this project from the start. i want to remind folks that every single action that the board of supervisors has ever taken with respect to the central subway has been approved

on an 11-0 vote. there's not a whole lot of things we could say sail through with that type of track record. it speaks to the city wide importance of the central subway. it brings very specific benefits and very specific impacts to this neighborhood here. the board president and his role as district supervisor has been very focused on making sure that we do do the right thing, that we did the right thing in relocating tenants. i just want to acknowledge our real estate director, the city attorney's office, and our program manager. they all worked very hard to make that progress as smooth as possible in a way that meets the expectations that president chiu has set for us. without further ado, i want to

invite our board president and district 3 supervisor, david chiu. >> i want to welcome you all to a warm day in san francisco. first of all, the mayor has thanked many of you who have been part of this tremendous effort. i want to thank ed l foee for the work you have done. years ago, i served on the citizen advisory committee for the central subway. i remember having conversations with mayor lee when he was just a department head about the birth that we needed to do together. it is amazing and wonderful. i want to take a moment to say how excited i am because of my transit trip to get here. about 40 minutes ago, i rolled out on my bicycle and i put it away because of the rain.

i then waited for a few minutes to try to catch a bus that did not come. i then waited for a few more minutes to catch a cab that did not come. i ended up walking about 16 blocks over the hills to get here today. i realized that if the central subway was in place, we'd have a much more dry and quick ride. we know that when the central subway comes, rather than the 3 mile per hour trips that folks have to take down stockton street, we will be able to get here from all parts of the city much faster. we know that central subway will connect our communities all over the city, all over the bay area, not only bringing millions of tourists, but making sure our families will be able to be connected to folks who live here, not just in chinatown, but north beach, and fisherman's wharf. i know there have been a lot of thanks.

i want to take a moment to thank the community partners that helped to make this happen. we spent a lot of time working with the residential tenants and the small business tenants who are here. thank you to ccdc and your advocates for working with the mta staff and others in making sure the transition will be a smooth one. the reason we have this beautiful our work behind us is because of the work of the chinese historical society. thank you. i also want to thank the chinatown ymca. the young people helped to create the minerals. from left to right, it tells the journey from our past to our present and really to our future to a beautiful new structure that will be built. this structure is being billed with the generations of struggles and advocacy represented by all of us here and by the good work of the city, working with the private sector, working with our

community. thank you for being here today. look forward to future announcements as we go to our milestones. thank you very much. >> thank you, president chiu. >> the other parts behind this project is the mta board. the maker referenced -- the mayor referenced some of the work they have done. we have issued two notices to proceed. that is under way. next, the $235 million chinatown station the mta board has authorized us to advertise. that will be followed by another $600 million or so of construction projects, all of which will be awarded in this calendar year. this is a big year. this is a big year for the project. that's a big responsibility that we are asking of the mta board

to authorize nearly $1 billion of construction work to make this happen. the leader in shepherding this project along, both as a board member and as chairman of the board, mr. tom noland, who we are very happy to have here. mr. chairman. >> thank you. thank you very much. i have the opportunity to be in washington, d.c. earlier this week. everything the mayor has said is exactly right. to be able to represent the officials in the administration and in congress that this city has united the entire political leadership of san francisco -- totally behind us -- that means so much. they all understand that. on behalf of the board, i want to say how proud we are of the board of directors and the entire agency of mta. we've had a number of critics through the years to have said -- do it some other way. my question is, have you ever been to chinatown? what is another alternative?

the alternatives were considered. this is clearly the best one. i look forward to the day of the dedication. when this is done, 35,000 more people per day will be able to take this system. it will be better for the entire community all the way around. on behalf of our board, i am very delighted to be here. i look forward to the grand opening. thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. you've heard a lot of talk about partnership. the board president and knowledge ccdc. i want to thank the reverend and the planning director. great partners in working with us. andy, the associate director of the chinatown ymca. i think they were going to bring a bunch of kids out, but given the weather, -- oh, it is a furlough day. my kids are home today.

i forget about that. that's where they are. ymca. we have a lot of great community partners. the mayor mentioned we have a pre-bid conference and meet and greet. we also want to bring jobs to the community. we want to make sure the community access has jobs. we want to make sure everybody has some of the benefits. the beautiful work behind you was put up by a local contractor. we want to thank them for putting up that wrap. and then the chinese historical society. i want to thank sue lee and ask

her to come up and say a few words. >> hello, everyone. a pleasure to be here and an honor. the historical society will be 60 years old next year. this mural is a mural that was made in 1952. on the occasion of the opening of what we would describe as one of the two significant transformational projects of chinatown. it was commissioned for the opening of the public housing in 1952. it depicts 100 years of chinese american history. it reads from left to right. the original is donated to the historical society. it was restored by the historical society. it hangs in our wells fargo

learning center. members of the public are welcome to visit the actual mural. what i said about transformation is so important. we are standing in chinatown which was rebuilt after the earthquake and fire. virtually every building in chinatown except for old st. mary's church was rebuilt after the fire and earthquake. there have been few sites that have been we developed since that time. one exception is this building right here. it was truly transformational in that it constructed decent affordable housing for china totwon's overcrowded citizens. the advocacy for that housing took 20 years. advocacy for public housing in chinatown started in the 1930's. we are pleased that the artwork

has always been a part of major public projects. this will be the new central subway station for chinatown, which is also transformational for chinatown. not only will it bring visitors, workers, shoppers to chinatown. it will provide much-needed transportation connections for chinatown residents to go elsewhere in the city. it is transformational because it will transform this corner. this building was built after the earthquake and will become a new gateway for chinatown. really positive things for the future of chinatown. we are not a stagnant community. history is not stagnant. we are really proud to be part of this transformational project. thank you. >> thank you. i could not have said that better. we really appreciate and

acknowledged and respect and honor the history of chinatown, of our city, and by celebrating the installation of this wrap today, a big step forward in the progress of this project. we are honoring that. we are keeping the site looking good in the process. we're doing our part to keep chinatown as strong and vibrant as it has been for 100 years. this is a transformational historic project. we are honored to be able to participate in it and bring this great change to chinatown and to san francisco. with that, and we are concluded. there's more information on our web site. i want to thank you all and are dignitaries for joining us today