about quality of life here, what we can do, the ideas we have shared? the question was, more about bicycle planning and dedicated roadways for the city. i am a member of the bicycle coalition. they are talking with me all the time about how it is. right now, we have been focused on making sure that everybody is safe on the roads, pedestrians, car drivers, bicyclists. having said that, we are going to expand more of the lanes. we have a great chance of doing that. last year, the voters, with your help, passed a great bond they gave us $248 million to redo and

resurface a lot of our bad streets. you will have a lot smoother lines to ride on. riding a bike, some of the worst thing is hitting all of these utility trenches and things that pop up. having said that, we are working with both the coalition and the transportation administration to figure out where all of the key commute lanes are and to work with you. i would love you to send my staff your opinions about the best routes to get to work and get home from work. coming down here to the area, from all over parts of the city, would be a great way to do that. there is a lot of traffic coming down here. we have to figure out where the safest, most efficient routes would be to get over here. we are always very open to those routes as we create a central subway and some other modes of transportation.

we are very open to that. i cannot tell you exactly which streets, but i think we are a few weeks from opening the new jfk route. we have a dedicated green line with in golden gate park and it will follow jfk. it is neat because we segregated the bike route from the car lang. if you live on that side of town, in a few weeks, you will be very happy. yeah, as you know, the numbers

that came out about the initial estimates to do a bike lane on our side of the bridge is something like $100 million. that is very frustrating because i would like to see other engineers design something that might be more palatable financially. i do not think we have figured it out yet. it is going to be pressure building as we get to the opening of bay bridge. i would think, since we are talking about increasing ferries for the rebuild of treasure island and america's cup, i think the ports with love more ferry service. -- would love more ferry service. we could have treasure island get more dedicated ferry service. it would be great if we could do that. meanwhile, we will try to figure out if there could be something else that could be engineered on the existing bay bridge.

>> thank you again for joining us, " mayor lee. very excited to celebrate this with you. [applause] is graham here? we have a little something that we do to close these things out. >> 1, 2, 3, dropbox!

>> i want to thank everyone for coming. i am the general manager of the recreation department. it is a pleasure to serve as the emcee today and i want to recognize our commission president. joining us all with our other dignitaries. there are a lot of special people gathered around. for those of you who do not know, a little bit of background about this beautiful garden before i turn it over to our mayor. the garden is the oldest japanese american garden in the united states. it is a historical japanese- style garden, originally billed as a village for the 1894 midwinter international exposition. after the exposition, a japanese-american partner along with john mclaren converted the

exhibition into a permanent park. he over saw the building as the teagarden and was the official caretaker from -- until 1925. he requested the people of japan 1000 flooring cherry trees to be imported and other plants and birds and goldfish. his family lived in the garden until 1942. when under executive order 906, he was forced to relocate to an internment camp with thousands of other japanese american families. this barden was renamed the oriental tea garden and it fell into a state of disrepair. in the 1950's, we had moved forward and the rec and park

renamed it the japanese tea garden. the first concessionaire was jack -- who many here had the incredible opportunity to honor. and we're very incredibly pleased to be planning -- planting a cherry tree from the consul general. the cherry blossom tree planting has become a tradition that allows us to reflect on the legacy of exchanges and importance of relations between the united states and japan. this is where families, a century old pract oice of picnicking underneath a tree. we hope many families for more generations will have the opportunity here in this

beautiful garden. my great pleasure to turner with a microphone to our 43rd mayor of san francisco, celebrating diversity and cultural harmony and he has been focused on the economic revitalization of our community. jobs, jobs, jobs. this mayor does not brag about it but he is about parks, parks, parks. it gives me great pleasure to introduce mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you. if i may think you and your leadership and the commission. this is a very special place. history but it is cultural and one of the most beautiful places you can ever be proud to visit and also be the honor of. i am proud at our rec and park staff and the public-prey relationships because that is the only way to keep these

beautiful institutions going. we have to have that imagination to get people involved to fund and support it. you have some of the most beautiful things you can see and touch and feel. i am happy to be here and i also want to celebrate because this is a moment, the first time we have been together here as well. at the garden. -- t garden -- tea garden. i want to welcome you here as well. and congratulate all of us for working so closely together and certainly our relationships are valuable. this is one of those reasons why not too many other consular general offices -- it is country

to country and people to people. the council general and staff has offered yet another the supporting symbol of the relationship, the planting of cherry blossom trees throughout our city. we had awe have been celebratine cherry blossom festival. they are very peaceful, a relationship that we keep in mind always and we have done so for over 100 years. since the cherry blossoms are arrived as a gift to washington d.c. while we have gone for many years of that relationship, it

is a requirement to know the san francisco enjoys 55 years of that relationship, many members of the district-city community here today to enjoy that. a member of the chamber of commerce is here to enjoy that as well. we have this relationship with you because we know san francisco's international status does not stop simply at having the offices here. we are out there working on everything from cultural exchanges, student exchanges, constant communication. more and more, examining opportunities to keep livelihood. both of our countries the more trade and communication to face the challenges that are facing us. it is my great pleasure to be

here with you, counsel general, in the very beautiful garden we have here. also to know that it is in good hands with rec and park. at the same time, continue to bless it with our proclamation, our celebration of the u.s.- japan centennial on this wonderful occasion. if i may, i present to you, counsel general, are proclamation at the u.s.-japan cherry blossom centennial here in san francisco. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor. we have a few more introductions to mate.

our counsel general has had an experienced international career. i believe bangkok and london and seoul. no doubt san francisco is your favorite assignment. [laughter] it is not often the departments get to work so closely with the council general's office. they have done a great job planning this event with you and your staff. they have had a lot of fun doing it. there is a great report between our offices and our staff. it has been delightful. >> thank you. i did not know that you were such a good mp. i am pleased to be here. at the tea garden. i want to thank mayor lee.

as always, for your support. also, creating a park. we are here for the planting. cherry trees are near and dear to the hearts of japanese people. japanese people curate cherry blossoms each year. there are festivals to stick together with family and friends. i am sure most of you have enjoyed the cherry blossom --

the cherry blossom festival the past weekends. we are planting one treat today here and two more. these trees symbolize, are part avail long legacy. also obama these trees -- also, these trees, since 1912, we have donated them. planting these trees all over the united states. thank you again for coming.

i hope this tree, the cherry tree, will further blossom in the years to come. 6 trees we have planted in the square. and nine trees in golden gate park. still more in san francisco. more than 150 years of history of cultural exchange. this is really a great place. i cannot think of a more fitting location to plant a tree. thank you for coming and i hope you will enjoy it. [applause] >> one other short, special ceremony that i want to acknowledge. we're joined by our fire chief.

we are joined by our director of public works. we are joined by our director of the department of the environment. human rights commissioners -- we are joined by the state department. i do nothing we have ever met. we do -- i do not think we have ever met. our human rights commissioner is here. and our school board is here. john from our city administrator's office. also, john from the park's alliance, who has been a great story of this site. -- steward of this site.

we have a number of staff. the chief gardners of this area have played a significant role. and the supervisor is here. why don't you come up here and make a brief presentation? >> i do not want to take any more time, but in recognition of this dedication and your work, we will keep this mutual garden. i would like to present this commendation to the three of you. this is written in japanese. the council general's office

extends its deepest respect for your achievements and contributing to mutual understanding. >> thank you. >> that is not what it says here. [laughter] >> thank you very much. [applause] this is for you. thank you. [applause] >> if you are with me, i wanted to ask for the golden gate park crew is very tight. we have gardners assigned to the concourse area. in the last couple of months, we lost one of our beloved gardner's who loved this place,

incredibly special. i would ask that we take a brief moment of silence for carter. thank you. ok. let's plant the tree, shall we? i will do the heavy lifting. [laughter] >> turnaround and face up. i am sorry. >> good advice. >> 1, 2, 3. mr. mayor, mr. coughlin general, if you could -- mr. counsel general, if you could -- >> yay! [applause]

>> i wanted to make sure that we recognize carol. thank you for your incredible stewardship of the gift shop and teahouse. thank you all for joining us. i encourage you to patrons are beautiful gift shop why you are here. otherwise, enjoy our incredible part. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, everybody.

>> everyone deserves a bank account. in san francisco, anyone can have a bank account, things to an innovative program, bank on s.f. >> everyone is welcome, even if you are not a citizen or have bad credit to qualify for a bank account is simple. just live or work in san francisco and have a form of id. >> we started bank on s.f. six years ago to reach out to folks in the city who do not have a bank account. we wanted to make sure they know they have options which should be more low-cost, more successful to them and using chat catchers. >> check cashing stores can be found all over the city, but

they're convenient locations come with a hidden price. >> these are big. >> i remember coming in to collect -- charged a fee to collect a monogram. >> people who use check catchers, particularly those who use them to cash their paychecks all year long, they can pay hundreds, even a thousand dollars a year just in fees to get access to their pay. >> i do not have that kind of money. >> i would not have to pay it if i had a bank account. >> bank accounts are essential. they keep your money saved and that helps save for the future. most banks require information that may limit its pool of qualified applicants. encouraging to turn to costly and unsafe check captures. >> i do not feel safe carrying the money order that i get home.

>> without a bank account, you are more vulnerable to loss, robbery, or theft. thankfully, the program was designed to meet the needs of every kind, so qualifying for a bank account is no longer a problem. even if you have had problems with an account in the past, have never had an account, or are not a u.s. citizen, bank on s.f. makes it easy for you to have an account. >> many people do not have a bank account because they might be in the check system, which means they had an account in the past but had problems managing it and it was closed. that gives them no option but to go to a cash -- check catcher for up to seven years. you want to give these people second chance. >> to find account best for you, follow these three easy steps. first, find a participating bank or credit union. call 211 or call one of our

partner banks or credit unions and ask about the bank on s.f. account. both -- most bridges will have a sign in their window. second, ask about opening an account through bank on s.f.. a financial partner will guide you through this process and connect you with the account that is best for you. third, bring some form of identification. the california id, for an id, or your passport is fine. >> now you have open your account. simple? that is exactly why it was designed. you can access your account online, set up direct deposit, and make transfers. it is a real bank account. >> it is very exciting. we see people opening up second accounts. a lot of these people never had account before. people who have problems with bank accounts, people without two ids, no minimum deposit. we are excited to have these people.

>> it has been a great partnership with bank on s.f. because we are able to offer checking, savings, minimarkets, certificates, and loans to people who might not be about to get accounts anywhere else. even if you have had a previous account at another financial institutions, we can still open an account for you, so you do not need to go to a check cashing place, which may turn to two percent of your monthly income. >> you can enroll in free educational services online. just as it -- visit sfsmartmoney.org. with services like financial education classes and one-on-one meetings with advisers, asset smart money network makes it easy for you to learn all you need to know about managing, saving, investing, and protecting your money. the network offers access to hundreds of financial aid

programs. to help their eruptions, fill out the quick questionnaire, and you will be steered to the program you are looking for. >> who want to make sure everyone has the chance to manage their money successfully, keep their money safe, and avoid getting ripped off. >> it sounds very good. i think people should try that one. >> to find out more, visit sfsmartmoney.org or call 211 and ask about the bank on s.f. program. >> now you can have a bank account. open one today. >> let me thank the marine corps

division band and the color guard for joining us and making this such a very special occasion. let me welcome each and every one of you on behalf of the war memorial opera house board, last that i come for dissipate, and they extend an invitation to each one of you to for this update because this retired member of the united states marine corps, a veteran and his wonderful wife, george n. charles schulz -- george and charlotte shultz. this afternoon, we are doing something that, frankly, should have been done a long time ago. in this city, when the concept

of a memorial for veterans what spurs done, they said it would be right here. of course, we have finally, after many, many tries, got this right. in 1936, the construction produced it, and then there was six or seven additional times from the original time, and it does not to work, but finally, about two or three years ago, we got it right. the board of trustees decided in their wisdom to say thank-you to two incredible san franciscans in making the horseshoe circle named in their honor. all of you have come for this occasion. the man who presides over this city, for purposes of everything,