>> i would like you to meet two street artists. this is linda and jeremy. >> night said to me to print them -- nice to meet you. >> can you talk to me about a variety of products that use cell? >> we have these lovely constructed platters. we make these wonderful powder bowls. they can have a lot of color. >> york also using your license. -- you are also using your license. >> this means that i can register with the city. this makes sure that our family

participated in making all of these. >> this comes by licensed artists. the person selling it is the person that made it. there is nothing better than the people that made it. >> i would like you to meet michael johnson. he has been in the program for over 8 years. >> nice to me you. what inspired your photography? >> i am inspired everything that i see. the greatest thing about being a photographer is being able to show other people what i see. i have mostly worked in cuba and work that i shot here in san francisco. >> what is it about being a street artist that you particularly like?

>> i liked it to the first day that i did it. i like talking to mentum people. talking about art or anything that comes to our minds. there is more visibility than i would see in any store front. this would cost us relatively very little. >> i am so happy to meet you. i wish you all of the best. >> you are the wonderful artist that makes these color coding. >> nice to me to. >> i have been a street artist since 1976. >> how did you decide to be a street artist? >> i was working on union square. on lunch hours, i would be there visiting the artist. it was interesting, exciting, and i have a creative streak in

me. it ranges from t-shirts, jackets, hats. what is the day of the life of a street artist? >> they have their 2536 in the morning. by the end of the day, the last people to pack the vehicle probably get on their own at 7:30 at night. >> nice to me to condemn the -- nice to meet you. >> it was a pleasure to share this with you. i hope that the bay area will descend upon the plaza and go through these arts and crafts and by some holiday gifts. >> that would be amazing. thank you so much for the hard work that you do.

>> just a few steps away from union square is a quiet corner stone of san francisco's our community to the meridian gallery has a 20-year history of supporting visual arts. experimental music concert, and also readings. >> give us this day our daily bread at least three times a day. and lead us not into temptation to often on weekdays. [laughter] >> meridians' stands apart from the commercial galleries around union square, and it is because of their core mission, to increase social, philosophical, and spiritual change my isolated individuals and communities. >> it gives a statement, the

idea that a significant art of any kind, in any discipline, creates change. >> it is philosophy that attracted david linger to mount a show at meridian. >> you want to feel like your work this summer that it can do some good. i felt like at meridian, it could do some good. we did not even talk about price until the day before the show. of course, meridian needs to support itself and support the community. but that was not the first consideration, so that made me very happy. >> his work is printed porcelain. he transfers images onto and spoils the surface a fragile shes of clay. each one, only one-tenth of an inch thick. >> it took about two years to get it down. i would say i lose 30% of the pieces that i made. something happens to them. they cracked, the break during the process. it is very complex.

they fall apart. but it is worth it to me. there are photographs i took 1 hours 99 the former soviet union. these are blown up to a gigantic images. they lose resolution. i do not mind that, because my images are about the images, but they're also about the idea, which is why there is text all over the entire surface. >> marie in moved into the mansion on powell street just five years ago. its galleries are housed in one of the very rare single family residences around union square. for the 100th anniversary of the mansion, meridian hosted a series of special events, including a world premiere reading by lawrence ferlinghetti. >> the birth of an american corporate fascism, the next to last free states radio, the next-to-last independent newspaper raising hell, the

next-to-last independent bookstore with a mind of its own, the next to last leftie looking for obama nirvana. [laughter] the first day of the wall street occupation set forth upon this continent a new revolutionary nation. [applause] >> in addition to its own programming as -- of artist talks, meridian has been a downtown host for san francisco states well-known port trees center. recent luminaries have included david meltzer, steve dixon, and jack hirsch man. >> you can black as out of the press, blog and arrest us, tear gas, mace, and shoot us, as we know very well, you will, but this time we're not turning

back. we know you are finished. desperate, near the end. hysterical in your flabbergastlyness. amen. >> after the readings, the crowd headed to a reception upstairs by wandering through the other gallery rooms in the historic home. the third floor is not usually reserved for just parties, however. it is the stage for live performances. ♪ under the guidance of musical curators, these three, meridian has maintained a strong commitment to new music, compositions that are innovative, experimental, and

sometimes challenging. sound art is an artistic and event that usually receives short shrift from most galleries because san francisco is musicians have responded by showing strong support for the programming. ♪ looking into meridian's future, she says she wants to keep doing the same thing that she has been doing since 1989. to enlighten and disturbed. >> i really believe that all the arts have a serious function and that it helps us find out who we are in a much wider sense than we were before we experienced that work of art. ♪

i'm maria, executive director of the transit joint powers authority. i can't tell you how excited i am to be here on this special occasion. congratulations, everyone, we did it. before i jump to remarks i wanted to recognize

senator boxer along with senator feinstein and pelosi has been extremely helpful to helping us where we are today. also from railroad association and secretary los angeles -- we received grants that has the project under construction today. thank you for all of your support. [ applause ] >> as everyone knows six years ago we held an international contest to design the property where we stand today. the architects won that competition with a design for the transit center that stands as a model

of elegance and functionality. 3 years ago we broke ground for the construction and now it's in full construction and you can hear the cranes next to us. now we have a record land sale of $191 million of ceremonial ground break which is the tallest tower in the western mississippi. mr. pell i has designed the transit tower and will highlight the importance of public transit to the region and state of california. as you know, the pros -- proceeds of the sale will help construct the transit center and allow us to keep thousands of jobs to our disadvantaged communities

and veterans and women and also allow us to keep our mentor ship for our youth. that's what the transit project center is doing. the development of the tower, has committed to build i am improvements with the transit center and you will see mission square which will serve as the primary entrance to the square. it will allow public access and providing a meeting and resting place for travelers and workers and residents in the area. the workers in the tower will have direct access to the rooftop that will allow benefits to work in the neighborhood. we congratulate them to the project and welcome them to our community. [ applause ]

i would now like to introduce the man who has been essential and continues to be vital to the project, ed lee, our mayor of san francisco. mayor lee firmly believed and supported the project since it's inception when he was at the department of public works and then as a city administrator. for that, i'm profoundly grateful. without your support we would not be here today. thanks to the plan to promote transportation and development. another infrastructure for sustainable development. mr. mayor lee. thank you. >> thank you, maria, you know, i want to begin by thanking

maria because she's now on her third mayor. and if you are someone who is heading up such and important project for the city and you have to transition every time a mayor comes in, one has to appreciate the anxiety, the twist and turns, the foresight, the confidence that she must continue instilling in her small staff, but more importantly in the investor community because this is where it's at. and if she doesn't have a good story to tell, with a lot of confidence, then her job is going to be even harder and the economy did not help the last 10 years to make that story any better. so with that, i want to just give a hearty thanks to maria's leadership for the last decade-and-a-half for putting

together this project and her continued perseverance to make this happen. today we celebrate the sale of the land for the transbay transit tower. to the entrance transbay transit authority, for the first time i met mr. heinz, i can going to hang out with them more because i have heard a lot of stories between you that will help me run this city better. i will say that when this transit tower is complete, it will have the impact of transforming our city skyline with the tallest structure west of the mississippi and chicago. i'm about to leave for china

tomorrow, and i get to go to china and tell them we've got the tallest building west of the mississippi, what about you? they are probably going to tell me they have tall buildings there as well but we at least have bragging rights. the state of the art, sustainable features, a plan, 1.4 million square foot office tower, developed, owned and operated by heinz. they are reoccurring the renounced architect. this is going to bring 142 good construction jobs in san francisco. i want to thank everybody that has been involved in this. as you can see the former transbay

terminal site is exciting for me. when i was by willie brown, former mayor, i remember cleaning out behind the greyhound station and moving people along inside and outside that terminal and now to know that demolition is complete, it helped people get jobs particularly because of the funds made available. there were 55,000 hours of labor all done without any accident or injury in that demolition. 90 percent of that important work was completed by the 9 counties bay air -- area labor force. that's incredible for the work force throughout the bay area.

we today celebrate it's anchor in all of it's whole region. it will be really what will be built in the near future to serve our city and our region. we have always believe that a transit center is a critical anchor for the jobs in the city. it's the best future for our cities, great transit access, dynamic mixed urban centers, a place for innovation and inspiration. we truly believed that over two decades ago when we started this. within one block of this transit center, there are 4 office buildings under construction, about to begin construction and taken together with today's announcements, i think it's safe to say our bet was confident. this new transit

center is only the beginning of what will be happening in blocks surrounding this site. last year the board of supervisors an approved the plan for an area around downtown strans san francisco to be the center of our region to go to right way, responsibly, providing jobs and embracing existing transit services as well as our future high speed rail and respecting today's resources and climate challenges. we have to realize the way to grow in the future is to accommodate jobs so people can use public transit, walking and bicycling to get around. a new and large part of

what it's all about is this new transit center, public amenities and private buildings expect to generate at least 25,000 job years of construction employment alone. when complete, this new district will accommodate at least 27,000 permanent jobs here in our city. the office space provided for this plan will help ensure san francisco remains the knowledge economy center for the region, if not nationally. this new downtown district will accommodate 6 million square foot of new office space, new housing, 12 hundred affordable new house,

100,000 square foot of new retail space and of course a network of new and walkable streets. it's an important part of how we are paying for the critical infrastructure. many of you were hurt when agencies were limited in the state. but here in this center, this plan em ploys the majority of the streets and parks and affordable housing by the value of private investment and using the power of tax increment financing. the value of the public land and the targeted developer fees and helping us create this vision without resorting to overburdening our

general fund or new taxes. when this terminal was originally built in the 1930s it was a growing project. i'm confident the growth san francisco will continue to grow with a new transit center and downtown district. i also want to give a great shot out to president obama, it was really his funds that helped us kick this off and pelosi and feinstein and boxer and their on going constant up to date support. at the state level, governor brown has been a very strong supporter and leaders of both houses, president stein house and president per ez have shown

strong leadership. this check is much more symbolic of many many other checks that have come as a result of investor confidence in the city. i want to thank the labor for being part of all these projects and the business community for working closely with us and the transbay joint powers authority for being consistent entities here to steer through all of these years of changes and economic turmoils. i want to thank our friends at boston properties for being great anchors to this city. congratulations and thanks very much. [ applause ] >> thank you, mr. mayor. we very much appreciate your remarks. thank you very much. it is now my pleasure to introduce a very important woman, not only to this project

but to this new district. supervisor jane kim. supervisor was appointed to the board of supervisors, she is currently a member of the finance and budget committees and shares the rules committee. she also sits on the san francisco county authority and the development authority board. i would like to express my appreciate for her unwaivering support through this project. it is my great pleasure to introduce the chair of the board of supervisors and district supervisor jane kim. [ applause ] good morning. and on behalf of the board of directors, we want to welcome you to what will be a landmark in san

francisco. about two years ago mayor lee and i stood roughly in this area with maria to announce the ground breaking of the terminal site and at that time if you all remember it was a very different time. we were talking about a time when construction had pretty much slowed to a halt in the city and we were greeting workers who had not worked for years. two years later we are standing at a different time where we have 47 cranes in the skylight here in san francisco. it's amazing how much has changed in the last two years. it's really the focal point of a comprehensive plan marking the new center of downtown surrounding transit also with housing, retail on jobs on a

scale that has never been seen at this scale on the west coast. in total the program represents an exciting evolution for the city of san francisco. connecting 11 transit system and boosting the 5.4 acre city park. the transit will be an incredible asset to san francisco area. we are accommodating growth in a manner that both leverages our economic success while preserving our environment and a complete neighborhood that is safer for our pedestrians, open spaces for workers. places to work that you can walk to and places to live, 30 percent which will be affordable for our residents here in san francisco which will ensure a diverse community in this part of downtown. we must improve

and enhance our infrastructure which trul highlights san francisco as a world class city. i have had the opportunity to be more intimately involved in this process and i know you have done an incredible job. i have visited the tour and terminal that will improve our skyline. as a district supervisor for the south of market and district plan, i'm excite d that the existing residents will benefit from this neighborhood. i'm also proud to represent a city that is under taken such a large and complex project. mayor lee said we have to give thanks to our director, kaplan who has been our chief

for years and to ensure a project happens like this on time. [ applause ] as an elected official i'm very sympathetic acknowledging other officials, jose cisneros from our treasurer's office and former assembly woman, i would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge our former mayor willie brown and john mayor who has been very supportive. thank you to them as well. i recognize our director, but i think it's important to recognize our board of directors who has been really instrumental in advising this project from a construction