building is not a monogomous relationship, it is a poly amorous relationship because there is a great deal of partners in this effort and we know how sticky that can be. >> there are a number of partner to consider along the way and each of these has a wedding ring so to speak and i have the privilege of representing this group of lovers here at the podium and the architects often receive a great deal of attention and that is important but it is also tremendously large team that we represent, so i wanted to share with you rather quickly the names of our partners in this relationship and it is a wonderfully rich list representing groups from california and the united states and the interests abroad and here it goes in alphabetical order, we are going to start with afp and they are going to install the sprinklers and arab engineers are working with the av and the lighting. there is csi, group, and our

friends, don and terry young were the managers who keep this ball around and rolling as the consulting group and the partners, and the architects and some of them are here in the audience today and the great partner to work with and closed and the hoert culture and we work with the green wall and jw, and the local projects and mka engineers and san anderson architects you are here too so some of us are here today and my great friends and team members, some of you may have met. graphic design, tailor engineering and i suppose that the winner of the most apt name in this group is the fire consultants can anybody guess what job they have? and there is technology and finally the friends at web core are building this project and this is just a partial list, to give you some idea of the complexity that this project represents and the enormous

amount of teamwork that goes into making it, all of these people are working together to create a museum for modern art that will be without equal. its collection is exceptional and the mission is generous and it is a gift for the youth of our future and its walls will signal a new direction for now we as the audience interacts with great works of art and with each other and how artists interact with museums and 2016, standing where we are right now we would have to look up 200 feet above us, twice the height of that parking garage, before we could see the top of the new sf mona, there will be over 160,000 square feet of space that is dedicated to experiences connected to art. that is more than triple just this area between mina and tona that we are standing in. all of these places are designed with the standard of lighting and environmental control coupled with a bold sense of planning to protect

the environment and signaled by a 50-foot high and 150-foot long green wall that we planted on the side of this parking garage adjacent to us. the museum will be, which was once intraverted will be open f helps us appreciate the sublime

and the meaningful moments of our existence. we have been driven by the vision of so many here in san francisco, to make this happen. and we look forward to the next stage of our work together with you. a sincere thank you to neo, and ruth and the board and the members of the planning committee that are here today and the city officials that have brought us altogether to make this possible. thank you from the design and construction planning team. [ applause ] >> the board and the staff leadership and team and the key community leaders and actually have the ground breaking. so i would like to begin with brooks walker and we are going to make our way down to like hollywood down the red carpet, brooks was the ground breaking, 20 years ago and brooks was our chair at that time and led the effort to get us to the third

street. >> bob fisher who is our board president and the partner in this project and dennis wo ng and the trustee of the oversight committee. and january kim, the district six supervisor who has been such a great supporter and partner in this project and then i also would like to introduce special members that we like to serve into the enhanced education programs. the class of third graders from carmichael school here in the neighborhood. >> as a member of the board

since 2003 and the board president for the last three years, i am incredibly excited to be able to kick off this ground breaking. on a personal note, kie not be more pleased that our families, art collection has found a home at sfmoma. and i would now like to introduce... thank you.

>> i would now like to introduce a partner who has been with us every step of the way in leading this transformation, district six supervisor jane kim. >> thank you, bob. >> i just asked craig if he was looking forward to working on his next non-controversial project here in the city and county of san francisco? >> i always like to say this, that i do represent one of the oldest parts of the city. but in many ways it feels like the newest neighborhood and the newest kid on the block here in the city, but i think that we take for granted the neighborhood that exists now and what it was like over 20 years ago and actually one of the first tenants that helped to transform the city wassan

francisco mona and we are so glad that you took the chance to invest in the neighborhood and you helped with so many of our partners that are here today to transform it into what it is. >> it is particularly important for us to be here today to celebrate the moma for what it is and will continue to be in the future. i was dedicated to public education and i am warmed that sf mona has made an incredible announcement that it is going to be opening the museum to those that are 18 and under for free. having grown up in a different city that had so many cultural and arts institution, new york, i actually grew up going to museums as part of my life as a school child and how important that cultural experience was to my development and as we continue to cut arts in particular, in our public schools, this will be such an important part of their

curriculum in their lives, so i am excited that we can welcome another tenant of the south of market here as well and that is our betsy car michael k-8 elementary school that is here today. [ applause ] >> so i believe that it is a principal here today? >> lauren? well have a first grade class that will be representing the south of market community. so are you guys ready? >> are you ready for the count down? >> all right, so we are going to get our shovels and then we are going to begin.

>> 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. >> plause [ applause ]

>> thank you, for that wonderful introduction, this is exciting for me as david indicated both my daughters are graduate of lowell high school. [ applause ] so i know how your parents feel. i am excited today the last time i was at a high school commencement was for my daughters. i want to say that this is exciting for me because as i was listening to darle and the other speakers that had a moment to reflect on my high school years and i will talk for a few moments about that. those exciting days. but i did want to say that i was walking over here with my

director of employment and workforce opportunities and i took a deep breath and said todd you have to find 613 more jobs. and that is what we do in san francisco. we look for jobs for you and we make sure. this city is successful so that when you come back to your studies you are ready to go. >> the principal, and thank you so much for inviting me, and the faculty, and the staff, and the administrators, school board members, and of course, the students, families and friends. >> i would like to begin my remarks by sending my sincerist condolences to the family of (inaudible) chan was happened was a terrible waste and calls us to action to do better and we will do better. we will make that street safe for everybody.

>> and i know that (inaudible) was a beloved member of your community and was in our thoughts today even as we celebrate your achievements. and i would also like to take the opportunity to recognize five phenomenal lowell high school staff members who are retiring today. they have helped shape your high school careers. dr. ray hill, lowell science teacher for 17 years, congratulations dr. hill. tony, mona, math teacher for 41 years. >> wow. >> i have to say tony that i love my math teacher. vanessa guest, an english teacher for 13 years.

cynthia mitchell, secretary for 39 years. thank you. >> and finally someone who has kept you safe on the campus, ron hodges, security, 41 years. thank you all for your dedication and your commitment to the youth at lowell high school and to our great city and now, good evening, for lowell high school graduates class of 2013, go red and white. [ applause ] [ cheers ] >> i got my red on today. and with 613 students graduating today, i would like to say congratulations to all of you, you truly represent the incredible promise that our great city of san francisco is.

thank you david, for your very kind introduction, as one of lowell's student leaders you must be very proud to be standing here in front of your class who will be graduating with you, thank you for being a great example to your fellow classmates and to our city's youth and i hope that kayla your senior class president and david your student body president as well as the entire lowell graduating class of 2013 become the great community and civic leaders of san francisco future. because of being your mayor, i think that the people of the city every day for the opportunity to serve san francisco. it is a privilege to wake up each morning and to work for you, a people the our city and to do everything that i can to help all of us be successful. and as your graduation day is a day when you set off on a path

to success you will use what you learned at lowell to tackle the great challenges next in your life, to make the differences in your world and the impact in the lives of your peers, family, your friends, and your community. looking back at my graduation day in high school, i remember feeling excited, scared, nervous, and inspired to make a difference in the world and just like you my journey started on this very important day, graduation day. and you know, each of our lives brings different challenges and each of you will have your own individual challenges. for me, i lost my father, when i was a sophomore in high school, so i knew that my days ahead were not going to be very easy. in fact, i made up my mind as a

graduate of public high school, that i was pretty much going to go it alone even though my dad was a cook and my mom was a seamstress and she had five other kids to take care of and i did not want to be a burden. so, i was going to do what i think all of you are trained to do at lowell high school i was going to work my rear off to make sure that i could prove myself. and if i did it on my own, more pride to be taken. as a graduating senior, i had a vision to make this world better, a better place for my family as well as my community. after graduate froming public high school in seattle i went to a small liberal arts college in the state of maine, i went from seattle to maine.

i had to sees the opportunity even if it meant moving away from friends and family and moving away from what i was familiar with to take on new challenges looking back at those years i made the right move because the learned the east coast, i learned now where my daughters are at so i could tell them what they were about to face, and i know that this country is tied much more than just land. going from east coast you get a lot of experiences, after four and a half years i had enough of the east coast and i moved back to the west coast here to get a law degree at uc berkeley and i knew that san francisco would be become my new home. as some of you may know my background is as a civil rights

lawyer working right here in san francisco. back then, a generation set out to make sure that we all recognized our greatest asset as a nation, our diversity. and together, in those years, we locked arms and stood in a doorway of the international hotel. to prevent the wrongful eviction of senior chinese and filipino immigrants who had no money and no place to go. [ applause ] and today san francisco has some of the best tenant protections. we sued the san francisco fire department, to get women and people of color a chance to be a firefighter, to serve, the public of san francisco. and to dedicate their lives to public safety, today we have a city's first female fire chief and our public safety agencies are more diverse than ever, and

just as proud and good as any other generation that this city has ever seen. i joined with others there that were just as dedicated and committed as i was to make a difference for the residents of san francisco. together, we helped to make san francisco a different place, one that embraces and celebrates diversity. and today, san francisco is one of the most diverse cities and one of the most diverse regions. in fact, in the world's most diverse democracy. i never thought that i would ever in my lifetime see an african american as president of the united states and i never imagined that san francisco would have an asian american mayor. [ applause ] so as mayor, one of my many

goals during my term in office is to empower all of the residents and make our city even more responsive, efficient and accountable to the voice of all the diverse communities. i gather the importance of the ties in the need of our community and every day i am trying to make san francisco a place where everyone succeeds, a city for the 100 percent. i am honored to be working for the community, and fighting for the community, and trying to help the community and our city be a better place for everyone to live, work, visit, and do business. today, san francisco's economy is recovering. our unemployment rate has dropped from 9.6 percent when i first came into office in 2011, to an astonishing 5.4 percent today. [ applause ]

we put san franciscans back to work and gave them back the dignity of a paycheck so that they could support their families. but it is still not good enough. and i will remain focused on making sure that no one is left behind. that is why we created programs like tech sf to insure that our long term unploid and youth have access to education, training, and job placement assistance. we have already trained and packed scores of people in technology jobs and the first graduation is this june. last summer, i proudly joined mayor pelosi to take up president obama's challenge of taking up summer jobs for activities for at risk youth and we surpassed our own goal, we got 5,201 summer jobs for kids last summer. the summer jobs plus program and now thanks to another great

partnership with the united way this summer. we are working even harder to make sure that we find the paid job opportunities for 6,000 youth in our city. yes, we want to insure that all of you have opportunities and skills needed to compete in the 21st century economy and workforce. that is why with the shared goals with the superintendents of our school and boards and we continue to make it the expectation >> and with the kindergarten to college program we are able to establish a college savings account for every kindergarten student, can you believe that? as a city? yes. >> and we are working to insure that every student especially students of our middle schools have the resources and opportunities to graduate ready for college.

and since day one i have been committed to our cities' family and our children and our youth and i will remain committed because i see education and training not as an expense, but as an investment. my wife, anita and i have been parents to both of our daughters so i know first hand what it is like to be a parent here in san francisco. and i want to thank you all parents to being here. because they could not have done it without you. i know that. and what sacrifices your parents made, i know that. because they are investing in you as part of our future and helping you pursue your dreams. we all want you to succeed. because as all of you embark on the next leg of your journey, i want you to remember to come back to san francisco. i want you to come back, i want you to work here, the innovation, capitol of the world. i want you to come back and i want you to raise your families here and i want you to buy a

house and maybe a couple send your own kids to public school right here in san francisco. i want you to come back and be the next generation of leaders like the great that have help to build san francisco like the houses and the fishers and so many more that fight for the community and build the strong neighborhoods and yes these names you know because they were in your shoes, they were also graduates of lowell high school. [ applause ] >> san francisco is the greatest city in the world, i know it. i know it. and wherever you go, we will get to brag about that because we are and we know this. and they love the city, and we love the city. so when you succeed whether you become the next fortune ceo or

a noble prize winner or a supreme court justice, remember to make your community and your city a better place for all. i leave you with this advice as you begin your new journey, my vision began when i was graduating high school senior. and now, it is your turn to make your vision a reality. make an impact on the future, and make your community and this world a better place. be bold, and to quote one of my favorite movies, boldly go where no one has gone before. congratulations class of 2013, go out there and change the world. thank you. [ applause ]

i'm nicole and lindsey, i like the fresh air. when we sign up, it's always so gratifying. we want to be here. so i'm very excite ied to be here today.

>> your volunteerism is appreciated most definitely. >> last year we were able to do 6,000 hours volunteering. without that we can't survive. volunteering is really important because we can't do this. it's important to understand and a concept of learning how to take care of this park. we have almost a 160 acres in the district 10 area. >> it's fun to come out here. >> we have a park. it's better

to take some of the stuff off the fences so people can look at the park. >> the street, every time, our friends. >> i think everybody should give back. we are very fortunate. we are successful with the company and it's time to give back. it's a great place for us. the weather is nice. no rain. beautiful san francisco. >> it's a great way to be able to have fun and give back and walk away with a great feeling. for more opportunities we have volunteering every single day of the week. get in touch with

the parks and recreation center so come >> thank you very much, we are in a construction site. and the work is under way, we want to make sure that we not only celebrate, but celebrate safely, but i am here to welcome you all in the morning, and thank you so much for coming my name is ed riskin and i am the director of transportation and i could not be happier to see all of you here today to celebrate what is pretty a tremendous milestone in the advancement of phase two of muni light rail project, otherwise known as the central subway, it is really just such a tremendous effort, and a cap stone of many, many years, and for some of you decades worth of work, to get to this point. certainly something worthy of celebrating. we have got a lot of people who in one way or