deserves an applause because it could have been very disruptive for everyone. we got the word out and because it's happening we are going to welcome america's cup because there is going to be thousands more people out here because of this. i look forward to being here on the 4th of july. when all the punch list is here so we can celebrate our great american celebration on the 4th of july and really kickoff america's cup. with all that, let's celebrate today and have a great anticipation of phase two and keep this project going and welcome in whole 10 million plus visitors to san francisco. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> thank you, mayor lee. i

would like to recognize some special guest here today to be with us. from the port commission, mell murphy is here with us, from the mayor's office of disability, carla johnson and her staff, from the port, a number of deputy directors, tom carters, susan reynolds and elaine. and from dpw, our city engineers. next, we are honored to have a city representative who has given us a great deal of support to this project and many improvement projects that the city enjoys. he's also someone who values partnerships and works to seek out ideas from san francisco residents, business owners and entrepreneurs and community

leaders. he's the president of our board of supervisors and supervisor for this district 3. please welcome supervisor david chiu. >> the sun is shining on jefferson street. everyone excited to be here? let me say, we proved them wrong today. i came to san francisco as a tourist. i want to thank all of you who are part of this incredible community. mayor lee and i talk about how important it is for folks to come together. this is a project that for years has involved a lot of community conversations and some community debate but i

really need to tip my hat to all of you from the fisherman's wharf, thank you and congratulations. [ applause ] >> of course, we have to thank all of our partners from city departments. i want to take a moment to single out from planning i want to thank neale, and david for planning for the vision of what this amazing street is going to be about and i of course want to thank mohammed and to his staff for getting this done on time and on budget. i want to thank the port staff for helping moving this forward. i want to thank mayor lee for putting up with many of us who have been asking him for a couple of dollars for getting this project done. mr. mayor, i want to tell you that we are going to bring you ice

cream every week until we get phase two of this project. what do you think about that? are you ready for that? [ applause ] >> let me say one final thing, many of my friends around the city ask me why this project is so important. as we know fisherman's wharf bring over 10 million people here. it because of this project, we increase that by 20 percent, that's going to mean dividends for everyone. i want to thank you for being part of the vision that will bring tourist here to this special city. we have not only the exploratoria

that opened up. we are making sure that we are putting our stamp in this city. we are ensuring that we are putting our stamp on what fisherman's wharf is and many people can leave their hearts here in san francisco. thank you so much. >> yes, thank you supervisor chiu. we have worked with many colleagues in city departments in bringing these improvements to light. perhaps our closest partners on this important project are friends of the port of san francisco. the port is making large strides up and down the bay. we are happy to have the port planner dan to come up and say a few words. [ applause ] >> thank you. it's all about

the fishing industry. fisherman's wharf is here because this industry has thrived for a hundred years and people want to see and understand it. every improvement the port commission has directed in fisherman's wharf have met the needs of the industry. whether it's dealing with the earthquake or the harbor or adding a police boat or new harbor master's office or hoist, it's about the fishing industry. every improvement must consider that and this is no exception. today we are celebrating a project that enables all of people in san francisco to come and enjoy the fishing industry. it's a treat that dares to say that you should be a pedestrian to do it. it puts the pedestrian first. it works with how that industry comes and service the wharf and how they move through

it. it's about the fishing industry. there are many to thank in the city. this effort was led by the wharf, troy campbell and we thank all of you very much again. [ applause ] >> as mentioned leadership was then handed over to the department of city planning led by neale and went to every tenant to understand their needs as well, tenants on the adjacent blocks to make everything possible and then it was handed to department of public works and martha the head of landscape and architect. all work that you see has come to a reality today. and all the merchants in the area, again, the port wants to thank them as well for all of their efforts understanding

the project and working together and coming to agreement, not coming to agreement on everything but then deciding to go forward to make this project happen. thank you. >> almost there. so this project would not have been possible without the hard work of many of our partners. you have heard many of their names. from the mta i see jerry roberts. from city planning we heard from david and neale. they have been a big part of it, from d p w, john thomas, our manager. a big hand for john, please. the design team

arlene, david flores and wong. the construction team that actually was here and delivered the project on time lee and flip e. they got us to the finish line. i know a lot of you have heard about neale, neale really was very instrumental in making sure that we did the right outreach, putting together the project and the conceptual design and making sure that we had a document that got us here today. as you heard from the supervisor we are going to start finding ways to look at the next phase. thank you very much, neale for all of your leadership. [ applause ] >> the project has truly been built on teamwork, not only on city agencies but with the community down here at fisherman's wharf. finally the

entire project would not have been possible without the vision and leadership of the merchants and restaurant owners and people here at fisherman's wharf and the community benefit district. a big hand for them. [ applause ] >> they came in existence 2005 and since then they have been working very hard with all the businesses here to build consensus and hone in and indeed needed improvements that the fisherman's wharf area need. they have been instrumental in organizing and pushing many of these changes and they are the experts in articulateing the needs of the project and towards improving fisherman's wharf neighborhood. i would like to bring up the

president of the fisherman's wharf, mr. david for speaking on the project. >> thank you very much. david chiu. i have to say, i'm actually glad that i had a lot of people come before he and thank the hundreds of people that made this possible. i have a speech here that some 20 minutes long so i made sure i covered everybody. there is so many people involved. i will start with. forgive me if i start rambling off like some oscar winner. i would like to thank my mom and my dog. i would like to thank the leadership that made this possible. mayor lee, when you first heard about this project, you embraced it fully, you took it on and you said let's make it happen. you marshalled your

departments to find ways to make this a reality. your leadership really is the only reason to some degree that we are actually here today looking at our brand new street. thank you, mayor lee. [ applause ] >> supervisor chiu, when you first came to the district, i think he was taken a back by the veracity of the issues around here. he had the wherewithal to know that this was a project worth fighting for. he championed it to make sure we had the resources to make it happen. it was leadership at the board of supervisors that essentially made this a reality. we wouldn't be here without either

one of you. thank you, gentlemen. [ applause ] >> thankfully, i want to add a few people here. neale, i know your name keeps coming up and there is a reason why neale's name keeps coming up. as the leader for this project, he came into community and started an input on what was right and what was wrong. i remember our first meeting, someone said, i don't want to do that because it infringes upon my right of way and he said, it's a public road. we can do whatever we want. it took a little longer to take. nevertheless, we did go through a lot. you were put through the grinder in our community and for that we

apologize, but thank you for your patience, thank you for your stamina, thank you for your ability to have punishment inflicted upon you and still no waiver and have this commitment. we appreciate this. a hand for neale, please? [ applause ] >> on a side note, i asked rodney if he could dedicate the torture chamber to you and he said he would do that. as the director muhammed pointed out many of agencies were involved in this department, jerry robbins who worked with us for years. i think it's important that we acknowledge the individuals who made this possible. partners for the port of san francisco, starting with

monique, her staff, reynolds, rick malo, tonya. we don't do this alone and we are grateful to have you as partners in this endeavor. it's not easy to get to this point but your sense of professionalism to get through this job is truly admirable. thank you gentlemen and ladies. [ applause ] >> i would like to take a moment to thank mohammed for assembling an incredible team for executing this project starting with john thomas, lee, and of course the contractor that made all of this had been, -- made this happen.

landscaping. we have to give mike and his for man, kelly, a big hand of applause for making this possible for all the businesses in the area. thank you, michael. [ applause ] >> lastly, we know there is currently and past members and committee chairs and community representative, all too numerous for me to call out, but without your commitment and dedication we wouldn't be able to do this. this truly is a community effort in every level. we couldn't be luckier to have people as dedicated. thank you all who served. we appreciate it. [ applause ] >> lastly i would like to take a minute to recognize two individuals who started this process from six years ago.

they had the conviction, the vision, and the commitment to essentially start our cbd's and bring forward what is today the public realm. that individual is rodney fong from the wax museum. rodney? >> [ applause ] >> and chris martin from the academy who is not with us. he's moved on to other endeavors. again, truly, key and critical to making sure that this project moved forward. a hand for chris martin, too. [ applause ] >> one last comment on rodney. you have been a consistent force throughout. you were not only our first president, but after you stepped down you became chair to this committee, you worked in planning, were you a planning president and you continued to make sure that

the funding, the implementation come to fruition for this project. you deserve more accolades that i can give you in one day. so i'm going to stop. i don't want to embarrass you. you can have an ice cream. thank you for bringing us to this milestone which we really appreciate it. [ applause ] in closing you have heard all along that there is a phase two and i invite mayor lee and supervisor chiu to attend our ribbon cutting session next year for phase 2. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, david. thank you. are we ready to cut this ribbon? >> yeah. >> all right. so what's going to happen is we are going to cut the ribbon and there is a walk down the street and everybody welcome to our new

two way street. after the ribbon is cut, this is a two way street. >> yeah!

. >> we are running a womens' volleyball program here at richmond rec center. it's progressing really nice. the ladies here really enjoy the exercise and the play and it's a lot of fun want this program is not for the faint at heart. it's really intense. the ladies come out. they are really going after it. they just love to play and compete. anyone can sign up. we're looking for more players. the women come from all over the city. we enjoy the program and we are getting people out to have fun in this beautiful city. >> rec and parks womens' volleyball program is available at richmond rec center. please visit us onli >> thank you, supervisor

farrell, for being here this morning, and also for your great partnership with the board of supervisors. carmen chu, you're helping us bring in the money already, thank you. assessor chu. (applause) >> london breed, thank you very much, supervisor, always a pleasure to work with you as well. all of you, friends, spouses, family, people who are just enthralled with this wonderful great city of san francisco like i am. thank you for all being here to witness and honor and thank the people who are stepping up with us to help manage this wonderful great city. thank you, chief hayes white, for being here as well, and other department heads and other commissioners, thank you for joining us as well. we have 25 individuals today who are sacrificing a lot of

personal time, sacrificing their own family's time away for night meetings, a lot of reading of paperwork, a lot of public engagement. we also have some 15 different bodies that you'll be appointed to today. and, so, it is my pleasure to welcome you and to suggest to you that i personally appreciate citizens of san francisco stepping forward to help us manage this city. it never is ever about one office. it's not even about two offices. it's about how we conduct ourselves to reach out, engage people in the public to help serve our city. your ideas, your engagement with us, you're aligning where we want to go to make the city a greater city is really the essence of managing a city. and i've learned that in many, many years of being a public

serve ant, being an advocate to make sure the city represented its own diversity, of using that diversity as our strength, and going forward each of you are being asked to serve on extremely important commissions and bodies that i fully, fully respect. from fire, to transportation, to people handling billions of dollars in retirement, to our arts, to our health, to just getting permits out so that we can help people be success in this city. all of you are part of that. i just happened to address several hundred people this morning at a breakfast to talk about the health of our city. and part of that discussion was not just the health care programs that the country is heading into. it's also health means are we doing everything right for people? are we building strong communities?

are we building neighborhoods? are we giving people the foundation in which they can invest to create a family, that they can have hope for their kids? all of you are part of that agenda, and every decision that you make and the people that come before you want to feel the hope and the foundation that this city has. and, so, i want to thank you, each and every one of you, in your various capacities that you will take on, that you help us be a better city, be a more compassionate city, a city that will help me build more affordable housing, create more jobs, sustain the job situation that we have, to make it ultimately a city of hope for everyone. that is why we emanate our name of the city of st. francis. we have to be of hope to everybody. not just in america any more. we're a city of immigrants as well. so, your commissions also have

to have a viewpoint that we are a world class city and we are a city that everybody, the whole world looks at to establish what are good economics, what is fairness and equity, and what is excitingly ip ~ innovative as a world class city. thank you for stepping up. if you would now stand up, i will provide you with the oath of office. and if you'll please say each of your names individually as i begin. and then at the end, you will jointly say that the bodies that you are about to be appointed to. please repeat after me. i... i...

[speaker not understood] >> do solemnly affirm >> do solemnly affirm >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california >> and the constitution of the state of california >> against all enemies foreign and domestic >> against all enemies foreign and domestic >> that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution of the united states >> to the constitution of the united states >> and the constitution of the state of california >> and the constitution of the state of california >> that i take this obligation freely >> that i take this obligation

freely >> without any mental reservation >> without any mental reservation >> and for purpose of evasion and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which i'm about to enter such time as i go to office of... >> [speaker not understood]. >> [speaker not understood].

>> art commission. >> for the city and county of san francisco. congratulations, thank you very much. [cheering and applauding] >> thank you. thank you, everybody, for being here.

>> thank you, supervisor farrell, for being here this morning, and also for your great partnership with the board of supervisors. carmen chu, you're helping us bring in the money already, thank you. assessor chu. (applause) >> london breed, thank you very much, supervisor, always a pleasure to work with you as well. all of you, friends, spouses, family, people who are just enthralled with this wonderful great city of san francisco like i am. thank you for all being here to witness and honor and thank the people who are stepping up with us to help manage this wonderful great city. thank you, chief hayes white, for being here as well, and other department heads and

other commissioners, thank you for joining us as well. we have 25 individuals today who are sacrificing a lot of personal time, sacrificing their own family's time away for night meetings, a lot of reading of paperwork, a lot of public engagement. we also have some 15 different bodies that you'll be appointed to today. and, so, it is my pleasure to welcome you and to suggest to you that i personally appreciate citizens of san francisco stepping forward to help us manage this city. it never is ever about one office. it's not even about two offices. it's about how we conduct ourselves to reach out, engage people in the public to help serve our city.