the city infrastructure is paramount in creating jobs. our mayor is a great coordinator of these complex projects. the dozens of departments and community groups and businesses that are lending their time to give input. when you have someone who cares that much and dedicated to fostering a collaborative networking environment, public spaces get done. they get done in a timely manner and the city gets to reap the benefits for many many years. we are glad he's here today, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our mayor, mayor ed lee. [ applause ] >> thank you, muhammad. >> well, truth be

somebody said, mayor, it's a sunny day. would you like to go down to celebrate something and it's in front of an ice cream parlor. of course i said yes. you know, i have to count. it's june now. it's middle of the year. i think we are part of the 5 million 500 thousand. that's the midway point because every year fisher man's wharf has over 10 million visitors. [ applause ] . we know there is a good connection as to why. there is a connection to our city's infrastructure as to why people want to visit fisherman's

wharf. thank you and the merchants association for putting together a fantastic six year effort of collaborating with public works and making sure landscaping was able to do it's job so i can have my ice cream cone today. it takes a huge amount of effort to do this, but we are doing it right. we rushed it and i know supervisor and board president david chiu, he knew that we had to get this done for our great celebration this year which is america's cup. that forced us to have this exciting first phase done. we will talk about a second phase later. i know supervisor chiu is going to welcome you all to his district. he's working very

hard with me. we meet every week and he is constantly reminding me about the second phase of this and that, all the investments we have to make. i have already heard it, three times in fact last month and we are working together for the next phase. we have to take this moment to celebrate because without this recognition of how we got here already. it shouldn't take six years but it did. i need to thank a lot of people for that effort. six years of planning with the planning department and working out so many inclusionary meetings with everybody to make sure all of our agencies, the mta and office of economic development and the staff have been wonderful, but it takes a long time for something incredibly potentially interruptive to

everything we were able to work through it. sometimes things take a little longer, but it's sensitive. we are a sensitive city and sensitive to all the investments that have happened. it's an incredible balance. we'll do it better, we'll do it right and we'll do it with a lot of input from everyone. that's the way we do things in san francisco. this part of the city is very valuable. it is $80 million of revenue. it is of 65,000 visitors every single day. it has 10 million visitors. we have to honor that as a big investment to our city. we are going to make these improvements because these will generate more investment down the year because we have visitors who

want pedestrian safety and vehicles and large buses of people and cable car experiences all balanced to have not only a safe experience, but one that is honored by everyone in all the different agencies working together. we need to have even more pedestrians down here celebrating all the wonderful and liven experiences from the ice cream parlors to the great attractions and hotels. it's my pleasure to recognize names that are very familiar to you, that is david burrby, thank you for your leadership as well, troy campbell, thank you for your leadership, daniels, thank

you for being such an on the ground person working with all the contractors. as i mentioned the planning department has worked really hard to get this jefferson street under way. that's why we have such collaborative efforts going on because they have led planning very well. hopefully we don't have to do that much more years of planning because we have phase two already in mind. i know that supervisor chiu is going to have some comments about that. i want to thank the jefferson street merchants for your incredible patience. everyone along this route 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!

♪ ♪ ♪ >> the san francisco playground's history dates back to 1927 when the area where the present playground and center is today was purchased by the city for $27,000. in the 1950s, the center was expanded by then mayor robinson and the old gym was built. thanks to the passage of the 2008 clean and safe neighborhood parks bond, the sunset playground has undergone extensive renovation to its four acres of fields, courts, play grounds, community rooms, and historic gymnasium. >> here we are. 60 years and $14 million later, and we have got this beautiful,

brand-new rec center completely accessible to the entire neighborhood. >> the new rec center houses multi-purpose rooms for all kinds of activities, including basketball, line dancing, playing ping-pong, and arts and crafts. >> use it for whatever you want to do, you can do it here. >> on friday, november 16th, the dedication and ribbon cutting took place at the sunset playground and recreation center celebrating its renovation. it was raining, but the rain clearly did not dampen the spirits of the dignitaries, community members, and children in attendance. [cheering and applauding] ♪ ♪