. >> my name is mark tieman and i'm senior councilor at pet camp, san francisco, california. we dispose of a lot of carbon-based material here, dog poop, and the more we can turn that into something viable, the better off we are. in san francisco there's more dogs than children. finding a viable use for dog poop. >> proenvironmental policies, that's a way to win hearts and minds.>> ladies and gentlemen, t

to welcome you to the newest of the art materials stores. we are very, very excited to open our new facility here in san francisco. we have been here for a while, but this new facility is wonderful. it is going to bring wonderful things to the neighborhood. our president, who is the president of our retail stores, is going to make a number of

comments on how we work with the community, and also our students and teachers. thank you. [applause] >> welcome. welcome, mayor newsom. welcome to another art materials grand opening. despite the economic unrest we face, we are growing, serving, and creating jobs in all the communities where we have a presence. in fact, we are one of the few family-owned businesses in the u.s. that can say that while celebrating our 100th anniversary. how do we do it? we put people and communities first. while we are one of the largest independent suppliers of art materials in the country, providing the broadest assortment and low prices, it is really our service and community involvement that sets us apart from the others.

every year, our list of colleges and universities we support has grown. today, we visit over 250. whether on campus or at the events we sponsor, we see the same story unfolding. that is communities and the arts are struggling to get funding, improve, and revived. it is so important to remember, while the foundation behind art and life do not change, the supporting structure continuously evolves with time. as part of this evolution, we and others like the mayor's support the continuing of art and the revival of communities in which they exist. here in san francisco, the market street community was once a thriving, exciting center for the arts. it was a place for the people in the city to come to forget

their social and political differences and just another to enjoy life. hasn't san francisco waited and debated long enough on providing this area? now, along with mayor newsom, the planning and arts commission, galleries, theaters, and artists themselves, in places like san francisco's st., we are helping paint the way to revival today. we are not waiting for the economy to turn, but helping it turned around today. we will build a better market street for tomorrow. thank you and enjoy. [applause] >> do you have to introduce me? >> i do not have to. everybody knows you. ladies and gentlemen, the mayor of san francisco. >> thank you all for being here. do not let me get in the wake of

the most important sound, which is not my voice. it is the register. the retailers will appreciate what i am saying. this is once again a testament to this renewed vision, this renewed energy, this renewed effort to revitalize the central market, the fact that so many of you took time to be here. if i could turn these cameras around, we could see the folks not only in the store but throughout the district. they come down almost every time we come down to celebrate another milestone. the reason we do this is we are marking progress. the reason we are doing this is we think every opening like this is not insignificant. it is extraordinarily significant to the revitalization of the central market area. we have long believed, but could not demonstrate, because we could not show people that arts will be the economic catalyst for revitalizing the central

market area. the artistic expression, the community, the artistic contributions are self evident to anyone who has lived or visited san francisco. we have not necessarily organized the arts community in the measure and fashion today. do not get me wrong. we do not do the organization. the community is organizing itself in a meaningful way. we are just providing the conditions or the conduits to establish the conditions to allow that to flourish in an organic matter. and that is why this store has moved to the heart of this district. that is a big deal. they have not only revitalized a remarkable and spacious flotation -- spacious location, exponentially bigger than i imagined, but have doubled the number of employees in this economy that are working for them. that should not be lost on

anyone. what i love about the employees is they are also customers. they are artists themselves. there is tremendous diversity and expression with the staff. congratulations on all your success and the growth of this business. you get it. you do it right. you speak the language of those that are on this side of the aisle. the folks on the other side understand the unique needs of their customers. i am thankful that you recognized not just in your opening comments, but recognized throughout your stewardship of this brand, the importance of contribution and giving back, the importance of what is happening outside your doors. we also understand that you need help and support and that this is not the end. we know that from our friends at fashion cafe on sixth street. we know every business accounts. we have more work to do. something else we want to

celebrate in the market today -- in market today is this thursday, tomorrow, in 24 hours, we will be launching this arts fair, this arts market that will be in the un plaza between the hours of 12 and 8:00 p.m., showcasing the individual and collective efforts of artists throughout our community and reinforcing this artist imperative. we are working with intersection of the arts and the black rock foundation, and others. they have identified 72 to 75 other arts organizations that are down here looking for space, that are encouraged about what is happening and encouraged about their prospects to put together the resources with city

support, these low and no interest loans we are handing out. we will be following that with some really exciting things in september, where we will start doing some dance and some theater out on the streets and sidewalks, as i believe that is where theater should be. it is democratizing the medium. that is something else i think is going to create a lot of energy, good will, identity for the neighborhood. a lot of good things happening. some months back, people said we were just shutting down markets street. it was an anti-car program. it was not about that. it was using that in a way that could anchor these other efforts. i see randy shaw here. i am glad he is here. he has been a great partner for this city and a partner for these efforts. pulling this up into the tenderloin area, the new

tenderloin museum which had its grand opening if you weeks back. i love these reporters from the new york times. they come down and say, "you are doing walking tours in the tenderloin? you are celebrating the historical contributions of the tenderloin? you are marketing this area to tourists?" we say absolutely right. eat your heart out. the history of the tenderloin is our history. it is something to be proud of. there is a lot that is right in these neighborhoods and this particular neighborhood. at the end of the day, we celebrate his work, your work, eds work -- ed's work, and all of you here. we are proud to be here today. now come back and shop and eat. [applause]

>> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. welcome to a gorgeous day on treasure island. in the redevelopment director of the treasure island authority. would you please rise for the singing of the national anthem? >> ♪ o, say, can you see

by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hail at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air dates proof through the night -- gave proof through the night that our flag was still there o, say, does that star spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free

and the home of the brave ♪ [applause] >> it is a tremendous honor to be here today on treasure island with the honorable speaker of the united states, house of representatives, nancy pelosi. [applause] the honorable secretary of the navy, ray davis. [applause] and the honorable mayor of the city and county of san francisco, gavin newsom. [applause]

today we stand on the brink of the future of this island by commemorating the historic agreement with the transfer of the formal the -- naval station from a united states navy to the city and county of san francisco. i know i speak for many people who have worked extremely hard to make this day a reality, people on all sides of the table, across organizations, when i say that it is truly an honor and a proud moment. i would like to take a moment to acknowledge our many partners and supporters who are here today. please forgive me if i do not mention everyone. there are too many of you to name individually, but i would like to recognize, and if you would please stand, former mayor willie brown, current and past members of the treasure island development authority board of directors.

our treasure island citizens advisory board, and the treasure island homeless development initiative, one of our great partners, and of course, our private sector partners, the treasure island community development. and to the many folks in the audience, the many members of the city family and regional partners who we work with on a daily basis, and now, it is my great pleasure to introduce the mayor of the city and county of san francisco, the honorable gavin newsom. [applause] mayor newsom: thank you all for being here. i could not hear a word that jack just said because i'm sitting next to the flag, but

obviously, it shows who is expandable up here, the person sitting on this side of the stage, but let me welcome speaker of the house nancy pelosi and secretary mavis and all the people that helped make this day possible. welcome and thank you for your leadership and your stewardship, to mayor willie brown and all of his hard work. his then staffer, now my staffer, who worked so diligently through two administrations to get us through this day. i thank you. to the development team. to the residents of this island that have been patient beyond imagination. with the hope and expectation we would get to this point. to all those that are looking forward to the ground breaking to be hosted some time next

year. it is pretty remarkable -- this is a small city, and about 10% of our land happens to be on three principal areas. all three of them former naval bases. out there in hunters point. the army out on presidio, and here on treasure island. 25-plus-hundred acres in the '70s -- the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's. since then, we have been talking about revitalization. we have been talking about reconstituting these pieces of property. just two weeks ago i had the pleasure and privilege of signing 12 pieces of legislation, marking over the course of over two decades over the course of hunters point. creating a framework on an economic development framework for 10,500 new housing units, 32% of them below market. hundreds of thousands of square

feet of new retail space. yes, a new stadium for somebody someday as well as revitalizing the county, which is long overdue. this was an extraordinary moment, and here we are just a couple weeks later celebrating another extraordinary and historic moment. we have been talking about this since 1993, informal process that began this. the formal negotiations in 1994. the navy ceased operations formally here in about 1997. we are standing, remarkably, on awpa project -- on a wpa project were folks started taking land and rocks and putting this project out here. then, it was supposed to be converted.

you can only imagine, as an airport. luckily, there was some wisdom, and that vision did not take shape, but for over half a century, the navy has been out here doing administrative work and training work, and we have been figuring out what exactly to do in the last decade and a half. we could not do it alone. we needed to work with the navy. we needed the process of an agreement. we needed a private partner, and we worked to gain that support, but it was not easy because this is a different era, appropriately, where you cannot just take a dollar bill out of your left pocket and handed to the secretary of the navy and say, open a " thank you for the property" and walk away and start to develop it. we needed to create a different framework with a participation agreement. what we're celebrating here is a long negotiation where we developed a strong partnership with the navy and the private developers, where if we do well in the city, if the developer does well, then the navy does

well. our federal taxpayers do well. we have a participation agreement that in many ways we think will become a model for other similar agreements across the country. it was not easy to put together, but we are here today to celebrate that agreement. we are here today to celebrate a two-page term sheet that the secretary, myself, the speaker, and others agreed to in december of last year that now is about and 80-page legal document, and financial framework for the future of this site, and we are here to celebrate that we're just months away from some time next year developing literally thousands of jobs. 30% of the units below market. another 300 acres of open space. the wetlands. a new ferry terminal source, smaller version. a new waterfront. the most aggressive environmental policy organized around sustainable development

that will allow this to be arguably the most environmentally friendly in field development in american history. it is an extraordinary vision and extraordinary project that will also ultimately include wind generation, surprisingly, and some state of the our efforts, and we hope eventually, that waves power project we have here off the coast will also play a key role in terms of the cogeneration and generation of renewals that will mark and distinguish this great read of elements. that is why i'm here -- to give thanks and gratitude for all the work hard to get us here. i want to thank those just once again, the secretary, for his willingness to think differently and look differently at this project. this project was dead many many times, but it was because of his willingness to look at this in a new light and consider things that previous secretaries of the navy had not considered because

of the great work of his staff and both the department of defense and because, more importantly, of the incredible commitment, not just passing interest, speaker ned to pelosi, who started this thing through three presidential administrations, secretaries of navy, mayors like me that come and go, members of the board of supervisors, treasure island development authority that stuck it out for all this time. to nancy pelosi, thank you yet again. what a remarkable effort. you deserve an enormous amount of credit. we thank you. we are proud of you. this is a big deal. on top of that, hunters point, which was a big deal. trans a terminal, doyle drive, the bay bridge. this is just getting things done. it is my honor now to ask up to

the podium a fan of major-league baseball, who took the time to come out here a day on early and visit with the giants. they did not have the kind of day we were hoping on sunday, but someone who is very familiar with san francisco that has opened up his heart, of sorts, and his mind and his team to this effort, and someone that i can, we simply want to be here without -- we simply would not be here without his resolve to get us here. [applause] >> what a great day, and what a great introduction. i'm coming back, and next time, lister is going to win. [applause] i'm so happy to be here today

with this group of people up here and out here. the culmination of almost two decades of very hard work has come to pass today as the navy officially transfers treasure island to the city and the people of san francisco. we owe an absolute heartfelt thanks to the people who have worked so hard to achieve this goal. two of the people who have worked the hardest, and two people that it has been my privilege to work closely with, are sitting here today. speaker nancy pelosi, mayor gavin newsom. the mayor said some mighty nice things about me, but i tell you -- this would not have happened without the speaker and the mayor.

i had been navy secretary about 10 minutes when the speaker called and said, "can we do something about treasure island?" i went up and talked to her, and and i talked to the mayor, and it was a group effort, a team effort, and we stood on the work that other people have done, and a couple of those folks are here today. mayor willie brown, and my predecessor as secretary of the navy, both of whom were here when this process started, and both of whom live the groundwork for what we are able to do here today, so thank you. united states navy in association with treasure island began 70 years ago, right after the completion of world expo,

1939-1940. the navy took this over, and from these shores, tens of thousands of sailors and marines left the fight in the pacific in world war ii, and a lot of those sailors and marines who left from here, this was the last time they saw america, and they made the ultimate sacrifice for us. as we transfer this treasure, this island, from the navy back to the city, i hope that all of us will remember the service and sacrifice of every sailor, every marine, living and dead. [applause] and the people who left from here and the people who serve today, risking everything, so

that we can celebrate today. that legacy lives on in the young men and women who wear the cloth of this country and who are deployed around the world as we meet here today. when the famous or infamous bates 3 aligning closure process started in 1988, a final result of any individual base closure and transfer could not have hoped for a better ultimate outcome than what has been achieved in treasure island. the navy's charge is to dispose of property in a manner that promotes economic development. that has been done. the transfer of treasure island is a win for san francisco. it is a win for the state of

california, a win for the united states navy, and a win for the american taxpayers who paid for this base and all the infrastructure that was here. because of this transfer, the american taxpayer gets fair market value for treasure island. because of this transfer, hundreds of millions of dollars of economic development will flow into the city of san francisco and into this whole area, and because of this transfer, treasure island will bring thousands of great jobs right here. first, as new buildings are built, and then, as this island more and more and this new development becomes an ongoing an integral part to the city of san francisco. for our part, the mayor said the navy is going to get significant rewards by sharing a portion of the revenues, which could in

turn be used to make sure that our sailors and marines have the tools that they need to do the mission that they are being sent on. i am incredibly grateful to two fine public servants -- mayor newsom and his staff, speaker pelosi and hers, and the entire california congressional delegation for their commitment to resolving this transfer. speaker pelosi has been working on this issue since her very early years in congress, and over the years, even though negotiations have sometimes been difficult, the speaker has always had the best interest of the city, of the state, of the navy, and of the nation at heart. what we have achieved here can serve as a template for future transfers of military bases across the country. i am