built for the wealthy, the privileged, or the powerful. it was built for working people. it served the community for over 100 years, a community of workers. it was a refuge for whoever belongs to that community. first of the irish, the african americans, then the latinos and phillipinos. in particular, they took solace from the windows. on the left, you can see the rose window. on the right, you can see the whole. in may of 2010, the window and another one were torn out without permits, and stopped work order was ignored. the parishioners took solace, comfort, and memory from the

court this alters the ec here on the left. in june, they were ripped out, leaving a gaping hole the you see on the right. can we say that these are not part of the heritage, legacy, and birthright? i think not. thousands of people kneel here for decades. going, going, gone for profit. as far as we can tell, it was shipped to minnesota. the people who did this are the kind of people that would go through your drawers to look for anything that valuable, take it, and leave. [chime] will we respond to this outrage? we certainly hope so.

this resolution is a start. supervisor mirkarimi: considering the limitations that the law has with regard to compelling that the property owners of this building is only in violation of not complying with the stop orders and so removing the assets. what do you suggest that the city does? >> respectfully disagree that those are the only issues here. there are issues of property ownership. for example, these older is were given to the church has a gift from a family in memory of other family members. there is a question under california property law whether

those belonged to the church. there is the question that whether there is compliance with the comprehensive environmental quality act. that at least in the city and the attorney could pursue -- this resolution does not ask the city attorney necessarily to take any action. it does express the high concern of the board of supervisors for the actions that were taken in the removal of these treasures and asked the department of building inspection and the city attorney's office to investigate and consider to see what further actions can be taken. supervisor mirkarimi: you have been lending your time at a number of projects, and there has been at least an understood

agreement over the last several years of trying to have some collaborative relationship between the school operators, the property owners, and community members. are you aware of any communication by the church or the school about their unexpected demolition of those features? >> it came as a complete shock. as you pointed out, the agreement that was made back in 2005 was that the church was going to be retained for the use of the academy. there were plans that showed the retention of the altars, the windows, features of the use of the church for the benefit of the academy. when it was discovered that the windows have been removed, it was a complete shock, totally

contrary to the agreements that had been in place at that point. >> and what would you say that this is the last point, they may have to unload property. >> it is not the church, but leaving that point aside, whoever owned this, they are subject to building codes. there needs to be a process in the building this important to determine whether these treasures should remain where they are and are not shipped off to minnesota as they were. even assuming that those are legitimate arguments, those

arguments need to be considered in a public forum. there is no basis for taking the law into one's own hands in the dead of night, ripping treasures out and shipping them to point an unknown. how -- points unknown. supervisor mirkarimi: i would like to call my next speakers. >> hello. my name is mearl easton. i have lived there for 25 years. it is 11 blocks from my house. i am an architect and a past president of the victorian alliance. i am speaking for myself in favor of the resolution. i was abroad when i learned of the destruction of the interior.

i was studying renaissance art in this city where revered and preserve the churches are in every block while in my own neighborhood, one of the most beautiful churches was being dismantled. how's that for a san francisco and for us. the artwork, was paid for by the parishioners and the community. small the nations were sought door by door. the marble for the three sacred heart alters was quarried in italy by the finest sculptors.

they were designed and installed by one of san francisco's best artists. he supervised the paintings in the synagogue. the buildings were constructed during the same time and made of the finest materials. both withstood the 1906 earthquake. the first time i entered sacred heart, i was hot but -- awed by the beauty. [chime] supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i'm a first generation san franciscan driectly across from the parish.

i was baptized there, and everything -- all of my funerals -- all of our funerals were held there. in 2005, we met with the academy in good faith. they showed us plans to help restore and protect the architecture of the building so that when we saw the building had been ransacked, we were in complete shock. there was no dialogue. we were left to drift without being notified that our families and our families architecture and archival material was being stripped and sent away without a word.

i am here to support the resolution and continue the dialogue to help restore some kind of sanity to this complete disaster. it is a disaster. the owners of the academy must be held accountable for their refusal to stop and a baby work orders. this makes the actions of our historical preservation a moot point. why? they don't have to hold up the laws the way the rest of us do? thank you very much. supervisor mirkarimi: next speaker please? >> i am robert prichard of the sacred heart gospel choir and community. one of three churches to

welcome most in our afro- centric worship. our ceiling which only has cosmetic and structural damage, the insurance would have covered at 140,000. not allowed to repair, all we got, and the property was purchased in mid 2005 with the intent of the chapel for the retention of all artifacts. in my personal conversations, he expressed wanting to leave it better than when he purchased it. we have successfully blocked the archdiocese with an injunction from sale or removal of the altars and roads. i gained his trust as well as

his vice president. i was allowed to have my keys back to maintain my upkeep of the church since i have in november of 1980. i happily donate my time, my trust, my tools, and personally purchasing supplies to repair the roof. i also did weekly graffiti abatement. i did this so it was not cited and fined by the city. i paid for the repairs and was called. the sale of property was announced. [chime] >> if i may ask a question, would it be safe to say you have been a volunteer that has been

helping caretaker for the church? >> and with the sanction of mr. firth. i was called multiple times by the deed of the academy -- dean of the academy. i was in close contact with them. i have the ability to get into the property until april 4 when the leakeys were changed. that is when i alerted everyone that the fear for the worst should happen. >> were you notified in advance of that change? let me finish my question. was there going to be any kind of work being done? were you ever paid? >> i did all gladly. >> were there other volunteers in the neighborhood?

gosh yes. >> so for 30 years. the community that i eighth met with that has been volunteering for decades, there was no communication -- and that i had met with had been volunteering for decades. >> in january 2010, the property went to the academy from his name. that is when all communication -- i spoke with them at christmas and they told me about the major changes, what was happening with the winery. mr. firth was getting a divorce from his wife and the winery was collapsing. supervisor mirkarimi: was there

any discussion before that? hong >> none whatsoever. we were not contacted. alioto was trying to land -- willie brown was assembly man. -- was an assembly man. he helped push that through late in the day. what it does, it exempts holy structures from containing -- from gaining a landmark status. that is why it got blocked. that is why only saint joseph's exterior, they were landmarked before this assembly bill.

>> would you mind sending me some information about that specific bill? supervisor mirkarimi: next speaker, please. >> i am a member of the board of trustees at the catholic academy. it is an independent catholic schools located in and serving primarily families of the western addition. we currently have enrolled 121 students, 96% are members of minority groups. the largest minority group is african-american. students, predominantly from low-income families with 50% having in come at or below the poverty level. we are to provide these children

regardless of their -- by the best public and private high schools. the academy of the school building near fillmore. next door, they ellen and unused church building known as sacred -- they own an unused building. the church had been closed prior to our purchase. in order to maintain financial stability for the school, we sold personal property. we sold pews, the organ, the glass from the windows. the resolution refers to the removal of this property as an

architectural salvage operation. it was not. they were not architectural and were personal property, religious in nature. they have been recycled. [chime] supervisor mirkarimi: where were they recycled? >> into active catholic churches. if i could finish one further paragraph that i think clarifies this, while the notice of visitation, the violation by the building department, the personal property was at that time are owned by and had already been removed by the buyer, not by the academy. the buyer had completed the

removal which he had purchased when the work order was posted. the city code does not require a permit, and no violation of city code occurred. supervisor mirkarimi: i will as k you a question. pertinent to the threat of the discussion -- thread of tehe discussion, was there no communication to the community that this was going to occur? there were a lot of people surprised by this action. >> i would like to meet with them and meet with you. twice i came to see you and you did not answer me when i asked for an appointment. i don't think this is the place to be discussing a very personal and emotional issues. i welcome an opportunity to continue this discussion and

collaboration on a personal level. supervisor mirkarimi: for the record, we had reached out a number of times. why wasn't there any communication to a community that had been demonstrating their support for decades in supporting the building in caretaking for the building, letting them know that the removal of the most prominent features of the church? >> this is the first time i have seen these people. mr. pritchard is the only person i have ever maher -- met. they did not reach out to me. supervisor mirkarimi: i am astonished by that answer, but i will take it for what you are suggesting. there has been not only an active community, but a very focused community in working with your id administration in

trying to caretaker for the building. how they live on the same block as to where your church is. >> and the only person that has gotten in touch with me is mr. pritchard. supervisor mirkarimi: this is why we are here. based on anecdotal evidence and the planning department, if there was sound intent to work with the community, it still violated what appeared to be the disregard for respecting the city process in the removing of those features. >> i just got through reading my understanding that i obey the law. supervisor mirkarimi: there is a point that there is a difference. but the point of spirit is that we broker the idea that there would be communication. you knew that the community had been partnering with the academy. why had there not been at least

the respect to tell them? >> you are talking about a relationship with mr. firth, not with me. supervisor mirkarimi: you are saying he did not require you to do this? >> he did not require it or discuss it with me. the you have anything in writing about this? supervisor mirkarimi: you said this was new information to you, the collaborative spirit that you were to engage in this level where the community was so concerned about the church that this was news to you? >> i am saying the only person i have met in this room, although there may he bbe some others, ws mr. pritchard. this should be discussed in private. supervisor mirkarimi: the damage

has been done, sir. >> i am trying to keep an inner- city school open. i've sent them to you already. supervisor mirkarimi: in 2005, when i met with mr. firth, did he not tell you that was part of the negotiation so that the property would be retained for the enhancement of the school and there be a scholarshipping of students? >> he did not. supervisor mirkarimi: i appreciate your time. [reads names] >> la, la, la. just kidding. i have similar comments to mr. pritchard.

i am a neighbor of the church. i am an architectural and the easiest. -- enthusiast. i want to know why mr. pritchard has admitted that he has the ability to contact, why were they not contacted about the removal of the windows? why were they not allowed to stay where they had been dedicated, and why was the community not given a chance to try to raise a matching offer? the father said that it was for financial trouble. that is fine. we can all respects that. at the same time, we were not given the opportunity to raise a counter offer. i must seriously question the

logic of the stained-glass window. that had been installed for over 130 years. it is not only an architectural element, you can see it from the exterior of the building. it is as much part of the building as the bricks that billed itself. -- build it itself. the father's actions make our regulations moot. if city hall allows this to happen, it will be setting a precedent. it was going to be moved in its entirety to florida, but now the city council members have wisely stated that they do not want city treasurer's paid for by city residents to be pawned off elsewhere. [chime] this treasure is gorgeous.

i encourage everyone to go see it. supervisor mirkarimi: who is next? next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i live just a couple of blocks away. i am deflated to hear that it might not be eligible for landmark status because of the removal of the artwork that as part of the fabric of san francisco. although the rose windows were installed in 1909, they were dedicated in 1910. there were two donors. they still reside in san francisco. i could not believe that anyone would mohawk a 92-ton altered.

-- altar. and they were all memorials dedicated to deceased relatives. there are still some windows int he chur -- in the church that are not as marketable as the windows that were taken. they commemorate the costello family that now lives on the peninsula. those windows are still intact, i think. i don't have much to add to the eloquent testimony before mine, but i would hope that the windows could be returned.

there is a registry of windows from this particular manufacturer, and they were located in san francisco by the man that was seeking information -- [chime] we would like to know where they have wound up. supervisor mirkarimi: [reads names] >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am part of one of san francisco's oldest preservation organizations. we directed our president to write a letter to both mayor newsom and others. i would like to read the letter to you. dear mayor newsom, at our

committee meeting on june 23, the details of the travesty occurring at the sacred heart church became known. when demolition companies and property owners hold the city and county in such contempt for the collective architectural heritage can do not honor a stop work order, which are all the worse for it. the victorian alliance stands with those in the broader community that the man that investigation into the actions of the academy and the demolition contractors. further, we wish to see the city filed suit against the perpetrators to seek restitution and return the articles removed from the church. respectfully,