thank you. next item, please. mr. clerk: commissioners, item number 16, the vice president's report. vice president clyde: it looks like unemployment benefits will most likely be extended for san franciscans who are unemployed, and why that is a big deal for small businesses is because people are struggling for work, and a loss of employment for 2500 to 3000 san francisco ins would make a huge impact, so that was good to see -- san

franciscans would make a huge impact, so that was good to see. and the president of chase manhattan bank, the ceo of chase manhattan bank, was quoted in "the new york times," saying that the access to capital is the number one barrier to small- business job creation right now in the country, so it is agreed and many, many levels that this barrier is important to address, so we are hoping in the new year that the banks and the federal government can work out something that will free up capital in the coming year, and the other thing i would like to mention is a homegrown san francisco company, with the assistance of the office of work force development held a conference in san francisco last week that attracted over 25,000

people. the company is committed to locating in san francisco. that is 3000 employees who will be working here. again, this is used by our own office of small business, and many small businesses, so i think this is a win-win for san francisco. so i would like to thank them and congratulate them, and as we know the economy in san francisco is slowly picking up, we are looking forward to a positive new year. that is my report. thank you. president yee riley: thank you. next item, please. mr. clerk: item number 17, commissioner reports. commissioners, item 18, general public comment. president yee riley: seeing

none, public comment is closed. mr. clerk: item number 19, a business. commissioner -- item number 19, new business. commissioner: i just want to say thank you to sfgtv. president yee riley: next item, please. mr. clerk: commissioners, item number 20, adjournment. president yee riley: so moved. mr. clerk: commissioners, the meeting is adjourned. president yee riley: thank you.

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- supervisor chu: good morning. welcome to the regular meeting of the city operations and neighborhood services committee. supervisor dufty is not on the

committee any longer. madam clerk, do we have any announcements? >> all persons attending this meeting are requested to turn off all cell phones and pagers. if you wish to submit copies of the material to the committee, please submit an extra copy to the file. if you wish to submit speaker cards, please place them by the container in front of you on the rail to your left. please call item -- supervisor chu: please call item no. 1. >> item number one, hearing to consider that the issuance of a type 48 on-sale general public premises liquor license (to upgrade current license type 42 on-sale beer and wine) to khaled dajani for bar 821, located at 821 divisadero street (district 5), will serve the convenience of the people of the city and county of san francisco. >> what is before you today is basically an existing license

where you serve beer or wine and they are attempting to get a tight 48, adding the distilled spirits component to the existing license. no. 42 would go away and it would become a 48. there are no letters of protest or support. we are recommending this license for approval with the following condition. one, sale and service permitted between the hours of 4:00 p.m. at 1:00 p.m. sunday through thursday, until 2:00 a.m. saturday and friday. the next condition is noise, defined as any rockets or sound produced in such a manner or to such a degree as to disturb the peace, quiet, and comfort of persons in the neighborhood, not being audible beyond the area of the controlled licensee.

lastly, no sound from the presence should be audible or vibration shall be felt beyond the ceiling of the premises. we are recommending this for approval supervisor chu: questions -- approval. supervisor chu: any questions from the committee? any public comment? seeing no one, public comment is closed. we have a motion to put this item forward with approval without objection. item number two, please. >> item #two. hearing to consider that the transfer of a type 48 on-sale general public premises liquor license from 1028 geary street to 1092 post street (district 6) to mark aloiau for m k aloiau llc, dba mark's bar will serve the convenience of the people of the city and county of san francisco. supervisor chu: thank you. inspector? >> good morning, supervisors. before us is an application for

a type 48 that will allow for unsell consumption of beer, wine, and distilled spirits like the previous license. currently this was vacant space and this applicant applied to move a license into this location. i would point out that there are no records of support or protest. we are recommending that his license be approved with the following conditions. serve only between 12:00 noon and 2:00 a.m. each day of the week, alcohol. noise behind as rockets or sound produced in such a manner or degree as to detect -- as to disturb the peace quiet and comfort of the persons in the neighborhood. condition no. 3, the sale of alcohol beverages strictly prohibited to maintain the --

persons and patrons in that portion of the premises with bridget portion of the premises. addition no. 5, no structural changes shall be made in the interior without written approval from the department. leslie, an electronic surveillance and recording equipment shall be used inside and outside of the premises as actively ain't -- maintained and recorded, placed -- let me start that again. this electronic surveillance shall be in place during operating hours. the electronic recording shall be kept for 72 hours and be made of available to the apartment or police department upon demand. supervisor chu: a quick question about electronic surveillance. we have seen a number of the licenses come before this committee before. this is one of the first we have seen that has electronic surveillance requirements. can you explain or elaborate why

that is? >> we have tried to use this in the past and are trying to now use it more. this corridor is evolving into an entertainment district. we are trying to go more in line with where we are headed in the future. this is very similar to what has been going on with discussions with the entertainment commission. ultimately, as you know, it is the authority of the abc to accept or reject the commission. supervisor chu: wonderful. any other comments? are there any members of the public that wish to speak on item number two? seeing no one, public comment is closed. approved without objection. item number three, please, thank you very much. >> item #3. resolution authorizing the

department of the environment to retroactively accept and expend a grant in the amount of $249,555 from the united states department of health and human services, centers for disease control and prevention to support the bayview hunters point healthy homes project by developing policies and services to improve indoor air quality in public housing. supervisor chu: thank you very much. we have representatives from the department of the environment. >> in implementing the healthy homes project we are trying to work with housing developments we performed a service with, finding that 38% have mold, 40% cockroaches, 18% rodents. there is a hidden use with toxic products and indoor air quality. this grant will fund existing staff and community groups to educate on less toxic cleaning products.

supervisor chu: a grant that would not require additional positions at the department? >> correct. supervisor chu: this is to address alternative to toxins for control of mold? >> absolutely. supervisor chu: let's open this up for public comment. are there any members of the public that wish to speak? seeing no one, public comment is closed. supervisor avalos: motion to approve supervisor chu:chu without a budget -- motion to approve. supervisor chu: without objection. item number four, please. >> item #4. hearing on park safety within golden gate park including lighting of paths and other security measures, coordination and communication between recreation and park staff and the san francisco police department, and the level of park patrol staffing in the current year and upcoming budget year as proposed. supervisor chu: i have brought

this item as a hearing matter before the committee. a hearing that is co-sponsored by supervisor mar. many residents have brought to our office previously concerns over golden gate park on the western end of the city. in addition to that we have seen a number of incidents that have occurred there this past year. one of the main points of the hearing today is to hear from the general manager, to hear from the police department to talk more about safety in the parks. what are some of the measures and challenges that we are taking? challenges the department faces a in being able to make sure that golden gate park is a safe place for residents and visitors alike. let's invite mr. phil ginsburg.

>> thank you. we are very grateful that you call this hearing this morning. >san francisco was blessed with nearly 4,000 acres of open space that offer an important respite for socialization and rejuvenation of mines, body, and spirit. the parks are sacred spaces but are not immune from the challenges of urban living. while overall the parks are safe, it is incumbent upon us to make them safer and create for park users the greatest sense of security in our open spaces and recreational facilities. because of the iconic stature, these public parks are often front and center in these discussions. golden gate park has been an important part of the city, surveyed and designed by william

hall, who designed upon visiting the park in 1886, no city in the world would have as good a reason for taking pride in their park as san francisco. today as then people come for picnics, walks, bicycles, gardens and museums. perhaps for a greater reason as he noted, as a release from the ordinary circumstances of life. 1,017 acres, approximately one- quarter of the urban parks system. approximately 680 acres of forested areas with 33 acres of lakes and 15 miles of driving. annual use of the park is estimated to average between 13,000,015 million visits each year. approximately half of san

francisco residents living in the city and around the world. the economic value of the park has not been estimated for over one decade. in 2000 before the academy was rebuilt the retention power of the park was recorded to create an economic benefit for san francisco. today the figure is likely greater. similarly surrounding real- estate values create premiums estimated in one-half of $1 billion and property tax revenue of $5 billion per year. in our view park safety can be directly correlated to positive and negative views. our parks are staples when they are well loved, maintained and activated. three years ago there were dilapidated and used only as a last option. the fields were often empty providing is setting life for

illicit activities. today with the generosity of the city field foundation there is activity day and night. while they are not immune to the illegal activities across the city, it has become a healthier and safer destination. mclaren park has seen increases over the past several years thanks to active support from the at the theater and regular volunteer work parties with mounted park patrols through activation and presence. we are attempting to cultivate this type of activity across the city. special vents in the plaza makes the park safer by giving people a reason to use it. daytime park safety in particular is reinforced and enabled by positive park activation through sports, regular uses -- uses and star -- strong

our biggest challenges, in my view, are at night. in my view, nothing good happens in our parks at 2:00 in the morning. overall, we have been successfully vigilant in our approach to enforcement of illegal campers. it is something which we still struggle with. since july, and golden gate park, we have had two homicides, a stabbing, the bull attack, and a sexual assault. in all of these cases, either the victim or perpetrator was in a camper illegally in the park. what is incidences have caught our attention, we struggle routinely with incidences of the vandalism in the parks. in golden gate park, we had rosebushes cut, and a golf course destroyed.

the cost of more teen vandalism is immense. graffiti, stole an irrigation wire, dumping. we are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year cleaning up after bad behavior in our park system at a time when we cannot afford critical services in our facilities. in 1977, we had 135 staff dedicated to maintaining golden gate park. in 1994, we had 99. the golden gate master plan, which was ratified by the planning commission in 1998 recommends 130. today, we have less than 70. we are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars every year cleaning up after vandalism and illegal dumping. we currently have 21 budgeted fte's for park staff, which

translates to three per department full time. 14 golden gate, one for candlestick, and one for the remaining 222 parks and our system. we are doing the best we can, and even with the tremendous cooperation of the police department, this is not a formula for success. the golden gate master plan includes a chapter on part safety. it underscores the importance of maintaining a safe park and calls for a number of stress -- steps. one of the reasons we are grateful for this hearing today is to contemplate legislation to assist the police department in calling for stiffer penalties for certain crimes. it talks about ensuring the highest possible level of maintenance in our parks. it talks about expanding park patrol to 24 hours a day, which is something we have done, with

limited resources. it talks about a british court nation with san francisco police. i do not think that court nation has ever been stronger. we are not challenged by a lack of cooperation by the san francisco police department to work with us or with our park patrol. it talks about an interagency approach to adapt -- address camping, drug abuse, and other problems in the park. we are out in golden gate park every morning with a combination of service providers, part professionals, and representatives from the police department in a multi-pronged approach to assist illegal campers and to enforce our current code. it talks about involving park community groups. you have captains here today from the park station that can talk about their community advisory board, and our

collective efforts to talk about park safety. it recommends park maintenance staff wear uniforms, something we will be starting in january. it talks about a number of physical improvements and landscape improvements that can be made to improve sightlines and lighting, which in some cap our resources we have been working on. our greatest story for success continues to the activation in our parks. we have a number of projects specifically in golden gate park which we think will improve that. we have improved lighting at the soccer field. we think off the grid, perhaps a new skateboard park on waller is one way to activate community pticipation. i want to invite some of my

colleague to talk about our operational challenges, some of the things we're doing in golden gate park to ensure a safe environment. >> supervisors, director of operations with rec and parks. i will address the operational aspects of park safety, since all the gardners, custodians, street crew, part control, preparation staff, fall under operations. part safety falls under two categories, a property crime, which is what i will address, and the violent crime, which i will refer to sfpd. property crime then divides into two categories for us, vandalism -- which still addressephil addressed --taggint

irrigation heads, cut wire, stolen metal, and by that i mean plaques off of statues, gutter covers, run over a street light poles, arson, cut trees, stolen plant material, off-road damage. the other larger area of property crimes is illegal dumping. in golden gate park alone, every week we collect 3.3 tons of the illegal dumping, which is principally left there by the illegal campers mentioned previously. on our effort to try to combat this within golden gate park, our staff presence is the following. we have 69 landscapes that,

gardeners, supervisors, open for a street tree crew, 10 custodians, and on average, three patrol park officers working throughout the park. they are our eyes and ears for vandalism. they are the ones ever for the work orders to repair the vandalism. important for us, overwhelmingly, vandalism is discovered by park staff. upon their arriva upon their are morning. the inference is this is happening at night. it is exceptionally rare that we or the public reports of vandalism at a time. although costs are somewhat subjective, it is our estimate that one-third to one-half of the 14,000 structural made its work force order that we receive annually for all of our part to mitigate vandalism -- basically,

one-third of one half of them are due to vandalism. that equates to up to $300,000 worth of annual materials cost and for annual salary, $4.6 million annually throughout the system. golden gate park is roughly one- third of our park system's acreage, so extrapolating from those numbers, it demonstrates golden gate vandalism costs the city anywhere from $1.5 million to $2.2 million annually to mitigate. it is important to point out, the fund that we spend to mitigate been those in our funds that cannot be spent to further improve the parks for all of our park users. the other part of property crime i mentioned was illegal dumping. in golden gate alone, our fees for the weekly three-plus time to collect his 27,005 under

dollars annually. we employ two full-time cleanup crews seven days a week, and this results in saw costs to $377,000 annually. together, the park spends approximately $400,000 annually in the clean-up costs for illegal dumping and other debris brought into the part. in summary, speaking from a property crime perspective, our parks are not unsafe, but in the hours of darkness, our public safety concern is significantly increased due to design and infrastructure issues that do not support nighttime use. to echo with the general manager says, nothing happens in a dark park landscape at night. i now turn the microphone over to richard from the police department.