activists in the san francisco. i'm holding up a book about the deadly street land trust. is probably the model about how communities can build themselves up from within and not be gentrified and displaced from without. call me idealistic, but if they can do it in boston, why can't we do it in san francisco? why can't we do something like this in the tenderloin? it seems to me this is long overdue in san francisco and it's a great opportunity to begin to think about doing this in the tenderloin. the proposal before us, it seems to me, and i come here with 15 years of experience as an affordable housing advocate and someone who fought like hell during a the dot com them to stop the caster from gentrifying. it seems like this is a recipe for gentrification and

displacement is poor people removal. i oppose it and i airports -- i oppose welfare for rich corporations like twitter. i oppose extending this welfare threat to geographic district of tenderloin when that means poor people can be displaced. many of them clear and transgendered people. i do not hear a plan to counter this. i am wrong and people do get displaced telesis city going to do at that point? -- what is the city going to do at that point? don't give us gentrification and displacement. supervisor chu: if i could ask folks to hold their applause until we get there public comment, that would be great. >> a quick hello to my wife who is watching at home. i'm the artistic director of nonprofit filipino-american theater south of market. i'm here with you today to ask

you to postpone this legislation. although i do like twitter and i see the wonderful things it has done in regards to what happened in egypt and its use as a tool for social networking, i just don't understand how company valued at $4.5 billion can't ask for tax breaks from the city who is in dire need of income. i attended the south of market district 6 budget meeting last week. we see how bleak the situation is here, not only in district 6, but the entire city. i just don't understand how we can actually look at this and not see -- i just read the

article about twitter getting benefits like foot patrol, a police patrol and a special muni line when muni itself needs to be fixed. it is horrendous to have to deal with the kind of customer service you experience with muni. in the sixth street area, we are hoping for a police substation there and twitter is actually going to get free foot patrol. at the cost of the city. these are the kinds of things i just don't understand. in the long run, they can afford to help revitalize the city. [tone] supervisor chu: thank you. i'm going to call a few more names. [reading names]

>> good morning, supervisors. i'm a tenderloin resident and i'm here to speak in strong support of this ordinance. as we all know, the payroll tax is a job killer. it probably should be abolished city-wide. but the proposal, limited in scope as it is, is a good social experiment and should be tried. certainly, the city should rely more on the gross receipts tax, which is a much more progressive, fair, and equitable way to generate revenue. regarding the comments by one of your colleagues, there is no preclusion by supervisor proposing something city-wide. but this is a good start. finally, let me say this -- if

gentrification is to tear down that burnt out hollywood billiards building, or philip the hibernia bank, then i'm all for gentrification. -- or fill up the hibernia bank, all for gentrification. >> good morning, supervisors. i'm a resident of tenderloin and i'm also the coordinator of tenderloin filipino american association. i'm here today to express that our organization's position is to oppose this corporate tax break given to twitter. the reason is, unless our city can clearly tell us how the tenderloin and our community, the low income community would benefit from this legislation. if twitter has a clear benefit

because of tax breaks, this suggests our community should also have clear benefits in this legislation. benefits should be two-way, not one-way. i would like to urge the good supervisor kim work with our community to demand benefits for low-income residents so that this legislation should have a strong community benefits agreement. that will offer employment to tenderloin resident for entry- level jobs and job-training opportunities for low-income people in our community. [tone] we would like to see companion legislation that would protect our communities from this space

and help create affordable housing. we would like this legislation to stay in this committee until these conditions are met for our community. thank you very much. supervisor chu: thank you. could you say your name one more time for the record? >> good afternoon. i'm a resident of south of market. our community, we need jobs training for our people. we also need better quality affordable housing. many families in our communities are living in overcrowding housing because there is not affordable housing, so i want to thank all of the supervisors. supervisor chu: thank you.

>> hello. i represent south of market committee action network's. i'm going to read a letter that was written by one of our youth members from our youth program. dear budget and finance committee, good morning. i am with the south of market community action network. i'm writing to you to request your committee votes on continuing the discussion of the payroll tax expense tax exclusion ordinance. i feel it is important to continue the discussion because the community needs the additional time -- because the community needs additional time to discuss the community benefits agreement and strengthen the community benefits agreement. currently, twitter plan on

providing local jobs and internships for college and graduate students. but the problem is, the residents of the tenderloin and south of market do not all fall into the category of college and graduate school students. in that case, how will twitter moving into our community be of any justice to us? that's why the community benefits agreement is necessary. we need to have a means of bringing justice to our community and the community benefits agreement is a way of doing that. that is why i must urge you, the committee, to vote on continuing the payroll tax exclusion ordinance discussion. thank you. >> i'm from the middletown heritage foundation. i'm also -- from the manila town heritage foundation. we have a good relationship on

that use-empowering -- youth- and powering -- one of our students rights -- -- one of our studentswrites -- i'm writing to request your community boats on continuing the tax exclusion ordinance. twittered moving to our committed -- moving to our community may have benefits of our own but there are also cost displacements to people living in it ever had. landlords may increase the cost of land in which neighborhood -- in which twitter will be sharing. most of the people in that area are low in come residents. would make it difficult to pay rent. the only way twitter can be responsible is committing to the community benefits agreement by

keeping our neighborhoods healthy. this letter is clearly a reflection that people worry and a lot of families and use worry it may cause displacement. that is why there are a lot of community workers here coming to you guys and discussing the community benefits agreement and working with us community workers because we're the ones to face the families being evicted because they cannot pay the rent and a already have three jobs and still struggling to pay their rent. continue the discussion and thank you and have a good day. >> one of the things i want to talk about is you ask for our help to be in this position, to be supervisors, for all of the

stuff that's going to be good for our community. i'm not talking about latinos or filipinos, and talking about the good for the community. this is not even half the request we have. it is about being good for the community and as the director of twitter says, they are always looking after the community. it doesn't seem light -- it doesn't even sound like day are doing this things -- it doesn't even sound like they are doing those things they're talking about. i really oppose this and we strongly recommend to keep looking for other options that can work out for the best of the community. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> i am also representing the

filipino family inside of market. the low income family community is struggling. we need jobs and job training for our people. unemployment and underemployment is high. we also need better quality affordable housing. many families in our community live in overcrowded housing because there is not enough affordable housing. for those views that are interested to join the twitter, that is not in city college or they are not afford to go in college. they want to have a chance to join the twitter even though they are not in college. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you.

i'm going to call two more names. [reading names] thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i am here today on behalf of use and families regarding the present twittered dialogue along with the payroll exempt ordinance. we begin by noting the central market area does not merely include just market street, it includes essential elements of the soma including market street and alleyways. whether the -- though the casual visitor to san francisco mac theaters and blighted markets on market street, that it includes community-based organizations. if the we don't fully agree to

the payroll expense tax exclusion in the central market ordinance, we share that same concerns about jobs, small business opportunities, micro enterprise, arts organizations, and a safety. insuring economic good for the whole city does not mean gentrification to the soma and tenderloin working-class families, immigrants and people of color who reside around the central market. we are really disappointed to hear twitter claims they are socially responsible but yet they don't want to talk to the community about how they're going to be socially responsible neighbors. on top of that, asking the city to provide tax breaks for them but also asking them to provide foot patrols and more muni lines -- where is the money coming from? those foot patrols will not be there for free. that is going to be coming out of the city.

we need to make sure we stop this idea of a revitalization for corporations to stay in the city but no real revitalization for the whole community. [tone] we urge you to continue this ordinance at the budget committee. we have letters in terms of our position. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon, members of the committee. my name is jeremy miller and i'm co-director of education and incarceration in district 6. i'm here to express deep concern over the payroll expense tax ordinance that is on the table. our organizational position on the matter is that it is a very,

very bad idea and would be detrimental to the community. that twitter, if it wants to show its commitment to the community and the betterment of the neighborhood can pay its taxes and that money can be used then to provide necessary services, job development, housing aid, the things that are actually needed in the neighborhood by the residents and small businesses of this area. the idea of we should give a tax break to twitter is also -- that is open to other corporations to follow and rely on them to provide these community betterment aids, shall we say, is ridiculous. -- community betterment aides. we have no evidence this will actually happen. quite the contrary. if we look at the people who are

living there that will be impacted by this exemption, by and large, what we predicted as we will see these people will see absolutely no benefit from twitter coming in and will face possible displacement. with this in mind, we ask you please, to not go ahead with this proposed tax exemption. [tone] >> hello. i am part of an ownership of the good life grocery which has been running a grocery store for 35 years in san francisco. i pay my payroll taxes and i am proud to pay this tax is because it goes into the city funds to help service all of us. [applause]

supervisor chu: if i could ask folks to hold their applause, please. >> i think it's socially irresponsible to ask twittered not to pay taxes. we should not give tax breaks to billionaire corporations just like we should not give tax benefits to the wealthy in this country. i did not come here today to speak, but the more i learn about this proposal, the more unfair it seems to small- business is in this city that run the engines of this city. twitter should be encouraged to stay. they should be encouraged to stay because it's the best city to run a business and we need to promote that, not give them tax breaks. like i said, we opened our business in 1974. in 1991, we opened a store on board a heights on cortland avenue that had no businesses that are open. we have been credited with the revitalization of the area and

we got no tax breaks and provided over $30,000 in payroll tax from are too small businesses to the city's coffers. i think i should expect twitter to do the same. [tone] [applause] supervisor chu: if i could ask folks to hold their applause until we get through public comment. >> speaker please. >> good morning. hi, twitter. [unintelligible] i have read your cba twice early in the morning. it is good. it gives a big break to the community, but as i read, it's

not too clear. first of all, i would say i don't see dollar involvement in there. the tenderloin area is struggling. first of all, in affordable housing, and jobs. at this moment, everybody is requesting to have your cba cleared. i would request supervisor david chiu, i have read your going to be a candidate for the mayor. i would request you put this under the committee, not the legislation so the community will be heard first.

the community is first. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you very much. let me call a few more names. [reading names] >> i'm with local 87 we represent janitors in the private sector. last week, we brought about 40 of are janitors that had been sitting on the bench. 40 of about 300 janitors that have been unemployed over the last two and half years. we are very much in support of twitter being able to come into 1355 market. that building is to have a 22 janitors and is down to three and a half now. triple a building is empty. there have been a lot of jobs we of lost along the corridor. i want to tell folks from the community that are here, the people i represent live in that same district. there is not a day our mothers or fathers who have to pick up

their kids from school and have to walk through the streets where there are a lot of people getting high, sticking needles in their arm and all you can hear down the block is there are kids walking by. i appreciate that they have some level of consciousness to stop at that moment, but the reality is there are not a lot of large businesses running into this district to open shop and establish themselves. i think it's the city's responsibility to revitalizes neighborhood. this neighborhood is one of the most overlooked ones. there are a lot of residential, low-income buildings in this district. do we need more? absolutely. but in order to revitalize a community, you have to start with the job development. jobs, jobs, jobs is what is necessary, otherwise we will be seen as the overlooked tenderloin community that will always be in dire straits. one of the things i do support is there should be continued negotiations of the community benefit fund. that is absolutely necessary because of your going to start

anywhere with job development, it should be with kids in junior high. twitter should offer these kids -- they are their biggest clients -- kids in junior high and middle school and kids in high school. if we get those children now, by the time they're set to graduate high school, they're able to go on to college with some job experience [tone] . >> i believe the next -- supervisor chu: i believe the next two speakers are combining their time. the clerk could set aside four minutes. go for it. >> the computer display, please.

i think i have always had technical difficulties. supervisor chu: next speaker, please. >> i'm a dancer and i have walked down the streets of seventh and market and six an hour for that last several years. i've seen a culture of chaos that exists on those streets. i'm not a resident, but i'm a renter of central market. i made about $12,000 last year. the culture of chaos that exists

on those streets must exit -- must change for artists and residents to be successful there. there are many people who come to the streets who don't live in this area who simply come because transit is readily available and they create a culture which is detrimental to the area. last year, i volunteered over 600 hours to bring art to the street to create 24 days of the central market arts. i saw firsthand how a change in foot traffic can really affected the image of a community. bringing twitter here and also the hub and the satellite of small businesses that would benefit from twitter's appearance could have a positive benefit for the community. some of those jobs will benefit residents. not all of them will be for college students. it is said -- it is important we support twitter's interest in

allowing that hub of economic activity to occur. supervisor chu: thank you very much. >> speaker, pleas>> [speaking s >> what she is trying to say right now is if we pay taxes and we do all those things on a regular basis, why twitter can't be paying taxes? >> [speaking spanish]

>> what she is saying is if they are committed to work with us at 100%, it's good to have them in the neighborhood, otherwise we don't want them here. >> [speaking spanish] >> she is asking for support from us, that community, the same way we are requesting to all of you that you support us on that decision. supervisor chu: thank you. >> [speaking spanish]

>> what she is saying is she lives in the sunset. what she is saying is that everybody pays their taxes and there has been a lot of cuts in the city in programs for even her kids, they have been cut by all of these deficits. >> [speaking spanish]