was in folsom because of fire had taken place, at the hotel with 48 units. this occupied the ground floor space. the building has been declared uninhabitable. i really want to highlight the importance of supporting the new business that comes to help revitalize the community, and also stylets of the challenges. and i know that you will talk about these as you speak to the board of supervisors. thank you so much for being here today. this means so much in terms of small business. this is the highest commendation and -- the highest commendation for what you have done. thank you. >> hello, everyone.

we are honored -- all of us are humbled by this recognition from the great mayor, and the supervisor who has accomplished more than district 6 has seen in the past. and to the supervisors, we thank you. four years ago, my business partner -- my business partner and i had a vision or we could make a difference. in 2007 we purchased the most blighted building in sixth street. we took the plants from 1910, and reproduced these into the new fashion cafe. you truly feel as if you passed through a time warp going into the cafe.

i always knew that if one great project took off, the rest would follow. i did not imagine that with the help of the board of supervisors, we could accomplish so much. the sixth street revival began in earnest, as this up in the face of diversity, we met a statement that the neighborhood was ready for change. we had the courage to bring this to sixth street. we put our lives on the line to say that the great interest of san francisco -- this would not lead to a ghetto.

we were all inspired by the new supervisor, and with the aid of the president of the board of supervisors, we have begun to make this difference, and with a few tweaks in enforcing the laws, a party on the books we are on the cusp of having a great neighborhood. this has brought up a new stability that as long sought. we cannot dictate the peaceful people who are living out their lives on our neighborhood. this is a neighborhood of disenfranchise residence, with many other outstanding residence -- residents and some are floundering. we at passions cafe , we give

people with problem passed a second chance. i will continue to be on the board, in conjunction with urban solutions. we will have a longtime commitment to advancing these causes. i want to thank you for the honor that you have given us. thank you. >> thank you. we appreciate this very much. thank you for recognizing us today. this is the right time for us to come. we really appreciate this.

we have this one year ago and this was on fire. everything was destroyed. we were very sad, and this is a new beginning for us. we will look at this soon, and here -- >> we thank you, supervisor, for coming to support us. you have only been in office such a short time. and i have had some of the interactions with you. this fire is not going to stop us and we will open again. my mom is so strong.

and we are thankful. [applause] [applause] >> the next presentation is by our colleague from district no. 2. >> before i do this, i would

like to mention the members of the small business commission. today, i have a great honor of recognizing one of my favorite restaurants in the second district. here are the owners. if they are still here? he is no longer with us? he had to take off. that is the way that things go here. this came up to san francisco -- and this has operations in a number of different districts. and one of my favorite

locations, the one on fillmore street. i think a few things that make them stand out and really this is the fundamental commitment to give back to the community. they pay above the minimum wage, providing health care and other benefits to the employees. their business has made a pledge to contribute to the community, and every week, all year long, the host the committee fund- raiser and donate a percentage of sales to organizations focus on children's health and welfare. -- health and welfare. they have given $30,000 to the organizations dedicated to education and will give over $130,000 in 2001. and besides being a business that gives back to the community, they are extremely successful. and also, they are a fun place

to go, not just for people after softball games, but also for families. and having movie night with the kids. we have done this number of times and we're honored to have you today. thank you for everything you do for the community. thank you. >> i would like to say thank you, this is truly an honor to be here and be appreciated. and i want to thank all the other small businesses in san francisco that paved the way. if it was not for the small businesses, nobody would be here. this is an amazing city and we are privileged to be able to do business.

>> the next presentation is by supervisor elsbernd. >> last but not least, let me just say to my colleagues, a few of you show some places i would have loved to have selected. thank you. i was just saying, a lot of you chose some places i absolutely loved. my choice to date is a very special place, in district 7. today is a good day for ocean

avenue. my selection is also on ocean avenue. i would like to thank him and ask him to come up. >> let me tell you a little bit about this. they have been there -- and when you think small business, this is small business. pretty much, this is cheesecake. you are not going there for coffee. you will go for cheesecake. this is the best that you will ever have. and just to give you a little bit about that this place -- i figured, we will do a search -- what will i find? there is actually a clip that shows you how to slice a piece

of their cheesecake. this is actually a very delicate operation. when he sells this cheesecake, this comes with a piece of fish wire. that is what used to cut this. this is just amazing. i suppose this is appropriate to be the last one. a couple of view -- i can see that she has had a couple of these in her time. this is just fantastic. let me also throw out -- if there is one thing that brings him together with me, it is this cheesecake.

not too far from where he lives, he would agree that this is the best cheesecake around. this is just phenomenal. what most like is that there is such reverence to the cheesecake. just from the customers, this is the utmost respect for the great craft that you have developed. and it is phenomenal and it is lucky that we have you in san francisco. the reviews of the people who purchased them and take them around the world, to their friends and family because they are so amazing. thank you for everything that you have done, or all the customers. and we hope that you do this for another 30 years. [applause]

[applause] >> supervisor, i thank you very much. this is an honor for both joyce, my wife, and i. to be a part o fthis with all these wonderful people. you do add to the spice of this great city. you were talking about the cheese cake. it is a bridge that brings us together. we all need this. if this is cheesecake or pizza,

or taking care of the -- the contractor. this is just a wonderful -- all the stories are great and we are happy to be here with all of you. thank you. [applause] >> i feel like we need a dinner break before the rest of our agenda. we have a couple of quick presentations. the first is to mayor lee. jason elliot. >> cesar vasquez, come up. [applause]

this is the family on business since the establishment and they are celebrating their 50th anniversary. the mayor is joined by supervisor campos in honoring today. they sell fresh meat and specially prepared dishes. you and your family have donated food to support the mission educational project, and the 24th street merchants and neighborhood association. if i could live a cut -- if i could read a couple proclamations from the mayor. as san francisco is proud of the role that you play in the economic development, you provide jobs and opportunity for the residence, with a new and established families in the mission district.

you are an indictable resources and a community partner, a true inspiration to everyone. be it resolved that i, the mayor of the city of san francisco proclaim may 17, 2011 as la -- day in san francisco. >> i would like to thank the mayor, especially for this honor. i would like to thank the director. director campos. my family has been at this ever since. this has been a real honor to be part of san francisco and what we do, and this is and ought to be part of the small business commission, and this is a great

honor to be here tonight. this is very flattering. thank you very much. >> it is my honor to present the last two certificates of honor of the day. the present small business commission, 90% of all the businesses in our city are small businesses. it was not until 2007 that the city and county of san francisco created the office of small

business to serve all of you. there are only four staffers working for the office. and i hope that we can continue to think about increasing this office with a budget compensation. we have an incredibly -- an incredible executive director, please give them a round of applause. they're not the people i am about to recognize. the individuals i will recognize are responsible for assisting 2600 existing small businesses per year, and this is an incredible number. thousands of businesses come to city hall with their questions. they worked tirelessly every day to provide tremendous customer service to the businesses that are creating jobs and building the economy today. these individuals are fluent in

chinese and spanish and have provided a tremendous outreach to the latino and the chinese and asian communities. everyone of us have probably referred dozens of cases to these individuals. can you join me in thanking couple of individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. it is my pleasure to introduce -- to present you with certificates of honor. >> thank you. i hope you do not mind that i prepared some notes. thank you, members of the board of supervisors. i am honored to take this award on behalf of the small business center. i am proud of what we are able to accomplish and the services that we're able to provide to the san francisco community with a limited staff. last year we had 2600 cases, up

from 1200 in 2008. in this economy, we have had to do more with less. this is the reason that we believe in the work that we do and the importance of the assistance center. this is where we are humbled by the recognition because this shows us that you do as well. we're able to provide services in spanish and mandarin, and in chinese. thank you for including language to require the center to offer more of these services. this is an important component of the work. articulately during this time of the lawsuits, as previously mentioned. i think i speak for everyone

when i say, when i say that we enjoy the work that we do, and we are ready and willing to help the small businesses in any way that we can. we look for to continue working with you and your staff, thank you and now, -- we thank you as well. >> i was going to break out in song but i will spare you. i have prepared some notes on my cellular phone. i will thank president chu and all the board of supervisors. i never imagined i would be working for the government. i have been a small-business owner for six years.

it is an honor to help the small business owners today. and let them know what i have gone through, let them know about some of the mistakes that i have made. it is easy to come to work every day when you love what you do and you are passionate about this. we serve thousands of clients every year at the office, and i will give you a sample of some of the cases that we encounter on a daily basis. there was a family of four who came to me, a couple of kids with mom and dad. the parents have both lost their jobs and did not know where to turn. they thought that they should start cleaning business. so they came to the office and said, how do i start a cleaning business for the city of san francisco? i went through this with them and gave them the applications, the business registrations and the tax collector's office, the

fictitious business name. and then we spoke about the different resources that are available for the non-profit organization. we can help them put together a business plan. i felt really good about what i did. it felt like i was able to help them create true jobs in the city. and this happened a lot, where families come in, when both of the parents have lost their jobs. we also have it -- had a case with the supervisor chu. the landlord was taking advantage of him because he could not speak english. we were able to get the legal resources to assist them, and now they are on call to serve the neighborhood. it had been a shame to see them take advantage of because they did not speak the language.

they actually help another business that came into the office wanting to purchase a hookah lounge. this is not allowed in san francisco. he was happy he learned about this legislation, and as supervisor chu mentioned, we're working with businesses that have faced these lawsuits and we have several businesses who have called us and ask for assistance. all of these results are achieved by the hard work of the office. at the same time, this is the collaboration between this office and many of you, many members of the board of supervisors and many of the city departments that we work very closely with and a lot of the nonprofits i mentioned earlier that provide a ton of resources to small businesses, and soap

-- last but not least, i would like to say that a lot of people, when they find out that the office of small business is the department of people including the director -- there often surprised. i say that we are small but we are mighty. and i would like to say a few words in chinese to reach out to my chinese constituents. [speaking chinese] [applause]

>> supervisors, i am the vice- president of the small business commission and i want to thank each and everyone of you for the great selections that you have made today. it makes me proud to live in san francisco. i want to acknowledge supervisor avalos for waiving the permitting fees at all of you for approving this. as presence of the merchants of upper market and the castro, this is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. this is a draw not only for my neighborhood but the route the city and i thank you for putting forward this legislation. i want to thank you for your proclamation yesterday, to begin small business week. this was at the of that last

night and we had over 2000 small business participants there last night. mirkarimi and weiner were there. i want to talk about my fellow commissioners who are here today, regina and her staff. they do an incredible job for the city of san francisco. i want to thank all of you. i am just in proud that we have a board of supervisors that support small business, and on behalf of the small business commission, i want to thank you for your tireless worker. thank you very much. >> i want to thank you for being here. this does conclude this session. at the small business week.

-- happy small business week. we have a little bit more business to conduct, if you can leave the chamber quietly this would be appreciated. we should move out the general public comment. >> this is the opportunity for members of the public to address the board for up to two minutes on items within the subject matter and jurisdiction of the board, including those items being considered for unanimous adoption, but excluding those that have already been considered by the committee. they may address the board for two minutes and each member of the public will be given the same number of minutes to speak except for those using translation assistant. they will be allowed to testify for twice this time. if you would like a document be displayed on the overhead projector, please save this and remove the documents