that will have absolute anonymity. once again, amay want and surprise. i am surprised that we are even questioning abandment over children over maybe a few feet and over maybe some extra cars in the neighborhood. that is the most amazing thing i have heard from in ages. we just got a report that children and families are abandoning this city left and right. now we take children who have no families to take care of them, to help and support them as they grow into adulthood and if they're going to be supported, it's up to our institutions to do it and now we tell them go out on the street -- or whatever you go, let somebody else take care of

it. i know it's politically incorrect to talk about racism these days. people always want to claim that you're playing the race card but i'm old enough to know that race ain't a game. but i will say that my daddy taught me a long time ago that if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck. brothers and sisters, you got yourself a duck. thank you. president chiu: next speaker. >> good evening president chiu, sfrmplets i'm andy with the san francisco bicycle coalition and we support this project. we applaud the intensification of uses that this project brings. desirable uses and that is well-supported by the transportation aspects of this project. it is located in a site well-served by transit and sits

at the intersection of two major bicycle grufmentse the project provides almost no parking for cars. we think this is a very worthy project on that basis and the intensification of uses will be supported by these transit resources. this is co-heernlt with planning code and the city's larger policy goals. here we have a chance to live up to our aspirations for housing. additionally is provision provides place to store 80 bikes. and on that basis again, the coalition is very supportive and hope that you'll bring this project forward. thank you. president chiu: next speaker. >> president chiu, supervisors. my name is sam. i'm a nearby homeowner close to the project and for 20 years i've been the head of drews

school. our students and speechers have interacted with booker t. in an array of service and educational projects and i'm very proud of the sustained relationship that we've had. i'm also very proud of the public. very open relationship that we've had regarding the gymnasium that we share. in my mind it's a wonderful example of collaboration between two very caring institutions. today i'm here to urge you to deny the appeal before you and to support the project as it exists. i would suggest that there are two main areas for us to consider. one is the reality, the very real need for this project. booker t. has faith li served our unit -- faithly served our community for well over 50 years, addressing the needs of all ages. people right out of high

school. it's given an array of services, including vocational training. in computers there's an exciting new opportunity in youth radio as well. the housing that's before us is about transitional age youth, foster care. the needs there are very real and have been arctic lated to you. the sbeg active -- integrity of leadership is the second one i'd like you to see this project through. i've spent churnings out of most weeks of those 20 years off and on at booker t. i have to say that the leadership, whether it's the board, the current executive director or the hands-on staff that's there truly are remarkable. they deserve and need the support that they're asking for. this is a group that's proactive with a vix of caring. they're very responsible, very communicative with us as neighbors. it's a very intelligent group

and incredibly respectful to their clientele and the needs of our greater neighborhood. what is before us is an organization with solid leadership trying to address the very real needs of an often group of disenfranchised group of our city. it will be a wonderful decision to our city and ultimately i would have you believe that it's the right project for the right reasons at the right time. thank you. 6 >> good evening. my name is jenny perlman. i'm here on behalf of the board of trust knees on the little school. we urge you to support is booker t. washington project. we are a neighbor located at lyons street and we believe this project would be good for the neighbor. recently the little school has been investigating the

possibility of opening a second childcare center at the booker t. washington project. the idea would be to have a mixed group of families and to serve the children of the parents of the children at booker t. washington. we believe that you should support the development of this project, as the little school does. booker t. washington community center as you know and as you've heard from many people tonight has a long track record of serving children, family, youth, and immigrants in the neighborhood. the little school stands behind ensuring strong neighborhood institutions that be be viable and add a vibrancy to the neighborhood and have the ability to thrive for the long term. in addition, we are excited about the possibility of a new childcare center at the booker t. washington site.

this would provide needed services and also childcare to san francisco and specifically in the western addition. we believe that this would provide more children with the opportunity to receive the essential foundation for school readiness, long-term check achievements and a range of possible social and emotional outcomes that research has shown preschool does provide. this is especially true for underserved young children that may be a part of this new booker t. washington childcare center. many over, a core component is is creating a core community that values different life

experiences and we believe it would bring important diversity to the neighborhood. thus we urge your support of the project. president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> hello, board. i'm john chapman. i'm here to approve -- got nervous. i'm sorry. i'm going to speak from my heart, honest limit i was homeless for about a year and y'all should approve this because it gives children and people my age a chance to honestly better themselves. if you do not approve this puts more people on the street and more foster child children just like out back without a chance or a fighting chance. so you should approve this four stories, six stories, or five stories. to be honest. y'all should do it. regardless. that's all i have to say.

>> mr. president, members of the board. i'm brad paul and speaking today as a father and individual with over 30 years of experience in housing and land use policy in san francisco. i support this project as currently proposed for economic reasons, humanitarian reasons and design reasons. on the economic side you've heard that lowering this increases the operating losses. while i appreciate the mayor's office of housing offer to cover those losses i agree with commission erron miguel who said i understand what the word "covering" means. it means you're taking that $500,000 or so away from some other deserving project to make this work. we can't afford to do that. on the humanitarian side, that's nine fewer projects each year but over the life of the project, that's hundreds of fewer kids who will not have their lives changed for the better because of this.

these are kids that are at the greatest risk of homelessness, of ending up in jail. with the income they're going to have they can't afford cars. they will take one of the seven muni lines that serves the site. but i think the biggest reason to support this is the consequences of the so-called compromise which would severely come mice the project. this is the third plan on this site. we didn't see the other two earlier. the first plan was 65 feet, 72 units. that was compromised because of concerns with the second project, which was 55 feet but very boxy. that was compromised so what you see here, which is the third project. it's sull. ed back and it's 50 units. it's not only -- the top floor is much less than the floor below and the fourth floor has

important setbacks that would go away if you lopped off the top floor. 60% of today version is at 55 feet or more. deny the appeals and support in project, already the second compromise. it's a better design, has less impact on the neighbors and it saves the city $500,000 that it desperately needs for other affordable housing properties, maybe in your district. thank you. >> good evening, supervisors. my name is jeff kaminsky,. i am a district two commissioner and a youth commissioner and i urge you to please reject this appeal. i stand before you today a week away from the end of my term, my first foray into politics and over the past 10 months i have often been frustrated and disappointed.

it is appeals like these that really perplex me, as this project looks to help many youth who are often overlooked by our society. as you know, this project attendance housing for -- contains housing for transitional aged youth and they rarely get the assistance they need to be successful and stay off the streets. this project cowlingd change the lives of many youths. yesterday at the commission we held a hearing on transitional aged housing in the city or lack thereof and it was or very apatient that these youth desperately need this housing. i ask you to please restore my faith in this city and our government and start changing the lives of san francisco's youth for the better. thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors.

my name is ave and i'm the legislative affairs officer of the san francisco youth commission as well as the author to have book in support of the booker t. facilities. it was unanimously approved in a hearing we had yesterday. i'd like to submit copies to be on the public record. thank you. in 2005, the commission approved a resolution that recommended that the mayor create a task force to study and make recommendation on the issues that face san francisco youth between the ages of 16 and 24. he did so and it was this task force of experts from dozens of different agencies and nonprofit organizations that found the disconnect need to overcome the multitude of challenges that face them, they need an increase of affordable housing. i'm here today because i believe and we at the youth commission believe that the

need is as great as ever. the unemployment rate for youth is at an historic low. the incarceration rate for this age group has nearly doubled and the rate of homelessness is 65%. they say it's a higher rate of criminal activity than any other no grarving in the city and none of this is fair -- their fault. these are kids that have had the odds stacked against them from day one. i find it hard to see that has a legitimate reason for not approving it. the bottom line is the positive impact this would have on the struggling and otherwise homeless united states. there's no way this issue should even be up for debate. thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisorses. my name is leah and i am the

chair of the san francisco youth commission. i along with my colleagues stand in support of the booker t. washington housing project and their commitment to helping the city reach its goal of providing 400 new units of housing by 20 15. another we are only a quarter of the way to reaching this goal, without the booker t. washington project we as a city are only taking steps backwards. i strongly urge you to show your support of fran's -- san francisco's young people by denying the appeal and supporting the project with its 50 units. if you choose to approve the appeal, i ask that you personally tell the thousands of homeless and marginally housed youth that someone's deck view or the possibility of being shadowed is more important for them having a home for the first time in their transition into adulthood and their part of the fabric and future of san francisco. thank you.

>> good afternoon. my name is jose. and i was born and raised in san francisco and i'm also a transitional age youth. i'm here to speak in full support to have booker t. washington project and against this appeal. i would also like to thank the city departments and officials who before were kind of bashed for supporting this project. but because, like people, the city isn't perfect, but on this matter is doing the right thing but supporting it. we have 5,000 transitional aged youth in the city of which foster and emancipated youth face some of the toughest circumstances that they did not create so. even if this project moves forward forward as is, it is not going to solve the problem, and we know that. like i said at the last hearing, though this is presented as a decision about height or neighborhood

aesthetics or parking spaces or a shadow, it really is a moral decision more than anything. this is moral decision about lives. lives of low-income people like myself who have been leaving our city because we can't afford it or because there are other amazing programs like second chance is doing in the east bay and folks from san francisco are having to go there because those kind of opportunities aren't here. the majority of housing that exis is in the tender lion but why can't we all support in project in a more affluent neighborhood? in a neighborhood with access to transportation, healthy food, schools, and positive role models? i urge you to use your heart to make the right moral decision by moving this project forward and denying the appeal. please make the right moral decision. thank you. president chiu: thank you.

next speaker. >> good afternoon, board of supervisors. i am on the san francisco youth commission and i join my colleagues. yesterday we held a hearing which many youth gave compelling testimony. one girl came to the hearing and mentioned that her mother beat her because of her sexual orientation. and she had nowhere to go. and she went to -- she used city agencies that helped her find housing and a life. so i urge you to deny the appeal and thank you very much. >> good evening. i'm the co-founder of first place for youth. we are a partner on the project. -- to go with our first five

youth in san francisco. every year 150 to 2000 young people age out of foster care. these are victims of abuse, neglect, parental absence. they're taking them to state-funded care where we have collectively decided that we are going to welcome their parent. unfortunately their luck doesn't get much better with us. they typically transition through multiple placements and face the ultimate punishment when they're kicked out of foster care at 18. first place has ensured that they become productive tax paying integrated members of housing by providing emotional support and guidance that are grounded in the principles of accountability and consequences. our program has achieved incredible outcomes. while 65% of foster youth in california will face imminent

homelessness. 80% maintain permanent housing. 77 of our young people complete high school and while young mothers are twice as likely to lose their children to the foster care system, 100% of our parents retain custody of their kids, breaking the heartbreaking interrational cycle of foster care dependence. and yes, there will be young families living in leaves -- these units. first place has served hundreds of san francisco county youth since 1999. unfortunately every one of those youth have been placed in the east bay because they can't afford to take over leases in san francisco. we are in full support of the 50-unit front because it would begin to fill this gap and provide homes for san francisco county kids in the city in which they call home. there's a lot of talk about the residents. we're empathetic but these are

also residents and citizens and this is their home. the commission calls for 400 units of housing created for the youth. this is one of the only projects of its kind in the pipeline and it was conceived five 1/2 years ago. to suggest that young people can move somewhere else if we move units is a bit of illogical thinking. none of the young people in our program have cars. we're not going to contribute to the parking u.s. meeze deny the appeal and move this project forward. the delays are hurting our young people. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. my name is ruth clafmente i was born to a drug-addicted peoria mother and a father whose whereabouts was unknown. i was placed in a foster care system at birth.

there were some good times and also some bad times. after exiting out the faster care system, i was bounced from house to house with college the last thing on my mind. i knew some day i wanted to become a nurse but without the support i knew my career would be placed on hold. however, moving back to san francisco's independent living skills program referred me out to first place for youth after entering the program. first place taught me time management, how to pay bills, job searching and got me back into scoofment after exiting out of first place i still maintain a 3.3 g.p.a., starting -- 3 p. 5 g.p.a., starting nursing school in the fall, continuing living on my own and holding a job. without first place i would still be living from house to house and a career still on

hold. first place if is a great place where all you who exit out can achieve their dreams. support the appeal. >> good evening. i'm ben robertson, i'm the housing manager at first place for youth. i've been doing housing for a number of years and recently came into first place for youth and the impact that one unit of housing has on an individual, it can change their lives. housing is the building block that everything else is built upon. health care, education, it starts with housing. as you look at the net impact of those five feet, those nine units, you have the capacity to change lives for years and years. i fully support it and i believe y'all should.

thank you. >> good evening, supervisors. i work for larkin street services as the youth advisory coordinator and prevention specialist. our mission is to keep kids off the street for goods and we provide programming that allows youth to sustain themselves in housing, employment and life skills. i myself was in the foster care system for five years and it was programs like larkin street and booker t. and first place that allowed me to move from san francisco. i came from southern california where there aren't programs like the programs here in san francisco and i came with education opportunity at san francisco state and it was through the support of programs like booker t. and first place that allowed me to be the first person in my family to graduate from college and to get a job where i can help empower other young people to take advantage

of the opportunities that are unique to this city. i urge you to support this project so that young people can see there are opportunities for them to live in this city and to be functioning members. without these opportunities they won't be able to come and stand forward and say that they, too, have been able to make these opportunities beneficial to them for their success. it's opportunities like these for housing that are imperative to the success of young people. you've heard the statistics of young people who are homeless. housing is the number one concern that our youth for

things we're going to have to give up like sunshine, space, noise. those things are not more important than the opportunities that the ewing people have if they are given housing. 50 units is small in comparison to the numbers of homeless people. we have here on this street.