am looking at you right now, and i will look at you as people can succeed me in this job. i believe you can do it. i know you can if you just put your mind to it, and you do not get distracted from the naysayers, people who do not want you to succeed, or the events that may happen when there is family or friends that distract you. keep focused. keep your mind set on what your doing. and unless the investment people have made in new -- under is the investment people have made in you. i think you will get into the $10 million club. that is what i am trying to do. with that, i promise to make the city welcome you to -- when you have that degree, to make sure we have the jobs. i am trying to make the city successful. i am trying to make sure muni is on time. but i am also trying to make sure great companies like microsoft, like twitter, like

zynga -- all these multimillion- dollar companies about to go public -- i want them to hire you. they will only look at you if you have that degree and that focus. keep this in mind -- other people who did not listen to this and did not know people invested in them -- 27% of those never made it to college. only 27% made it. there is that other 60- something-percent of people that are not thinking they can be successful. so keep your focus and understand all the people that believe in you because we do. no matter what your background is. you can be your own person. and if you are the first in your family, more blessing to you because the other people in your family are looking out for you as well wanting you to succeed. i want you to succeed so bad. i want to make sure that when you finished your first year and

are looking for a job, look us up at city hall. we have some internships. we have some things going on that you can spend time this summer helping us do. look out around you, talk to your friends and tell them to be proud of what they're doing. just because some people say, " you are in college, maybe you are spending your time the wrong way peter -- spending your time the wrong way." you are spending it the right way. i want to thank you for focusing on battery yourselves and better in your community. thank you very much. -- battering yourselves and your community. thank you very much -- bettering yourselves and your community. thank you very much. >> thank you. we want to bring up the western regional general manager for microsoft. thank you so much. [applause] >> i could not be more honored

or excited to be able to represent microsoft at this event. it is so important. and this is one of the most exciting parts of my job. today, we are partnering with the san francisco unified school district, the sanford cisco education fund to help provide new tools for college-bound students -- the san francisco education fund. today, we are donating $5,000 of software and $15,000 in cash that will be used to purchase these fantastic laptops you see so the students that will be attending and are enrolled in the bridge to success program for the summer. [applause] destination really demonstrates microsoft's-ticket -- dedication to focusing on allowing use this

to improving your learning outcomes through the effective use of technology in your learning and also to gain access to all that dynamic digital information that is truly essential for you to be successful in your careers and be a lifelong learner. with that, we would like to make sure that we continue to partner and use this partnership as a role model to further this kind of partnership to enable all education community members to have access to 21st century skills and technology that will enable you to be successful in your college and future careers, so thank you very much. [applause] >> i would like to introduce renee espinoza from the san

francisco education fund. >> hello, everyone. i am the ceo and founder of an organization called beyond 12. we are a national non-profit organization, and our mission is to increase the number of low- income and first-generation students who graduate from our nation's colleges and universities. we are focusing exclusively on the college graduation peace. what happens after all of the hard work has been done by our pre-collegiate partners once we get students in? are they actually graduating? are they earning degrees that have value and allow them to become part of the million dollar club we were just hearing about, and do those degrees actually allow them to translate their lives and break the cycles of generational poverty from which many of them come? we do that by working with pre- collegiate organizations and

high schools but also colleges and universities. we are the organization running the bridge to success summer program, and shortly, the program is a six-week transition program targeting students from san francisco unified, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. over the course of the program, our students will be participating in a variety of different activities, taking math and english courses, and they will also be participating in various workshops, college success related workshops that help them develop real professional skills. they will be doing study skills workshops, a career placement workshops, resume writing, time management, and prioritization among other workshops. the goal is to help ease hours to the transition from high school to college and to help our students build a foundation for academic, personal, and financial success. ultimately, the goal of the program is to ensure that our students are persisting and that

they are graduating, that they are earning a post-secondary credentialed. if their goal is to receive an associate's degree from the city, then that is what we are making sure that they do. and if their goal is to transfer into a four-year institution, we are making the commitment to them that they will do so. we are extremely grateful to microsoft for this generous contribution, extremely grateful to all of the partners, and i know our students are excited about these last -- these laptops. [applause] and we have made a commitment to them. if you do all of the things that you have promised, if you come to class and attend sessions, and if you are engaged, and you do all of the things that your coaches and mentors are asking of you, then on july 21 when you graduate from the program, you will have a fully loaded netbook

donated by microsoft. [applause] i would like to take a few minutes to speak directly to our students. congratulations. you have heard from everyone already. congratulations on making it to this point. congratulations on being so engaged. you have already been showing up every single day, last thursday, last friday, and today to take your courses -- we are so extremely proud of you, so extremely excited you have taken this step. look around the room. there are all these people here to support you. let us support you. you do not have to do this alone, but we are here and making a commitment to you today and every single day that if you participate in this program, then you will earn your college degree. you will not be a statistic. i commend you and congratulate you for taking this step. thank you, students.

[applause] >> and because it is always better to hear about the story from the mouth of the students, i would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to one of our students, vera de la cruz. [applause] >> hello, everyone. i am actually from daly city. i graduated from just a high- school. i do not know how to start, but i am going to go to city next semester, but i did have -- i was registered last semester. i was supposed to come here, but i had to withdraw because my mom had to leave work. she was on sick leave. i had to drop school, dropped everything. i worked out at the daly city

wingstop, so i was there making chicken, and i was wondering if i was ever going to be able to go back to school. i went to my best friends graduation and found the bridge to success program, and they had all these opportunities to get me back on track for school again. it was really helpful. i was just so overwhelmed of everything i had to do. the placement tests, registers with counselors. this whole program, really helped me out. just the fact that microsoft is here, and the whole educational system makes it a lot better for me. i breathe easier now to know that i have all this support. just to come from where i was -- i believed that there really was no way. there always is a way. there is no last stop. there is always opportunities.

that is what it is all about, and that is what i am grateful for, that they offered me all these opportunities. [applause] thank you. >> well, thank you. what an exciting announcement with great partnerships as we continue to get you all to college. i do not know if there are any questions, but if not, we are just really thrilled that microsoft has stepped in and step up and is going to support our kids the way that you are, and clearly, our partners will continue to work really hard for you. this is your summer, guys. this is where you start to show what you will be doing in the fall. congratulations to all of you. good luck during the summer. we look forward to continuing to support you. [applause]

>> bye, everybody. yeah! [applause] >> thank you. first of all, i want to welcome everyone here today to this great event, the final papers to really implement our new treasure island. all of the people behind me, i want to spend the time thinking them and everyone involved.

when you have a project that has lasted decades, where you are working with federal agencies, the navy, all the funding that we did not have, developers that we had to make sure were together time and again with us, residents and had the confidence that our city could not only treat them well but also plan for their future, with them, working with them. groups such as the homeless, those on the lower end of our housing affordability. all of that has come together over decades of hard work. right up until last week, that work continued at the highest level in order to make this happen. i need to spend a moment thinking the people who have been before me in this position and other federal positions. they have their history marked

in many years of essential contributions to this plan, and to the workings of the island, to the vision that is being presented today. first off, senator feinstein. i want to thank her deeply for her contributions. [applause] leader pelosi for giving us the funding. [applause] former mayor willie brown. his vision for the island. [applause] the only thing i have to apologize for is the casino idea. [laughter] lt. gov. gavin newsom. my predecessor. thank you for his wonderful contributions. when supervisor and now still helping us with this, former supervisor tom ammiano. thank you very much. [applause]

i only carried these cards because there were so many people to think. i want to begin with the incredible city staff team that has worked for many years on this project, starting with rich ellis. [applause] michael temoff and john from the office of economic development. [applause] the incredible and ongoing work of our city attorney's office that has been wonderful in crafting a good language that people are not only living with on the island, but the delicate legal issues. eileen molly, charles sullivan, john malamut, andrea esquita,

our city attorney's office. [applause] thank you also to your boss for giving you the time to do this. from city planning, john ram, i do not see him here. kevin guy, rick cooper, city planning, thank you. from the mta, i want to thank matt ford for his staff. [applause] from the puc, ed harrington, thank you for allowing us to work with mark -- michael carlin. doug schumacher, thank you for the great work you did on the office -- from the mayor's office of housing. then there are great members of our board of directors.

they include, for many years, claudine chang. larry delcarlo. larry mazolo jr. lord richardson. john paul samaha. [applause] to members of the treasure island citizen advisory board, countless hours from our citizens involved in every way, especially the president, karen knkowles pierce. [applause] she has worked so well with the other island residents including becky hoge, john conners, and bnetty lettington. we have our organizations on treasure island, who have been working so hard for us, and of

so many other important things ever present our city. including the director of the homeless initiative, sarah. [applause] thank you. member organization that are included in this initiative have been the boys and girls club of san francisco, catholic charities, community housing partnerships, mercy housing, rubicon, tool works, and walden house. thank you for your cooperation. [applause] and to our development partners who we have come to know, cherish, lived with, talked out a lot of issues, at the state level, local level, and of course, the treasury -- a treasure island community development. chris, thank you for being here.

[applause] have i gotten everything else? i know we have other speakers here. we have a number of the board of supervisors that i want to thank each and everyone of them. we have jane kim, carmen chu is here, scott wiener, mark farrell. they are here as well. there may be more coming. i want to give a special thanks. i know not only gain, but her staff, has worked hard to spend the time necessary to explain to everybody but this is all about, and to also make sure the commitments that were made by the city family are actually carried out. whether they are affordable housing or transportation, or

open space, parking challenges that we will face, or whether they are simple communications of what this is all about, i want to invite supervisor jane kim appeared to speak. -- up here to speak. >> thank you, mayor lee. i got to come to the end of a really long process, close to 14 years, of the development project, the last six months, and it is amazing how much can happen. so many people were involved in the process for many years. mayor li the enologist many of them. -- lee acknowledged many of them. tida, the citizen advisory committee. i look at developments with a careful lens because they have a huge impact on the city of san

francisco and shape of our city looks like. one thing i am proud about in this project, which i cannot take credit for, is the immense community outreach and input and process them and through this development, and to talk to folks who were formerly homeless who felt like their input was heard and taken into account into with this new neighborhood would look like. up to 2400 units of affordable housing for the city of san francisco, something that our city definitely needs. something to be clapped for. [applause] an unprecedented number of units going to formerly homeless communities as well. sherri williams and many of the community-based organizations will continue to not only provide affordable housing but actually support the community as well. we are looking at a mixed income neighborhood in treasure island. treasure island will have an impact on the city. i want to think ross mirkarimi

and david chiu for introducing some changes to the development agreements, which will help to mitigate some of these impacts. of course, the mayor's office, for being a really good partner on this project, working with our office. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, jane. it does take a lot of teamwork. i think we are resurging that team work in city hall. i know the work of david chiu has been instrumental in doing that. i want to get david appeared to say a few words and also to signal, and we do not get -- often get an 11-0 vote. i can remember one other -- [laughter] david, you have been working so hard. come up and say a few words. [applause] >> it takes a village to build a

village. i want to thank the village behind and in front of us. over the past year, we have put 10,000 units of new housing in the southeast part of the city with the shipyard project. [applause] we are putting 8900 new units of housing on the west side of the city with the approvals we did at parker said -- park merced. and with a much more comfortable 11-0 vote, we are moving forward with thousands of new units of housing on treasure island. i cannot say how proud we are of our city for coming together. we have been talking about for years how important it is to build new neighborhoods, develop new affordable housing, make sure we have transit-oriented, sustainable, green development that is worthy of the 21st centuries the san francisco. what we are doing today and this year will have impact on the city for decades to come.

thank you all for being a part of this. i look forward to the ribbon cutting. [applause] >> any others? ok. chris mini, on the development team, you excited us. one of the greenest developments that you might see. the city continues to be excited because of the work you are doing, to be environmentally friendly, to have a residence that the city can be ground up route -- proud of. [applause] sf ++ my partners, we

want to say thank-you to the city family. on this happy occasion, i just want to recall how we began so many years ago with the discussion in this building that at treasure island we could not only create a new neighborhood for san francisco that set a national standard in and sustainability, but that we could do it in a new and different way than land use had been practiced in the city, and that we could come together and craft a plan together. the happiest part of the situation today is we stand with a terrific plan that was not our plan. it was a collective plan that was crafted together and in public. that long process, thanks to the leadership of supervisor kim, supervisor chiu, in this 11-0 vote. it think it to the staff and everyone who participated -- thank you to the staff and everyone who participated with us. >> finally but most importantly,

you can have the greatest plans, best designs, but if he did not connect with the people who live on the island, the people who need a place to live, a decent place to live, but also be a part of this great city, i want to thank cherie williams of tida. [applause] >> thank you, mayor lee. i want to thank the mayor. i guess he is the fourth mayor that we have worked on on this project. he pushed us over the finish line and we are grateful for that. the treasure island homeless development initiative started in 1994. this is a major milestone for us. this is really unique in san francisco. it is not just a portable housing, but it is affordable housing for people with the lowest or no income. formerly homeless families and individuals. there is also an enormous amount

of opportunity for homeless people to gain jobs and job training opportunities. we wanted to acknowledge the work of supervisor kim. her and her staff worked hard over the past few months to make sure all of the goals and the plan that we have worked hard to achieve are going to be real and meaningful. thank you for the work that you did. [applause] and over the years, we have had a really great community partnership with the treasure island development authority. the board has been amazing. they have had the vision of including low income and formerly homeless people from the ground up, from the start, so i want to thank the treasure island development authority for all of their leadership over the years. i also want to thank the director of operations. [applause] really, i know supervisor chu

said that it takes a village to build a village, but it has really been that kind of story. that is why you had the 11-0 vote. it is not just city government doing something or developers doing something unilaterally, one group be more represented than another. it has been an iterative process where we have all work towards a common vision, one that will serve all san franciscans. i want to thank the developers, too, for the integrity they brought to the table, the citizens advisory board, and all the members of the tidhi commission, residents of treasure island that have been a part of this. so really from the ground up, everyone has been a part of this to create a new san francisco neighborhood that represents all seven systems. thank you. [applause] >> i want to make sure that you

know anybody can come on treasure island. right now, we are about to see that sculpture dance. are we ready to party? let us get this done. be