>> commissioners, we agendized an item. the commission cannot just direct staff to work on the outreach with them. president o'brien: yes, i do want to make one comment. i do not want to make it long because it is late. the tests that some of the conviction is somehow related to the job they are applying for. i do not want to see an employer having his decision being questioned as to whether he thinks a conviction is relevant to the position of the job that he is applying for. i think it would be more important that they have the latitude to determine whether or not the conviction is a serious enough offense to say they are not comfortable working with the person. just a comment i want to make. i think you should work on the program, and we will work more on it. >> we need to move to public

comment. president o'brien: i am sorry. public comment. clerk: i have one speaker card. >> i am wearing more than one hat. i will be brief. i have been a small-business owner for over 40 years, if you include deliver the bulletin, and i do not think any of you are old enough to remember that. my second hat is i am formerly incarcerated. i served years in federal prison for a marijuana conviction. last year, a worked with the reentry council on civil engagement, and i do not want to give you a litany of anecdotal experiences, but i am coming to truly wearing two hats as a san franciscan, because i would urge you to participate in this process. as a small-business owner, the legislation that will be proposed, i would be covered,

because i have the five employees or less legislation -- it would not be covered under the human rights commission. above five employees, there is a process we are working. so i think what my main message to the commission is the case you are the small business commission for our city, and you do have a tremendous influence among the small business community is that there is nothing to be afraid of. one of the primary concerns of any small business person is the unknown deaf ear, and i am coming to you today, and i know you were all tired, to assure you the process that is being undertaken is really for the benefit of small business -- small-business owners, not a detriment, to give them the best possible pool of not only

competent but exceptional workers. that is my contribution to your consideration. president o'brien: thank you very much. next speaker. >> thank you. i did not realize how late you guys were , so the thank you. you guys should put that in the public record or something. i am here to speak on this legislation are possible legislation because i, too, have two cats. i am the convict and a small- business owner. when i got out of prison, i could not find a job. i would work, you know, cash jobs, and sometimes i would not get paid. what are you going to do? fortunately, i had the opportunity to get a line level hospitality job.

i worked my way up through management, and when i got out, i did not even know how to use a facts machine. i to though can attest as a small-business owner how hard it is for businesses in san francisco, and i definitely do not want this to be another burden to my fellows in the small business community. i do want to of communication to assure that this action becomes an additional resources to myself and the small business community and the work force. thankfully, i was given the opportunity. if i was not given the opportunity, i may not be here right now. i might be in jail. i got a shock, and that shock has me here today. for the city of san francisco to allow a small box on a piece of paper to dictate who has a chance at their life into does not, so we're just too smart in

san francisco and too compassionate to allow a little box on a piece of paper to determine whether or not you get a second chance in life, so thank you, and thank you for staying up so late tonight. president o'brien: thank you very much. any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> i would suggest that we work with your office because i do feel this is important legislation to move forward here, and i appreciate these two gentlemen coming to speak on behalf at this -- behalf of this this late-night. there are other associations in san francisco that would like to participate. >> so, commissioners, can we may be direct this to the legislation and policy committee for taking a look at it on a deeper level for the

commission and and also possibly for the outreach committee vote to work on the outreach and working with hrc? >> .thank you. president o'brien: ok, next item, please. clerk: commissioners, item 10, an update and discussion on the san francisco planning department pavement to parts program, which will be continued to a future meeting. just to note, inside the left front cover is the legislation page report that you have requested. >> commissioners, due to the late time frame, i will just submit to you the director's report in writing. clerk: commissioners, item 12, the letter is dated and policy committee report. commissioner: we have nothing new that was not discussed here

tonight. clerk: item 13, the permitting committee report. commissioner: i have nothing. clerk: item number 14, the outreach committee report. commissioner: i will submit. clerk: item 15, the president's report. president o'brien: i have nothing to report. clerk: item 16, the vice president's report. commissioner adams: we had a good event. janet. we had a great board of supervisors meeting. " i have been attending -- i

went to the opening of super duper, which is a hamburger place in castro. it opened up their second location, which was fun and exciting, and i went to the 75th anniversary party a couple of weeks ago. family unscrewing clean family, same street. that is my report. commissioners, item 17, commission report. commissioner: just one last thing. i met with people from chinatown, and there is a program for chinatown and north beach, so we are excited to get people out in visiting our local merchants.

president o'brien: commissioner clyde? commissioner clyde: on may 23 with commissioner njn -- jane kim, they were meeting about the licenses for abc and a way to clarify those conditions when conditions are met. i did find supervisor kim very responsive to the needs of both the residents in the community as well as the business owners. i also attended the mid market arts kickoff on at the 20th with mayor ed lee, and that was just a great get out in the street with music in the streets, even a a little bit of wine and beer in the streets.

it was great fun. i also attended an awards party of the company on market, and i just want to note that it has grown in a year from four companies to know 160 companies that are a part of that. thank you very much. president o'brien: thank you. next item. clerk: item number 18, general public comment. president o'brien: seeing none, next item. clerk: item number 19, new business. president o'brien: seeing none, next item. clerk: item number 20, adjournment. we are returned -- adjourned.

>> good afternoon. thank you for coming out here on this beautiful summer solstice day with a phenomenal view. you can see mount diablo from here. you can also see our beautiful city. i am the director of public works. i am very pleased to be year. -- i am very pleased to be here to speak to this great community project. i will start you out with this fact, speaking of our beautiful city. 25% of our beautiful city is taken up by public right of way, streets, sidewalks, and scraps and parcels that the city leaders laid out to convey people and vehicles. the public rights of way are important. that is what we stoeward.

a lot of it was designed more for utilities and vehicles than people. what you have seen over the last few years is a rethinking of the public rights of way. we're here to talk about one small example of movement in a positive direction in terms of how we use our public spaces in san francisco. without further ado, the man you would all like to hear from. he is serving the great city now and once did as the director of public works, our mayor, mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you. thank you for your leadership as well. i am up here for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

i want to thank all the neighbors that live up here. you have seen corners of the city where grass is growing or people are neglecting these places. along comes a bureaucracy called dpw with others gaining confidence that we can do something about it. we can take a neglected part of our city where there is a corner that nobody takes responsibility for and is an eyesore some good conversations take place. the streets and parks program at dpw with ed's help, engineering, they start talking

to a bureaucrat about possible funds for a community grant program. then a leader starts appearing in says there is something we would like to have. the neighbors want it. we've been doing it on may flower, carver. can do it bigger and make it more beautiful. the neighbors and kids work closely with dpw, parks trust. as you can see behind me, i think somebody else's property discuss another $1 million in value. it is worth it to transform light, to make sure we do it with our supervisors held and everyone concerned about the

beauty of the neighborhoods. this is what makes neighborhoods strong. this is what i want to continue building on. leaders are working on everything from a little graffiti problem or staircase gardens saying that they want to get beyond neglect and bring it back to what it really is -- is paying attention to our neighborhoods, making them stronger, building community and building partnerships. that is what these street parks are all about. it is never about just the concrete or the flowers. it is about the life and increased value we bring to our neighborhoods. that is what being a neighbor of the great city is all about. that is what i love about the city. my neighborhood is doing the same thing with our street. we want to pay attention to it.

we want to get a little help. they get it. we bring the bureaucrats out to the neighborhoods. we make everybody that much more appreciative of what kind of city they are a part of. i want to emphasize the strength of our city relies on the strength of people likfrom the community. you build it here, in glen park, the mission, chinatown. it builds up the strength of the city. it comes back to our department's opening up their resources, not protecting it like other bureaucratic agencies have historically done. we've said we can do it and be challenged with a grant program completely open to everybody. these things are worth the $1

million it looks like today. it is worth 10 times more in building camaraderie and companionship with our neighbors. i want to emphasize that. i want to represent that by giving what i can do to reflect our appreciation for the leadership. it is a certificate of honor to julian for his leadership on this project and many other projects that have kept this community working and expanding and growing. there is a design around his leadership. by voice vote as the mayor and city administrator that when you have strong communities, things like disasters, we will have strong neighborhoods to help us recover back. this is the beginning of that.

i want to give you this certificate on behalf of the city, parks trust, the challenge grant program. thank you for all of the leadership you have had. [applause] >> water? [inaudible] [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor, for

your leadership on this. during his time as dpw director, during the community challenge grant program, and now as mayor, it is great for us to see a mayor that gets it on what matters to our neighborhoods and is encouraging all of the departments to embrace things the way he did. thank you for your leadership in enabling things like this to happen. someone else who really gets this is the supervisor that represents this area. he is very much focused on the importance of keeping the streets and sidewalks cleans welcoming, and beautiful. i know he was regretful he was not able to be here today. he did send a representative from david campos' office.

>> i want to thank the mayor for his kind words. as a member of the committee, i would personally like to show my appreciation and thank julian and the friends of bernal gardens for their work so that we can enjoy these beautiful places for generations to come. on behalf of the entire community supervisor comampos, in the board of supervisors, i would like to present this to julian for your commitment to excellence -- commitment of excellence to the organization that has succeeded in turning a vacant lot to a beautiful garden. thank you for being an exceptional community leader. [applause]

congratulations. >> thank you again to supervisor campos and his office. it is easy to have great ideas, but you need to turn to someone to get the work done. that someone in san francisco is sometimes known as mr. clean. he is our deputy director for operations who works to keep the city clean and make it beautiful. our deputy director. [applause] >> let me join the mayor and our director in welcoming you all.

thank you for contributing to such a beautiful asset to our neighborhood. san francisco has many hills and streets and lots of open spaces that have not been developed. people all over on the city had come together to help the city become stewards of the beautiful lands. here is another example of the community coming together, businesses, everyone contributing their share in making san francisco the great city that it is. i like to thank brought madmoor landscapes apply the gave discounts and free materials to make this project happen. janet moyer landscaping assisted with the design. there was effort in trying to figure out the slopes the walls.

they helped quite a bit. jordan kirkland, veronica brady , and the friends of bernal gardens who brought this burden to fruition. the department of public works is out there to hold hands and work with everyone. it is through their leadership that we are able to improve our neighborhoods. i would especially like to thank the staff of dpw who go out to all of these meetings and start these projects. i want to thank all of the bureau's at dpw who assisted in bringing supplies, and doing some work, or making sure that the project was built as planned. thank you very much. [applause]

>> there are a lot of other people to think. you have been hearing a lot about this gentleman, julian, who is responsible for a lot of this. i used to live not far from here. i used to walk my dog upon the hill there. it is so great to see the transformation of this space. it is something i want to see in my neighborhood as well. it does not happen without the leadership of the grass-roots level. we're there to support it, but the leadership is not there from the community, it does not happen. it is my great pleasure to bring forth a great leader in this community mr. julian wyler. [applause] >> welcome to this point guard in v -- vista point guard.

there are a lot of people who are not here today who contributed to make this possible. there are a lot of other people who come here and work and put in various parts of the garden, especially the unsung heroes of the volunteers in the neighborhood. working together and staying focused, this neighborhood has reached out and made partnerships with the city. we have worked together. we get more done that way. it is a real synergy. these gardens to them exist five years ago. they were all neglected, blighted, like a cross the street where you still see areas that can be in crude -- improved. we just need a vision. the public gardens connect us to natural beauty. they give us a sense of community pride. they provide habitats for bees,

butterflies, and birds. they represent what is best in us as a community. the bench represents a window on the past. it was once a curb in downtown san francisco. we've simply connected it to the future. another purpose for the garden is that it provides a place for people just sit and reflect and pause on their journey. it provides a kind of common duty that we all share. it allows us to stop and reflect on the shining city beyond which continues to reinvent itself.

today, we dedicate this beautiful public garden. made keeps a loy it keep so. thank you. [applause] >> those are beautiful words befitting and beautiful their part of our city. -- befitting a beautiful new part of our city. mohammad thanked a lot of the donors. the mayor referenced the grant program. there's the whole group of the friends of bernal gardens that we want to thank. finally, it is not just community partners. in his community organizations that we partner with to make things like this happen. -- it is committee par-- communy

organizations that we partner with to make things like this happen. there's great sensibility about the landscapes of san francisco. there is san francisco parks trust. i would like to ask karen to close us out with a few words. >> thank you. i think we're all moved by ulian's words and passion for this place. we're proud to be here for the completion of the beautiful garden. the term is fiscal sponsor, but it is so much more. we do community interface all over the city with many partners. bureaucracy is not a bad word. we work well with government. thank you to the bureaucrats. to me, that meeting has no pejorative anything. the sense of entrepreneurship from dpw is very strong. from dpw is very strong. you can see in the interactions you can see in the interactions