[applause]

[applause] >> great to see you everyone. this will be the bayview neighborhood library. think about low wonderful cultural merit we will have for future generations to come. i also wait to make a shot up to one of the assistant superintendents who is here. thank you for being here and inspiring our young people to do great work. i am the city library and. it is my honor to be your emcee

today. it is a program that we begin the ceremonies today by having an invocation. so i would like to call to the podium dr. walker, from the true hope church of god and christ. dr. walker. [applause] >> to the state leadership, san francisco leadership, and community leadership, let me say to all of you who are here today as a make preparations to indulge in prayer, i would like to get your attention. this is of great and wonderful day for the city, st. francis, by way of the golden gate. you cannot have a world-class city without will class leadership for the community and world class people. bayview hunters point is a

world-class community. i thought i would read a couple of versus from first timothy chapters one vs one and two, which will be corporate for this invocation. would you be so kind to doubt your head momentarily. first of all, prayer, and giving of thanks be made of all men. four kings and all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in godliness. in the name of god and jesus, we thank you that the leadership of this groundbreaking for this place of wisdom, the place where they can come and make this community more positive.

there are a lot of positives despite the negatives. this is a great positive thing. we can expand our village of knowledge. + mayor lee, supervisors, and those present who had something to do with the state today. amen. [applause] >> thank you for those inspiring words, doctor. today, we have to use our imagination. this is a large space that we will have within the next 18 months a beautiful state of the art library. if you can imagine hundreds of youngsters walking through the door here on third avenue, going into a wonderful spacious children's room, full of materials to inspire and have their creative juices flowing. then we will have another wonderful space on this side for

teenagers, for them to be in a save in welcoming environment, for them to be created to develop their minds. what better place than a neighborhood library? behind me, a wonderful courtyard to enjoy days like today in the bayview. where you are seated in front of me, we will have an amazing collection of books, materials. this will be 25% bigger than the library that was already here. state-of-the-art with computers, wi-fi, providing access to our young people's. a wonderful community programs, lectures, to really represent the spirit of bayview. how about that for your new library? let me also say this community has been one of the models for

community engagement. every neighborhood meeting we had, we had up to 100 people that held our feet to the fire, that told us exactly what you wanted to see happen. it was wonderful to work with you on that. thank you, bayview, for not only selling for a modest renovation, but for a brand new, wonderful library. there are many wonderful folks i want to take a moment to acknowledge because they have done a fantastic job in that effort. i want to start with a terrific asset we have, which we are fortunate to have with us, linda. she is fantastic. [applause] also from the neighborhood, a couple of folks that have been very active with our counsel of the neighborhood libraries. mary pavis and larry.

[applause] thank you for involvement. and of course, ms. jackson. i do not see libya -- there we are. thank you for your fantastic efforts. we have not forgotten that we still need to have a library presents during this new building construction. so we have the ymca to thank, a couple of blocks, to offer services. so i want to thank the folks there. [applause] please forgive me if i forget any particular agencies, but the bayview hunters point project area committee -- let's give them a round of applause. they deserved it. [applause]

we also have ron sanders. i do not think he is here -- there you go. this will represent the history and the culture of the bayview. thank you very much for your efforts on that front, ron. we have some elected officials here today. i appreciate all of you being here today. we are going to start with mayor lee. thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you. good morning everyone. it is my personal pleasure to be here in the bayview. as i watched these kids danced this morning, i know all of you felt as i did, this is for them. they inherit the earth, this community, and everything we do today, everything we believe in is all for them. so we want our neighborhood

improved. we want our whole community improved. i want to thank the people here coming with us. senator leno is here with us this morning. i have been here all morning with malia cohen looking at the projects that we have in this area. she is part of that young talent and i get to work with, as well as scott wiener. the board of supervisors have been working with me these past seven months, and we are trying to get a lot of things delivered. not a lot of political stance. getting stuff done. fulfiling old promises. promises that you heard decades ago. you saw me smiling this morning as i embraced this man, freddie carter. he is part of the construction team here. freddie was certified when i was the director of the human rights

commission. he had a joint venture. it was a small firm, and they had to get some beer projects, and i remember, you went out and bought yourself a red truck. do you still have that truck? freddie is part of the kck general contractors team that formed the property bid on the dpw and library bid process. they ultimately won the right to build this. and guess what, he is local, right here in the bayview. that is important to me, personally, it is important to the city. that is why the library director works so hard with dpw, our human rights commission, to do it right.

this is the right way to do it. i know reverend walker knows that. it is so important to this community that we not only buildings for the future, but in a way that everyone in the community participates. so that they know that we, as a city, as a community, built this library. not some contractor or a department that you never see. we are doing it more and more with our local hiring ordinance. we grabbed the talent from within. we can build a world class libraries for everyone else to come to. that is what i enjoy doing, that is why i am here. i am also here to praise the library commissioners who are with us this morning, friends of the library, the manager who will be here. the library is our future. we are constructing --

reconstructing libraries all over the city. every time we come to the community, libraries are welcome because they are the new community center, the safe place for people to be. then you can allow your mind to go through these books. and it is not just books these days. computers, digital ways of learning. we can be global citizens. not just in bayview. you can live in bayview, but you can be a global citizen in your library. understanding that our whole effort to be a global city is directly part of every community, that is what maintains our global status, rights to the level of the bayview. i know our friends here will

want to talk to me. i will continue to meet with everyone in the bayview who wants to meet with me. everyone's input is equally important, and that is a lesson that i learned from ms. jackson many years ago. everybody's voice has to be heard. when you listen to everybody, no matter who you are, the matter what position you hold in the city, you end up with the projects, the way things are done. so i want to share that with you, thank you for being here with me, recognize everyone here today. we are breaking ground, building a library, connecting everyone together. we should do more of this and find more people to participate. thank you for being here. [applause] >> thank you, mayor. we are the envy of many libraries nationwide. it is because we have

leadership like mayor lee who understands the role of libraries. thank you for your wonderful testimonial. with us here as well from the mayor's office, the education adviser and school board president. [applause] next on our program, it is my honor to introduce several state senators. leland yee is first on the order of business. he has been supportive of the library, not only in sacramento, but at this time in the city. [applause] >> i went over to mark lino to congratulate him. maybe he can make that announcement. mark lino and i really have a passion for libraries. libraries, for us, is, in fact, a community center. it used to be that you could go

read a book, read a newspaper, but i know libraries are a key element to any community. to some extent, it is a place where our children get to do their homework. they come and sit in that room, and do their homework, and in the course of doing their homework, they will browse around, and then they will start reading, and then they will start dreaming, and then they will start plotting against us parents. [laughter] but they will really do wonders for us as a community when they start dreaming and planning. also, the library is a place where different individuals, that may have different attitudes and ideas, different points of view, find themselves in one room, and all this sudden start talking to one another. then magic happens.

differences melt away and you come together as a community come as a neighborhood. those are the magical things about a library. that is one of the reason why the commission, the city family, decided that we would not simply open up a place where there was going to be a bunch of tables and everyone would sit there and be quiet. it is a place that is vibrant, a place where things happen for children, adults, and the community. i want to say thank-you for all of you, for your hard work and commitment to making sure there is a place for us in the bayview for all of us to dream once again. [applause] >> thank you, senator. it is also my pleasure to introduce mark leno.

he has been to just about every single ribbon cutting, and he really cares about libraries. so it is my pleasure to introduce to you senator mark leno. [applause] >> good morning, bayview. it does not get much better. i want to join mayor lee in welcoming everybody here and thanking our city librarian and his hard-working staff, the devoted and committed library commissioners, friends of the library folks to raise additional moneys to finish each of these projects. of course, supervisor cohen and weener -- weiner, leland yee as well. i have been not to over 20 of these ribbon cuttings. it is not often we get to say your tax dollars are at work with a smile on our faces, but

we can do so today. voters knew what they were doing in 2000 when we passed proposition a, which provided $106 million for 24 renovations and a few new constructions. this being one of them. yes, this will be a 9000 square foot educational resource center bridging the digital divide with 21st century technology. but probably more importantly, this new branch library will be a house of ideas, a home of dreams, and a home of hope. this will be the heart and soul of the future of bayview. so we are invested in this. we talked to the folks in charge to guarantee we will have a ribbon cutting before the end of 2012.

[applause] we are going to keep them to their schedule. before i sign off, i want to present to linda a proclamation from the state senate banking the bayview branch library for being such an important part of the branch library improvement program and for your dedication to keeping this community intact and understanding the great power and promise of each of our branch libraries. linda? consider this and i know you. -- an iou. >> i just want to take the opportunity to thank ed eiskin -- riskin for his efforts.

as well, good luck in your teacher endeavors at the mta. [applause] >> thank you. a couple of folks representing representative fiona marrow. [applause] where is the energy? there we go. next, we have our board supervisor from this district. she is the envy of other supervisors because she has three new libraries in the district. with that, let us welcome supervisor malia cohen. [applause] >> hello, everybody. good morning. it is a new day. do you believe?

i am so humble than excited to be here. i have personally spent time in the library, growing up with mrs. jones' daughters studying here. here we are on the corner, the process of a new day, a new beginning. i say that optimistically but also cautiously. it is a new day because it is a ground-breaking ceremony and we are moving forward, but we're also continuing the work that many have done before us for this part of the community. [applause] and i highlight particularly our matriarch leaders because they will have a special space in the library. right? just making sure.

when you think about a community in transition, like ours, when you put it in context with the challenges we are having, today is symbolic. today is the day that we break ground, to plant a new seed that will bear fruit. that is exactly what a library does. it houses our culture, traditions, way of life, and it preserves it, and it preserves it for future generations so that they know where they are going and they will also remember where they come from. so when ms. saw the young women here dancing, paying damage -- homage to what i consider sacred land, it is fitting that we come here today. we also come with the knowledge in the reality that we are a community in transition. when you are in transition and growing, you are moving forward.

it is important for us to remember continuity as we move forward and continue to build for our future. so with that, thank you to my colleague scott wiener. i also like to thank my colleagues that came to the bayview, at the town hall meeting a couple of days ago. it is the city family that is going to help us move forward. i specifically want to thank the mayor. this is the man that is unabashed about his support. he is with us 100% of the way. his walk and talk are in unison. i hear him downtown at the chamber of commerce and when he is making presentations to the community. it is consistent, thoughtful, compassionate, and it is real. it is a real talk. he mentioned honoring some of

the promises that were made in the past. now here is the day. it is coming. and we will usher in, collectively, as a community. we have in business leaders here to help us guide through this transformation from point a to point b, and beyond. so with that, this is a positive day. we will continue to take this momentum and move forward and continue to build. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor. indeed, a positive day. i also want to take a moment to acknowledge the terrific support we have had a leading up to this groundbreaking. former supervisor sophie maxwell. she may be here later on today. she was fantastic to secure funds. supervisor cohen alluded to the support from other mr.

supervisors. it is my pleasure to introduce supervisor scott wiener. [applause] >> thank you and congratulations to everyone on this amazing progress. all the three branch libraries in my district were open before i took office, so i like to live vicariously through my colleagues to help celebrate something so important. in a time when we all get down on our city government for not doing as well as we want them to do, in terms of services, what our government has been able to do with renovating and opening libraries, helping to build communities in the neighborhoods is critical. i am optimistic for third street. this is a big part of moving this entire corridor forward. i also want to reiterate something the mayor said. i have the fortune of working

with malia cohen. we sit on a land use committee together. she is a tenacious advocate for district 10. she is doing a great job and i am proud to call for my colleague. congratulations, everyone. [applause] >> thank you. my next introduction is someone bittersweet. i know mark leno already did knowledge then risk and -- ed riskin. it is dpw's loss, but it will be mta's game. i know that i will be able to call on him for ongoing report -- support. so with that, it is my pleasure to introduce ed riskin. [applause] >> thank you. it has been a long time coming. the people in the bayview hunters point has it been

patient as this project has taken its course. we are delighted to be here today to celebrate a great neck step in this project. the department of public works has the pleasure of working with the library management and commission, and with the community to help envision what the library is that they want. once that is done, our job is to get it done and to work with all the people to get it designed, built, stalked, staff, and opened. this is where the rubber really hits the road for us. we have been engaged in this project for a long time, but now we need to make sure that you will get a library that you want and deserve. in doing so, it takes -- to use a corny cliches -- it takes a village to build a library. it takes a lot of people to come together to make a project like this happen. our commitment to you is to

build a library that you want, that is safe and secure, that is inviting, functional, modern. a place that you want to be. a place where you want your kids to be. and that will be done on every hand library that we work on in this city. additionally, what we want to do -- and this is that the direction of the mayor and supervisors, former supervisors, and the community, we want to leave a legacy of not only a beautiful library, but of opportunity. that opportunity is in the form of business, for small businesses in this neighborhood, jobs for people in this neighborhood. so not only do we get out of this at the end of the day a great library but we did people who have been put to work who have built their skills. we did businesses that have we did businesses that have grown at as a part of this