big fees to cab companies have they get virtually nothing back except a taxi with four wheels, brakes, a radio, and that is is. if you want to increase the meter, you can start a pension fund medical fund and the union for taxi drivers. they will have the same rights that 29,000 other employees in the city have. as of right now, they have no rights of all. i thank you. >> the next speaker? >> it is like christmas for the drivers today. they will be very happy, and you finally give them something that

is a great tax to you. they would be really very happy from the bottom of their hearts. during the town hall meetings, the back seat terminals are so far and there. 150 cabs will be stocked in a determination will be made. it has proven to be false, and the statement of the cab company, they will sue. we're saying to look into this matter. some inspectors want to a lemonade heehaw -- eliminate the limos from the city.

thousands of these days and days out, we're standing there to distribute a violation. city employed people cannot go on and put any such thing as propaganda. these are the flyers for the board members, and they should stop distribution. the last speaker, [unintelligible] >> dan hines. >> members of the board, once again, i am president of

national veterans cabin, and the number of the taxi advisory council. i wanted to take this opportunity to give you my personal assessment of the program. the pilot program has more than met its goals. have a financially viable exit now. opportunities have opened up for drivers on the waiting list. there are more than a thousand that wish to purchase medallions. the city has generated substantial revenues through this program. lived in fortunate enough to have competent and conscientious oversight. the work that both groups have done has been truly outstanding. has the opportunity to sell is currently closed to anyone not in the pilot, i would ask this board to formally request a

specific recommenda way to transition from the pilot program to a continuation of medallion sales on an ongoing basis. this recommendation that is the one that chartered responsibility should be given priority over other items. other items are brought and i think this should be a primary issue. i think the representation, it should be held by someone who has purchased a medallion. chairman nolan: that will conclude public comment. one more? you know how it works? you are supposed to indicate you want to speak.

>> it would be helpful if you turn them at earlier. >> there is a lot to talk about, but i want to focus on a few things. before it purchased the cabinet earlier this year, i was very familiar with the taxi system here in san francisco and wanted to give you a couple observations as to why i think our system is flawed and why we have very bad availability to the public. first, let me give you the facts. right now, we have a cab company with major dispatch services, and have about half of the medallions. we have different color schemes popping up, so we have about 31 different cap companies right now. half of them are at companies that have no dispatch service whatsoever. the burden of servicing the neighborhood call fallen half of

the medallions we normally have. you have to meet service demands and neighborhoods, you have to pick up orders and that is the first thing you can do. you have to make sure that they are servicing the neighborhood, not just half of them. we have a situation where i have hundreds of orders that i can't fulfill, and dozens of drivers waiting to go out. there is no love lost between the other cab companies and myself. the one thing that unifies the other major cab companies is that we will be out of business soon because the standards have applied. the standards in this industry are so low that i have never seen the level of exploitation of i have -- as i have seen now. the giants are operated by individuals.

the proliferated and operated it least 30% of the medallions. one of the things the city must do is create standards and enforcement to make sure that the neighborhoods are matt. 31 cab companies with only half of them actually servicing the neighborhood. that has to change. chairman nolan: anybody welse -- else want to speak, let us know. two speakers. ok. >> be medallion pilot program should be stopped. it should be brought back and issue to the drivers. i will tell you why. you are having the cabdrivers pay defending on what you

choose. $200,000 goes to the [unintelligible] don't think that is fair, the cabdriver's like me that have been driving a cab for 23 years and have been on the waiting list, the medallion that higher earnings and deserve. when i'm driving a cab, my feet get sore. i will be unable to drive a cab. for us, don't you think it's like changing the rules in the

middle of the game? issue medallions under the leading less. if any new medallion is issued, it should go the drivers on the waiting list. use l 6 and in the hands and you get $225,000. under this proposal, you sell one medallion and you get more than $225,000. [chime] chairman nolan: next speaker. >> i am a member of the taxi advisor a council. of like to take issue with the claims a couple of previous speakers that a new constitution, that anybody is

trying to kill the pilot program. i don't know of anybody that has that in mind. there are people on the pilot program who have for it any kind of discussion of fair system to come out of this. there are a lot of us still concerned with people on the list as the last speaker just spoke, they spend their career trying to get their medallion and planning of with all of this stuff. we put up with a lot of stuff. the are a lot of us the lead to discuss a possible future program that would be fair, and presented as a compromise solution. the pilot program was a small number of medallions and we will sell and evaluate the effects of drivers. there are people on the committee that feel that the

purpose of the pilot program is just to transition in the total transfer ability. my understanding is that we're supposed to be of value leading it, finding the problems, and suggesting a fair way to continue like a dual system where of medallions will be issued to drivers have made a career. i don't think that should end. it doesn't mean we are trying to kill the pilot program. i think also of the flyer that as a vindictive fet earhart is not propaganda, is an explanation of the way bi thinke of the money that you guys are spending to disseminate truthful information. chairman nolan: next item. >> you have concluded

regular items. chairman nolan: is there a second? we will go to closed session. thank

>> i am one of the board members for the burning man project. welcome to the plaza and the launch. [applause] we are so thrilled to be here in the tenderloin. we're thrilled to create relationships, to work with other people, and make something crazy and magical happened here.

we're also extremely happy to be working with the san francisco city itself, with the reinvigoration efforts happening. we have two esteemed people with us from the city. we have mayor ed leave with us. [applause] -- we also have mayor ed lee with us. and from the board of supervisors, david chu. please come and join us. [applause] >> thinks ank you. it may be premature, but welcome home fellow burners.

it is great. there are invitations going on for that burning man. i am going to call our board president, david chu, to come up here and join us. he plays a mean violin already. i am also going to invite supervisor eric mar, who is the only one of us who has been to burning man. i will say this. the burning man project has been a wonderful contributor to our central market cultural district. working with our office of economic development and the

wonderful staff, you are working with the arts commission trying to liven up and insight the arts community -- excite the arts community to look at where we have vacancies and put life into them through art. there is so much to do. art is about life, activity, and people. it is about creating relationships. i want to thank all of you for being here to share your wonderful friday with us. we have the music to keep the center. now we can go crazy again. i not only have an announcement the burning man launched tonight, but there are so many

other wonderful things being attracted to this area. i want to thank hal for the camera work. you are around the corner. that is because you are working with will and maddie thatcher. they've come to work together to enliven the effort to create a place where the underserved youth can learn about camera works. this is been on my mind for a long time. do you know the old original joe's place? they have brought in a theater piano fight.

that is a wonderful addition. it will be starting this fall. the dugan family will locate in north beach. i have been a patron of the original joe's for many years. i want to specifically thank the piano and fight -- piano fight theater. thank you for starting the wonderful theater. i know you will be asking for a grant. you have been a wonderful partner in looking out for the start-ups and helping them

along, helping to identify where they can be and how they can get started. we both started the arts foundation at the corner of sixth and market. there are so many people to thank tonight. i wanted to begin with this list, the freshest efforts to start up. it is a signal to you that we want to thank you all for reinvigorating this central market with your arts activity, innovation, enthusiasm. there is not going to be a store front available in the next year. it will be filled with arts, people, and businesses, and residents who will come to celebrate this. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> it is friday. who is excited to be a san

franciscan? it is wonderful to see everyone here. i want to acknowledge my colleague because he is the only member of the board of supervisors who has gone up to burning man. i know that will change. mayor lee and i were joking that we were thinking about going up there to resolve and worked out all of the issues with city council up in the desert. what do you think, mayor lee? whatever it takes, bringing people together to get it done. that is what we want to do with burning man. san francisco has been a beacon to the entire world for creativity and innovation. i want to thank you all for representing the very best of what that is all about. i also want to welcome you to this neighborhood. the tenderloin and mid market

area is so grateful for all the changes we know will happen in the coming years. this year alone, we are bringing twitter to this area. we're bringing artists and theaters. we're bringing new hamburger joints and we are bringing burning man. i want to thank the burning and project for being on the edge of creative culture. you represent with the greatest partnerships are about, what happens when you bring the public and private sectors together. i know this project will be reaching out to children in the tenderloin. and want to thank you for doing that. i also want to thank burning man for one of the quality we like here in san francisco -- one

other quality we like here in san francisco -- experimentation. a few blocks away from here, we have been experimenting with what it means to close market street, to take back parking spaces for parkland. i want to thank the transit advocates here. hats off to burning man because you are leading the way. without further ado, it is my honor to introduce one of the founders of the burning man project. where is larry harvey? come on up. [applause]

>> i did not want to speak to the "post." i am not here as the founder of burning man. i am representing the burning man project, a new nonprofit. our offices are down the street at 995 market at 6th, right in the hearth of the mid-market district. there is no better place to commence this effort in san francisco, our home town. [applause] we know a thing or two about

building a diversity and culture from the ground up. the key thing was expressed by the great jane jacobs. she said cities have the capability of providing something for everybody only because and only when they are created by everybody. care this is the principle that will guide the burning man project. working with the city of san francisco, we can do many things. you have noticed all of the vacant shop fronts along market street, i am sure. we can begin to change this. pardon me? anyway, we can change this by

making it easier for artists to occupy. working with our sister organization, we can install public artworks. if you look behind you, you will see two of them freshly installed. we can also do what all of us are doing here today. it can mean celebrations. we certainly know how to do that. we can do more. everyone of you here can participate. let's broaden the scope and think about more than just market street. after all, cities have the

capability of providing something for everybody when they are created by everybody. let's look beyond the central market corridor and the neighborhood, the community that already lives here. if you go down to the project office, you will see the gateway to the tenderloin. we do not mean to merely decorate our city's main street. that would be superficial. we want to help change lives. [applause] we want to do what we do best by inventing truly interactive art. we want to work with the residents of the district, creating art made by and for the

people. we will need volunteers in order to accomplish this. burners know exactly what i am talking about. we want you to pay attention to our website, burningmanproject.org. the burning man private even may be sold out of tickets, but the project is destined to fill a much larger canvas. to participate in that, you will not need no stinking tickets. [applause] i already hear people referring to where we are as u.m. playa. [laughter]

to repeat with the mayor has already said, welcome home. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪