made by policymakers that resulted in a dramatic change to the demographics of the area and the type of housing that now exists. it simply was not there in 1973. i would suggest that by providing a playground, you will really be doing just one thing -- you will be providing a little bit of joy to a small parcel in our city. basically, i think, by adding a playground, sue bierman park will be a great place for children, but i think children will also be great for sue bierman park. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. before the next speaker, let me ask other speakers to please line up. if you could all please line up on the left-hand side.

>> mr. chairman, members of the committee, supervisor chiu, thank you for a moment to say few words. i am an attorney and an author. i live at the golden gate way. i am the past president of the golden gate we tenants' association -- at the golden gate way tenants association. one of the issues was when i first became aware of this idea of putting a children's playground at sue bierman park, it was late in the game. i contacted supervisor chiu and asked if he could get it continued for me briefly. i am here today to emphatically support a kids' playground in sue bierman park. i am here to report that i think i can tell this committee that agreements have been reached

whereby the support for this children's park is unanimous as far as the golden gate way tenants are concerned. last thursday, i believe it was, and that with the board of the golden gate tenants' association -- i met with the board of the golden gate tenants' association. we discussed the proper part of the park to put this in. sue bierman park is composed of two lots. 202 and 203. 203 has a clubhouse structure of it already. it also has the korean monument. apparently it was grandfathered in. the proposal that we discussed was should we go to the board and say consider to 03 along with 202. that was voted down unanimously. we then had a resolution asking

this committee to amend the proposed ordinance to provide for a permissive use of lot 203. and not on 202. if you do that, you have the enthusiastic, unanimous support. aside from being an author and attorney, i have also started in politics from 1962, and i learned that it is very important the more you can get a consensus, the better chances you have a passing something, and if you have something that is unanimous, at least as far as the tenants' association is concerned, that makes it a no- brainer, even for politicians. thank you. supervisor chiu: before you leap, i just wanted to ask one question -- the issue has really come to a head over the last few days. could you explain what the objection is to 200 to? in a stand there are some issues around 203. i want to understand that.

-- i understand there are some issues around 203. >> there are a number of issues. if you look at that law, the design of it -- first of all, we proposed recreation and park before it was renovated, that we would like to see a children's playground there, and we were told no, we could not have that, because the city attorney have opined it could not put permanent structures. that is not true. in fact, it was an ordinance which we later found. the concern we have for that is if you look at the two lots, and i do not know if we have any illustrations of them here, one is 203 is right in the middle of buildings and an urban setting. the design done for the renovation of 200 to is this expansive open space with lawn

areas for a frisbee, very pastoral park. if you put a playground -- a structure there -- first of all, it is probably not as safe for children considering the fact that the embarcadero is one of the most heavily trafficked places where as lot 203 has washington street, which is one way, and davis strait, which is one way, and clay st., which is one way. there are numerous areas within 203 that a playground work very nicely. the other problem i have -- and i am going to be honest with you -- is we have to be concerned with the fact that if you allow instructor -- a structure on 200 to, you open the possibility of others coming back for additional structures. fact of the matter is that recreation and parks had it expressed in writing and on

numerous occasions that it really wants to construct and entertainment facility on that circular area of the park. this is -- and the fact of the matter is at this moment, recreation and park is already have discussions with producers about using a lot to hundred two. -- a lot to hundred to -- 202. if you look at the two lots, the fact of the matter is you have to do very little to make it friendly for children. it is changing pastoral nature, inviting the possibility of other uses and other structures

with other boards, and i think it would make it very clear statement if this board of supervisors, looking at the ordinance that was created to preserve this park, said, "ok, since there's already structures on 203, let's put a structure in for kids." i do not know of the answers your question. supervisor chiu: no, it does, and i will ask recreation and park later on in the presentation to address that question appeared i want to tell colleagues, my legislation would permit a playground structure on either a lot -- on either a lot, so that is what the underlying discussion is about. >> i have a 1-year-old daughter, and i am very happy in the area. the one thing that is missing is a playground for my daughter. the closest playgrounds, chinatown, north beach, are not that close.

i also grew up in san francisco and had access to all sorts of playgrounds. i feel it would be nice for other children in the area to have the same amenities. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker please. >> [inaudible] can you guys see this? you are going to have to forgive me. i had a long history with this because when we first had supervisory elections, i worked very closely to draft the legislation we're discussing this afternoon. this part has been an absolute magnet for everything. i am not going to discuss the playground issues. i like the idea of playgrounds. it is not about playgrounds. it is about people on the part, and i think because of its very

strategic location -- a number of us, for example, had a very bad taste left in our mouth when recreation and park decided to allow peter pan to go in for 9 to 12 months. this was a revenue-oriented objective, obviously, but the way it was presented, a very charming englishman give a presentation at the height last night, and it was going to be a punch and judy show, something that would not be interested, and a few months later, a tent went up that was five stories high and remain for quite some time. to give recreation and park its new, there was money in the fund to spend $2 million on fixing that place up, and they did a very fine job once peter pan left. the problem we've got now is, for example, when we did our community planning is the abraham lincoln brigade group wanted to put a monument right where recreation and park wants to put its playground now.

if you have seen the way the abraham lincoln brigade monument is now, it is not a terribly attractive structure. you just have to imagine that there are going to be all sorts of proposals for people to do things on the spark. phil mentioned the drainage issues. both blocs -- both lots have severe traded issues. i understand that recreation and park have not accepted the final sign off on the final work that was done because there are severe drainage problems. anyway, the issue about placing -- something that i would be most concerned about is whether it was a playground or anything, the chosen location, you could use $2 million to hire roma design into a fine job of

putting this together. i think one of the location is chosen, it ought to be sensitive to that fact -- whatever location is chosen. that concludes my report. thank you. supervisor chiu: why don't we hear from our next speaker? are you ok? ok. just checking. we want to get this playground done in time for that one. >> yes, hello. i have lived in the golden gateway for about 10 years. i want to talk about -- well, change is really hard. when i moved into the gateway, i was single. i got engaged. i get married. i have a 3-year-old and one coming in about four weeks. i am a strong supporter, and i want to talk from a different perspective as a pair as well as for our city who really want to retain families. playgrounds are" essential for

the neighborhood. when my daughter turned about 18 months, i did not even know if there were kids around because there was no central place where people went. we bump people in the elevators because we were in the apartments, so i started with a couple of parents of golden gate way parents group. we now have only 60 parents and it just because it is hard to sign parents when they had kind to bump into us and form communities. one of the things about the playgrounds that is not just great for the kids, but when you become a new parent, so many things are happening, and you are able to meet other parents and actually learn how they are dealing with that the changes and naps and be able to actually get together and feel like there's a community in the neighborhood makes you feel like you belong. i think that's what is missing right now -- i think that what is missing right now because when we go to china town car, it is hard to get there so we do not get a lot of people to go, and people are sort of in a

different group over there as well. i think for the parents, it is very important to feel like there is a supportive community. i cannot believe someone actually told me there are hundreds of thousands of children nearby. because i started this group, actually met more parents, but there are a lot of parents kind of left alone. i think with that, they will leave our city. the second thing to consider is that if we want people -- we are a city. everyone loves san francisco for our food, how innovative we are, how cosmopolitan we are. we also want to be known as family friendly. i recently visited monterrey. the dennis the menace playground is humongous, right in the middle of a major freeway. i was so impressed. what i remembered about monterey as someone with small kids is that was a wonderful place. i think san francisco wants to

be known for that and i think we want to move towards that. even though you can only see a few parents here, there's a lot of parents who probably do not even know that this is happening, that they can do something about it. they are so busy trying to work and get their kids in school and trying to figure out how to handle young children that i think the city can help us support this and hopefully consider this as a way to get towards building a playground for us. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> hello, i also live in the golden gate way. i have been there for more than a year, and before that, i lived in the rincon hill area. i have a one and a half-year-old boy. just to tell you a little bit about why i am stake in this area -- there's not much for

youth there -- this area, when i moved back two years ago, i did not imagine myself in that cup of neighborhood. i wanted to go to pacific heights, laurel heights, something that was really a neighborhood. for professional reasons, because of our commutes, we ended up starting in this neighborhood because it is so convenient. we can go anywhere. as our son was born here and we started living as a family in this area, we realized it really was not so bad, but i will share something with you. yesterday, i was talking with two people who were taking months off from work and traveling the world and decided where they wanted to live. they were preparing to raise a family as well. they were walking around the city considering san francisco,

and they really liked that waterfront area. i think the playground that would tip the decision would be in the right direction. it took me a one-year to discover there were other children in the complex. i have no idea because there is no central place where we could easily gather and just share time and conversations. it takes quite a bit of effort. announcing one hour play time is two or three hours total because of the time it takes to get there and come back. you have to plan around it. you cannot just go on a whim. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am a resident of the golden gate apartment.

we have been living in the gateway for about four years now. my husband and i live -- work in downtown. we love the community very much, and we're very committed to the neighborhood. i wanted to say that in the past four years, since a few parents started, it is only 10 of 12 people in the beginning, now grown to a large number of families, and it is definitely even in the four years time, the change we have seen is a lot. also in my mind, the second point is i think the playground in my mind is not just a playground for us, but i really think that it is, like, a center of the community. we have community events right now, the large-scale, about two times a year. the hell with party.

a long time ago, a family started there, but last year, a lot of people came this past easter, and the halloween party to the wheel weeks ago attracted over 50 kids and a lot of families. everybody, gramm and count -- parents, grandparents contribute their money and time. really a community effort. i really hope that if there is a playground in our neighborhood, it is becoming a community center, and parents and grandparents meet each other and we can host some community events there. the third point is that, somehow neighbors, their presence or wish to preserve open space, but i really think that's i do not know the technical terms of how you could achieve it, but the

recreation and park department, hopefully they come up with something, a structure or something because that would really preserve the beauty of open space as well as provide a center as a community. so thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. if you just put it down. sfgovtv, if you could please. did someone take the diagram? did someone take ernestine's diagram? is it the picture of 202 versus 203? it can give you another one. ok, thank you. >> ok. my name is an esteemed weiss --

ernestine weiss, and i was a creator of barry parker originally, and i know every inch of that ground. after fighting all the museums, they wanted it. everybody wanted to come and grab the land. it is for the people, for picnics, exercise, tai chi, etc. i put that in specifically for that reason, to preserve that as open space. we do not have enough open space in the city, especially in district 3. as you know, david chiu, we are land corps -- poor. we cannot make exceptions. i used to chase the volleyball people out of there, the soccer people who lived in golden gate way, and i said they could not put stuff into the ground and ruin it with the park and stuff.

they agreed and went over to plaza south. this is the reason why we cannot disturb that plot. it we do that, the soccer kids and volleyball teams will say, "what about us? you are playing to a specific group. that is not fair." we have 1000 families, i understand. where are you going to accommodate them on this little lot? especially on washington street. that is the biggest jump to traffic light on the embarcadero. kids will run out there and get killed. this is the place where it belongs. this is protected by concrete walls all are around where the children will be safe, and it is big and it does not have to take much to build it on their -- by concrete walls all around with the children will be safe. which would you rather have? this picture or the previous

one? if we had put something there, we would not have rallies. i live there. we have rallies every other day. noisy, dirty. you hear it on television. it is very unsightly. i would ask you please do not do it on that lot. i want to know why you cannot put it here on the staff lot. nobody has offered a reason for that. i represent 1000 families, not the golden gate tennis association. they are a small amount of people in that building. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. speaker. as we hear from the neck speaker, let me ask the following individuals to please line up -- as we hear from the next speaker. [reading names]

been those are all the cards i have. >> good afternoon, land use. ♪ why don't you fix up embarcadero, too fix up the park that's named sue cast your eye in that park direction oh, me, oh, my that park perfection ain't it nice look that park over once or twice i ask you very confidentially fix it up please write -- right bay bridge, embarcadero, waterfront suit that place it is such a sue bierman park place every city should have a place

like that it is your park alone luckily for you if your city finds a park named lite -- like sue sue bierman park in your city will be that park place, too ♪ supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. next speaker please. and you do not have to sing. >> [inaudible] i am and mother of three kids. three and a half girl and 1- year-old twin girls. i wanted to reiterate one of the points that was made, that all the parks in our area -- they are not walking distance, and

trying to get our kids to those parks is at least a 3-our commitment at the minimum. it is something that not all parents are able to do. a lot of them work. i can do it sometimes because i am not working. i am a stay at home mom right now. but it is such a huge time commitment. i cannot get my kids to the playground as often as i would like to. having said that, a playground in our area is really absolutely needed. the second thing i wanted to also comment on was the parents brought up the idea, the point about not having a community and a safe location for kids. i was really very excited when sue bierman park, renovated and opened up, and i took my kids out there and they were able to run around. it was great, except when you

have three kids, and you are trying to keep an eye on them. not having a saving closure becomes really -- it is really important because i had an incident two weeks ago where we had a really lovely camera to take pictures of my kids, and i was sitting there. i had my eye on all three kids, and i had the camera right next to me. and someone came and walked up to me and picked it up. and i had no clue. literally, i was sitting in the middle of a grassy field, and they came and picked it up, and i had no idea. i was like, "how did that happen?" anyway, i think, pictures can come later, but my point is that had there been a playground with an enclosure, i would not have to worry about keeping an eye on my staff. plus, my kids. and worrying about them getting

into trouble. again, it is like a playground, a saving closure, is just really important. -- a safe enclosure. that is the other point i wanted to make. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you very much. next speaker. >> i am also a mother in the golden gateway community. i just wanted to add to the community building aspect. i know there's a lot of families in the south of market, but in our particular location, we congregate with the families in the golden gate way. right now, we meet each other in the elevators and we meet each other on the way to school in the plaza, but we do not have a place to meet each other after dinner or after school. that is central for us. the south of market neighborhood for the chinatown neighborhood or the north beach neighborhood -- they are not central to the golden gate lane

neighborhood -- the golden gateway neighborhood. right now, we use the green space across from safeway. sydney walton square. it is a green space, but it does not have a climbing structure or a place where different age children can participate. i have an older daughter, and she enjoys open space for throwing a ball around, but the younger ones often play nicely to gather on more of a structure where they can test out their skills, and i think it brings a lot of the ages together when you have equipment that accommodates both the smaller kids and older kids. as they grow older, the open space is desirable for playing a more organized games, kicking around balls and stuff, but as they are younger, it is nice to have a central location with instructor that they can all play on -- with a structure that

they can all play on. for our community, it needs to be close to us so we can just walk over there and me. we have an active e-mail list so we will know when families are there, but just to be able to show up and see all of our neighbors in the same place would be a great addition to our community. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> i am also a resident of the gateway, and i have two children. i have a 3-year-old son. i lived in the gateway for about two and a half years. what i am most interested in as far as the playground is concerned is really the safety aspect that it provides for us as parents. particularly over the past year with the closure of the trans the terminal and now with the occupy movement. there is a huge transient element