[applause] lydia is the vice president of one of the television networks. that is the first effort from her group which is to people. she comes from a long history in the television business. she was at madison square garden's network. she was one of the original producers and programmers for oxygen network. spent over 15 years at abc sports and was an olympic speedskater in the 1984 olympics in sarajevo. [applause] so the action will start here

pretty hot and heavy as soon as all the ceremony is over. we have a lot to get done. our construction co. is one of the finest in the country. marvin and mark are here somewhere. larry and i will take credit if we're up and running. if not it is their fault. no pressure. the mayor is watching, too. what we thought we would do next is to give you an idea. we have some of the schematic over there for you to look at the building. what we thought we would do is have one of the lead designers for the architecture firm hlw give you a three-d -- 3d tour. we will have ten more as we are developing the look and feel for the building. we want you to imagine what this space will look like in six or

seven months. it will be quite a transformation. carlos from hlw will lead us through that door. -- that tour. carlos? [applause] >> good morning. a couple of things before we get started. we're excited to be working with pac 12 and we're working feverishly to capture the energy we saw in the video. there is no music to the video we will be showing so you'll have to do with my monotone voice for a while. if we could go to the portal view. we will walk you through the choice moments we've designed around the facility. we will get back to the portal. typically i am the one that controls this.

give me one second. ok. what we will do is take you through the initial look at the site. what we have here is the portal. we wanted to create something that when you walk through you would feel a sense of crushing -- crossing a threshold. this was the idea of connecting different spaces with the sources of flight. go back in the other direction. push down, the down arrow. there we go. what we wanted to do is play off that idea of connecting spaces. the first thing you see as you enter the facility will be as to go through this portal, the pac 12 shield and it will have these strands of light coming

through. these points of light. something we saw in that video is the lights pass through multiple services. we did not want to contain it to one wall. what you see is the idea of the lights going on multiple services, wrapping around the ceiling. -- multiple surfaces, wrapping around the ceiling. we wanted something that would play off the simple geometry so it would be clean and have a presence and we wanted to have some elements of the pac 12. we have created a detail that shows the details of the schools in the conference. within this lobby, it is a grand lobby and a big space. we wanted to start to condense the space is more to our human scale. here you see off the reception desk there will be a seating area. we started to articulate the ceiling and the floor surface. to give you a sense of being within a space within a larger space. in that zone, we will have a

live feed of what is being broadcast outside the facility. the idea of we do know why you to forget where you are one to come in. he will start to see what is happening behind the scenes. -- you will start to see what is happening behind the scenes. there is the idea of what -- having an interactive digital medium. what you see is a projector and the idea is visitors and employees will go to the projection and play with the interactive -- it interactively. there is a coffee bar off the lobby. it is that space that goes off to the side so people will be able to go in. they feel as though they are not in the lobby. the idea again, it is a powerful idea. the language that is being set up as you saw in that video. the idea of flights being connected. space is being connected by these sources of light.

-- the idea of lights being connected. we're also doing it in the ground. you see an l.e.d. source that will take you to the portal and the reception desk and the stairs that connect this space is at two levels. as you progress down the stair, we want to keep in mind where we are. it is a place where we are broadcasting sports. it is a fun space. it is a space that is not a sleek, modern office. some of the touches is there is a scoreboard. you see the scoreboard that pays homage to the advance where we are broadcasting but it gives you an -- up-to-date scores of what is happening, what will be on tv, what is planning live in the studio. -- playing live in the studio. as we wrap down the staircase,

this is something that is in the west coast, so we wanted to go straight through. a lot of the inspiration is based on the great outdoors. what you see here is black lines, representative of cable, steel rods that come down. that idea out of walking down next to a waterfall is something we wanted to mimic. as you walk down the staircase, there's the sharing of the lights, the material that you can rub your hands next year. on the right side, you will see our interpretation of what it would feel like to walk next to a waterfall. you have a reconstituted would wall. if you -- you are not going to get a splinter. it will be textured enough so that you will want to rub your hands against the wall. it is more of an experience. and the last thing we will show on this mini tour is the space

we are extremely excited about. we have created another portal within the space that is off the lobby. it gives you a view into the studio. we're in the lobby, you get a direct view of the tv. as you walk through, you see this from a different point of view. that is a short synopsis. we're still working on it. it gives you a pretty good sense, a flavor of what the facility will be. [applause] >> ok, so the construction guys said where are one hour late on the construction schedule. -- we are one hour late on the construction schedule. it is time to go to work. they put this wall of -- up for us.

>> it is time to start our official press conference. this involves city officials and it is about the city's commitment to grain transportation. without further ado, i want to introduce the honorable mayor ed lee of san francisco. [applause] >> thank you, everybody, for

being here this morning. it is a joy for me to be here with you today at yellow cab to celebrate an accomplishment that i think the city will be proud of. i have been this city administrator for quite a number of years. i really enjoyed hearing the goals that then mayor gavin newsom had announced in so many areas. i have been very excited. in fact, when gavin was mayor, and these were the things that i really enjoyed inheriting from you. it was what warren hellman always said. even when you are doing the hardest thing possible, you have to have fun. i think it is fun when you can accomplish environmental goals for the city. there are so many generations ahead of us that we know will enjoy this. they will enjoy that cleaner air that we have promised

generations to come. we are not going to be the same as many other industrialized cities, creating emission levels to the point that people get sick. we have the promise that with the strong environmental goals that we set out, that we can have fun accomplishing them. just a minute ago, i had a chance to tell gavin, thank you for showing such great leadership. we celebrated gay marriage. i can personally thank him for that wonderful leadership that led to an historic decision by the ninth circuit yesterday. we go back to 2008, where mayor gavin newsom had led the effort with the board of supervisors to establish a difficult goal of reducing gas emissions, carbon

emissions from our taxis, in 2008. at the time, the ordinance was crafted with support from the board. they set out a per vehicle reduction of about 20% of the missions. everybody said at that time, that is a strong goal, but it might not be attainable. there are two numbers that we want to announce today. not only have we met that goal with the cooperation of so many parties that we are here to celebrate with, but we have exceeded that 20% goal. we now have a 49% per vehicle reduction. with an increase in taxicabs. [applause] that is what makes this fun. you set a goal that people say you cannot do. there were a lot of goals that

people said could not be done. now, with the cooperation of taxicab companies, the taxicab commission, sfmta, with the grants that had been derived through the leadership of our department of environment, working with our bay area quality care management district, the county transportation authority, we found that magic that we often wish we would have. that has resulted in a complete taxi fleet that is 92% alternative fuel. and that while they have grown. this is not a reduction in the fleet. i think they have actually doubled the number of taxis, but 92% of them are running on alternative fuel. that means a tremendous reduction in our carbon

emissions. that 49% that has been reached per vehicle essentially translates into 35,000 metric tons annually of emissions that are no longer limited by our taxi fleet. it is equivalent to taking out 690 cars on an annual basis. while we accomplish those very nice numbers, there is an economic reality to this. they reduce our cost by $11 million annually. they have this alternative fuel vehicles. they save an inordinate amount of money. even the bricks that have to replace. when they are going of these hills, all the time, on a crown

victoria, you are replacing those breaks every one or two months because of its use. with the alternative vehicle, it is about eight months. they are sitting in that respect. it is smarter, accomplishing more than a set out to do, because of the vision we had and the collaboration that has gone on, finding incentives that our community have combined to work in collaboration not only with companies but to also credit the drivers. it had been so many years that this ordinance was passed to change the culture. now that partnership is deep,

economic, and also, will lead to a generation that will appreciate what we have done. wonderful things to accomplish. i want to bank paul gillespie and what he and mayor newsom did to set this vision out for us with our board of supervisors. we can be proud that not only did we come below those emissions, we exceeded it while the taxi fleet increased. this is what makes it fun to be mayor. once in awhile, we can have fun where we really accomplish stop where we get to the economy, all those things that we want to do. it is about collaboration. it is the right incentive. it is not government telling the taxi fleet but they have to do.

it is inviting them in to give us their ideas and then incentivizing that road to success. that is what i want to celebrate today. thank you for coming in and sharing that celebration. [applause] thank you, mayor lee. this next guest is someone i have interviewed many times on the subject when he was mayor of san francisco. he is very passionate about it. today might be another accomplishment that he may be loud report to being at. please welcome lieutenant governor gavin newsom. >> thank you. [applause] nice to be back. wonderful to see you all. thank you, mayor lee, for your stewardship of this program. president chuiu, everyone here gathered for this milestone.

i had the unenviable task of going back to read some of the cliffs that were said to me after we made this announcement, and it was remarkable the condemnation we received. i am glad i never read any of that. maybe i would have been dissuaded. now we have 92% of taxicabs alternative fuel, leading the nation, proven what can be done. there is an old adage. once a mind is stretched, it never goes back to its original form. you have to show people evidence, show people it is possible. you appreciate it more when you are no longer mayor, i appreciate -- i assure you. the distinction between states as laboratories for democracies, as well as cities for laboratories of innovation. trying to get them out in a small way and then scaling across different municipalities. that is the goal here.

this is a win-win for everybody. the cab drivers themselves are beneficiaries of lower gas costs, cab companies are the beneficiaries of lower maintenance, and the citizens are the beneficiaries of dramatic reductions in recent -- greenhouse gas emissions. i will close by thanking the person that began this. paul gillespie was printable in all of this. this initiative really goes back to 1997, when then mayor willie brown called for a big summit. just behind city hall, around the taxicab issues. i was invited, was the only one naive to show up.

anyone who showed up, willie brown would anoint, without asking interest. and today, i announce supervisor newsom is chair of the task force i have formed. it was a difficult day. paul and i were among the many never part of this. paul started talking about this green thing. i immediately jumped up, enthusiastic about it. i was the one with the ev from saturn. i thought it was the best idea i had heard. we created a new commission out of that task force that eventually went into the mta, and now at risk and is responsible for it. paul was responsible for that. he advanced this initiative and codified his passion. we have been celebrating his

tenacity, resolve, constancy, and faith in this project. paul, i want to thank you for your vision and not giving up on this. i know you have taken a lot of heat from your colleagues, others who were outraged. i want to just say, hat's off to you and the elected family of san francisco. finally, to mayor lee. my department meetings were never found. i have to acknowledge that. i would never acknowledge that as mayor. ed reed was always the first one to come around. i do not know what it is about cars, but we were kindred spirits, reducing the size, increasing the efficiency. i am glad to hear that you have

found this fund. thank you, mayor, for making me feel better about my role in this respect. [applause] >> our next guest has told everyone -- he still does not have a motor vehicle that he owns. i think that is still true, right? president of the board of supervisors, david chiu. [applause] >> good morning. so pleased to be part of an amount that will make other cities truly green with envy. i still do not own a car, i have to admit. i did bar my girlfriend's car because i had some trouble finding a cab in my neighborhood to get down here. all that being said, there are

so many folks we have to thank. mayor lee and his department heads who are here, the ta, but i want to thank the people in particular. first of all, someone who is not a bureaucrat or politician, but helped move forward a vision of the city, paul gillespie. we support you for your idea. and mr. lieutenant governor, it is great to see you back here in san francisco. thank you for working with my board colleagues and planting a goal that none of us, frankly, thought would be achieved. and i want to thank all of you from the taxicab industry. what was accomplished from this ordinance should be the model of how we promote future for rums, when we talk about the taxi world here. we had a hearing at the border supervisors about future

reforms. we know there are many things we need to fix in the taxicab world. i hope it is through a model of ideas from taxicab drivers, from the industry working with city officials, to make sure that we are leading the way when it comes to taxis. thank you so much for being here. [applause] >> our next speaker is the person everyone has been referencing, a former taxi cab driver, also the president of the taxicab commission. mr. paul gillespie. [applause] >> thank you, everyone, for being here, alleging the second- best thing we have done as the taxi commission. the first thing that we -- the first best thing that we did was hiring naomi kelly. i am glad she has a new position in san francisco.

if any of you are here because we -- you are upset about what we did and you want to bend, i suggest calling willie brown. he appointed me to the taxi commission. i also want to thank mayor newsom for the work that he did. if you want to thank someone for bringing someone like myself or naomi, you will want to thank mayor brown on that, too. people that know me know that i could go on for hours about this. i could talk about the collaboration that happened between the taxicab companies, the city, manufacturers. this would not have happened without john james, who was the liaison between the manufacturers, taxi industry. there were plenty of others who also helped.

i had real help from lots of people -- we would not be here without you former mayor newsom. your persistence and passion for this issue, i deeply feel that. there is not enough i could say about when you have done over the years. i hope this is just the first of many events we will have talked about making our fleet cleaner. we are about a third of the way there. we have a first generation, and we hope there will be another generation coming through. we hope to soon have zero commission taxis. i will just say one interesting thing about the taxi cab drivers. when we were looking for sponsors, we went to the fuel supplier for the taxicab industry. he said, you want me to contribute to this event? you have twice the number of

vehicles but half the fuel. i said, exactly, thank you. this is one of the great initiatives. it has not only cut greenhouse gas emissions in half in three years, but it has put thousands of dollars into the pockets of working class people who sometimes make a struggle -- struggle to make a living. what i also want to talk about briefly is carbon dioxide. a colorless, odorless gas. two numbers i want to talk about. 19.4, 393. a gallon of gasoline weighs 6 pounds, if you lifted up. if you burn it, you can produce 19.4 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. that blew my mind. i knew about oxidation and reduction reactions from high school chemistry, but when you have that