roads and blanket skies with airplanes, but the air we breathe will be no better than tailpipes. we have got to build high-speed rail. this note is not just important in the long term. this project has transformed from high speed rail only two and a billion dollar infrastructure infusion into our existing and future transportation networks, and we are here today as evidence that this is about economic vitality , investment, not just in the central valley where the need is great, but throughout all of california. the economy is national and international in scope. a meeting of the federal reserve can affect california's unemployment more easily than most of the decisions we make i

gosh we are here to take the talk about safety on the transportation system. earlier this year, the board of directors adopted a new strategic plan, and while the mission is to move people around san francisco, the number one goal of that strategic plan is safety. that is because no matter where you were in terms of moving around whether you are on foot, on a bike, driving in a car, riding on muni, you need to be

able to do so safely and get where you're going safely. we need to make sure the transportation system is clean, and efficient, attractive. first and foremost, it needs to be safe. thanks to a great partnership we have with the san francisco police department and the great work they do every day to keep the entire city safe, including the part of the city that exists within our muni system, crime in almost every category is down. almost across the board, every category of non-violent crime is down in the transit system. the the problem is, there is one area where we are going in the wrong direction. that is larceny. it has to do largely with devices like these where people are not being attentive with devices like these and other

people are taking the advantage of that. that is the one area, overall, a good story that we have to tell that is left to be addressed. that is what we are here to talk about today. we are launching an awareness campaign. you will hear from the chief and the commander, being aware of your surroundings. we want to raise awareness for the public, for all of the public in terms of being safe while you're traveling and walking in the street. it is a matter of being aware of your surroundings and trying to keep the transportation system safe and enjoyable for everyone. what you see behind us are some posters that are already up. and we can really raise the awareness of folks that you need to be mindful when you are

writing in our system. we want everyone to get where they're going on time and efficiently, but we want them to get there safely. and with all of their personal belongings with them. i want to thank you all for coming and i will turn it over to the great chief of police. >> thank you. again, if you look at this artwork, this is almost exactly how it goes. this woman is not paying attention, but somebody else is. he has his ipad, not paying attention, someone else is. what we have been telling everyone, i really want to thank the director for his help with this, you have to pay attention to who is around you and who is looking. it seems every time we have a robbery or theft in san francisco, it involves an electronic device.

to lose six of these devices a day, it seems like every time we go over the robbery counts, it seems like an electronic devices involved. as ed said, is important to know who is around you, who is paying attention. you can really draw the analogy when you are looking down and not paying attention, it is like taking $300 out of the atm and touting it without paying attention. please pay attention to these ads, we really appreciate the media covering this today to get the word out and we appreciate muni. we want everybody to be safe, safe as you move across the city. and we want you to keep your

belongings and stay connected. >> just to reinforce that, i encourage anyone to look around and see how many people have their heads down and they're looking at their device, seeing how inattentive they are. you can walk by and accidentally bump people, they are not paying attention. it is easy to get absorbed with the great media we have at our fingertips and block out surroundings. it is dangerous and not worth losing your device or jeopardize in your safety over it. the awareness is very important. the main way that we keep the system safe is through our engagement which and the san francisco police department. -- engagement with the san francisco police department. we are lucky that we have one of

the best of the command staff working with us right now. she manages the enforcement arm of the mta including the san francisco police officers that work and ride the buses. they are largely responsible to be how to be safe when learning how to ride on the system. >> first of all, i really want to thank director for this campaign and putting in j. resources behind it. a little bit of what we do on the mta side of the police department, everybody reports an

incident and it comes to us. i read every single related report. it gets disseminated to the district station captains. they look over the constant data and they develop enforcement plans that assist our city in combating crime and incidents on me. -- on muni. we have officers dedicated solely to the mta. they ride in uniforms and plain clothes. we also have k-9 units. i can't say more, they do with our transit system. we're down 30% in crime and the transit system. as the director said, the only place where we can do a little

bit better are larceny crimes. that is what this campaign really is all about. i don't want to beat a dead horse in terms of reiterating this, but we can't say enough. perhaps don't use the white earbuds. opportunistic people look for those opportunities and no that it means iphone. if you lose one of these devices, and do what you can't disconnect your personal information from these devices. if something is taken from you,

don't go after the suspect. just look, pay attention, and get as the description as you can and, in 11. he will be there to take this information and after had the suspect. >> a pretty straightforward message, grateful for those of you covering this. they provide to my family and friends, everyone in our system and in our city to make sure that they get to where they want to go. they make themselves vulnerable to theft of our system anywhere. will be happy to take questions. thank you all for coming. >> [inaudible]

>> i will use an example. just the other day, i was on one of the trains and i got on the trains, it wasn't a very full train. halas of almost 90% of the people were living out at smart phones are electronic devices. what typically happens is, it is an ihpone. -- iphone. the look for the perfect opportunity, snatched the device and away they go. the worst thing we can do is engage the perpetrator because that leads to a more serious crime. that is typically what we see. they see the opportunity, they seize it. it cannot give criminal the

opportunity. >> [inaudible] >> always, i think we can look at common sense with that and really, anywhere right mirador, for instance. -- near a door, for instance. grabbing the device and exiting the vehicle very quickly. >> would you edifies someone with a smart phone to set elsewhere? >> the middle of the bus would be preferred. my other devices to just not use it. why you're not being attentive, you are creating an opportunity. >> [inaudible]

>> as a matter of fact, last week we had a cellphone that was the lead with gps on that. we tracked the phone, got the suspect, and many other items of stolen property in the car that he was arrested and. the car itself had been boosted, there was a license plate crime. he pretty good case started with the cell phone gps that was trackable. >> if i have a cellphone with gps that is stolen -- >> as best as we can. if we have the staffing available, we are about catching bad guys. >> of the recovery rate of these devices is not good. if you lose your device, you have lost your device.

i mean, it is whatever the market will bear. these are a commodity that are traded. being used, the person that was the owner of the phone could tell that it was taken from them and in use. they do that in australia and we're working to see if we can get something like that locally. >> [inaudible] >> thank you.

>> will dampen this is it's very special day. -- welcome, everyone. this is a very special day, our day tuesday thank you. it is wonderful that we get this opportunity to thank and i want to give some special acknowledgements to some of our guests today we're joined by the honorable mayor, ed lee. commissioner leslie katz.

public works director mohammed nuru. stafano. general manager of turner for construction. i want to thank all of you for being part of our program. we're also joined by the ceo of the america's cup event authority. i cannot find him that i know he is here somewhere. the ceo of the america's cup organizing committee. the board of the directors of the committee. our very own naomi kelly, city administrator. [applause] the commissioner of the golden gate bridge district. i saw him a minute ago. there you are. our city engineer. mike galt and adam, project managers of america's cup. our architects. our city project team, kim and

cindy, ed, edgar, and oscar. all the employees of turner construction and the 32 sub- contracting firms. our cruise terminal volunteers to meet the guests in the coming in. our port community advisory committee members. i saw several of you here today. our state regulator partners. members of city planning, the board of supervisors, our maritime commu the international longshore and warehouse union members. thank you all for being part of this momentous occasion. [applause] this is a very special day, and i know many of you who follow the mayor of around have been to a lot of these ceremonies, and you're probably wondering why this is such a big deal. this is such a big deal because it represents the first time in

45 years that the board and the city have funded our own and topping off ceremony at the port of san francisco. and 45 years is a very long time. i resemble that time frame, so you know that it has been a very long time coming. it has been a true citywide effort. i want to run through how important that has been. we have tried many times to get a cruise terminal project going. they started trying back when art agnos was mayor, and this time it finally stuck. i think there is a key. it launched off with an 11- member blue ribbon cruise terminal advisory committee, which was comprised of a lot of very busy and dedicated people who have a passion for having a cruise terminal here in san francisco. the project received key endorsements early on from the iowu. metro cruises.

several large cruise lines including princess cruises and holland america. input and support from our community and advisory committees. city departments including the department of city planning. numerous regulators including the bay conservation development commission. the state lands commission. the regional water quality control board. corps of engineers. i could go on and on. in the fourth quarter of our quest, something miraculous happened to us and we cannot be more grateful. that is that we got a huge push over the finish line from our partners at the america's cup event authority. thank you so much for that. [applause] i want you to take a good long look at the bones of this facility. the structure is built to last a lifetime. it will last for generations. hopefully some day you all well cruise out of here as well as your children and grandchildren.

i want you to look at that and feel the pride. mr. mayor, this facility has already won its first award from "cruise insight" magazine for been designed with the most amount of consensus and input. we are extremely proud of that. it was a new category created just for this cruise ship terminal and it cannot be more fitting. this site is really being transformed. the pier 27 facility opened in 1967. it was part of the pier 27, at 29, 31 cargo facility coming out of world war ii and into the global logistics supply chain which had moved to contain theiri -- containerization. as you can see behind me, it is long as part of the waterfront, whether it is port property or federal property.

it is 1100 square feet. and the ships are headed that way as well. behind us is a brand-new facility which will handle our passengers more efficiently as they come off the bigger ships. our current cruise ship terminal, pier 35 was built in the teens, and it was built for ships that carried 500 passengers. these ships are are tearing up to 5000 passengers which is as many or more than some of the largest hotels here in san francisco. as our bidders' circuit -- visitors are getting off the ship, they will land here at the pier gateway of one of the greatest cities in the world. stand here and think, what would be like to be a first-time visitor to san francisco? you get to see the gorgeous bay, bay bridge, alcatraz, and as you turn around, the coit tower and transamerica building. it does not get much better than

that. we are really excited and we thank you for your effort. when this project is complete, where all of you are standing will be a 2.5 acre park. it has been planned for over 20 years, so it is very gratifying to be able to move forward on the long-awaited project. thanks to the influence of our partners at the america's cup, at the end of the pier is another new plaza where you will have about 270 degree views, your first use of the ac-72's as they start and finish here. cruise terminals are an interesting facility in that they are designed to be vacant as much as they are designed to be fully impacted. one day it is overflowing and the next day there is nobody here. with the help of our blue ribbon committee and partners at san

francisco travel, we also designed this area to accommodate the events. we are very proud that our first event here at the pier 27 cruise terminal will be christened by the 34th america's cup as part of the america's cup village. i just want to say thank you again to stephen barkley, larry ellison, for your vision and dedication and partnership for a lot of us to host this year and leave a tremendous legacy for this city and neighborhood. it is my honor to again thank you and all the generations that will be able to participate in your work. i hope you will come back many times and i hope one of those times you will actually be a passenger, so welcome, everybody.

now it is my honor to introduce a man who needs no introduction, our very own mayor, the honorable ed lee. as you may recall, the mayor has a 17-point jobs plan. we have heard a lot about how he is doing on that plan because it seems weekly he is welcoming a new business to san francisco, and i think it is important that we have a city and mayor embracing people coming into the city, including our visitors. our cruise lines are very appreciative of having the mayor himself be part of that. mr. mayor, this cruise terminal hits 16 of your 17 points. it tracks and grow jobs, it hires san franciscans, it invests in infrastructure jobs, it invests in transportation, and it expands tourism and international trade and creates financial stability. it will be named after the late

james firman, president of the ilwu, as well as the port commission, most famous and our commission for spending well over one hour of a commission hearing chastising the court staff and other commissioners for not making maritime jobs be the cornerstone of our ports. it is really terrific that you are doing that. i know he would be extraordinarily proud of you. without further ado, please welcome mayor ed lee. >> thank you, monique. thank you for recognizing all of the partners that have been part of this. i would like to reiterate my appreciation to monique, her staff, the partnership with the port commission, their willingness to share in the leadership of this with so many agencies, dpw, the rest of the city, in building the consensus

implementation phase of this. i also want to reiterate my appreciation. we have talked long and hard about what benefits the america's cup would bring to the city. this is one of the great opportunities where the physical aspect of that promise is more than just talk. the organizing committee, events authority, with your leadership, we can be sure that the promises of economic benefits are real to this city, reflected right here in this moment. has monique said, it is kind of like that gust of wind we will see in the race. this is continuing to be the competition we have in the world. we are in competition with london, shanghai, paris, on whether or not we will be that whether or not we will be that international city that competes