on market street. 3300 residential units being constructed, and we have venture capitalist. we need more. this is a big way of saying thanks to everybody for working together. another great center here and we are going to make sure this center flowers with all the other plans that we have. thank you for working together. >> thank you. for your leadership today. today i was with the representative for the football league and they are looking at the site for football. they said i haven't seen this many cranes in american city for such a long time. it's very exciting. and

mayor, i wasn't able to join you in court, but i will join you to our most important city and that is our sister in italy. thanks again for your leadership and in taking this city to a new direction and preserving it's past and celebrating it's presence and making sure it's future is as strong. let's give mayor another round of applause. [ applause ] so now i would like to clues to -- introduce you to my other boss, the board share of the traveling association and the board share of the improvement district and the square, david maeld man. >> thank you joe, thank you mayor lee for all of your support, and your leadership. it's such a great time to be in

san francisco. tourism is just coming and that's due to your efforts and your administration's efforts. thank you very much. san francisco travel. as joe mentioned, i kind of wear three hats but i'm standing in the middle of my world. union square improvement districts and tremendous work that they are doing down here, joe dell sandero with travel and of course due to mayor lee's efforts it's a time for tourism and general manager in this city. thank you. visitors information center. it was a freudian slip because it

improved tremendously and it couldn't be in greater location. so all the visitors that come to san francisco from the airport stop right there and come here for information on things to do in the city. it's tremendous for me to be the general manager because i have concierge but the volunteers and the people here are an extension of concierge and giving information for all the visitors that come in and make this a world class city and really visit all the areas, the restaurants, the attractions and everything else this city has to offer. i want to thank again san francisco travel because they are the ones who market tourism, no. 1 industry in san francisco and again i want to thank you. i want to thank the volunteers. as mayor lee has said, you are

the ones that truly breathe live into this city. and you give out information with just such authentic and hospitality to all the visitors around the world. they go back and tell their friends and tell them to come to one of the best cities in the world, san francisco. thank you. [ applause ] >> in conclusion, a couple things. we have a little game we are playing here that we encourage you to do it. we talk about our staff and volunteer that wear a yellow ribbon that say staff on them. go ahead and meet them. write their names on the piece of paper. put it in the silver bucket and you have the opportunity to win -- some prices. these volunteers speak italian, hindu, french,

mandarin, portuguese, spanish, tagalog and vietnamese. they are the ones that really help. a couple things i want to point out, the main changes here. when you walked in here you bumped into a bunch of brochures. the real experts are not the brochures but the staff and volunteers who share their information and passion. we put the brochures against the wall and brought the volunteers and staff to the middle. when the people came and they needed to understand what was the heart and soul of the city to meet the geniuses, they found in front and middle. that was an important change. we don't always have a dj out here. many times we have volunteers and staff. another feature we are proud of is technology. we have

touch screens. we have sf made products, we'll have more in the future as we continue. we have these the wonderful maps back here. the one of san francisco and it's neighborhood and the one of california. it amazing how many volunteers want to get in front of this map and discuss what they remember about san francisco. we encourage you to spread the word and thank you for your partnership. thanks for coming tonight. enjoy the rest of the reception. thank you. [ applause ] [ applause ]

>> good morning everyone. we would like to thank you to our station. our members moved into in station and became operational march 19th. we thank you for being here today. it could not have been done without the help of many people. i want to welcome you all to this station. it's a beautiful firehouse, a new firehouse. i was 6 years old in 1st grade on moscow street. we are delighted to be here. it's also a creative and unique collaborative effort. something

we have never done before. it a partnership all the way. we want to thank and acknowledge the museum of modern art. we talked about the concept of the museum of modern art which if you have not been to, it's a wonderful place to visit. their needs and desires to expand for educational programs and for more of their collection. the property at 676 howard, we identified it was a place not seismic ready for our members. it's as fire safety it's of paramount importance. when they talked to us about the ideas, they came together and decided to change properties. it's a total win win situation. we are combraet -- grateful for the

efforts of the museum of modern art. we want to say thank you very much and would like to acknowledge mr. charles swab, thank you, sir. board president, mr. bob fisher, dennis wong and michael are here with us today. and a man that worked hard long hours with us and that is neale, the director of the museum of modern art. thank you so much. so we talked about this unique partnership. it became a real thing in 2010. lots of meetings and discussion, last year march 2012, we had ground broken on this station and # 12 months later we are here to celebrate the official opening. i'm going to mention other people, but

without further a do i'm going to mention the first person i'm proud to work for is an innovative thinker who said yes, let's try this and that for better efficiency and safety. i can't thank this man who has been in several aspect of city government. he understand the types of collaborative efforts necessary to conclude and project like this. now it gives me great pleasure to introduce our great mayor, mayor edwin lee. >> thank you, chief. i want to thank former mayor gave some for having reached this incredible agreement with museum of modern art. i just thought it was such a win win for everybody. not easy by any stretch of the imagination because it takes a lot of

resources even when we talk in terms of gifts, but let me first of all start with saying thank you chief white to you and to the whole fire department's administration to local firefighters union as well for being an incredible part of our city. your mission has always been about saving lives. we see it everyday and sometimes when there are events we can't control happen but you are there without regard in many cases for the things that are occurring, but just there to save lives. i think this gift if anything reflects the value that we place on our fire department. so thank you for your incredible sacrifice all the time. we recognize, i know that mr. swab and the entire

museum recognize that this gift does reflect that sentiment because not only are you getting a replacement of a fire station, you are getting a more modern fire station. it is state of the art. it has equipment we have not seen in a long time and i like to idea that it has a generator that in case that big one hits you have three days there to really help us recover quickly. you have a number of other things, i was going to make a joke about mr. swab and i maybe testing each other on the pole, but i think you are going to beat me because you are in better shape than i am. but, again it's just a testament that we do value our fire department and leadership and all the men and with i am -- women that serve it and this gift is another reflection of that. having said

that, i want to pay attribute that this would not have happened but for the incredible expansion that the museum is doing and that expansion comes with another recognition of the fisher family and their incredible collection of art which this city really still needs to talk about it's deserving of it. i know that the effort that is being made by mr. swab and all the trustees that have made that expansion, it is a serious amount of money to do that. yes they did have to have that expansion. we got that gift out here and the tune of $12 million for the station for the land and design and construction by the fund raising efforts that have gone on. but part of that is lose the make way for a really wonderful collection that for

generations years and years to come will appreciate it. i must say that mr. swab has entered into this effort knowing that it was going to take a lot of resources to do. at a time when there are so many other competing interest to be able to talk to people about the collection, about what it means and then about the fire station in addition to that and the public private partnership, i want to again, thank mr. swab for your leadership in doing so and also benny, i know he's a personal friend of yours, i wish i knew mr. fisher better as well but we are going to enjoy this wonderful collection and so thank you for the modern art and bob for all your leadership for doing this. this would not have happened without that occurring. it is a win win for the city. this station,

supervisor kim has just arrived. i want to please welcome her up. we have been doing a lot of openings in your district, supervisor. we just did another one at the entrance transbay center. it's a gold standard, lead gold, i want to thank webcor for their leadership in getting this built and making a smooth transition. i want to thank the fire fighters because it's really the home of the alley cats and they are proud of it and they are proud of the family that they have built here because this is one of the busiest fire stations, firehouse 1, will get those calls, you know that. in fact don't be surprised if a call is made even during a time we are here because there is so much activity going on. but we know

they are in a safer place a better performing aspect place, more modern and they will get the level of safety the city defrsz -- deserves. we have to prepare for those unknown but predictable accidents natural and otherwise that will occur in the city of san francisco. i want to thank the chiefs, the city administrator, victor, your work here as well, our real estate department, as well, thank you, john for being here. all the city family, our city engineer, figuring out things for being here as well. investing in our infrastructure, investing in our fire stations has been a main stay of my administration, working with a capital planning group. we want to ensure that our infrastructure always reflect the highest level we

need and situating this station here is will is an incredible gift to district 6. i want to thank all the entities for getting together and making this happen and but for a very special circumstances this might have not occurred and we would be incurring another obligation $6. i want to thank all the entities for getting together and making this happen and but for a very special circumstances this might have not occurred and we would be incurring another obligation of 9-and-a-half million from our general fund. this is a gift that is going to keep giving. i want to recognize things that happen in this city we are a very incredible lucky city for all the things that happen to us. this is one of the moments that recognize all of these special elements that come together modernization, this brand new station, and the firemen and women who will be

here and take care of this city as you always have. thank you for making this happen. appreciate it. [ applause ] >> thank you, mr. mayor for your leadership and unwavering support. the next speaker has also been very supportive. our district supervisor, jane kim. [ applause ] >> the mayor said it but i think we have a ribbon cutting almost twice a day now in district 6. this is an exciting one. the first constructed fire station in san francisco since 1950. it's pretty amazing considering when the fact that the mayor brought up is the busiest station in san francisco. in my time at the distribution, unfortunately i

got to know a lot about the fire department. we have had 13 working fires, several which were very significant and displaced or injured our residents. i learned how hard the fire department works, how important their speedy response is in terms of saving lives and of course our possessions but also how they build relationships with their constituents at a time of intense loss, anxiety and fear and they do it with a great deal of compassion and dignity. i think that's the most important aspect of the work they do on behalf of our city. it's truly incredible to have a department to be able to get that type of feedback from our constituents. it's great to welcome our fire department to district 6. yes, it's a block away from my house. i forgot to leave the key to my apartment

with my neighbor so i had to run and do that before i came here. they have been working to help facilitate with the fire department and the modern museum of art. it wasn't long ago when our city first started to develop plans to develop yerba buena -- that's going to be an exciting development. this was a great outcome of that. six years ago we opened a large scale park along with the first constructed public

school. as we connect this corridor, folsom street is going to be a great street, 500 units and they will be good neighbors to the fire department here. so i look forward to the critical role in -- that the fire department is going to display which includes the tenderloin and 6 district area. in 2000 alone fire fighters left that station 924 times. we are really fortunate to have a chief that is well regarded both for her ability to lead a well respected institution and for her

integrity and honesty. oven -- often when we have difficult decisions to make, we can trust her. i want to thank the staff and fire department. because they save lives and compassion they are able to show our residents goes a long way. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> thank you supervisor kim. for those of you that don't know the san francisco fire department has a 5 member fire commission. before calling the next speaker i want to announce the former london breed. you had a lot to do with us getting here and now commissioner of the retirement system, victor make residueers -- he spent

countless hours with us. without your counseling and guidance, we wouldn't be here today. fire commissioner andre evans. thank you very much. it's wonderful to see such say big crowd here today to celebrate the opening of this new station as people have said before has been way too long to be honest since there has been a new fire station in the city. on behalf of the fire commission, i want to say we are incredibly proud to be here and incredibly excited and think it's appropriate that the men and women who give so much to the city that they are given state of the art facility. i'm so

glad that this wonderful fire station is opening. i don't think it's everyday that -- it's not everyday that a private institution comes forward and says let's do something great for the city. i want to thank all the members who put in so much time and effort into making this fire station what it is. i think the results speak fore itself. it's first class and i think it's going to serve the community for a long time to come. so thank you very much. >> thank you, commissioner evans. before we call up our next speaker, i want to acknowledge our members of station 1. i appreciate your flexibility, i hope you are happy with your new firehouse. it's obviously much brighter and modern and space seismically facility. in the

firehouse where you work, it's more than a workplace but a second home. i am committed in this neighborhood to be good neighbors, we are joined by some neighbors and we have received a little constructive criticism that why are you having the ribbon cutting in the middle of the week when we are working. if you pass along to your neighbors that couldn't be here, we will have an open house later in the evening you can be here. that's why we move senior captain in station one. i would like to invite captain to come up and say a few words. >> welcome and thank you for attending. station one is one of the biggest stations in the nation. running over 17,000

calls a year. on behalf of the station one, i would like to thank each one of you for your support in this project. we truly appreciate coming to work in an environment that is sporting our good health and safety. so ultimately we can support yours. we consider this community our community, our home away from home. i would like to assure you that we remain committed to continuing our primary mission. that is to protect the lives and property of the people we serve. thank you very much. >> and so you can find out a little bit more about this facility. i would now like to call up the principal architect responsible for this facility. bill letty. with stacy architect. >> thank you, chief. you know,

a little known fact is that every architect wants to design a firehouse. not just because many of us wanted to be fire fighters at some point in our lives, it's because these are really iconic hybrid buildings that we feel -- embody a building that express dignity and security for our community. these are important facilities for our community. when we are working on this project in the office we often joke that firehouse no. 1 is like a block on steroids with

really big machines in the garage. it's been a great experience for myself an my team to work on this project. of course, the board and staff of s f museum -- and bob, joy, and dave. the san francisco department of public works has been a true collaborator on this project and i would like to thank charles and gabriela. our team, of course webcor builders who made sure things happened and lineey oaks and lou, thanks, guys. and last but

not least everyone at the san francisco fire department. we've government -- gone through a whole variety and great to assist a deputy chief who was an awesome partner during the early phase of this project and talking to the neighbors and trying to make sure the way it was paved for this project to really happen and of course deputy chief, kim lombardy to make sure we had all the details. i would like to point out to you that haven't noticed yet, there is a plaque to the right of the building that honors the fire fighters that have sacrificed their lives to the city for years. i would like to say with sincere hope today