would like to recognize some special guest here today to be with us. from the port commission, mell murphy is here with us, from the mayor's office of disability, carla johnson and her staff, from the port, a number of deputy directors, tom carters, susan reynolds and elaine. and from dpw, our city engineers. next, we are honored to have a city representative who has given us a great deal of support to this project and many improvement projects that the city enjoys. he's also someone who values partnerships and works to seek out ideas from san francisco residents, business owners and

entrepreneurs and community leaders. he's the president of our board of supervisors and supervisor for this district 3. please welcome supervisor david chiu. >> the sun is shining on jefferson street. everyone excited to be here? let me say, we proved them wrong today. i came to san francisco as a tourist. i want to thank all of you who are part of this incredible community. mayor lee and i talk about how important it is for folks to come together. this is a project that for years has involved a lot of community conversations

and some community debate but i really need to tip my hat to all of you from the fisherman's wharf, thank you and congratulations. [ applause ] >> of course, we have to thank all of our partners from city departments. i want to take a moment to single out from planning i want to thank neale, and david for planning for the vision of what this amazing street is going to be about and i of course want to thank mohammed and to his staff for getting this done on time and on budget. i want to thank the port staff for helping moving this forward. i want to thank mayor lee for putting up with many of us who have been asking him for a couple of dollars for getting this project done. mr. mayor, i want to tell you that we are going to bring you ice

cream every week until we get phase two of this project. what do you think about that? are you ready for that? [ applause ] >> let me say one final thing, many of my friends around the city ask me why this project is so important. as we know fisherman's wharf bring over 10 million people here. it because of this project, we increase that by 20 percent, that's going to mean dividends for everyone. i want to thank you for being part of the vision that will bring tourist here to this special city. we have not only the exploratoria

that opened up. we are making sure that we are putting our stamp in this city. we are ensuring that we are putting our stamp on what fisherman's wharf is and many people can leave their hearts here in san francisco. thank you so much. >> yes, thank you supervisor chiu. we have worked with many colleagues in city departments in bringing these improvements to light. perhaps our closest partners on this important project are friends of the port of san francisco. the port is making large strides up and down the bay. we are happy to have the port planner dan to come up and say a few words. [ applause ] >> thank you. it's all about

the fishing industry. fisherman's wharf is here because this industry has thrived for a hundred years and people want to see and understand it. every improvement the port commission has directed in fisherman's wharf have met the needs of the industry. whether it's dealing with the earthquake or the harbor or adding a police boat or new harbor master's office or hoist, it's about the fishing industry. every improvement must consider that and this is no exception. today we are celebrating a project that enables all of people in san francisco to come and enjoy the fishing industry. it's a treat that dares to say that you should be a pedestrian to do it. it puts the pedestrian first. it works with how that industry comes and service the wharf and how they move through

it. it's about the fishing industry. there are many to thank in the city. this effort was led by the wharf, troy campbell and we thank all of you very much again. [ applause ] >> as mentioned leadership was then handed over to the department of city planning led by neale and went to every tenant to understand their needs as well, tenants on the adjacent blocks to make everything possible and then it was handed to department of public works and martha the head of landscape and architect. all work that you see has come to a reality today. and all the merchants in the area, again, the port wants to thank them as well for all of their efforts understanding

the project and working together and coming to agreement, not coming to agreement on everything but then deciding to go forward to make this project happen. thank you. >> almost there. so this project would not have been possible without the hard work of many of our partners. you have heard many of their names. from the mta i see jerry roberts. from city planning we heard from david and neale. they have been a big part of it, from d p w, john thomas, our manager. a big hand for john, please. the design team

arlene, david flores and wong. the construction team that actually was here and delivered the project on time lee and flip e. they got us to the finish line. i know a lot of you have heard about neale, neale really was very instrumental in making sure that we did the right outreach, putting together the project and the conceptual design and making sure that we had a document that got us here today. as you heard from the supervisor we are going to start finding ways to look at the next phase. thank you very much, neale for all of your leadership. [ applause ] >> the project has truly been built on teamwork, not only on city agencies but with the community down here at fisherman's wharf. finally the

entire project would not have been possible without the vision and leadership of the merchants and restaurant owners and people here at fisherman's wharf and the community benefit district. a big hand for them. [ applause ] >> they came in existence 2005 and since then they have been working very hard with all the businesses here to build consensus and hone in and indeed needed improvements that the fisherman's wharf area need. they have been instrumental in organizing and pushing many of these changes and they are the experts in articulateing the needs of the project and towards improving fisherman's wharf neighborhood. i would like to bring up the

president of the fisherman's wharf, mr. david for speaking on the project. >> thank you very much. david chiu. i have to say, i'm actually glad that i had a lot of people come before he and thank the hundreds of people that made this possible. i have a speech here that some 20 minutes long so i made sure i covered everybody. there is so many people involved. i will start with. forgive me if i start rambling off like some oscar winner. i would like to thank my mom and my dog. i would like to thank the leadership that made this possible. mayor lee, when you first heard about this project, you embraced it fully, you took it on and you said let's make it happen. you marshalled your

departments to find ways to make this a reality. your leadership really is the only reason to some degree that we are actually here today looking at our brand new street. thank you, mayor lee. [ applause ] >> supervisor chiu, when you first came to the district, i think he was taken a back by the veracity of the issues around here. he had the wherewithal to know that this was a project worth fighting for. he championed it to make sure we had the resources to make it happen. it was leadership at the board of supervisors that essentially made this a reality. we wouldn't be here without either

one of you. thank you, gentlemen. [ applause ] >> thankfully, i want to add a few people here. neale, i know your name keeps coming up and there is a reason why neale's name keeps coming up. as the leader for this project, he came into community and started an input on what was right and what was wrong. i remember our first meeting, someone said, i don't want to do that because it infringes upon my right of way and he said, it's a public road. we can do whatever we want. it took a little longer to take. nevertheless, we did go through a lot. you were put through the grinder in our community and for that we

apologize, but thank you for your patience, thank you for your stamina, thank you for your ability to have punishment inflicted upon you and still no waiver and have this commitment. we appreciate this. a hand for neale, please? [ applause ] >> on a side note, i asked rodney if he could dedicate the torture chamber to you and he said he would do that. as the director muhammed pointed out many of agencies were involved in this department, jerry robbins who worked with us for years. i think it's important that we acknowledge the individuals who made this possible. partners for the port of san francisco, starting with

monique, her staff, reynolds, rick malo, tonya. we don't do this alone and we are grateful to have you as partners in this endeavor. it's not easy to get to this point but your sense of professionalism to get through this job is truly admirable. thank you gentlemen and ladies. [ applause ] >> i would like to take a moment to thank mohammed for assembling an incredible team for executing this project starting with john thomas, lee, and of course the contractor that made all of this had been,

-- made this happen. landscaping. we have to give mike and his for man, kelly, a big hand of applause for making this possible for all the businesses in the area. thank you, michael. [ applause ] >> lastly, we know there is currently and past members and committee chairs and community representative, all too numerous for me to call out, but without your commitment and dedication we wouldn't be able to do this. this truly is a community effort in every level. we couldn't be luckier to have people as dedicated. thank you all who served. we appreciate it. [ applause ] >> lastly i would like to take a minute to recognize two individuals who started this

process from six years ago. they had the conviction, the vision, and the commitment to essentially start our cbd's and bring forward what is today the public realm. that individual is rodney fong from the wax museum. rodney? >> [ applause ] >> and chris martin from the academy who is not with us. he's moved on to other endeavors. again, truly, key and critical to making sure that this project moved forward. a hand for chris martin, too. [ applause ] >> one last comment on rodney. you have been a consistent force throughout. you were not only our first president, but after you stepped down you became chair to this committee, you worked in planning, were you a planning president and you continued to make sure that

the funding, the implementation come to fruition for this project. you deserve more accolades that i can give you in one day. so i'm going to stop. i don't want to embarrass you. you can have an ice cream. thank you for bringing us to this milestone which we really appreciate it. [ applause ] in closing you have heard all along that there is a phase two and i invite mayor lee and supervisor chiu to attend our ribbon cutting session next year for phase 2. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, david. thank you. are we ready to cut this ribbon? >> yeah. >> all right. so what's going to happen is we are going to cut the ribbon and there is a walk down the street and everybody welcome to our new

two way street. after the ribbon is cut, this is a two way street. >> yeah! >> now we will commence the meeting of the mayor's disability council and member

denise senhaux will read the announcement. city hall is accessible to persons using wheelchairs, and other assistive mobility devices. wheelchair access is provided at the grove van ness and mcallister streets and wheelchair at polk street, carlton goodlett is temporarily interrupted due to wheelchair lift repairs. we appreciate your patience during this time and ask that you use any of the remaining entrances when visiting city hall. assistive listening devices are available at our meeting is open-captioned and sign languaged interpreted and our agendas are available in large print and braille and please ask staff for additional

assistance. to prevent electronical interference with this sound system and to allow everybody the ability to focus on the presentations, please turn off all mobile phones and pdas or change set these devices to "vibrate" mode. your cooperation is appreciated. we welcome the public's participation during public comment. you may complete a speaker's card available in the front of the room or call our bridge line at area code 415-554-9632, when a staff person will handle requests to speak at the appropriate time. mayor's disability council meetings are generally the third friday of the month. our next regular meeting will be on july 19th, 2013, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. here at san francisco city hall in room 400. please call the mayor's office

on disability for further information or to request accommodations at 415-554-6789, voice or tty415-554-6799. a reminder to all of our guests today to speak slowly into the microphone, to assist our captioners and interpreters. thank you for joining us. >> good afternoon everyone. i would like to apologize. i am co-chair wilson and sorry the muni, you know how it is. so we're going to get on with moving with the reading of the agenda and approval from heather . >> co-chair wilson, do i have your permission to do roll call first? >> yes, roll call first. >> harriet wong? >> present. >> sarah burgett.

>> present. >> wendy james, absent. co-chair wilson. >> present. >> chip supanich. >> here. >> denise senhaux. >> present. >> tatiana kostanian. >> present. >> roland wong. >> present. >> now i will read the agenda. one, welcome, introduction and roll call. two, action item, reading and approval of the agenda. three, public comments, items not on today's agenda, but within the jurisdiction of the mdc, each speaker is limited to two-three minutes. four, information item report from the chair. five, information item report from the director of the mayor's office on disability. six, information item, accessibility planning for the

34th america's cup and update on the city's plans to make the 34th america's cup the most accessible and international sailing event in history, including accessible paths to travel, transit, seating and signage. presentation by adam van de water, assistant project manager, office of economic and workforce development. at 2:10 the council will take a 10-minute break. 7, information item, mental health awareness month, spot light on psychiatric disabilities, support service and recovery. a, language matters. discussion about the relationship between the stigma surrounding mental health challenges and the language we use to talk about them. presentation by terri byrne, solve program coordinator and

gillan plumadore, community advocate mental health association of san francisco. b, resources and supports for hoarding and cluttering challenges an overview of the services, supports and resources in san francisco for both individuals with hoarding and cluttering challenges, stakeholders and advocates providing services. presentation by michael gause, deputy director meth health association of san francisco. c, mental health and veterans an overview of various mental health conditions affecting veterans including post traumatic stress disorder, presentation by star lara, swords to plow shares. d, seeking is mental health help when in distress, the promise and the reality, firsthand accounts and reports on the challenges of finding treatment in san francisco for individuals who are in mental health cyrus, presentation by david elliot lewis ph.d.

co-chair mental health board of city and county of san francisco. e, in our own voice stories of hope and recovery, a unique public education presentation that offers insight into the hope and recovery possible for people living with mental illness, includes an overview of nami, san francisco and the various programs offered. presentation by anne fischer, program director, national alliance on mental illness, nami, gillian croen, nami peer-to-peer mentor and ioov speaker and idell wilson, co-chair, mayor's disability council nami peer-to-peer mentor and ioov speaker. 8 information item, report on the golden guardian exercise on may 15, 2013 the disability prospective, presentation by

council members chip supanich and denise senhaux. >> 9, public comments, 10 information item, correspondence, 11, discussion item, council member comments and announcements. >> thank you. now we have public comment. is there anyone for item 3, public comment? >> good afternoon. my name is richard rothman and i'm a retired city worker. i just retired from the pedestrian safety advisory committee after being on it about six years and the last three years representing seniors and disabilities. and i just thought it was time for new blood in my seat.

but i am coming here today to talk about the proposed mta's disability parking. i have been interested in this for a long time, and while there is a problem and i think mta needs to enforce the rules, you know? if people are getting disability placards illegally or using them illegally, i have no problem with cracking down on them and enforcing it fair. although i had a friend who has a disability placard and i didn't think mta traffic enforcement treated her fairly, but that is another issue. in studying this issue, i think in this report missed a couple of items. one is the issue starts with the doctor, because the doctor is the one who issues the certificates. and this report did not cover anything about working with the

doctors, or maybe having the state have a peer review to review the applications. you know, i mean, that is where it starts and, in fact the last legislation made it easier and expanded who could give disability certificates out. and the second issue that i have with the report was if they want to change state law, i want to see what other cities in california are doing, l.a., oakland, san diego. somebody just separate me a report in l.a., it wasn't from mta, which was interesting. but the most problem that i have with is the fourth item, is the four-hour parking limit. as somebody who worked for the city and has a disability, one of my goals when i was working on the side was working for the city to hire more people with

disability. i worked with walter parks and susan messner in trying to hire more people with disabilities. but if they are going to put a 4-hour time limit, without any, you know, any flexibility, then this is really not acceptable. and also, what about people with disabilities whose doctor's appointments are more than four hours? my wife has a disability placard and was in the dentist for over four hours. so i think there needs to be some flexibility and i hope mta would have an outreach, something modeled like we had at spur about disability. you know, pedestrian with the mta and sf walk and i think there needs to be a lot more community involvement before this gets finalized. thank you. >> thank you.

john alex. >> thank you. yes, my name is john alex and i am the vice-chair of the pedestrian safety advisory committee and i hold seat no. 4, representing the needs of seniors and disability organizations. i come to you today to address several points. the first one is pedestrian safety. specifically for people with different abilities, because of age and designated disability and what the city has issued under the executive directive by mayor newsom it doesn't mention once the pedestrian safety needs of people with disabilities in describing the needs of curb ramps