i see the park everyday and that hill, those two little places, that is where everybody sits and eats their lunch during the day and it's really the sunny place in a foggy city. i know, they say soma gets more sunlight but there is a lot of shadows and this would block the one sunny area. as everyone says the park is used a lot by all different people all during the day, yes even homeless people sit there, that i consider part of the community as well and they are my neighbors, too. i know it sounds like a small thing, but that shadow would block one of our few nice little sunny areas in the neighborhood. as everyone has said, we have hardly any open space? in soma and i ask you to vote no on this. we would like to preserve what little sun lit spaces we have during the day.

thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good barely afternoon, commissioners. my name is deborah benedict and i live within a very close proximity to the victoria manalo draves park. i am a tenant representative for south of market soma residents council, which represents about 600 people in the south of market area. i also a member of senior and disability action and take my dog, lulu, to the park on a regular basis. i'm also a former plot holder at victoria manalo draves, so i have a really intimate knowledge of this park. i can tell you from first hand experience that shadow is a huge problem. as a former plot holder i had to move my plot because of the shadow created by the very dense -- i'm guessing ficus

trees that were growing. i have called numerous times to have trees trimmed because of the problem of shad i don't know. anything that would create a problem with shadow in this park would be a huge problem. as a result i'm asking you to please not allow this project to go forward in it's present form unless the builder is willing to install permanent and pay for permanent lighting of broad spectrum in the park and pay for the extra staff to keep the park open and why not throw in a week long bus ride to the parks and recreation pace for low-income people that want a sierra-nevada experience and go out there. >> camp mather. >> thank you, which i have been to and i love. the bottom line is sure, you want to cast some shadow, let's put something down there. we don't want our light taken

and the light that is there is very precious. and i know the filipino communitis had come and a lot of neighbors have come, but i will just say also that i have seen people who are indians, people who are arab -- >> thank you. >> thank you. >> you have run out of time. thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, commissioners. joseph, president of the board of south of market community action network. som cam was founded in 2000 to build capacity of residents to participate in the city's decision-making process and we're proceed to have a lot people who are members and members of the community. this park, as you have heard is one of very few in soma. it was established in 2006, but it's still protected by the prop k sunshine/shadow ordinance even though it wasn't part of the prop k implementation memo that was put in place 20 years prior to

that. the eastern neighborhood plan upzoned this and other parcels in 2008 to 65'. but it deferred study of the shadow impacted to the time when development proposals are made. what we see is a significant shadow impact on benches and on the basketball court during the summer, in the evenings. this is exactly when our youth and our families need the parks and use the parks the most. from the perspective of low-income familis and individuals we have many questions whether this is the right development for this site? there is no question that we need more housing in san francisco, especially affordable housing but the question is this project needs to be built to the maximum bulk? the answer is no. surrounding buildings are generally in the 25-35' range, there are some that are 45' and this one is significantly taller.

can there be setbacks and lowered? absolutely, it only has nine units. this is the wrong development proposal for this site and shadow impacts on our precious open space are significant and unacceptable. thank you,. >> thank you >> next speaker. >> good afternoon commissioners, my name is adam phillips and i prepared the shadow study in consultation with rec and park. i was asked to be here today to help correct any potential misstatements or mischaracterization of the report and certainly not to make any other statements for or against the project. the two statements that i think were made earlier and i want to

make sure for the benefit of the commissioners totaled shading it's actually .07%. and the other item that was mentioned earlier was the duration of the shadow between 16 minutes and 42 minutes. it's actually between 0 and 42 minutes as the shadow enters the park around april 1, and goes to maximum shading on june 21st and recedes back to september 10th. it's just an incremental gradation. those were the only two clarifications from comments made so far. i will be here for the hearing if there are other technical questions that the commission needs me to address. >> thank you for your help. >> next speaker. we have theresa, ray, gerald banks, john whitehead, theresa

imperial and chan durazo. go ahead. >> good afternoon. my my name is raquel fox and i'm one of the attorneys at the tenderloin housing clinic and i'm here to oppose the project on a number of levels. first i'm a native san franciscan and have seen the changes in the city and open space is critical. sunshine is critical. the kids that are going to be there playing, the seniors that utilize that park to stretch to do yoga, need the sunlight. sunlight is critical. i think not only to physical well-being, but your spirit and mental well-being. i wanted to respond to mr. patterson, the attorney -- first of all, the protest that took place at the shoe store had to do with the ellis evictions and had nothing to do with this project at all. it had to do with the eviction of

senior and disabled and people critically ill on palliative chemotherapy. so there is not a message here that the people that live in this area are involved in protesting the shoe store. the shoe store protest had to do with the ellis act evictions. just to summarize, i support the opposition to this project. thank you. >> thank you >> next speaker, please. >> good afternoon commissioners. my name is gerald banks. this is all about historical value in a neighborhood for me. i am working on -- i live right across market street from south of market and i live across from the tenderloin area and i have worked on historical issues starting from turk

street -- i one of the creators of the tenderloin pride in the park that focuses on the lgbt history within the tenderloin. so anything that would disrupt historical value in a neighborhood, especially buildings and i'm all about housing people and stuff like that, but we have to look at open space. i live in the tenderloin and if it's not a children's park, nine times out of ten, i can't go into it -- if it's a children's park, i can't go in it. so what we're trying to do in our neighborhood is make sure that boeddeker park stays a park for everyone to go into. other than, that you have to have a child. please make sure that this park doesn't have shadows. because once we start building everywhere, there is nowhere to sit, coffee shops and tea shops

and stuff. so please support not adding this building. thanks. >> thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is andy blue. and i'm here representing the plaza 16 coalition. we are a coalition of some 100 community organizations that are advocating for affordable housing in the commission district and here to support the soma community and asking this commission to oppose this project based on the shadow impact on victoria manalo draves park. our coalition is opposing a development in the mission district at 16th and mission and one element is the shadow that would be cast for you five months at marshall school. as development across the

eastern neighborhoods is accelerating trespassly, tremendously the impacts to the neighborhoods. i would like to echo the comments by supervisor kim. it suffers the fewest and smallest parks and it's no exaggeration to say these are sacred parks for the community. any shadow impacts by new developments on vmd park are undesirable and again, must be taken very seriously by this commission. again, the plaza 16th coalition urges you to oppose this project based upon the shadow impact it would have on the vital community resource of the vmd park. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker.

>> hi, my name is theresa imperials a case manager. i would like to thank mr. phil ginsburg and allan low and we met with the developer and stakeholders and really emphasized and informed me about the importance of victoria manalo draves park the history of it, and the shadow impact of it. he has repeatedly emphasized this only .07%, less than 1% of the shadow impact will be impacted on the victoria manalo draves park and we repeatedly told him even though it's less than 1%, but there also are issues about other developments

that are coming in around victoria manalo draves park. and that is what we are scared of; that this development will cause precedent for victoria manalo draves and he appears to have a bmr unit and if it's going to have a bmr unit, that is another one unit and it's only one bmr unit in a very gentrified community. so please say no to 190 russ street development. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker and i'm going to keep calling names. [ reading speakers' names ] one

more, go ahead and i will call this afterwards >> my name is theresa. and i have lived here in the south of market in district 6 for almost all of my life. i have three children who happen to actually love and look at south of market as sacred. they play at the vmd, in the basketball area and they grew up in the area. they went to school to, bessy carmichael education center, that we fought for tooth and nail with the vmd park. please help us. we look up to you, commissioners, to please help us protect and save our land in san francisco. the torinos own a lot of property and it's just about enough. we don't want any type of development in the south of

market. please help us protect it. i am one of his tenants. we have not been evicted, but we're in the process. being filipino-american, sometimes a struggle here in the city, because i am -- a lot of people would see that i am low-income, but south of market is home to us and please help us protect our lands, please. we look up to you, commissioners, for everything from parks and recreation and land use in san francisco. please help us protect our land. and in essence, you know, we are being -- we're in the process right now. he bought the property within one year he subpoenaed us with eviction notices just wanted to let you know how they are.

thank you. >> if you look at the size of the park i play basketball there a lot. it's a small fraction of time and land and i would say look at the laws and it fits within those guidelines. there are three giant trees that actually block the playground, you know? parks have trees. slight shadow, that is just what happens with parks. i would also say, golden propertis is my landlord and when they bought up that building, it was dilapidated

and rat-infested. they actually improved that, so we have created a kind of a cornerstone of that street. deli board, which is another very popular restaurant is right across the street and something that they have owned and converted. so i would just like to support the development. i think that street is a little barren and would have to have more residences around there. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. if you have spoken, if you could take a seat. >> hello commissioners, my name is nathaniel and i'm a san francisco resident. i know there is a lot of concern for the amount of sunlight and it's .07%, which i

think is a little bit give and take for the extra room for housing, for low-income housing and the many residents who need it there, as well as the fees that are going to be created that is going to help the parks,, as well as the donation that will come from it. i believe it will help the park maybe come up with a solution and i think it would be a good project. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> good afternoon commissioners, my name is glen and i'm a community member and social worker based out of south of market. i'm here to speak against the project for the money many reasons that have been stated to you this afternoon.

our park has a lot of concerns, we have a lot of concerns with a lot of negative activity happening. so we need it make sure that our parks with well-lit and natural sunlight is hitting the parks to encourage a lot more positive usage of the park. we have other projects that are in the pipeline that are going to add to the shadow later on and we want to make sure that we preserve for the little space that we have in the south of market. across the street is bessie carmichael school to make sure it was updated from its dilapidated condition. having the park was a great trade-off because was something our students and families could benefit from. that park means a lot to the families, the growing families in the neighborhood. so our students and our families have a bright future. so please don't keep them in the dark. if you have time, i would

actually like to reference the international children's park in the international district chinatown in seattle. it's a park in the neighborhood that is very similar to the south of market and has had a lot of issues with shadows cost upon it. and actually went through a whole period of unutilizations and shadows and being darkened with people didn't feel safe there and had to undergo a massive renovation where it's now fully utilized. please take that into consider and vote no on project. >> just to note, i have called all of the names off the speaker cards. so if you want to speak and you are in the north light court, please come up. if you haven't filled out a card and you want to speak, as soon as the folks have stopped speaking you can come up and make public comment. >> good afternoon.

my name is javier. and i'm a first generation san franciscan born resident, married, two children. i am in favor of this project. when my parents immigrated from mexico, this was the american dream. we settled in san francisco after traveling to the east coast. we came here and loved it and stayed here and my parents have raised six children in san francisco. we are educated in san francisco and played in all the park new york stock exchange in san francisco. as i entered the city, all i have seen is housing and i think the housing take more precedent on the agenda for this city. i'm being priced out of san francisco. a bmr is a

possibility for me to stay stay , work and live in the city. it's important for the housing to be there for us to live and to thrive. i think the buildings could be on the hook for $140,000 in property taxes and a sizeable donation to the parks department. i don't see any -- just following the logic of this project, it's better than most that i have seen out there, and thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> commissioners, my name is charles turner, native san franciscan, i am a realtor in san francisco of 35 years and a property owner who has rented to primarily students, artists, seniors and disabled tenants. housing is very important in san francisco, especially with our low inventory.

we need more supply to keep prices stable and down. stability is very important is in housing that involves childrens and families and that is what we have to look towards. you do have a little shadow on the park, but i think it can we remedied by other methoded and shouldn't hold up the project. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> good afternoon, commissioners. good afternoon, general manager ginsburg. i'm oscar grande an organizer with people demanding economic rights. life-long resident and huge park advocate and community organizer and activity in some of the open space issues in excelsior district and my organization is here to support the friends and families and

residents of south of market that are opposed to this project. opposed to the shadows, the impacts this project would have on open space. as we're in the building frenzy as many speakers have talked about, our families have being priced out. what we're also hearing in our neighborhoods is infrastructures, the public assets that belong to the neighborhoods >> you could be struggling to pay that rent, that mortgage, but you have safe spaces like parks and recreation spaces and that is your job here. you are all temporary stewards of the public assets. i can't speak to the merits of the development project. and i don't think that is what is on the table for you all in the decision you need to make. the decision you all need to make is during this building frenzy, how do we make sure we protect those public assets that belong to all of us? it doesn't matter, color, class, but especially for

low-income families and folks that don't have a front yard, a backyard, and are living in a single room occupancy hotels, these are our lifelines and i'm here to support the members of the community, and i'm hope interesting hoping that you all vote against this. we're having similar issues in the mission. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, my name is julie and i am a family organizer of filipino organizer and resident. i would like to urge the commissioners to please don't allow the construction of 190 russ street, because this place, this is where our

families, friends and neighbors bond with each other. and we do outside activities. so we urge you, the commissioners to please not allow the construction of this building. i have a petition with signatures opposed to this project. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> i am a resident of south of market and i support this project. i think it's a beautiful building and will create job opportunities and wouldn't mind seeing another bmr unit in the neighborhood. i understand the concern about the shadow impact on the park, but wire talking about 0.7%

here. i would take quality living over 0.7% shadow, because i believe that is what you need in the city. i am here with my family members who do support this project as well. i hope you do as well. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> i do frequent the park. it's a beautiful, little park. i think it's more political here than anything. so i do hope that you guys would approve this project. thank you. >> thank you.

>> next speaker >> good afternoon, my name is julie. i also lose and use the park every day and i have talked to some of my neighbors and we all feel the same. they wanted me to speak for them -- i'm really nervous. >> take your time. >> thank you. these days we need all the affordable housing and the funded will help the community and the park. the longest time is what? 40 something minutes and the shortest time is a minute. it's not that bad. i think get -- you would get more than you would lose. i truly love the sun, but i also like the shade. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> hello and thank you for

having me. my name is drew and i'm for the building. there are a lot of us that are homeless and it's getting colder and hotter. maybe for parks to have shadow, it might be harder, i don't know. i'm just coming from a person that is homeless, you know? with housing development, it really helped. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> next speaker >> hello commissioners. i live in san francisco since

'82. i have had three children since. so you can see how many people more since then. i lost my condo in 2010, and me and my daughter, in the housing crisis and i was divorced and me and my daughter were homeless. i couldn't find an affordable place to stay and i lived in the shelter for ten months and she lived in another shelter for eight months. so somehow i lived in ccr, and i understand that we need a park, but at same time, we need someplace to stay. i would ask people not to be like me, not to be homeless and to have housing and apartments here. i am supporting this project. thank you,