>> (clapping.) >> in san francisco the medical examiner performs the function of investigating medical and legal that occurs with the city and county of san francisco from a variety of circumstances in san francisco there is approximately 5 thousand deaths annually i'm christopher director for the chief mr.

chairman the chief my best testimony a at the hall of justice on 870 drooint street that is dramatically updated and not sufficient for the medical chairman facility i've charles program manager public works should a earthquake of a major are proportion occurs we'll not continue to perform the services or otherwise inhabit the building before the earthquake. >> we're in a facility that was designs for a department that functions and in the mid 60s and friends scientific has significantly changed we've had significant problems with storage capacity for evidence items of property and also personal protective if you're doing a job on a daily

basis current little storage for prirjs are frirnlsz we're in an aging facility the total project cost forever ever commercial is $65 million the funding was brought by a vote of go bond approved by the voters and the locations is in the neighborhood the awarded contract in 2013 and the i'm the executive director we broke ground in november 2015 and that started with the demolition of existing facility we moved into the foundation and january so pile foundation and then with second construction of the new facility. >> one of the ways that we keep our project on time on budget and we're having quality to have regular meeting and the variety of meetings with

construction process meeting as well as cost of control meeting and i'm a project manager for public works the office of chief commercial we want walk the project site when we sign up and also with a contractor insinuates for a change over we need to verify what or what was instead of. >> the building is 42 feet tall so it is two stories and 46 thousand square feet roughly we're that's a great question to be on time and budget have the roof complete a the exterior moving with the site work. >> and as you can see we've got a lot of the interior finishes installed. >> in an effort of an differentiate the facility that designed to work for 72 hours. >> not taking into account there was a lot of structural updates made into this building

not seen in other construction throughout san francisco or other barriers we have friday morning examiners from 8 to one public comment monday to friday because of air circulation we literally have to shut the doors and so the autopsy is done without staffing being able to come and go or exit the space and literally lock down the autopsy in the new facility we have bio build one door opens and closed behind you you can gown up and go through a second seizures of doors that has its own independent air supply and now in the exterior opt space having that middle space have greater flexibility of staff as they move in and out of the

area. >> in the current facility investigative unit has small tiny, tiny place in the area of the new facility is almost doubled in all divisions from the current facility and the new facility. >> the planning we have here gives them the opportunity to have the pool needs to complete theirs jobs in a much more streamlined fashion. >> we're looking forward to have secured parking to minimize the egress of you know visiting and the members of the public but really to minimize the investigators remaining remains from our advancing and so the facility. >> we have a new visitors area we're building that is a little bit more friendly to families. >> one thing you may notice in

the room no windows there is no natural light not good for most autopsy but in the new facility at new hall we made that an objective they want to insure we were able to look up in the middle of exam and see the sky and see natural lights. >> that's one of the things the architect did to draw in as much light as possible. >> we have staff here onsite we insure the design of the new design enables the investigators and other investigators skiefksz to consider to house on site this meant we needed to design and plan for locker room facilities and shower rooms the ability to sleep. >> third of the construction

going into the building has been by contributions of small businesses. >> part of the project is also inclusive to the sidewalk have all new sidewalks and new curve cuts and landscaping around the building we'll have a syrup in front of the building and rain guardian. >> the medical examiner's office has been a several if in their contributions of the understanding the exception and needs. >> it's a building that the chief medical examiner has been looking forward to quite a few of the. >> it is extremely valuable contribution to the, neighborhood address san francisco as a whole. >> the building will allow is to have greater very much and serve the city and county of san francisco and the neighboring

>> shop & dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges resident to do their showing up and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco by supporting local services within the neighborhood we help san francisco remain unique successful and vibrant so where will you shop & dine in the 49 san francisco owes must of the charm to the unique characterization of each corridor has a distinction permanent our neighbors are the economic engine of the city. >> if we could a afford the lot by these we'll not to have the kind of store in the future the kids will eat from some restaurants chinatown has phobia one of the best the most unique neighborhood shopping areas of

san francisco. >> chinatown is one of the oldest chinatown in the state we need to be able allergies the people and that's the reason chinatown is showing more of the people will the traditional thepg. >> north beach is i know one of the last little italian community. >> one of the last neighborhood that hadn't changed a whole lot and san francisco community so strong and the sense of partnership with businesses as well and i just love north beach community old school italian comfort and love that is what

italians are all about we need people to come here and shop here so we can keep this going not only us but, of course, everything else in the community i think local businesses the small ones and coffee shops are unique in their own way that is the characteristic of the neighborhood i peace officer prefer it is local character you have to support them. >> really notice the port this community we really need to kind of really shop locally and support the communityly live in it is more economic for people to survive here. >> i came down to treasure island to look for a we've got a

long ways to go. ring i just got married and didn't want something on line i've met artists and local business owners they need money to go out and shop this is important to short them i think you get better things. >> definitely supporting the local community always good is it interesting to find things i never knew existed or see that that way. >> i think that is really great that san francisco seize the vails of small business and creates the shop & dine in the 49 to support businesses make people all the residents and visitors realize had cool things are made and produced in san

>> good morning everyone. thank you for being here today. i just want to thank all of you for coming and give a special thanks to the va who is here joining us, they're important partners in this project. the owners of the site, there they are. thank you for making this site available and for being partners with the city on this and other sites to help address homelessness. we want to thank the nonprofit providers running the site, everybody from dish, if you can raise your hand. many dish staff are here and providing services on site. everybody from the mayor's office and their staff. thank you very much. this is an important day for --

sorry and dell seymour. i forgot my other boss, the local chair of the coordinating homeless board along with ralph peyton who couldn't join us today. this is the opening of a new supportive housing site in san francisco to serve chronically homeless veterans, that adds to the 70 units we have, and this is important in mayor lee's desire and hope to get -- i shouldn't say desire and hope, his initiative and order for us to get 1,000 people off the streets during the winter and this is 70 more units of housing to help achieve that goal. we have a few people who are going to give remarks today. first i want to invite beth stokes, the director of community services, beth as many of you know has been long time activist and leader in

homelessness and used to be the executive director of hamilton family center that i used to be the director of back in the day and has done work in southern california and here in san francisco. she is new to her job and we're happy and blessed to have beth stokes here. beth, thank you. (applause) >> thank you jeff. as jeff indicated, i'm new to my position and i'm here to express my gratitude for all of you who have helped us get where we are today. welcome to the auburn, the new home for 70 u.s. veterans. (applause) (cheering) it is truly an exciting day as jeff indicated. we're deeply grateful for mayor breed for being here, we know it's been a challenging time for the city and the city family. so thank you. i want to thank all our partners in the room this morning, there are many. to those who are not with us, to

get us where we are. where we are today in addition to the 70 homes is closer to ending chronic homelessness to veterans in san francisco. we have 11 veterans who have moved in and one moving in today. that's great progress. i wanted to loosely quote something i heard from mayor edwin lee that i heard not long ago that was u.s. veterans fought for our country, they shouldn't have to fight for homes. i was very moved by that and it's something i wanted to share. i wanted to -- acs is proud to be part of the team effort to provide solutions to homelessness in the form of supportive housing and ecs will continue to partner in supportive housing in san francisco. for this project, the master tenant and lead service provider and proud to be part of what is

a collaborative effort. with the finish line in sight, in all of our collective efforts to end chronic homelessness for u.s. veterans and moving closer to a functional zero number is a remarkable accomplishment that requires great partnership and the auburn has many. i would like to begin, you know, the planning actually to thank a variety of people, i wanted to start with mayor edwin lee's former office of hope and acknowledge that effort and how that started. that has been carried forward with great determination by the department of homelessness and supportive housing. i say new but i know it's been over a year and a half. ecs would like to thank the numerous community members that helped to make it happen, many in our city family, our city

supervisors for support and great effort, veterans administration, thank you. we would like to thank the department of housing and urban development. hudd has truly been a partner, particularly with the obama's administration, the efforts of the president's wife and call to action to end veterans homelessness. and we would like to thank our local san francisco housing authority and of course san francisco local home for efforts collaborative. and their work to hold us accountable to get to the zero number. so thank you. and the san francisco association of realtors. in these partnerships new people step forward and step to the table and we're grateful for their efforts and they help us turn a building into a home with their welcome home project so thank you to them.

last but not least, ecs would like to thank dish and their co-directors and their team. the operations of the auburn is a collaborative partnership with dish. and with dish, we're excited to have the opportunity to work with them. this is our first effort in working with them. we're very excited, we thank them for their continued excellence and continued effort to get us where we are today. thank you. our board of directors and the remarkable team at ecs. along with dish who rolled up their sleeves and worked hard to ensure u.s. veterans had keys in their hand before the start of the new year. this includes our director of housing development and asset management and her team. liz is here in the front row. anna cooper, and i would like to thank scott ecker, and others

leading the supportive housing team and i want to invite everyone afterwards, we invite you up stairs to room 302 to look at the accommodations at the auburn. with that, i want to turn it back over. thank you. (applause) >> thank you beth and thank you for acknowledging this is sort of a bitter sweet moment. many of us are mourning the loss of mayor lee but we're grateful and lucky to have the leadership of london breed who is currently our acting mayor and mayor breed has picken up the tradition that mayor lee had of calling me at least once a day -- (laughter) when there's a homeless person on the street and needs help. that gives me great comfort, because like mayor lee, mayor breed is leading our city and has so many things to deal with, i can't even imagine but takes the time every day -- not saying move this person out of

here, but hey, i see someone suffering, i see someone struggling, could you please get your team out to help that person. please join me in welcoming and thanking acting mayor london breed. (applause) >> thank you. thank you jeff so much. i'm so excited about being here today. i was with mayor lee when he made the announcement after our first lady michelle obama basically challenged cities all over the country to end homelessness for our veterans. and mayor lee took that challenge very seriously and has really stepped up and pushed aggressively to make sure we as a city not only end homelessness for our veterans, but we do everything we could to provide the wrap-around services they need to be able to live with dignity. and that's what's so amazing

about this incredible place here. 70 homes with supportive services. i know there's been support for veterans for so many years and mr. simpson, i'm excited to welcome you today to your home. you served our country and we are now here to serve you. it's the least we can do for people who have put their lives on the line time and time again. and i'm just really proud of san francisco for stepping up to the plate and providing the services. over 150 homes already provided for veterans in the city. we are well on our way to making sure that we end homelessness for veterans. but we can't stop there. we have to make sure that we stick to mayor lee's pledge of getting 1,000 homeless people off the street. it's cold outside. just imagine what it's like to have no place to go.

just imagine what it's like to have no bathroom to use on a regular basis. the struggle that we see on our streets are struggles that so many people deal with every day. it's why we have expanded our shelter system and adding 75 new beds to our system so we can accommodate more residents. the creative ways -- we have to provide more creative ways to get more people off the streets and part of what i'm so excited about in the work that jeff is doing and the mayor's office, yes, we have to have shelters, yes, we have to work with different organizations and navigation centers and all the options we have but our goal ultimately is to make sure we find people affordable, stable, permanent housing so they can live in our city in dignity. that is really the end --

(applause) of where we want to get to. so i'll tell you what i'm really most excited about. our emergency navigation centers, our behavioral health sites, the interfaith council winter shelter, our heading home campaign, which specifically i have worked closely with with park police station. they have done an amazing job in helping us work with people and connecting them with loved ones and returning them home to other places throughout the u.s. we will utilize every resource possible to work with the folks in the streets to make sure they're cared for. just this past week we cut the ribbon on the respite center, people who are out on our streets who are maybe dealing with health related issues, where they go to the hospital and then put back on the street

and they can't get healthy, when you think about even our own personal lives and you think about when we get sick, we have a home to go home to to get better. just imagine if you're living on the streets and you get sick and you can't take care of yourself and you don't have the support and you can't stay in hospital for the extended period of time you need. all of these things, all of these things are going to help make our city a better place for all residents and make the quality of life a better quality of life for all residents and as jeff said, it's not just pushing people from one end of the city to another, it's about trying to find out specifically what is going on with that individual person and what we need to do as a city to wrap around those services to make sure they get the help and support they need which is what people like dell seymour continue to push for every single day. i'm picking up the mantal to

continue the work that we know mayor lee cared so much about, and here today is a testament to all the blood, sweat and tears to get this job done, 70 people's lives will be forever changed because of the project. i want to thank every organization and group that's been a part of it. i have a list because it does take a village. it takes a village. and i want to start with the department of veterans affairs, the department of housing and urban development, the san francisco housing authority, delivering innovation in supportive housing. community services, homes for heros collaborative, brilliant corners and the patels basically working with us to allow this space to be used for this particular purpose. it's been amazing, i know it's

been in your family for generations and you both grew up here. this is an amazing testament to your family to allow us to use this for this particular purpose. it's going to change and save lives. thank you so much everyone. (applause) >> thank you mayor breed. good thing about being the emcee, i get to come back and say what i forgot to say. (laughter) it's not out of a lack of love and gratitude i forgot to thank my own staff from the department of homelessness and supportive housing, margo, randy, emily, chris, thank you for all of the work you did to help make this project happen as well and help the 70 people who will be moving in to the site. we are blessed to have mr. simpson here today, one of the

new tenants of the site and i think mayor lee and many others have said it well, people who have fought for our country shouldn't fight for a place to live. every individual deserves to have a roof over their heads, certainly the people who have served our country so well, he served in conflict in vietnam and we're so happy to have him be part of the auburn community. thank you for joining us today. (applause) >> i'm elden simpson, being around all you great people -- it's good to meet people who put this all together.

and i thank you. (applause) >> thank you very much for being here and for your service to the country and for saying a few words. we appreciate your presence here. i'm going to close it out with the person who will be managing the site and doing the hard work of keeping the building going, denise works for dish and will be here -- her staff will be here 24/7 making sure this facility is a decent, safe quiet place for people to live. she's going to say a few words and then take those interested on a tour. thank you very much. (applause) >> hi everyone. i wanted to welcome everyone here. i did want to say thank you to our fiscal sponsor for being here and supporting us through the project. and i want to thank the ecs

collaboration, which is extremely critical and important and that dish is fiercely committed to ending homelessness and the case managers, desk clerks, janitors, people at the ground level to welcome our veterans home. we have 11 veterans -- we're going to wrap this up, i have a move-in a little later. we'll make it 12. and happy holidays to everyone and thank you for all of your work and collaboration and i am extremely, extremely grateful that the auburn is here. and we're looking forward to having the building leased up by the end of february is our goal. thank you. and whoever wants a tour, we'll be there. thank you. (applause) ♪

welcome home, man. >> my name is angela wilson and i'm an owner of the market i worked at a butcher for about 10 years and became a butcher you i was a restaurant cook started in sxos and went to uc; isn't that

so and opened a cafe we have produce from small farms without small butcher shops hard for small farms to survive we have a been a butcher shop since 1901 in the heights floor and the case are about from 1955 and it is only been a butcher shot not a lot of businesses if san francisco that have only been one thing. >> i'm all for vegetarians if you eat meat eat meat for quality and if we care of we're in a losing battle we need to support butcher shops eat less we sell the chickens with the head and feet open somebody has to make money when you pay $25

for a chicken i guarantee if you go to save way half of the chicken goes in the enlarge but we started affordable housing depends on it occurred to us this is a male field people said good job even for a girl the interesting thing it is a women's field in most of world just here in united states it is that pay a man's job i'm an encountered woman and raise a son and teach i am who respect woman i consider all women's who work here to be impoverished and strong in san francisco labor is high our cost of good ideas we seal the best good ideas the profit margin that low but everything that is a laboring and that's a challenge in the town so many people chasing

money and not i can guarantee everybody this is their passion. >> i'm the - i've been cooking mile whole life this is a really, really strong presence of women heading up kitchens in the bay area it is really why i moved out here i think that we are really strong in the destroy and really off the pages kind of thing i feel like women befrp helps us to get back up i'm definitely the only female here i fell in love i love setting up and love knowing were any food comes from i do the lamb and that's how i got here

today something special to have a female here a male dominated field so i think that it is very special to have women and especially like it is going at it you know i'm a tiny girl but makes me feel good for sure. >> the sad thing the building is sold i'm renegotiating my lease the neighborhood wants us to be here with that said, this is a very difficult business it is a constant struggle to maintain freshness and deal with what we have to everyday it is a very high labor of business but something i'm proud of if you want to get a job at affordable housing done nasal you need a good attitude and the

jobs on the bottom you take care of all the produce and the fish and computer ferry terminal and work your way up employing people with a passion for this and empowering them to learn >> good morning, everybody. thank you all for being here on this mournful day. as i'm sure you all know, our may mayor, mayor edwin m. lee passed awau early this morning at zuckerberg san francisco general. he was 65 years old.

i want to thank dr. susan orlick who is here with us today and the dedicated professional who is cared for the mayor last night. our thoughts and prayers are with mayor lee's wife anita and his daughters tanya and brianna at this time. when he passed, mayor lee was surrounded by his family, by his friends, and the colleagues who loved him. ed lee lived a life of service cut far too short, but short far too soon. like me, ed grew up in public housing. the son of working class immigrant immigrants, he developed early on a profound sense of community. a commitment to helping others. his father was a veterans, and his mother a seamstress. they instilled in him a humility and self-lest work ethic that he maintained throughout his entire

life. the mayor's father passed while he was just a teenager, but heart break could not derail him. ed earned a scholarship from boden college a prestigious liberal arts college in maine, and after graduating, he relocated to the bay area where, like so many of us, he fell in love with the city that he would call home for the rest of his life. he attended balt law school at the university of california-berkley and joined the asian law caucus. ed lee fought against discrimination, working on the front lines to keep tenants from being evicted. he was, from the dawn of his career, an advocate for the powerless and the voice for the overlooked.

as a director of the human rights commission and the director of the department of public works and our city administrator and as mayor, we tend to forget, but when mayor lee was apointed in 2011. he face d tremendous challenges in this city. he believed everyone should have an opportunity to have a good job with a good wage. and in san francisco and he believed everyone should have a secure place to call home which is why one of his first

campaigns was for the housing trust fund that has invested millions of dollars in rehabilitate i rehabilitating affordable and efforts to rehabilitate and rebuild over 7,000. he always said he didn't want folks like him and me to be known as public housing resident, but to be known as san san francisco residents. and those suffering from mental health and substance abuse. and he explored every option and embraced any idea that could help move people off the streets into safe, stable situations. where they could be on the right path to health and recovery. mayor lee believed in the power

of opportunity. a rebuilt home, a reborn community, could inspire individuals to reach for their dreams just like he had. he believed in the city where a poor kid from public housing could become mayor. ed was not a politician. he did not always deliver the best sound bite or carry the room with unspoken charisma. flash never mattered to him. disagreements never deterred him. he was humble and determined no matter the job he held, he was fair and collaborative no matter the heat of the moment. what mattered most to him always was helping his fellow sanfranciscans and occasionally delivering the almost perfectly timed corny joke. mayor lee endured many tough political battles, but they never -- they never dimmed his

spirit. opponents may have disagreed with him on policy, but everyone agrees that our mayor was a good man with a good heart. he believed above all else in building bridges and solving problems. everyone who had the pleasure of working with mayor lee will miss him tremendously. from the members of the board of supervisors who are here with me today to the community advocates who worked alongside him, and the san francisco residents for whom he served with all his might. the flags in our city will fly half mast for the next 30 days. our first chinese american mayor, a man who has left an immeasurable legacy for the city and county of san francisco. and i now must assume the responsibility, and i ask for

your patience and i ask for your support. and i ask for your prayers. our city's values have never been more important, and in the months ahead, let's carry on in mayor lee's honor. he has earned our affection because he was one of the sweetest men any of us have ever known. and he will be truly missed. thank you, all, for being here. and we will have dr. erlick talk about what happened at the hospital. [please stand by]

and we attempted life-saving measures for several hour. he died at 1:11 on the morning of tuesday, december 12, this morning. we expect the medical examiner to determine the cause of death and his family has asked that we share no further medical can information at this time because of state and federal privacy laws. we need to respect their wishes. thank you very much. >> thank you, doctor. and i want to thank all of the department heads, all the city staff, all the commissioners and elected officials, our lieutenant governor and former ma -- mayor, gavin newsome is

here, thank you all for being here to bring the city together at this trying time. i'd like to ask our city attorney to talk specifically about what comes next. as you all know, i am currently the acting mayor and will assume that responsibility and our city attorney can provide further details as to what will happen in the months to come. >> thank you, ma dad mayor. i would first like to echo the sentiments and the condolences of mayor breed and dr. ehrluches and the entire community about the profound sense of loss that all of us feel on the passing of mayor lee and i'd like to offer my condolences spufically to his wife and family and just to let them all know that i hope -- i know that the entire city family will be there for them as they go through this difficult time.

you heard dr. ehrlich talk about mayor lee passing at 1:11 this morning. under charter section 13.101.5b, at that time board president london breed assumed the duties of acting mayor. she has all the powers and responsibilities that come with the office. and she will have all of those duties until such time as the board of supervisors votes on a successor, should they choose to do so. although they are not required to do so. in any event, there will be an election june 5, 2018 where the next mayor will be chosen to fulfill the unexpired term of mayor lee and that term will end on january 8. 2020. that is a very broad overview of where we are now.

mayor breed has all the powers and responsibilities and duties of acting mayor. by virtue of her position as board president. and what occurs over the course of the next several months will be derped by what actions, if any, the board of supervisors chooses to take. with that, i'd be happy to take any questions that anybody has about the process. >> reporter: [inaudible] will the board of supervisors voting on this matter today? >> no, they will not be. >> reporter: what was the question? >> will the board of supervisors be voting on this matter today and the answer is no. >> reporter: is there a timeframe for the board to vote on an interim mayor? >> the board does not have to talk any action and there is not a timeline. and for that entire period of time, should they choose not to take any action, mayor breed

will be both the acting mayor and the president of the board of supervisors. she has her position as acting mayor by virtue of her position as president of the board. >> reporter: so, just to clarify, there will be no additional [inaudible] appointed? >> there will not be. mayor breed has both positions. she still continues to have her board of supervisors position and president of the board and she is the acting mayor. >> yes. i have a question. in june of 2018, when does the new candidate have to have their filings for the election? >> yes. that -- that is something that obviously has not been top on our list. but that is something that we're examining, filing deadlines. we've been focusing on making sure that we had a smooth

transition to ensure that there was a continuity in city government. >> reporter: so there's nothing in the charter that indicates that at all? >> i've given my answer. >> any other questions for mayor breed? >> reporter: as acting mayor, do you have any plans for the [inaudible]. >> [inaudible]. >> our city attorney has already made that clear for now. i am currently still the supervisor of district five as well as the acting mayor until at such time the board decides if they would like to make a

decision to select someone to fill the term until the next election. >> one more question. >> reporter: can you talk about personally what he meant to you. anything you can learn from him? the biggest legacy for the city will be? >> i worked with and have known mayor ed lee for over 20 years and what i appreciate about the mayor is his commitment to public housing mostly because when i became a member of the board of supervisors, i made it clear that was -- he asked my top three priorities and i said public housing, public housing, public housing. as someone who grew up here and spent most my life there, mayor lee, very similar situation, we bonded over that. and looking at robert pitts and

looking at it going from this place that was completely falling apart to just painted walls and new fixtures and how beautiful it looks and the fact that he really was stead do you on helping to make this happen is really what i will always remember about him. his commitment to tune out the noise and focus on trying to get the job done and i really will always appreciate him for taking my praourty seriously and helping to get that work done. he was a dedicated and committed public servant and i will never forgot him for that. thank you, tara. >> thank you, everybody. that concludes the press conference.