ago was. they've been apparently just preaching to the choir. we oppose the extension for a number of reasons. first of all, it will eliminate some very close blue spaces. also, there are disabled people that work and a saturday is the best time for them to come to the museum. third, we're closing -- we're going to be closing all of this parking and access during the rainiest part of the season. it's fine to have a shuttle service, but as i recall, those shuttle stops are not covered. and as another person said, the underground parking garage costs $6 an hour on weekends. there are some people that have respiratory issues that find underground parking garages not the way to go. so there are any number of reasons for this not being a really suitable idea.

i was involved 11 years ago when this thing came up the first time and it was very controversial, contentious, and it's a shame it has to be brought up again. right now, j.f.k. is closed basically year-round sunday, half year on saturday. 75% of the time. why is that not fair? and i think healthy saturdays, healthy san francisco, that should apply to everyone and it should apply fairly to everyone. i think that -- and i realize the disability community is not of one mind on this issue, but we will be the ones that pay the price. so i would strongly advocate that you not go along with this expansion. it's just not necessary and i think it will put all of us in a hardship. is access by the disability community in san francisco so good that we can make it less

so? i don't think so. >> all right. thank you. >> any more -- okay. one more speaker's card. >> sasha bitner. >> sasha? >> i have lived in san francisco for 35 years. i it's difficult enough to get to golden gate park and get around it. the proposed seems to make it more difficult. i have very serious concerns

about moving forward. i have a disability where it's difficult for me to read and i have the -- to go into the park, i feel like you need a -- you don't need to talk with the

biking people. that's all i have to say. i was not prepared to talk. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> all right. thank you. so, do you have any comments to make to that? all right. >> thank you. just to clarify. para transit is still allowed in

the park and it's currently not allowed in the closure during saturdays and we wouldn't be allowing it if we expanded it as well. there is still access through tea garden and other areas of golden gate park. there's never been access for para transit through the closure on saturdays. the majority of the stake holders that we've spoken with are not necessarily speaking to the choir. they include district supervisors as well as the museums and the majority of neighborhood associations and groups that are around and we're still continuing to do outreach. if we've haven't reached out to someone yet, we will be. >> thank you so much. this is to clarify. this is a public comment period

and the speakers are not obliged to make responses at this time, but we want to hear and note all of the public comment that we have so we can do appropriate follow-up. >> we have two more speaker cards. >> leah vandermy. is that correct? >> hi. good afternoon. pardon me. i'm the director of guest operations at the academy of sciences and serve as the academy's ada coordinator. the two key areas are process and access. as public institution, we believe it's important that we have a fair and open process. it's also critical that stake holders are well informed with the needs of the community. we sent a survey of our email recipients, in which we received

10,000 responses. we are compiling them now and will share them with anyone who is interested. we're committed to equitable access. including for those not able to walk or bike through the park. we have encouraged environmentally friendly transit like bart and muni, but many of our guests need to travel by car out of necessity and we have strong concerns about what would limit this group, particularly the weekend, when parking is already limited. so i wanted to thank the council and staff for starting this discussion. it's a good first step, but a lot more process and discussion needs to happen with all the groups. thank you. >> thank you for your comment. and i think we have one more speaker's card. >> is this on the same issue?

oh, the j.f.k. let's wait until the end, then. >> okay. so i think that -- this concludes the item we heard. i want to thank the speaker for coming. we've had lively discussion and it's a great first step and we look forward it having more interaction and discussions with you going forward. all right. so i think we're at the break. and my watch says about 2:27. we have a great ceremonial item coming up. i hope all of you will stay. stick around. let's come back at 2:4

>> we're moving to item 9, which is a ceremonial item of the late mayor edwin lee. and i want to say that any councilmembers or staff and people from the public are welcome to share your thoughts and stories and memories of the late mayor ed lee. i would like to just get it started if i might for a few minutes or so. i just want to say that i remember the late mayor lee rather well. i'm a long time resident of san francisco and what i remember him for is the economic boon that took place when he came into office.

he came in in january, 2011, when the former mayor, gavin newsom, went to sacramento and became the state lieutenant governor. and at that point, there was a projected $380 million deficit. and the city budget was over $7 billion. and in his six years in office, the budget is up to $10 billion, which is more than many states. considering to his staff, 140,000 jobs have been created as a result of him being here in the job. and i distinctly recall that he didn't really want to be mayor. he didn't like the political spats and being in the limelight. but yet he took the job because

he felt it was the right thing for him and the city to do. so from my perspective, what he provided was an ability for tech companies and real estate developers and agents to really thrive in this town. and that, i will always be appreciative for. that was his first term. his second term, i really remember his contributions in terms of humanitarian. he said on the second term, well, now that we've economically started to come back, let's focus on affordable housing and doing something about the homeless problem we have here in san francisco. and a number of steps have been taken from my view to help make

that a much better situation. so from a humanitarian standpoint, he really made a number of great contributions to this city. in addition to that, i think that mayor lee was very sensitive to the needs and concerns people with disability. a year ago, there were only two of us on this council. now we've all come on board. i have to commend him for doing that. i understand he had quite a sense of humor, told some corny dad jokes, had a mustache, and he was a pretty good ping pong player, too. maybe some of you will talk to that.

i've been a resident of san francisco since 2002. and i go back a ways. i appreciate being a part of his legacy that he left here in this city. with that, i'd like to open it up for anyone on the council. if you want to speak or from the public. let's see who would like to do that. >> i will. this is denise. >> all right. kate williams. >> mayor lee and i weren't buddies, i have to say. i spoke with him only twice in the 21 years i've been a resident in the city and i will always treasure that letter i received from his office appointing me to this committee. i'm very proud of that letter. i will probably frame it one of these days. [laughter] however, in my life here in the city as a disabled person, i

know in the background, i will always see mayor lee. specifically, one of the experiences that has benefited all of us on this council is his -- even though he didn't show up every time, he was very much behind something that i personally participated in that's been very gratifying. rule 115 was imposed several years ago and languished in the city regarding employment. it just wasn't used. we had an advisory panel, which i sat on with some of the people in this room. although he did not show up at our meetings, he always made certain that someone from his staff attended and reported back to him regarding our process. so after many weeks of input from the disabled community and projects spearheaded by jonathan

lions, we were able to meet with the board of supervisors one-on-one and we had something phenomenal happen. after the budget was passed, we were able to add on to begin the a.c.e. program, rule 115 at that time, and had a recruiter come on to staff to hunker down and increase employment within our community. i'm grateful that that took place and it's making a profound difference in our community. thank you. >> all right, thanks, kate. >> go ahead, sally. >> my recollection is something more personally. i didn't know mayor lee personally. but all of us on the commission owe our position on the commission owe that to him.

doesn't mean we know him personally. he showed me a small kindness. this was at the opening of ucf children's hospital and i was asked to speak as a representative of the families, like the voice of the families, who use that facility. and my daughter, who had significant physical and developmental disabilities as well as medical issues what what we call a frequent flier at ucf. she was there all the time. she passed away in 2014 shortly before the new hospital opened, this was a press conference to celebrate the new hospital and i was asked to come meet with the mayor. this doesn't happen to me often, so i said, sure. away from the press, away from the cameras, extended his condolences to me on the loss of my daughter. and it wasn't -- sorry. it wasn't something he had to do. it wasn't -- none of the other

dignitaries there did that, but i will never forget that, because it was heartfelt and personal and i felt like he was worried about me as a resident of san francisco and i really appreciated that. thank you for sharing. any other members on the council? yes, alex. >> i didn't know mayor lee, but there was a lot of disability and homeless work. i just want to commend him on that and it's pretty shocking and sad and what happened to

him. >> denise, yes? i acknowledge. i know that you wanted to say something. go ahead. >> thank you. thank you, jim. i would like to piggyback on what some of my fellow colleagues have brought up with regards to mayor lee's legacy. he loved his community, but he never forgot the most vulnerable population. >> can i speak up a little bit? >> yes, sorry. excuse me. he never forgot about the most vulnerable populations, which is people with disabilities. he was there as a champion since he took over in 2011 and he's

been involved in several initiatives ranging from transportation issues and i will just name a few. he was very concerned about access on demand transportation needs, not just with the transportation network companies. people with disabilities having access to ride-sharing services he was very concerned over the decline of cabs that had -- that were accessible for people that had mobilibility issues. he was very interested in accessible voting machines, that people with disabilities have access, because their vote was just as important. he always recognized the needs for housing issues and heard the concerns of the disability community. i believe back in 2016, if i

remember correctly, he gave an example directive, i believe, to increase the housing population in san francisco. i believe to 150%, which included 5,000 new housing units a year and he wanted to help the process and the development in making it easier for permits and going through the process of approval for housing. i know our director, nicole vaughn, had ongoing -- and she can speak about this -- discussions that he was planning and wanted to continue to engage with the council. i remember one of the things that he did back in 2014, was the transfer of the ownership of all the 29 public housing sites. and i believe there was over 3,500 units from the san francisco public housing

authority. and the ownership went to community-based, affordable housing teams. and this was part of his public housing plan with housing and urban government and it was the rental assistance demonstration program. what this did with transferring the ownership, the buildings were given the necessary funding for crucial repairs for the most vulnerable population and to make areas safe for them and their families. and they could begin to address the deplorable conditions in public housing for people with disabilities. and through various, i believe, subsidies, they had the funding, along with working with community-based organizations in identifying these funds to begin repairs and improvements that i

believe at the time, and i could be wrong on the estimate, that was around, and so he understood the need for the community to have affordable, accessible housing. and as kate williams talked about, the a.c. program, people with disabilities need improvement, need to make viable income, so they can live in the city. so we appreciated his champion and he did want to work on these initiatives to the end of his term. and we're very saddened at the loss of his passing. and we'll support the administration and acting mayor london breed. through the chair, i don't know if nicole vaughn would want to add on any more information to the initiatives 5 brought on. nicole? >> through the chair, thank you,

denise, for that recap of mayor lee's support and concerns. i would say a few things. one, denise mentioned that it's true that he was interested in really -- in the exchanges that i've had with him, really wanting to find solutions to key issues like transportation, voting, access to support. and then, again, as denise mentioned, he was very instrumental in the r.a.d. program, which is still moving along. we're in the next phase of development and there's more and more affordable, accessible -- housing is going up every day

and it's because of mayor lee's efforts to sally's comment, i would echo that he definitely was interested in solving problems and getting things done in response to the community, but it was also true that he's a personalable person. he always took the time to say hello and ask how you are doing and that the experience that sally has had of him being a personalable person that genuinely cared about the people of san francisco from my experience is also very true, also very true that he told some pretty corny jokes, as jim had mentioned, and i think that just

really he is and will continue to be missed. i will say, though, from my personal with mayor lee that i truly believe that he would want us to continue to move forward with all of the issues that matter and that are important to us. i want to encourage the council for the issues that were brought to the mayor's attention that maybe he didn't get a chance to followthrough. please bring them, again, bring them to the mayor's office again. keep moving forward. keep talking about those things that you want the mayor and administration to know about. i guess that's what i would add for now. >> thanks, nicole.

that's great. and i really appreciated his sense of humor. i didn't know him personally, but had an opportunity to hear him speak and talked to others and he was really quite personal to say the least. and i can certainly understand from sally's perspective that he would have really shown his concern for her and no doubt he did that for others as well. so we will miss him. are there other people on staff or in the audience in the public that would like to talk. i think we have two speakers cards. no. that's for later. >> good afternoon. i'm hillary brown. i've been a san francisco resident virtually all my life,

which is like 42 years. i met ed lee this past summer, 2017. he was doing -- he was involved with the grand opening of the willie b. kennedy center. i believe the fact that i'm legally blind, there was like 1,000 people there at the opening of the center. he said hello to me. i felt special at that moment. i think he died four or five months later. i had a brief chuckle. maybe he recognized me in the election commercials back in 2015. i think from other councilmembers, he was working on affordable housing the last four years ago. he inspired me to look for 1-bedroom in the city that's all

i want to say on that part. >> thank you. thank you very much. all right. who else may we have from -- who would like to have a word? >> that's it. >> going once. twice. okay. we're done. well, as i said, we'll miss mayor lee and we'll be moving forward and always remember his legacy in this city. all right. so we don't have quite as many agenda items today -- >> we do have the -- you were going to the next one? we have one for public comment. i don't know if she's still here. >> oh, yeah, yeah. that's the next agenda item. public comment. so we have one or two cards? >> we have two, unless -- i don't know, ms. brown, is that the comment you wanted to make? okay. good. one second. there was one from ms. ellen lee

zoo. she left. okay. so you are up again. hillary brown. >> hillary brown, go for it. >> my name is hillary brown, again. i was one of the original v.a.c. members that was launched in 2014. i believe in accessibility. i can relation to that being visual impaired. i was legally blind since the '90s. and i'm glad they're implementing vote by mail, like in san matao county. it helps people specifically like for my condition being vision impaired. and i'm glad that you are willing to accept my comments in regards to people who have sight issues like myself. i wish other people who were vision impaired to speak about how they want to get

accessibility to vote and get advice from san matao county or even the secretary of state office. that's the comment i wanted to make. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. so i take it there's no more speaker cards? >> that's it. >> all right. so we're moving on to item number 11. it's information. is there any correspondence? >> there is not any correspondence. >> none today. all right. thank you. number 12, any councilmembers have any comments or announcements to make? >> no. >> well, i have one. orkid does not. >> i have one announcement to make. and i'm sure that some of you

will appreciate it. i don't think i mentioned this in november, though i brought her with me, but i do have a new guide dog. it's my second. we were trained together, in-home training in early november. it's a work in progress. she's a wonderful dog. and so she will be coming to all future meetings for perhaps a long time to come. so there you go. all right. i think we're at the end. so we're going to -- unless anyone has any other comments to make. i appreciate you bearing with me today. i originally had the welcoming statement. i was going to read. i love to read in public and somehow i don't know what happened on the floor drive and my unit, boom, all the items got

deleted and i didn't do it. anyway, we made it through that. and i think this has been a good meeting. thank you for coming. we appreciate it. and i am adjourning this meeting in honor of the late mayor of san francisco edwin lee. thank you.

>> raise your right hand please. >> i mark farrell. >> i mark farrell. >> do solemnly swear. >> that i'm support and defend. >> the constitution of the united states. >> and the constitution of california. >> against all enemies foreign and domestic. >> i will bear true faith in allegiance. >> to the constitution of the united states. >> and the constitution of the state of california. >> i take this obligation freely. >> without any reservation or purpose of evading. >> and that i will well and faithfully discharge. >> the duties upon which i'm about to enter. >> and during such time as i

hold the mayor of city and county of san francisco. (cheering) >> good evening everybody. it is an honor to stand before you this evening. the past six weeks have been an incredible roller coaster for the city of san francisco. for those of us who knew and worked with mayor ed lee, it has been an incredibly challenging time. he was someone i admired greatly, both personally and professionally. he was incredibly kind to my family, in particular our three children, and he's gravely missed. agree or disagree with his politics, we can all agree he was a great human being, a

devoted public servant to the city of san francisco and someone whose life i hope we celebrate as a city for years to come. i personally want to thank london breed for her grace and leadership during this difficult time. she led our city during the mourning of mayor lee and i know she works tirelessly for the residents of san francisco. i want to thank my colleagues on the board of supervisors for trusting me with this position. i assume this role with great pride and humility. the most important concern for me is the continuity of the government of the city and county of san francisco. residents waking up tomorrow morning, expect muni buses to run on time. they expect police officers to be walking the beat, public works cleaning our streets and all vital services that the

public expects us to deliver as a city and we'll do exactly that. and it means tackling the most pressing issues, getting homeless off the streets and into shelter and housing. making sure our streets are safe and clean for san francisco residents. continuing to build on mayor lee's legacy of housing and addressing the housing crisis. the next six months will be incredibly active. san francisco residents deserve nothing less. san francisco's future, our future is incredibly bright. and despite our issues, we live in the most amazing city in the world. thriving local neighborhoods, the booming economy, natural beauty unrivalled anywhere in the world and adversity and inclusion. this is a time for leadership.

it's a time to look ahead. i look forward to the road in front of us all. thank you very much. >> will you take a couple of questions now? go ahead. >> reporter: the reaction to your nomination and vote to point you in this position were very emotional, people were very upset in the board chamber, claims of racism. there's a division in the city and how will you bring people together and what's your reaction? >> to me this is not about politics. it's about moving the city forward and the continuity of our government. all i can say is i will work to represent every single san francisco resident, no matter the race, ethnicity, religion. it doesn't matter. my job for the next six months is to build on the legacy of

mayor lee, to build on what supervisor breed did during her time as acting mayor and make sure san francisco residents get everything they deserve out of the city government and that will be my job. >> reporter: did you see the nomination coming for mayor? >> again, i have heard many different rumors as many people had. but, again, to me, this is not about politics. my focus is not now on the past. i thank my colleagues on the board of supervisors for entrusting me in this position. i appreciate their support and trust. in my office this is about moving the city forward though. >> reporter: mayor farrell, perhaps -- or wait for june. which path do you choose? >> to me there's one path, making sure that the city and

county of san francisco continues to function, deliver the services it does for the city and residents. there's going to be a heated mayoral election and campaigns that have already started over the past few weeks and that will continue through june. my job over the next half year is to make sure our muni buses run on time, we do everything we can to get the homeless off the street. have police officers on the street, make residents feel safe and deliver all functions that residents expect. >> reporter: you didn't touch on affordable housing. that seems to be the biggest issue. >> affordable housing is top of the list. that's an issue mayor lee spent his entire time in office focusing on and i will continue to build on that through housing and everything else in the city that san francisco is as

affordable as it can be for every resident. >> reporter: [indiscernible]. >> to me, again, this isn't about politics, this is a situation that our city charter contemplates. my colleagues, i do trust their -- i appreciate their trust and their judgment in putting me in this position. i look forward to leading the city of san francisco for the next six months and making sure that everything that our san francisco residents expect continues to get delivered as a government. >> reporter: there were people so passionate and so upset tonight, what do you as mayor now say to them and the people they represented tonight about what has happened and how you plan to charge a path forward. >> i heard the emotion in the room, i was there as well and felt that also. people were passion on many

sides of the discussion. over the course of the last month as i have talked with people and residents across the city of san francisco, those emotions have come through. what i will say, i will be mayor for every single san francisco resident. my focus and job as mayor is to represent everybody in the city of san francisco. no matter what their race, ethnicity, religion. my job is to represent everybody and i will do that over the next half year. >> thank you everybody. >> what is