this afternoon, today. i guess it's kind of strange. i remember what this place looked like. it didn't look anything like it looks like today. i remember what the residents looked like when i came to visit before ccdc took over the property. it doesn't look like anything like what the residences look like today. this has been an amazing transformation, and it's been an amazing transformation because of many, many, many people. a city, state and local government to get this done. first, i'd like to thank the former mayor. he was really a great partner. he was the affordable housing mayor in san francisco. he was one of the rehabilitaas of america did this project. we knew how committed he was to affordable housing at his core, which is the reason we did this. i'd like to thank the current mayor farrell, supervisor kim, and of course the mayor's office of housing and workforce

development, ed hartly, and many, many other people that i see, lydia, in the crowd. you guys did an amazing job. you made the impossible possible. and then, of course, the people that do the work: ccdc. you guys -- just look at this project. it is -- it is really -- we use this -- just -- you know this picture often because if it's hard to believe it's the same building, what it is today versus what it was before. and of course, the san francisco housing authority, you were willing to hand over your baby, and i think it's going to do pretty well. so, you know bank of america had its roots in san francisco. we started actually as the bank of italy in 1904. we've been here during the good times and the bad times.

we've been here during the 1906 fire, when our founder went out with literally cash in hand and helped rebuild the city. we helped build the golden gate bridge and the ferry building. that's why when mayor lee came to us with a crazy plan to rhenvate 29 projects and 3500 units and finance it in two years, we were all in. and so this investment's really huge and transformational for bank of america, too. just to give you an idea, we invested $2.2 billion in financing in rad. last year, bank of america, one of the largest banks nationwide, invested $4.2 billion, and we invested 2.2 here. [applause]. >> so we're committed to san

francisco, we're committed to building affordable housing. we're also committed to our nonprofits. ccdc has been a neighborhood builder, our bank of america charitable builder over the years. our over 4,000 associates volunteer over 40,000 hours a year in san francisco, because we all believe in san francisco to the core. i'd like to thank some bank of america associates who work odd this. we had dozens and dozens of people, and two people here who worked on it. rob reinhart and kr ar-- carri horton, thank you for your work. i love seeing affordable housing, i love seeing renovated units, and i also love seeing new units, and i can't wait for the next grand opening. >> now, this is the most

important part. we need to hear from the residents themselves. you going to come up? oh, anthony. i remember, we met two years ago in that little community room that we just tripled the size of. and i want to acknowledge wynn palmer, too, the president. standup a little bit. come on. look grand. yeah. give him a big hand. he said he wanted to sit back there with all his women over there. okay. >> okay. [ speaking native language ]

>> my name is anthony wong. i've been living in this building for over 20 years. i like this building because of its location. it has easy access to public transportation. [ speaking native language ]

>> in the past, every household in this housing unit, in the past, they had miroaches, and they were very difficult to get rid of. the fire alarm sound would often go off with no reason. firefighter would be here all the time. it was very disturbing to the residents. [ speaking native language ]

>>. >> now the chinatown community development center has taken over, they renovated the building inside and out. it's like new. now the courtyard has flowers, trees, chairs and table for the staff to rest. there is full-time staff on-site. we have different kinds of activities to entertain us and to socialize with neighbors. it adds joy to our lives. [ speaking native language ]

>> now i hope everyone can give a round of applause to chinatown community center and ageing in place, please. >> we're almost there, folks. okay. you know, before the ribbon cutting -- where's the ribbon? okay. oh, okay. you know where it is. just wanted to -- you know, i can't explain it, but china dotown cdc staff putt so much, and it's that that makes housing possible with the residents, and i want to bring up the project manager, joanna ladd, and her mom and sister are here. i met you in washington, d.c. were you doing housing there?

any way, joanna, she loves our residents. she -- i love you. [applause]. >> thank you, norman. i'm joanna. as he said, i've been the project manager at 227 bay since the project began in 2014, and we have so many to thank for how the project turned out. please take a look inside of your program for a full list of our partners. we would like to call some out by name. our general contractor, am1 construction, and our architects. so not only does this project look great, it actually came in under budget and returned money to the city, and that is -- [applause]. >> thank you. >> can we have it back? >> and that is a testament to the quality of the design work and the quality of am1's construction work. we have a host as you have

heard of public and private financing partners who helped us build a budget big enough to do the important expensive things like install a full sprinkler system at this building. of course the u.s. department of housing and urban development created the rad program in such a way that allowed us to rehabilitate the building for its existing residents. our state funders, the california debt limit allocation committee and the tax credit allocation committee, no major affordable housing project in san francisco moved forward without these funders. our permanent lender, freddie mac, and our investment lender, bank of member. they made sure there were activities for residents during construction to ease the stress during construction, which tells about the kind of private partner they are. [applause]. >> enterprise community partners, neighbor works america, and the local

initiative support corporation all provided chinatown cdc with capacity building funding to make sure that our organization was ready to take on the challenge of bringing on 600 units of public housing into our portfolio. the san francisco -- yes, sure. [applause]. >> the san francisco department of ageing and adult services is funding our program to bring on-site supportive services for residents to this building for the first time in its 47 year history. [applause]. >> and of course, the san francisco housing authority and the mayor's office of housing, it has been so inspiring to work alongside these self-less, hard working city staff to correct 50 years worth of wrongs against our public housing residents of san francisco. this was a monday amountal challenge from a policy standpoint, and it is one that our city staff dove into

because they rightly saw it as the last chance to save public housing in san francisco. we at chinatown cdc are lucky to have a huge expert team of developers. i just particularly wanted to call out the california partnership housing corporation, which was the architect of the incredibly complicated financing program that allows the city to move all 29 of its rad projects forward on virtually the same timeline. [applause]. >> next to last, i want to acknowledge the work of chinatown cdc staff. our housing development construction management, property management resident services community organizing, relocation, asset management, accounting and executive staff met every week for over three years to make sure that this building lived up to our vision of what public housing could be. every single person who touched

this project works entirely too hard. they think about our residents in every moment, and that is the power of community based housing development, and that is the power of transferring public housing to the very advocates who have been fighting for better living conditions in public housing for over 40 years. [applause] >> and finally, thank you again to the residents of 227 bay street. the residents of 227 bay street endured two years of construction in their homes so that this building could be preserved both for them and for future generations of san franciscans. that is an incredible sacrifice, and the residents of this building met that call. as you can tell from mr. wong's speech, with grace and patience and understanding. and so thank you for believing in us, and i think the because

west we can acknowledge your sacrifice is to wrap up the program. so we will be leading tours from right in front of the elevator on this level as soon as the ribbon cutting is done. we'll also be serving refreshments in the community room right through those double doors, so thank you for coming and take it over, fearless leader. >> didn't she do a great job? and her mom is here. you're going to help -- as they setup the ribbon, i need your help because i always believe in the people's blessing, so at the right time, i'm going to have you repeat the words after me. may the residents and all who come to 227 bay be filled with the rad spirit of -- repeat after me? peace! joy!

hope! lo love! brersity. all right. could you come on up and help -- you're the coalest president. you know, i think trump needs some sprinkler work there, too. but any way, we've got more sprinklers. all right. all the big shots, come on up.

. >> well, welcome, everyone to this fabulous rooftop of a monumental announcement. my name is debbie raffel, and i am the director of the san francisco department of environment. and today, i am joined by president london breed and by don falk, the ceo of the tenderloin neighborhood development corporation, affectionately known as tndc. and with us we've got representatives some of the dozens of community partners, we've got the library here, we have our light bulb company manufacturer -- not manufacturer, but seller here. so we've got the whole system on the roof today to celebrate

this amazing event. i have the fabulous job of being in a department, leading a department that takes big idea and makes sure those big ideas are translated into action on the ground. and we're here because of one of those big ideas. last year, the department of the environment set an ambitious goal. we wanted to get 100,000 led light bulbs into the hands of the people who need it the most, and it's just like this one that i happen to have here. when many of us look at this, we see a light bulb, nothing spectacular looking in that. but our goal was to get this gem into hands of residents who are low income, formerly homeless, disabled, receipt vans, disabilities, we wanted everyone in san francisco to have the opportunity to benefit

from this seemingly small action. we didn't only want to deliver bulbs to people, we needed to make sure that they were actually installed. it does no good to give somebody a beautiful bulb and have them put it in their storage closet until later. we needed to make sure they were put into place. this project of this scale had never been tried anywhere in the united states. 100,000 bulbs is certain bei ambitious. facts about led: they use one sixth of the energy. they cause less to power because they're so energy efficient. they reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and they last 25 times longer. those are some impressive facts. so what are the facts for residents? that means that for a person who puts an led light bulb in a

fixture, they need 25 less light bulbs that they're ever going to have to install because these last so long. and that difference gives tremendous safety and opportunity for people, especially for those who are mobility challenged. picture your elderly grandmother and a light bulb goes out. how is she going to change that light bulb, or a person with a disability that has a light bulb go out? what are they to do. it also means our most vulnerable will not be left in the dark because these light bulbs are so long lasting. and even more and equally impactful is that the quality of the light who are so much better, so people who have a hard time seeing all of a

sudden can see. so something as simple as a light bulb can actually transform somebody's sense of well-being, their sense of safety, and their ability to enjoy life. and what does this mean? what are the facts for the affordable housing providers? it means if they don't have to change a light bulb, that it's reduced cost for operations and maintenance. it frees up thousands of hours in terms of bulb replacement, so that those maintenance people can work on delivering on services. it doesn't mean that they're sitting there playing solitaire, they are incredibly busy people. so not having to change a light bulb means they can tend to all sorts of needs in the buildings that they work in. so these sorts of actions have all sorts of ripple effects, ripple effects that affect our communities in all sorts of different ways. and today i'm proud to announce that we have 60,000 light bulbs

that have been distributed. we are making history today. we are saving energy, we are saving the climate by reducing our grun house gas emissions, we are delivering benefits to those who need it most, and we are improving the quality of life for all californians. and i am incredibly honored to introduce somebody to you and welcome somebody who truly gets it in every bone of her body. this is a woman who cares about vulnerable communities every day of her life. she understands that environmental benefits must be available to everyone in san francisco. president london breed has championed initiatives like safe medicine did i see posal, clean sf, and she's continued to champion these initiatives, especially ones that protect the environment as well as health and safety. so please, let's welcome

president london breed. [applause]. >> president breed: thank you. thank you all so much for being here today. thank you, debbie, very much for this initiative. i'm really excited to especially be on this property because this was a part of rad phase one, where we have been able to rehabilitate thousands of public housing units all over san francisco. so some of you may know, i grew up in public housing. i lived there more than 20 years of my life without showers, with rodent problems and other challenges that exist with no help on the way. when i first became a member of the board of supervisors, i told the mayor, mayor lee, that public housing was my number one priority, and he believed me, and he supported me. and we worked together with so many nonprofit organizations who help with housing, like tndc and don falk to rehabilitate public housing. so the site we stand on is

connected to another site. and because of the work we've been able to do, 60 residents, 60 units which include over 100 residents, they now have a clean, affordable, safe, rehabilitated place to call home. and i'm so proud of the work that don and tndc has done to make that dream a reality, so thank you so very much. [applause]. >> president breed: you know, we are doing in san francisco what we do best: to fight climate change, and as debbie has said, we and through ourests at the board of supervisors that i've been so fortunate to lead, we have basically introduced -- or we have passed legislation with the toughest styrofoam ban in the city. we have passed legislation for our safe medical dispose i can't believe which keeps tons of unused and expired medication out of the bay and landfill. we're getting to zero with waste and in reducing the

amount of waste in the black bins and focusing more on recyclables as well as our green bins, which i know sometimes don't smell very good, but it's saving the planet. and we have passed, after 12 years of fighting cleanpowersf, the single most important thing we can do to combat climate change. san francisco has been an environmental leader all over the country. so this is why i'm so excited about this program and what this will do. it's a greater initiative to trying and make sure, especially in our most vulnerable communities where you know seniors are on a fixed income, where they can't always afford to not only purchase light bulbs on a regular basis, but sometimes they have challenges with replacing those light bulbs. and so i'm really excited for this incredible opportunity to

not only make sure that we are providing these free of charge to our most vulnerable residents, but we are also taking it a step further. and so i know michael lambert is here from the san francisco public library, and so i am really, really excited that the library is our partner in this effort. and as a result of the work done by the department of the environment and the san francisco public library, we are announcing that there will be free light bulbs -- there will be free -- oh, i'm supposed to grab this box. there will be the opportunity for residents of san francisco to pick these up at any public library in san francisco while supplies last. and let me just say this: there is one catch. you've got to have a library card. so sign up, check out a book, return the book, get your light bulb while supplies last. i mean, what -- this is like

one of the best things that san francisco can offer to its residents. the goal is, of course, we want to combat climate change. but more importantly, we want to make sure that these bulbs and access to things like that that are usually typically expensive, that all san franciscans have the benefit of accessing them whether they're able to pay for them or not. and so there are how many libraries in san francisco? >> 28. >> president breed: 28. i know the western addition is one of my favorites. we have one on larkin, our biggest in the city, and main branch and other locate the communities, stop by, use your library card for this great opportunity. and let me just say that these light bulbs make a difference, as debbie mentioned before, because i know mya is an artist, and for ten years didn't have the light that he

needed to paint. and so that's one of the stories i've heard about as a result of the changes in his light bulbs and the briethnegh in his home, he's able to paint again. so i think as someone who ran an art center and understands those kinds of needs, what an amazing change that a light bulb can do in somebody's life, as well as young people. getting young people excited about the opportunity to take these bulbs home to their parents to try and use those. so i just think this is an incredible program. i'm excited about this opportunity. i'm so glad that there's so many people here today, and hopefully, we can get the word out to residents all over san francisco that this is an incredible opportunity. san francisco is a step further in addressing climate change. we will continue to do all we can to address this particular issue with bold, creative initiative that's will continue to allow us to be a leader in the environmental issues throughout the country. so thank you all so much for being here today.

[applause]. >> thank you, president breed. that was wonderful, and totally inspires and motivates me to think about what is possible when we have bold leaders like president breed to put us out there and so thso we can be on the cutting edge and continue to move forward. there are many of you out there today that are part of our community story. we partnered with 45 community organizations and city agencies. so would you please raise your hand if you are part of our community of communities and -- so right now, raise your hand. high. oh, wonderful. let's give you -- thank you. thank you for your support and partnership. [applause]. >> and we're at a very special place today, and with a very

special person, as well. don falk of tndc. tndc has been a phenomenal partner, and don and his team have blown me away with not only their commitment to the mission of supplying housing, but their willingness to work with us to help us as a city agency make things even better for their residents. it's truly a partnership, and i think we each elevate each other as we get to know one another, community and government together. the mission of tndc is completely aligned with sustainability and environmental stewardship, and it's understanding the importance of that intersection that is going to enable this planet to heal itself. nothing -- we can have nothing less than an understanding that it's everyone's role to think about these issues day in and day out. and tndc has already installed

2,400 led light bulbs, so they are -- they are committed, don's staff is committed. so let's welcome don falk. [applause]. >> thank you for that warm introduction, and thank you president breed for your leadership on all of these issues. let me start with a few words about tndc. we're a nonprofit developer, owner, manager, and service provider with over 3600 homes in the tenderloin and throughout san francisco. over 80% of our tenants have incomes under $1,500 a month. in san francisco, under $1500, and nearly 25% entered our housing coming out of homelessness. every day, our staff of 400 people is working with san francisco's most vulnerable and marginalized people. 951 eddy street is former

public housing, but under the leadership of london breed and the late mayor ed lee, tndc now operate these buildings. in this building and next door live 100 seniors and people with disabilities including many medically frail people. in 2012, tndc enters the national better buildings challenges, we we committed to reduce energy consumption in our portfolio by 20% in the following ten years. we are well underway to meet this goal, and the department of the environment has been a critical partner in the work. since 2016, we have converted five properties to 100% led lighting. these five properties represent over 1,000 homes in which with the support of the department of the environment, we installed ov installed those 2400 led bulbs. in support and in partnership

with the department of the environment, in 2018 we will install bulbs in another seven properties. and of course, it's the impact on people of the work that matters most, and it begins with the idea that led bulbs last 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs, so that saves money for tenants who need every single dollar. every dollar matters. it also reduces maintenance staff hours spent on light bulbs, because think of of these old buildings, because to replace a light bulb here requires two people and a ladder. so it makes the affordable housing more affordable, both for us as operators and fore tenants, and those cost reductions are permanent. and it's important not to overlook that led bulbs are brighter, which is especially important for older people. these bulbs make a daily

difference in the quality of life for our tenants. this project delivers all of that without even talking about the environment. so the project represents the kind of public private partnership that is a win-win-win. financial savings to low income people, better lighting and visibility, and of course a more environmentally responsibly way of operating. and how great to be making this announcement during april, earth month. so before closing, i just want to acknowledge and recognize and encourage you to seek out after our event here three of the people who were instrumental in bringing this about: ruchi, cynthia and paris of tndc staff. on behalf of them and on behalf of all of tndc, we're grateful to the city's support and proud to be of service to our community and stewards of the environment. thank you. [applause].

>> wow. thank you don, thank you, paris, thank you, sin that you, thank you, ruchi. amazing team at tndc. i want to give a few other shout outs to people who aren't here. cristin from community outside. we have the sfriesk unified school district, and we're working with them to distribute 20,000 of the bulbs, and we're not making it easy on those students. we're making sure they have understanding of what we are giving them. so when they get a box like this, it comes with a curriculum and it comes with a homework assignment. make sure you install this back at home. explain to your parents what a treasure this box is in terms of improving the quality of life at home. so thank you, san francisco unified school district. i also want to mirror president breed thanking the libraries. michael lambert, who is the

acting city librarian, and his staff are phenomenal partners. not only are they allowing us to distribute at their 28 libraries and book mobiles, they're allowing us to store the light bulbs as we figure out how to get them through the city. and i want to say it's not only earth month, but it turns out it's national library week this week, and even more amazing, it is national book mobile day. so when you go down stairs, and you see the book mobile, give the driver a little bit of extra love, because it is national book mobile day, and we are distributing light bulbs in book mobiles, too. and i'm told the theme this year of national library week is libraries lead. and of course i'm sure they spelled that l-e-d. so as president breed said, it's while supplies last. so people, go out, bring your library card and get some wonderful light bulbs. i also want to acknowledge a

very important partner to us, and that is pg&e. the way pg&e came into this story is they issued a challenge to san francisco. they said if you can step up and bring tremendous benefits of energy efficiency to at least 600 businesses in a small amount of time, we will give you a prize, an award. so of course we're competitive people. we took that challenge, and of course, being the overachievers that we are in the san francisco, that 600, we beat that by quite a bit, and we made significant benefits to our businesses -- small and medium sized business community. we are taking that money and putting it back in the community. so there is a tremendous cycle of benefits to the businesses and the benefits to the residents. we're taking that money and we're using it to improve the lives of all san franciscans, so thank you pg&e for that belief in us and for allowing us to prove ourselves again.

i want to thank my team, luke and becca, raise your hands. so they are intrepid passionate, tenacious professionals. the distributors are here, as well, from smith buchols. they are important partners, because not only did we say to them, can you please bring the price way down, we also said, can you please redesign the box because we want to be able to hold it, and then, can you put this image on the box because we want people to be able to know what to do with them. and they said yes, yes, yes, and they were able to do it.

i want to truly thank our president london breed, for her belief in and inspiration in o department. i want to thank tndc and all the organizations who made this a reality. our future is brighter with led's. thank you for joining us today. [applause].

>> good morning. oh, my god, what a day. what a day to be at the port, what a day to be outside. it's so beautiful chl the sun is out. happy earth month. i am debbie rafell. i am the director of the department of 1r50ir789, and this is the most fabulous and gorgeous place to be at this moment in time. it's very fitting to be at the waterfront, of course, during earth month. who needs a reminder of the poshs of protecting our environment and the importance of protecting this planet. we're here today to announce another step forward in our

environmental stewardship journey. our jurny towards taking bold climate actions, to preserve this planet for us and for future generations. clearly -- and there's the nice sound. clearly, to address our climate needs, we're going to have to tackle the transportation sector. in san francisco the transportation sector accounts for about 50% of our emissions, a huge part. this is a city that believes in leading by example, and our transit fleet is one of the cleanest in the nation, and part of that cleanliness, if you will, has to do with fuel switching, where we're getting off of diesel, dirty diesel, and replacing it with renewable fuels. we are electrifying when we can, and we're using renewable fuels when the technology

hasn't quite caught up with us yet to get off of dues will and nonrenewable fuels. this allows us to take action using existing equipment and existing technology. the san francisco department of environment, the mayor's office, the port and all of our community stakeholders with us today ahave been working hard o introduce renewable fuels into this new form of transportation. so i'm pleased to introduce to you today mayor mr. mark farrell who will be making the announcement that we are all looking forward to listen to.

so mayor farrell. >> thank you. debbie. it's good to be here, and love the interaction that we're seeing on our waterfront behind us. so thanks to the introduction, debbie, and i want to thank everyone for coming out today for this announcement. you know we're all here today because we care very deeply about our city of san francisco, and we care deeply about our environment in the city of san francisco, and i know we all have concerns about the federal leadership or lack of federal leadership on environmental issues right now coming out of washington, d.c. the head of our epa seems to be more concerned about flying first-class and the cole industry than pushing environmental policies forward that will have a positive impact if our communities. and while they continue to stick their heads in the sand in terms of climate change in washington, d.c., san francisco is once again stepping forward as a leader in our country for the environment. thanks to our innovatetive practices here in our city, we are on our way to meeting our goal of 50% renewable power goal by 2020 and 100% by 2050.

in san francisco, we are proving our dpost wropg every single day. we have reduced greenhouse gases by 20%. at the same time our population has grown by 19%, and our gdp has grown by 75% in the city of san francisco. we are proving washington, d.c., we are proving the skeptics wrong. i am here to say that as mayor of the city of san francisco that i am convinced that not only the san francisco but our korld with coexist by having strong environmental policies and a strong economy at the same time. they go together. this is called climate leadership. this is what san francisco is all about, and today we are excited to announce the next step in that journey as the city of san francisco. so today we are announcing the transition of the san francisco bay area water fleet to 100%

renewable diesel. we are taking this bold step, and when we do, we will become the first region in the entire country to achieve this goal. let me repeat that. once again in the city of san francisco, we will be the first in the country to lead on the environment. it will help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by another 60% on the water and cutback on the diesel pollutants that affect our air. four of the bay areas ferry providers will be making the switch to diesel here in 2018 and 2019, including our fire department, which will make the transition this year in the city of san francisco. i do want to thank all the ferry providers for joining with the city of san francisco to make this happen. this does not happen alone. it takes strong partnerships. i want to thank our fire department in particular, chief hayes-white and all the leaders that are here today on this

issue. i want to thank debbie with the department of the environment, elaine forbes, and her staff at the port. i want to give great thampgz to our former mayor, ed lee, who started this conversation years ago. tyrone chiu, who i know he's been at the forefront of this issue for a long time. we're going to be the first in the nation to make this change, but we will not be the last. this is just the beginning, and san francisco once again is stepping forward as a leader in the country on the environment, and that's something we all should be very, very proud of it. our city deserves it, our country deserves it, and our world deserves it. thanks, everyone. >> wow, thank you, mayor farrell. our country deserves it, our city deserves it, our planet deserves it, our world deserves it, indeed. so transitioning a water fleet demonstrates what's possible

when public and private sectors work together. and as the mayor said, this did not happen overnight or by accident. this transition happened because we put our heads together and collectively we problem solved, and we brainstormed, and we figured out what was the missing information, what do we need to have happen to make this change? because no one had done it before. we couldn't even look to europe as a model because we were the first. and i would like to recognize some of those leaders, those partners who made this possible from our regulatory agencies, the environmental protection agency, the california resources board, and the water emergency transportation authority, our local ferry and water transit operators, red-white fleet, blue and gold fleet, golden gate ferry, horn blower and alcatraz tours, to the marine manufacturers and mtu. they had to figure out, would

this renewable product work in their ferries. and so our own san francisco fire department, which has a fireboat fleet, and one of them is behind us, and hopefully we will be enjoying a demonstration of their prowess today. i'd also like to thank the leadership and cooperation of our commission on the environment. commissioner eddie ong is here with us today to encourage us on and to ensure that san francisco continues in a leadership moment. and of course, the real leader in all this, the mother of the leaders is our port director, elaine forbes. i get to say that as a woman. she leads with courage, she's a role model for all of us, and she's a resource for cities and ports all around the world. under her leadership, the port is an environmental champion, from shoreside power to 100%

greenhouse gas energy procurement, to solarizing buildings, elaine is fearless and determined, and this could not happen without her support, so let's welcome elaine forbes, port director. >> thank you so much, debbie, for that absolutely amazing introduction. i'm quite shy now about that, and thank you so much mayor farrell for your commitment to climate change and to our city's waterfront. hello, everyone and thank you for coming to our world renouned waterfront. this is a spectacular resource. the san francisco bay is so pristine and so defining for our city. and our ferry operator tenants, along with the city and the port are at the forefront of environmental stewardship. i'm very proud to say that. i'm speaking today on behalf of port staff and port commission. we have port commissioner lessee ka lessee -- leslie katz here.

thank you for your leadership. since 2001, we have removed 300,000 square feet of dilapidated peers, improving the bay quality. we've cleaned up contaminated properties, and in every location, we have plans to open up the properties to san francisco and the region, further connecting people to the bay. we have wonderful new buildings that are lead certified and we have a building at herron's head park. we've cut emissions by more than half. we privacy row emissions hydropower to our cruise ship at pier 27 and to our large government and commercial ship at pier 70. and with this announcement today, we are a making our air and water healthier for everyone. and i want to talk about how this initiative started. mayor farrell mentioned our y

late mayor lee. back in july 2016, we toured our mayor for the late mission bay ferry landing. on that boat ride, mayor lee made the connection, hmm, if city owned industrial equipment and our fleet can transfer to renewable diesel, could the ferries, too? he had a big vision for this waterfront and for growth in our water transportation and linked this vision to environmental stewardship. his point person, tyrone viewed got on the job, teamed up with my key person, rich furman, and teamed up with important staff from the department. and ferry operators stepped up and agreed to make this change. so now with their partnership, we will have cleaner air for everyone in san francisco. and we are becoming alternative

fuels leaders for ferries in san francisco at the exact time that we're expanding our ridership. it's such a great partnership to see more people on the bay and more people in ferries and knowing that's true ae going to be cleaner. we are so graceful to our late mayor for his call to action and for city staff and ferry operators who saw his vision through. and it will not stop here. we will be advancing other environmental initiatives, and we will be rebuilding this harbor to keep it safe, environmentally secure and keep it great for future generations. this is a beautiful waterfront, and we aim to keep it that way. thank you all for coming. [applause]. >> thank you, elaine and thank you inform poto port commissio port staff who have been such champions of this. so as elaine said, we can't do this alone. we might have an idea, we might

see a possibility, a window of opportunity, but we need the ferry operators to step up. and the person behind me was incredible. he said yes, we will try this, yes, we will do this, and i will make sure it happens. we are incredibly lucky to have such forward thinking, committed operators here in san francisco. the water fleet exemplifies that can do of why not? why not here? whatever they can do to push the envelope to make ferry ridership part of the equation to heal the planet. so let us well come our champion, tom escher, to talk

for a moment. [applause]. >> thank you very much. i'm not sure who you were talking about. one of the things i don't believe in is fake news, so mr. mayor, i have to say that the fleet has been using renewable fuel since last year, and there's been no operational problems. this is another step for the red-white fleet, there is another one to our zero pollution. and the next step is for us in august of this year, we will have the anhydra, which is an electric ferry boat coming here. she will be here in august. and in 2019, she's going to be completely electric, no pollution on the boat, completely electric. in 2020, we're going to have a -- a hydrogen fuel cell boat, which is here.

zero pollution. now all these things i'm talking about, you can buy on-line at amazon, so all we're doing is putting the pieces together, and because we believe in zero pollution. our board has said we have to be zero pollution by 2025 for all of our boats, and we will make that, if not sooner. why are we doing this, you're going to ask. all of this is proven technology. there's nothing new here. we're like a chef, we're making a stew. all of this is going to give us a reasonable business return. and the last most important, nobody in the audience is going to be affected here. this is your children, your grandchildren. this is what we're looking for. we can't kick the can down the road anymore when you can buy all this stuff on-line at amazon. it is insanity. so from a point of view, i'd like to thank the mayor, mayor

lee started this. we have a new mayor now. he's continuing it. the department of environment, the port of san francisco, elaine forbes, mike martin, rich bierman, and all sorts of other people who i haven't mentioned. nesti is the provider of the renewable fuel who's great, and also aaron peskin, our supervisor. one last comment i'd like to make is our vessel the xalaphus is there, and yif you don't knw what that is, you should look it up. thank you very much. >> i have no idea what xalaphus means, so that's my homework. wow. thank you, tom, and i think what you heard there is that pioneering spirit, that why not. that's why you keep things in

notebooks. all right. so tom talked about the long version, getting to zero emissions boats and ferries. just with this one action of moving towards renewable decembering, from traditional diesel from dinosaur bones, we're going to be able to reduce 22,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases. this is a significant action that can be today. i would like to encourage everyone, the next time you are going to oakland or alameda or coming into the city, ride in one of our wonderful ferries. you'll get the best view of the bay, the best view of our city, and you'll be doing it knowing that you're healing the planet at the same time. i want to close by sharing one of my favorite talking points, which is that i believe that the world is one by those who show up, and that every person out there today is showing up to heal the planet and showing

up to make a difference, and this is done when government works with the private sector in close partnership. my team, suzanne lucen and zach thompson, as well as rich berman and tyrone chiu who lead with their hearts as well as their mind dos. it's because of all of you that we're all able to do this together. so with that, i am hopeful that behind me will be something spectacular and worth looking at besides -- what is it? xaluphus. >> it's called the xaluphus, and if you look at the spelling, you can google it and then tell me what it means. >> that's my homework, the

xaluphus. oh, there we go, soon to be operated on renewable diesel, the fireboat. it's right now -- excuse me. we don't want fake news. right now, at this moment, the fire department has adopted renewable diesel, and that boat is leading the world right now in environmental stewardship. thank you, fire department. [applause].

. >> could you please call the roll. [ roll call. ] >> madam claire, director heinicke will not be with you today. you do have a quorum. i will read the prediction of sound producing devices during the meeting. this is