[chanting] so i want to say first of all thank you all for being here today and i would like to start today to take a brief moment of silence in respect of our former police commissioner julius turman who was a great champion of public safety and a true friend to the city. so if you would please first

join me in a moment of silence. >> [moment of silence] >> thank you. our thoughts and condolences are with his friends and family during this time. he's absolutely missed here in the city of san francisco. so i want to first do a round of thank yous. there's a number of individuals and organizations who helped lead us to where we are today. first of all i want to thank our police chief bill scott. i want to thank our police commission, we have police commission president tip pi here. thank you. members of the board of supervisor, jeff seehey and katheri katherine stefani here today. our city departments, our controllers office for tirelessly working to find the right amount of staffing that we need right here in our police

department. you know, since taking public office i repeatedly stressed that i believe we have some of the best men and women in our police department here inside of san francisco. proud of all of you do who are here today in front of us. i am not afraid as the mayor of the city and county of san francisco to say how proud i am of the men and women of our police department. every day they are putting their lives on the line for us as san francisco residents, they deserve our respect and our gratitude. when we are so fortunate to have such dedicated men and women on our police department, we simply don't have enough of them today. san francisco is an ever changing city with ever changing neighborhoods. we cannot be bound by antequated staffing levels that do not reflect today's reality in our streets and in our neighborhoods. that is why today i am very

proud to announce that my budget plan this year will include the addition of 250 new officers being deployed on the streets of san francisco. -- san francisco from our business department. in the fiscal year alone we will graduate 80 officers in the current academy classes, add 50 new academy recruits. we will also increase opportunity for promotions and shift highly trained civilians into positions that are currently being staffed by sworn members to allow them to be out patrolling the neighborhoods of our city. these new officers will act as a catalyst and be the building blocks of our 250 officer plan. when these officers join the department they will be working on existing initiatives that have been undertaken to strengthen our police department. i have been proud to partner with police chief scott on

innovative new public safety measures which include increasing our city wide foot patrols, adding investigative teams at district stations and expanding our burglary and serial crime units. as we know last year was a very difficult year for property crimes here in san francisco. over 30,000 alone in our city. an absolutely unacceptable number. since undertaking our initiatives we have seen property crimes decrease by over 17%. we will not rest on our morals in san francisco, we will not let that be the new standard. we will continue to move forward and press ahead on reforms that make our streets and our neighborhoods safer for the residents of san francisco. it's also important to note that these increased officers will be more more than just a deterrent

to property crimes. they will be reassuring presences in our neighborhoods of san francisco ensuring that people feel safe and securing the communities they live in here in san francisco. they will have the tools and the training to work with our communities and within our neighborhoods here in san francisco. these new officers will also be supported by additional investments in our equipment and resources. my budget package will also include $7.5 million over the next 2 years to purchase over 130 new police cars that are needed in our department. it will include over $3 million to equip our police officers with tasers. in addition my budget will include $1.7 million to help support police reform measures. we will continue to support and fund on going efforts within our

police department to make sure all 272 recommendations offered by the obama department of justice are fulfilled. when i've talked about my priorities as mayor of the city and county of san francisco public safety has always come first. today's announcement is a reflection of my commitment and let me repeat, i am so incredibly proud as mayor of this city of the men and women that serve us in our police department. these words are not empty, they are not a political game, they are the truth. they are what san francisco will follow. it's impacting the public safety commitments reflects the needs of our entire city. we are pushing forward with a bold new vision for public safety in san francisco. i am honored to be here with all of you today to see these efforts through and to make sure that the future of san francisco

is a safe and secure one for every single resident in every single neighborhood in our city. so thank you for having me here today. again, i'm honored to be with all of you. with that i would like to introduce the chief of our police department, bill scott. >> good morning. let my start my comments by thanking mayor ferrell and his team. she is invested in the future of the city. recruits that we have in the team today represent our future. the budget presented today represents a significant commitment by mayor ferrell towards their future and towards the future of their police department and the future of this city. the budget envisions the sfpd as a more responsive, more productive and better equipped police department to face the

challenges of modern policing and enables us to build our successes by creating the program tha programs that we know has a powerful and positive impact. the mayor talked about foot patrols and the increasing the foot patrols. we would like to sustain that. increasing the burglary and serial crimes opportunity, seven day staffing, support 4 our healthy street centers which we see tremendous progress and addressing the many issues that face our city regardless homelessness. the expansion of our psychiatric emergency response team to help these experiencing mental crisis. it also means that we can continue the important work of carrying out our usdoj recommendations for collaborative reform and improving our department to become even better than we've ever been. this plan allows us to bring in

an additional 250 police officers and it will provide increased opportunity for promotions including 20 new sergeants and two new lieutenant positions. the budget provided by mayor ferrell allows us to shift highly trained civilians into positions that have been held by sworn members enabling us to redeploy those sworn members to the field and also provides as we stated badly needed resources including 130 new police vehicles to help our ageing fleet. we've been working really hard in the strategic frame work and it centers around safety with respect for the public and our members. this budget will empower us to increase our collaboration with our city and community partners to address safety challenges, to improve our responsiveness to the public, to find the future

that we want for the sfpd and more importantly for the safety of our city. we want to be a modern and inclusive police department that provides safety. i'd like to thank mayor ferrell and the people of san francisco for their support of our officers. with this commitment the hard working men and women of our police department can continue to rise to meet the challenge of the growing needs of our city. thank you very much, mayor ferrell. now i would like to introduce the president of our police commission. >> [applause] >> thank you chief and thank you mayor ferrell. this is not part of my prepared are -- remarks but if julius was here today he would take a look at this crowd and say he is proud of you. in fact, we ask all of you to live up to his expectations.

two weeks ago on wednesday night he stood in front of the police commission, barely was able to stand for the pledge of allegiance. then after when he was being honored he said something very important for you-all to hear. i'm very proud of the men and women of the san francisco police department. so behalf of julius i share that with you tonight. i would like to thank mayor ferrell, the supervisor stefani and sheey for recognizing and addressing the crisis that we are facing with staffing. i've been on the police commission for a long time as both a state and federal prosecutors here in san francisco so i'm aware of the need for policing. given the current state of our criminal justice and mental health systems, our officers can barely respond to the calls for service. they are busy dealing with repeat offenders and people in mental health crisis. by adding these police officers to our police department it will

make the street safer for our citizens and those who visit our city. there's days when i walk from the parking garage to my office and i see the things that we all see, unsightly things of people in crisis, people shooting up. it's not acceptable and the only way we can address that is adding to our women power and men power of the san francisco police department. this is a great move. we as a commission thank the mayor and the board of supervisors for putting this forward. with this it will give our officers more of an opportunity to be involved in community policing and, yes, proactive policing. so mayor ferrell, thank you on behalf of the citizens of san francisco. this is great and this is long over due. thank you very much. >> [applause] >> thank you. with that i'd like to bring up two supervisors who have been talking about public safety since literally the day they

came into office, jeff sheehey and supervisor katherine stefani. >> thank you, mayor ferrell. welcome to district 8. i'm so proud to have the academy in my district. it's a source of joy for me. i want to thank mayor ferrell for his leadership in putting this forward. so last year as i came into office one of the things that i identified almost immediately was a gap in public safety resources. i raised this with the budget and finance committee and was the voice in the wilderness. so i am so grateful that mayor ferrell has put this initiative forward. i'm also grateful to chief scott. some of the innovations are tied to our need for additional officer. the tactics that have reduced police officer involved situations have calmed down but

those tactics require more boots on the ground. the second thing is foot patrols. so in my district we now have foot patrols on the castro. i know those guys, those folks. it's great the see them. people in the community know them. we had an incident at twin peaks. four officers assigned to -- so after the incident at twin peaks before the -- before the incident at twin peaks, the murder, we had ten car break-ins a day. after officers were assigned there for the following month one. so presence is prevention. in dolores park we had an incident. the chief, other city departments, officers have been assigned to dolores park. every single neighbor surrounding that park talks about how improved that situation is. this is by having forces there, people there. it makes our neighbor safer.

every day i talk to people in my district saying when can we get a foot patrol, have officers we can see. this will make that possible, not just in my district but across the city. i want to give a shot out to folks here today. i have been to graduations of academy classes and i have so much respect for the work that you're going to be trained. it's amazing. you put in such hard work. i am so proud, i wanted to shake your hand when you get that badge pinned on you. i'm even prouder when i see people who had a badge pinned on them, whose hand i shook and see them walking the beet in my neighborhood. thank you for stepping up and protecting the citizens of san francisco. you are outstanding. the more we graduate the prouder i'll be so thank you. i'd like to introduce my colleague, supervisor stefani.

>> [applause] >> good morning, everyone. i held my public safety forum in district 2 because the bottom line is people don't feel safe. whether it is because of our past crime epidemic, reports of a 7th grader being mugged on his way home from school or the ramped trueiram ramped drug use we see on our streets, we must do more to keep the people of san francisco safe. i believe that we have underinvested for years. today's announcement by mayor ferrell is a huge step in the right direction. what i love about mayor ferrell's approach is it is thoughtful and designed to saturdays -- address san francisco's current needs, to help the homeless delivering

help to the city's operation center and to equip our police force with the resources they need like working patrol cars to do their job and to help keep us safe. our focus should be on recruiting the best and the brightest by training our officers with all of the reforms that we've all been trying to implement. i have been so incredibly lucky in my 12 years of public service in this city to work with some of sfpd's finest, captain dylan, commander manox, captain silverman, captain yep, officer matt loray and so many more. these individuals have truly helped shape my view of how incredible our police department is and how much talent we have here. i just want to thank all of you for stepping up and doing your part. i've also been a prosecutors and

i've worked with so many police officers that have always shaped my view that police officers are good and we need them and i can't thank you enough for your service. i want to thank the mayor, chief scott and the command staff for their hard work and thoughtful analysis on the invests that we as a city need to make in the department. i just want to tell one quick story in my direct. so many times we hear the negatives. the other day someone said i have to tell you what happened to me with a police officer. i got a pounding on my door at 7:00 in the morning and i went out there and i saw a police car and i was so nervous. they open it had door and the police officer said -- opened the door and the police officer said, dpd is going to do some care and towed your car. they asked them to move their car and saved them $600. there's so many stories about

how important your work is. it's my hope as we increase our force we also do so in a way that bridges any divides with our communities and that we work together to create an environment where everyone feels safe and cared for. that is what san francisco is all about and i absolutely thank you for your service to our city. thank you. >> [applause] >> thank you, vooup -- supervi supervisor. as mayor i want to thank you for your service. we are proud of you. we look forward to years of service ahead. so that's going to conclude our press conference. we'll be in the side room if any media wants to talk to us after wards off camera. thank you all for being here today. >> [applause]

>> good afternoon. thank you for coming i'm happy to be joined this afternoon by sfmta director ed russ kin and howard -- as you know powered scooters appeared on our streets overnight in march. they pose some really challenge. emissions free transportation and makes it easy to connect

with public transit is a good thing and something that we welcome but we cannot sacrifice public safety. these ridden on sidewalks pose danger. there are reports of broken bones and near misses. the city has received nearly 1800 complaints about scooters including them blocks public space. it can hurt local businesses and affect the ability of all of us to navigate our city. the city supports scooter scaring to the point it makes our transportation system safer, more equitable. we are here today to announce

the launch of san francisco powered scooter permit and pilot program. this permit program represents a thoughtful, coordinated and effective approach to make sure that san francisco strikes the right balance. the program incorporates the importance of my earlier cease and desist letter, and state and local laws, that prohibit riding on sidewalks and it includes new component. we have have innovation but it must keep your sidewalks safe and accessible for all pedestrians. the program provides the

framework though make sure that the companies operateing in the public right of way of doing so lawfully and accountable for their business and tools for the city to issue enforcement as needed. permits are available today on the sfmtv website and ed russ kin will provide more information about them in a moment. i would like to note that this has been a collaborative effort that has included the board of supervisors, my office, public works and other. began in legislation passed at the board of supervisors and signed by mark farrell. i would like to thank aaron peskin who has a leader on this legislation. under that legislation any company operating shared powered scooters in san francisco must have a permit from the sfmta as

of june 4 to have their scooters parked on sidewalks or any public space. that means any scooter company operating is required to mover e it's scooters by june 4. only those issued permits may be able to continue. san francisco supports transportation innovation but it can't come at the price of privacy, accessible, and safety. this permit program strikes the right balance. i would like to introduce ed russ kin to talk more about the new permit program. >> thank you. i want to thank the city attorney for his leadership and the great support of his staff as we have been developing the legislation that required the

permits the legislation by the board of directors to establish the permit program and their support for us in developing the application itself. as the city's transportation department we are excited about the prospect that these powered scooters could bring. their zero emission and compact and i haven't ridden one, but i hear their pretty fun. this is something that we certainly want to be supportive of, but it's the if that is really at question here in tomorrows of why we are putting a regulatory process in place. last year the sfmts board of directors and san francisco board of supervisors, and

transportation authority adopted a set of principles set to govern emerging technologies and services on our streets and these principals embody san francisco policies as relate to equity and affordable and environment and transparency and consumer protection and worker right. we have taken those principles and embedded them in a permit program that we have established and you will see in the permit aapplication. just become something is innovative doesn't mean it's good for our city. we are using this to put in place the regulatory for example work that makes sure that we can get the best of the transportation benefits for the

people of san francisco without some of the detriments such as we have seen on the streets already. the city attorney made reference to safety and that is our number one concern. we want to make sure that the use of the scooters is being donecephaly and appropriately when used and when stored and not using them to ride on sidewalks or block sidewalks and there are the two main concerns we have seen and we share, so the permit will require a robust plan to show how they will ensure the proper use and storage of their scooters. there are provisions that speak to the people. who support the scooter share programs whether employees or contractors, there are privacy protection.

we are in the business of transportation and mobility but not in the business of permitting harvesting of personal data, so one of our requirements is making it clear that any permitee would have to make apparent to them what data would be collected and how it would be used and give them the opportunity to take out of sharing that data and still be able to take the service. there are numerous other aspects of the permits we are establishing as part of this one year pilot where we will be able to work with a successful perm permitee to make sure this service can be manifested in our streets that works for san francisco. we will issue up to five permits for a total of 2500 scooters,

1250 in the first six months and if things are going well expand up to 2500. during this period we will require the submission of data and gathering data from external sources and 311 complaints and others so that we can evaluate how well these scooters are working whether meeting their promises and addressing some of the issues that we have seen to date. at that point we would be at a decision point of whether to terminate the program, continue the program, discontinue the program, expand the program. we expect to learn a lot f enforcement is part of the program and we want to make sure to the extent that we grant a permit and we have appropriate

mechanisms in place whether confiscating scooters or taking the permit. we don't want to get there, but we need to be able to give the public assurance that in granting access that we are going to enforce the conditions of the permits that we established. one of our great partners and enforcement in the public right-of-way and really in the management is san francisco public works and we worked with them in the permit program and application and will continue to work with them as this plays out. i would like to pass the mic. to our director of public work. >> i am excited that we are putting a pilot permit program in place as many of you know when these scooters handed in our secretos in fran, we have

been working really hard to try and make sure that at least they are following some kind or order and since they handed we have had to pick up over 500 scooters on the streets that have been parked inappropriately, means not put in a safe place and created trip and falls or not been parked in the right place, so this permit process that will be in place is one that will help the city understand if these actually belong on our streets in san francisco. starting june 4, we will then be picking up scooters anywhere because the good lines have been set forth as we have heard. we will pick them up and not an easily retrievable process. they will be held as evidence until this permit process is in place. work with us here in the city and most importantly we want to

see if there is a place for them in san francisco so, this pilot will encourage the corporations to apply and go through the process and we will select the right people and see how it work. thank you. >> thank you ed and mohammed. with that we will take questions and they will be dealt with appropriately by one of us up here. >> how will the scooter companies be held accountable? >> under the law if someone is helping abet a public nuisance and they have notice, they can be held liable, so the scooter companies are responsible for conduct that they know is occurring once they have been put on notice. if you look at the cease and desist letter that i have sent,

we have put them on notice as to things that we would expect from them, so certainly they can be held responsible for conduct of people that they are encouraging to ride. >> fines? >> if i was to bring an action against mass balance for public nuisance certainly, but that is not what the nature of the enforcement action has been so far and not what is contemplated under the permit program but we always reserve the right if there is a public nuisance to bring an action if so nolteed. i think that what you have seen so far is the city in a cordnated way has been operating to try and mitigate any

potential public nuisance so far. in terms of a letter to cease and desist and the director of public works dedicated the resources needed to ensure that we minimize the possibility that there were scooter nuisances on the street and i think what you see from the three of us collectively standing here in terms of resources already dedicated and the quickness with which the pilot program has been made available that the city is willing to dedicate the resources that we need to make sure that we strike that right balance between promotions transportation invasion and not sacsacrifiesing con screen conv.

>> will you address helmets in any way . >> the current state laws requires person using scooters to have a driver's license, we are a helmet and ride in the street. our permits say that they have to comply with state and local law. >> does it require they offer helmets? >> it does not. we are not being too prescriptive but telling them how to be client with the specific permit of what they are applying for. >> what steps are you going to take into account when deciding

who gets these permits? >> we will absolutely be accounting for their past performance. it's not meant to be in a punitive way, but i think their past performance will be a good indicator of future performance and they ability to be client with the existing state and local laws as well as potential permit conditions, so we were directed to factor that in and we will absolutely do so. >> the scooter permits are available effective today and what is the soonest one might get one? >> the applications are available today so any scooter company will be able to go to the website and pull down application. we are establishing a deadline or june 7 for the submission so this is a fixed one year pilot

program, so we will likely wait until june 7 until we have collected any and all applications at which point we will endeavor to review them as quickly as possible. applications will be working with companies to get them complete as soon as possible. the city attorney said we are hoping to issue permits by the end of june, so as soon as the end of june given our experience with past permit programs it probably will take some time to get complete applications and complete the review but we are shooting for the end of june to have these permitted. as quickly after that as they can get them out on the street will be up to them. >> look at how quickly this has been developing the fact that in less than a couple of months that we have a program that has

been designed by the mta and we are taking applications today and you have such a tight turn around i think is a measure of the degree to which the city collectively uses this as important both in terms of fostering transportation invasion, but also protecting the health and safety of people on our streets the ans and i wao applaud the mta for how quickly they have designed this program and the enforcement assistance of the department of public work. this is where you saw the city coming together to recognize that this is important for our city. one more question. >> how many -- [indiscernible] >> three. we have had heard rumors of more that will be applying so you

have heard the three that are out there. >> will you be likely to not get a permit based on behavior so far? >> i don't want to speak for the msa director and we don't know who is going to apply yet. >> is there past behavior that would preclude them from getting a permit. >> i don't want to prejudice the application and review process. we have some information about the three that we don't have about th the others but we want this to be fair and we will give a fair review of their application. >> is the city charging? >> yes, our intent is to recover our cost. the state law restricts us to cost recovery only and i don't

have permit fee. there is few different fees that apply including reserve we would require them to submit to address any others that the city has. this is designed to keep the city whole in terms of expenditure. i sent out my cease and desist letter and as of june 4 until such time as the permits have been granted, they should not be operating on public rights of way or parking on public streets, that is correct. we have made it clear that as of june 4 they have to be off of city streets and i think the mta director has made it quite clear that past behavior will be taken

into account in terms of the application process, so i think it will behoove everybody to follow the directive issued today by having them off public street it is on june 4 and in the event they are not the mta director will review that behavior and i will reserve the right to do anything legally to make sure that the law is followed that i need to do. thank you.

♪ ank you. >> about two years ago now i had my first child. and i thought when i come back, you know, i'm going to get back in the swing of things and i'll find a spot. and it wasn't really that way when i got back to work. that's what really got me to think about the challenges that new mothers face when they come back to work. ♪ >> when it comes to innovative ideas and policies, san francisco is known to pave the way, fighting for social justice or advocating for the environment, our city serves as the example and leader many times over. and this year, it leads the nation again, but for a new

reason. being the most supportive city of nursing mothers in the work place. >> i was inspired to work on legislation to help moms return to work, one of my legislative aids had a baby while working in the office and when she returned we had luckily just converted a bathroom at city hall into a lactation room. she was pumping a couple times a day and had it not been for the room around the hallway, i don't know if she could have continued to provide breast milk for her baby. not all returning mothers have the same access, even though there's existing state laws on the issues. >> these moms usually work in low paying jobs and returning to work sooner and they don't feel well-supported at work. >> we started out by having legislation to mandate that all city offices and departments

have accommodations for mothers to return to work and lactate. but this year we passed legislation for private companies to have lactation policies for all new moms returning to work. >> with the newcome -- accommodations, moms should have those to return back to work. >> what are legislation? >> we wanted to make it applicable to all, we created a set of standards that can be achievable by everyone. >> do you have a few minutes today to give us a quick tour. >> i would love to. let's go. >> this is such an inviting space. what makes this a lactation room? >> as legislation requires it has the minimum standards, a seat, a surface to place your breast on, a clean space that doesn't have toxic chemicals or

storage or anything like that. and we have electricity, we have plenty of outlets for pumps, for fridge. the things that make it a little extra, the fridge is in the room. and the sink is in the room. our legislation does require a fridge and sink nearby but it's all right in here. you can wash your pump and put your milk away and you don't have to put it in a fridge that you share with co-workers. >> the new standards will be applied to all businesses and places of employment in san francisco. but are they achievable for the smaller employers in the city? >> i think small businesses rightfully have some concerns about providing lactation accommodations for employees, however we left a lot of leeway in the legislation to account for small businesses that may have small footprints. for example, we don't mandate that you have a lactation room, but rather lactation space. in city hall we have a lactation

pod here open to the public. ♪ ♪ >> so the more we can change, especially in government offices, the more we can support women. >> i think for the work place to really offer support and encouragement for pumping and breast feeding mothers is necessary. >> what is most important about the legislation is that number one, we require that an employer have a lactation policy in place and then have a conversation with a new hire as well as an employee who requests parental leave. otherwise a lot of times moms don't feel comfortable asking their boss for lactation accommodations. really it's hard to go back to the office after you have become a mom, you're leaving your heart outside of your body.

when you can provide your child food from your body and know you're connecting with them in that way, i know it means a lot to a mommy motionlely and physically to be able to do that. and businesses and employers can just provide a space. if they don't have a room, they can provide a small space that is private and free from intrusion to help moms pump and that will attract moms to working in san francisco. >> if you want more information visit sfdph.org/breastfeedingatwork. ♪ ♪

>> san francisco recreation and parks department offers classes for the whole family. rec and parks has a class for everyone. discover what is available now and get ready to get out and play. henri matisse. frida kahlo. andy warhol. discover the next great artist. get out and play and get inspired with toddler classes. experience art where making a mess is part of the process. classes and the size the artistic process rather than the product. children have the freedom to explore materials at their own

pace and in their own way. talks love art, especially when they died into the creative process -- dive into the creative process. at the end of the classes, they have cleaned and washup. of.com great way to get out and play. for more information, visit sfrecpark.org. that out and play and get into the groove. rec and parks offers dance classes for seniors. first-time beginners or lifetime enthusiasts -- all are welcome. enjoy all types of music. latins also, country and

western. it is a great way to exercise while having lots of fun. seniors learn basic moves and practice a variety of routines. improve your posture, balance, and flexibility. it is easy. get up on your feet and step to the beat. senior dance class is from sf rec and park. a great way to get out and play. >> for more information, >> i lived in the mission neighborhood for seven years and before that the excel see your district. 20 years a resident of the city and county of san francisco.

i am the executive director of a local art space nonprofit that showcases work that relate to the latino community and i have been in this building for seven years and some of my neighbors have been here 30 year. we were notified from the landlord he was going to sell the building. when we realized it was happening it was no longer a thought for the landlord and i sort of had a moment of panic. i heard about the small sites program through my work with the mission economic agency and at met with folks from the mayor's housing program because they wanted to utilize the program.

we are dealing with families with different needs and capacities. conversations were had early in the morning because that is the only time that all the tenants were in the building and finally when we realized that meda did have the resources to buy the building we went on a letter writing campaign to the landlord and said to him we understand you want to sell your building, we understand what you are asking for and you are entitled to it, it's your land, but please work with us. what i love about ber nell height it represents the diversity that made me fall in love with san francisco. we have a lot of mom and pop shops and you can get all your resources within walking distance. my favorite air area of my homes

my little small patio where i can start my morning and have my coffee an is a sweet spot for me and i