one in the mission, one in chinatown and one in the tenderloin. they're contradictory pieces of legislation that is impacting the implementation of the ban on flavored tobacco. so there is going to be going back to the drawing board a little bit in those conversations. and one of the policy tools we need to think about is how to give the city the tool to buy back tobacco licenses. right now, there is a law that alcohol licenses, type 20, type 21 can be bought back by the city, but there is not the option for tobacco licenses. and also part of that conversation is how do we hold other departments accountable to this conversation because there is tangential fee schedules on

tobacco, the department of public health and dpw are part of, and fee streamlining as a mitigation is going to be another tool i think this body needs to brainstorm. so please keep in mind, i'm going to be part of those meetings and i would love support. the first one is planned at the end of the month. we can talk offline about that. second thing, new business, i would like there to be more information about how to prepare merchant or merchant organizations for potential rfps for the city. there is going to revenue from the sugary beverage tax and we should try to support merchant organizations to get some of that money. if there is a tool or workshop we can do or presentation, that would be awesome. >> president adams: does that involve lbe?

no? >> commissioner zouzounis: they'll have to be registered nonprofit or entity of which then the merchant association could have a sponsor who takes the money, administrative -- fiscal agent. thank you. >> if i understand properly, you're suggesting that we have better outreach so that -- or enable merchants or small businesses to get a piece of this action? >> commissioner zouzounis: also merchant organizations. there are two examples i'm thinking of. the healthy retail program still has a pilot for fresh produce delivery model they want to develop. so it would be rfp for somebody already delivering to store. how do we outreach and make sure that is open to somebody already

doing that. and then -- >> just to be clear, anybody who -- any entity to receive money from the city needs to be registered with the city as a compliant supplier, vendor. bidder. and i think in this -- then they also have to be a registered entity and have a business registration. to have a business registration means for any of the merchants associations, then they need to have a 501 c-3. but they have to have some sort of business structure. so is maybe something that is also brought up with the council of district merchants. if you were thinking about merchant areas being able to access some of that money, then

to me that sort of seems like a good entity to help be a fiscal agent. >> right. we're having discussions about that. >> but i can -- we can ask the office of contract administration or the controller's office. and rick has done actually a phenomenal job working with our legacy businesses on putting together -- putting together a document on how to become registered with the city. and because we are now marketing in the legacy businesses as vendors that departments can do business with, because for those that become 12-b compliant, then the city can do business with them. so we're also -- rick is also going to be putting together over the next 2-3 months, a guide on how best to do business

with the city. so understanding how the payment process works, all of that. because it's very different than your traditional b to b. >> commissioner zouzounis: one last new business -- sorry, this should have been part of my report. i went to the reopening of the sav mor market on 3rd street and they also won their board of appeals for moving their license. so they are now viable in their new location. >> awesome. ok. any other new business items? >> this is not a new business item, i just wanted to add for the record, sonny made great points about district areas that are having problems with construction and you know, owning a bar and restaurant on

polk street and owning a bar and restaurant, i do a pop-up at may's oyster house. she's definitely onto something with the pop-ups to try to get some of these store fronts filled. i highly encourage anybody that wants to try a pop-up or something to that effect, that they -- you know, we give them a chance, because that's a great way to find out if they want to do small business in san francisco. >> great. i have one new business item. so it's my understanding that corporations can sponsor government activities, correct? is there a mechanism for corporations to sponsor things like the legacy business program? >> well, there is. there is a process of doing

accept and this happens with specific programs. >> the reason i ask is because one of the things that we could do to accelerate the legacy business program is to get more support on the onboarding side. we have one person who is not his sole responsible to onboard legacy business candidates. and so i think that if we wanted to reach out to a number of the large companies that have expressed interest in preserving small business in san francisco, like airbnb and square, they're making significant donations to activities in the merchant corridors to individual merchant associations as well, that we could outreach to them and

others if we had a specific ask. so for example, if we could fund a full-time position to assist with onboarding legacy businesses. i just think that program is such a hallmark of our commission and an area where we can have real significant impact, but it cost money and we're forever going to be budget constrained, and one of the best things we could do is have one or more sponsored positions. also internships. i was at square earlier this week, or last week, for a cdma meeting with square. and they had a number of interns in our meeting and i chatted with one of them who is a princeton student, she was about to go back, but she said my internship has been awesome and i've been tagging around with the government outreach team and

learning how this company is interacting with the city. it occurred to me, how could would it to be a get an internship at airbnb and you were to help legacy businesses? i think we should look into how could we facilitate these companies helping at a level making donations to san francisco city and county, and you know, all the p.r. benefits that come from that. especially with our program which is really, i think, shaping up, especially as we're finishing our branding program and start to roll that out. it will become a lot more visible. i know that the legacy business is grateful for the support they receive getting through the process. if nothing else, there is the gratification of documented your history which you've never taken the time to do. not only for yourselves but for

your children and grandchildren. there is nothing but feel-good out of that exercise. so the more of that we can do, beyond rent mitigation, all the potential financial benefits, but the mere benefit of going through the process of getting on the legacy business registry, i think is a beneficial one and one that we should try to do more than we do. because right now i feel like we're in a little bit of a reactive mode. again, that's part of your new supervisor orientation. here we are and one of the best things you can do is nominate legacy businesses, that gives them an opportunity to meet the businesses. a lot of times those owners are the most active in their districts because they've been there a long time, and they've been fighting the good fight. those are the people the supervisors need to know any

way, so it's a reason for them and their staff to outreach to them and say, hey, you're not on the legacy business registry, how can we make that happen? >> is 365 a legacy business? >> good question. >> commissioner dwigh >> commissioner dwight: look, i went to the opening of the terminal and closing of gumps this weekend. and it's just proof that even the most longstanding of institutions, whether it's fao schwartz, you name it, they come and go. and we all have to remember as small business owners and business owners in general, we're the first line of defense for our companies. we have to fight for ourselves. and you know, whether it's the internet or amazon or a formula retailer or the city doing things that are kind of counter

to our business interest. at the end the day, if we don't fight for ourself, we're going to go out of business. we can provide support. but even the most venerable businesses are vulnerable if they don't keep up with the times. and gump's admittedly didn't keep up with the times. whether they survive bankruptcy or not is to be seen, but there is a lot we can do to support businesses. >> can i ask a question of rick? >> commissioner dwight: sure. >> i'm the third or fourth owner of may's oyster house, it's the second oldest bar and restaurant in san francisco. would i qualify for a legacy business? or you know, for the fact that i kept the name and kept the seafood going, et cetera, et

cetera? >> there are three business criteria on the application process we look at. the business has to be 30 years old or older. there is exception for 20 years if they're at risk for displacement. they have to have added to the community or the city and then the third thing is have maintained their business model. so we look at all three of those. >> change of ownership is not a disqualification. >> that's what i'm asking, i'm sorry. >> change of location is fine. those don't affect the criteria. >> commissioner dwight: the answer is yes. >> i probably will do that with a blue light cafe, too, there is another one. interesting. >> and so, commissioner dwight, we have met with both new supervisors' offices, we did

meet with the aides of supervisor brown and i think one of their questions is always what is the outreach that you're doing? and at this point we're none, because we can't facilitate it. so i think to your point is, even the ability to take on new applications and help with that, but also the process of outreaching, and educating businesses of this opportunity, i think that's a good point to bring. and i think to your point of engaging the private sector, i don't know if commissioner corvi wasn't on the commission at the time, but when the discussion of the creation of the legacy business was created, professor giles from usf had talked about engaging, especially with the

larger legacy businesses to help support because we do have some very small businesses that, you know, probably would love to be on the legacy business registry. and especially those where english is not the first language, so the challenge of writing the application can be a challenge. so getting more support in that area to also bring on those -- >> you don't have to be writer to write a book, you just need to talk to someone who is a writer. so i think if we could fund again this onboarding and also to your point, outreach, we could fund more outreach efforts, especially as we have our tool kit with all the branding. it would be much easier for us to really show, here's the package, here's the extra little bit of gloss you get to put on your business related to legacy business. that is helpful. but we should talk about how we

can start outreaching. what is our ask to these businesses, corporations, who want to and have a stated goal of supporting small business? i think that there -- there is a huge demand for the ability to say we are putting our money where our mouth is to support small business, whether it's buying employee lunches from local restaurants to funding programs like this one. and this is low-hanging fruit if you're in the government affairs department of any of these companies to be supporting legacy business programs in san francisco. as unique as it is as well. and to be shouting that out to not only within san francisco, but beyond where all of your others say, hey, look what we're doing in san francisco. we're not unique in the fact

that small business is an endangered species in our city. every major city throughout the united states is experiencing gentrification and the displacement of small businesses. all the same reasons that we are. anyway, let's see how we can go reach into the pockets of our generous local businesses and have them support a very specific program. it's a lot different than saying we're going to levy a tax on you to pay for general things, or already heavily funded things like homelessness. big problem, you kind of hard to get your arms around that. you're throwing money into an awfully big pot there. but when you're donating money and you can donate a smaller pot highly directed and really see the results, that's where you can get powerful -- it's a real powerful story and ability to sell that. enough said.

>> but i think your point is, we could specifically reach out to the city attorney, so that you fully understand what we can do, what kind of ability to allow for the visual identity of the association of those that are contributing the money in terms of joint marketing. >> what i want staff to do is talk to the city attorney and any other departments that have to weigh in on this. what can we offer corporate san francisco to support the legacy business program specifically? because then we'll have -- here's what we're asking for. we want this to do this. we want this money to do this. and i think it would be onboarding and advocacy, two major things, there may be others. let's find out. and does that mean can we fund a position? what are the -- i'm sure there

are always kinds of issue with that, because there is the pension program. but it has to be sustainable. but then there are some things that don't have to be as sustainable. funding outreach programs, you can turn them on and off. you either buy the ads or you don't. if we could fund a stable position and then also fund p.r. efforts, that would be tremendous. and i think we could round up the funds to do that. so that's my -- that's what i'm gauging as i'm floating that idea with a few of the government affairs people. staff can report back to us. if we have no other new business, commissioners, i'll put it out to public comment. any public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> sf gov tv please show the slide. >> it is our custom to end with a reminder that the off thes of

small businesses is the only place to start your small business in san francisco and the best way to get answers to questions about small business in san francisco. the office of small business should be where you go next. the small business commission is the public forum to voice your opinions and concerns about policies that affect the vitality of small businesses in san francisco. if you are a small business start here. item 8, adjournment. >> all in favor? >> aye. so be it. motion passes 4-0. meeting is adjourned the 6:53 p.m.

>> this is one place you can always count on to give you what you had before and remind you of what your san francisco history used to be. >> we hear that all the time, people bring their kids here and their grandparents brought them here and down the line. >> even though people move away, whenever they come back to the city, they make it here. and they tell us that. >> you're going to get something made fresh, made by hand and made with quality products and something that's very, very good. ♪ >> the legacy bars and restaurants was something that was begun by san francisco simply to recognize and draw attention to the establishments. it really provides for san francisco's unique character. ♪ >> and that morphed into a request that we work with the city to develop a legacy

business registration. >> i'm michael cirocco and the owner of an area bakery. ♪ the bakery started in 191. my grandfather came over from italy and opened it up then. it is a small operation. it's not big. so everything is kind of quality that way. so i see every piece and cut every piece that comes in and out of that oven. >> i'm leslie cirocco-mitchell, a fourth generation baker here with my family. ♪ so we get up pretty early in the morning. i usually start baking around 5:00. and then you just start doing rounds of dough. loaves. >> my mom and sister basically

handle the front and then i have my nephew james helps and then my two daughters and my wife come in and we actually do the baking. after that, my mom and my sister stay and sell the product, retail it. ♪ you know, i don't really think about it. but then when i -- sometimes when i go places and i look and see places put up, oh this is our 50th anniversary and everything and we've been over 100 and that is when it kind of hits me. you know, that geez, we've been here a long time. [applause] ♪ >> a lot of people might ask why our legacy business is important. we all have our own stories to tell about our ancestry. our lineage and i'll use one example of tommy's joint. tommy's joint is a place that my husband went to as a child

and he's a fourth generation san franciscan. it's a place we can still go to today with our children or grandchildren and share the stories of what was san francisco like back in the 1950s. >> i'm the general manager at tommy's joint. people mostly recognize tommy's joint for its murals on the outside of the building. very bright blue. you drive down and see what it is. they know the building. tommy's is a san francisco hoffa, which is a german-style presenting food. we have five different carved meats and we carve it by hand at the station. you prefer it to be carved whether you like your brisket fatty or want it lean. you want your pastrami to be

very lean. you can say i want that piece of corn beef and want it cut, you know, very thick and i want it with some sauerkraut. tell the guys how you want to prepare it and they will do it right in front of you. san francisco's a place that's changing restaurants, except for tommy's joint. tommy's joint has been the same since it opened and that is important. san francisco in general that we don't lose a grip of what san francisco's came from. tommy's is a place that you'll always recognize whenever you lock in the door. you'll see the same staff, the same bartender and have the same meal and that is great. that's important. ♪

>> the service that san francisco heritage offers to the legacy businesses is to help them with that application process, to make sure that they really recognize about them what it is that makes them so special here in san francisco. ♪ so we'll help them with that application process if, in fact, the board of supervisors does recognize them as a legacy business, then that does entitle them to certain financial benefits from the city of san francisco. but i say really, more importantly, it really brings them public recognition that this is a business in san francisco that has history and that is unique to san francisco. >> it started in june of 1953. ♪

and we make everything from scratch. everything. we started a you -- we started a off with 12 flavors and mango fruits from the philippines and then started trying them one by one and the family had a whole new clientele. the business really boomed after that. >> i think that the flavors we make reflect the diversity of san francisco. we were really surprised about the legacy project but we were thrilled to be a part of it. businesses come and go in the city. pretty tough for businesss to stay here because it is so expensive and there's so much competition. so for us who have been here all these years and still be popular and to be recognized by the city has been really a huge honor.

>> we got a phone call from a woman who was 91 and she wanted to know if the mitchells still owned it and she was so happy that we were still involved, still the owners. she was our customer in 1953. and she still comes in. but she was just making sure that we were still around and it just makes us feel, you know, very proud that we're carrying on our father's legacy. and that we mean so much to so many people. ♪ >> it provides a perspective. and i think if you only looked at it in the here and now, you're missing the context. for me, legacy businesses, legacy bars and restaurants are really about setting the context for how we come to be where we are today. >> i just think it's part of san francisco.

people like to see familiar stuff. at least i know i do. >> in the 1950s, you could see a picture of tommy's joint and looks exactly the same. we haven't change add thing. >> i remember one lady saying, you know, i've been eating this ice cream since before i was born. and i thought, wow! we have, too. ♪ >> good morning. good morning! all right. i am mohammed nuru. i serve as a city's director of public works. and the chairman of the transbay joint powers authority board of directors. on behalf of our board, i want to welcome you to the salesforce

transit centre and the salesforce park. i will also be introducing you today to our masters of ceremony. the former mayor, willie brown, in a few moments to begin the program. before that, i want to start by personally thanking all of you for coming. you have been waiting for this day for a long time. you all received a commemorative pin and that is our official opening date. august 11th, 2018. that is eight years to the date of the actual groundbreaking for the center. four years ago, i had the honor of being appointed to the tjpa board by mayor ed lee. i have watched this project, weather at challenging times and come together and exceed our expectations. the salesforce transit centre is the true regional partnership

designed to help bay area commuters get to and from their destinations. it also will become a destination all over town with beautiful gardens, and out court -- outdoor amphitheater, public arts, and the children's play area. in the future, there will be cafés, and great places to shop. the center mean so much to our city. a mean so much to our economy. the south of market neighborho neighborhood, and the future of transit. at this time, i would like to take a moment to introduce and welcome my fellow board members. jeff key is that by -- vice chair, james davis, greg hopper, supervisor jane kim, boris linkedin, ed risk in, nadia's essay, bruce r. instead, lisa

ortiz, to me chan chan and former board member from transit. [applause] >> also i would like to give a shout out to the project team which was guided by the tjpa and ron alameda from public works as well as all the staff from all the various agencies who worked on this project. let's give them a round of applause. [cheers and applause] >> this project, as many of you no kak has serious financial and schedule challenges that required a deep design or construction experience-based leadership approach. the creation of the salesforce transit centre provided san franciscans with thousands of new permanent jobs and tens of thousands of union jobs. in fact, between workers and materials, nearly every single

state in the united states contributed to this project in some way. more than 5 million -- [applause] >> more than 5 million work hours where we logged for this center and we exceeded our city's a local hiring requirement. how about another applause for that. [applause] >> we have a great program at hedge. before we get started, i would like to take a moment to acknowledge the late mayor, ed lee. mayor ed lee was instrumental in making sure that we would be sitting here today. he made sure that the transit centre was delivered in a physically responsible way and that it would be topped with a beautiful public park. he always shied away from taking credit because he just wanted to get the job done.

but today, let us say thank you to mayor ed lee. [applause] >> now it is my great pleasure to introduce our mc, former san francisco mayor, willie brown. [applause] >> mayor -- mayer brown supported the demolition of the old seismically unsafe transbay terminal to make way for where we are standing today. he saw a promise of a new neighborhood, he saw the promise of affordable housing, and economic opportunities for projects like this would create or our city and our region. quite simply, without him, the transit centre would not have been possible. let us welcome our mc, former mayor, willie brown. [applause]

>> thank you very much for the very kind introduction. you will be introduced and presented to a whole lot of folks who are here who have something to do with the center. but none more probably than the two people in the halls of the legislature. one, a member of the assembly and one of the senate to, at the time, that was needed to get the state on the right plan page for the center. i am speaking of course, of john l burton. where are you? and nancy skinner. [applause] >> john is somewhere. i thought he was, anyway. of course, there would be be no

possibility without the consistency in the mayor's office provided by none other than the man who is going to be governor and will be called upon to finish financing. [laughter] >> every aspect of what is not yet paid for. [laughter] >> of course, i am talking about gavin newsom. [applause] >> the next lieutenant governor. there will be some other people who we will run into as time rolls on. let me tell you, in the process, some of them will be making remarks. as they make the remarks, i will occasionally drop by. i want to get all of the business parts here. in my new role in life now, i do not offend anybody. [laughter]

>> under any circumstances. it is better that way, for me and for them and for my clients. [laughter] >> so we will proceed in the proper order. i didn't go through the briefing. they had a flow of program briefing. and i was kept so busy visiting that i want to apologize to the people who plan to this event because i am winging it all the way. and in the process of winging it, i know exactly how this program should start. this program should start with none other than the 45th mayor of san francisco, the second woman ever to be the mayor of the city, and the second african-american to be mayor of the city. but none of those things qualify her as much as her interest in every aspect of the quality of life for everybody in this city, regardless of their station in life and early on, she helped

orchestrate the process by which resources were made available so that, in fact, as this fabulous centre would be a real reality. ladies and gentlemen, the mayor of the city and county of san francisco, my friend, london read. [cheers and applause] -- london breed. >> mayor breed: good morning everyone. welcome to the salesforce transit centre. at this place is absolutely beautiful. as a youngster, i used to come to the old place and i don't know if any of you are old enough to remember what it looked like, but it was a dark and dreary place. one that we try to avoid, or at least we went running to meet to get the greyhound bus faster than we would have liked to. this is an incredible accomplishment. not just for san francisco, but

for the entire region. the entire state of california. this represents san francisco at our best. it reflects our commitment to innovation, to transportation, environmental sustainability, adds community development. it also shows what we can accomplish when we work collaboratively, together. this project could have not happened without our regional state and federal partners, many of them who are here with us today. the salesforce center will make transit a seamless, easy, convenient and a very pleasant experience. i just walked across a beautiful bridge, that starting sunday, will bring people directly from the bay bridge into the heart of san francisco. it is critical that we build our infrastructure, our transportation infrastructure, not just for what we are going to do today, but for how we are going to grow in the future.

our city is growing with jobs and people, adds we need to do a better job of moving everyone around through this region. this transit centre will do just that. the transit center goes far beyond a transportation hub. it is a thriving place of economic activity. it helps with critical housing needs and it creates new open space while also protecting the environment. this project as a catalyst for providing much needed affordable housing. over 3,000 homes, and 41% of those homes will be affordable. i am confident that this spectacular centre will quickly become a worldwide destination with its beautiful public art, beautiful rooftop parks, with free events, activities, shopping and dining, i do not blame us if you missed your bus.

because you are so distracted by everything that is going on around you. i want to take this opportunity to thank so many incredible people who made this possible. of course, our extraordinary leader, nancy pelosi who is fighting the good fight. [applause] >> mayor breed: in washington d.c.. she has not only been a fierce advocate for this project, but she continues to fight for all the needs of our city and our region. i want to thank the transbay joint powers authority under the leadership of mohammed nuru. our assembly members david hsu and phil tang, are state senat senator, and also members of the board of supervisors who are here today. you will be hearing later from supervisor jane at kim who represents this district, as well as my, well, i was gorgeous

a colleague, but new supervisors, vallie brown and raphael madeleine, as well is our city attorney who is here today and our sheriff. thank you all so much to the numerous departments. all the workers. all of the people that made this project possible. what an extraordinary and beautiful place and what an amazing representation of san francisco at its best. i am looking forward to seeing this place packed with people, with kids, with activity and vibrancy. make sure that you don't miss your bus. thank you. [applause] >> at each stage of the decision-making process involved in this project, legal representation was more than important. it was totally and completely necessary in the decisions that

had to be made quickly. no one provided better skill and guidance in that regard then our own city attorney who is here in the front row. [cheers and applause] >> on many of those calls, they ended up being received in washington by none other than the congressional representative from this particular part of our city. from day one, my administration, she always told her colleagues, anywhere there is dirt to be turned, we ought to finance it if it means something for the benefit of the people. that reflected itself at each stage. i don't think there is been any single project in san francisco affecting this region that didn't always have federal assistance provided by and

directed by and engineered by none other than the next speaker of the house. nancy pelosi. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, willie brown. and he said that about any project where there is dirt to be turned is true. i would say to him if the community is together and there is consensus on a project, i can sell it in washington by saying, there is agreement. if we provide the money for san francisco, dirt will fly. [laughter] >> thank you, willie brown. it is an honor to be here with you and to see that this venue had to replace something that was even dangerous to the public good. thank you for your leadership in

so many ways. it is visionary, for our city, both as our mayor and the speaker for so many years. i join you in recognizing assemblywoman skinner and john. john where is john? john burton for their leadership in getting us to this place and mayor breed. congratulations on the work you did as a supervisor and president of the board. but what you will be doing as mayor of san francisco, because we have more to do. especially with this project. it is wonderful to be here with so many members of the official family of san francisco in terms of the mayor, members of the board, the city attorney, they have been acknowledged as well as our members from the state legislature. david hsu, phil tang and as well as supervisor jane kim who is with us here. this is a representation of what can happen when people work together.

public, private, nonprofit. community. the word community has the word unity and it. if there is anything that demonstrates the unity of our community, the work of our skilled building trade workers to make this possible, let us applaud our union members who made all of this possible. [applause] >> when you see and when you tour, you will see the beauty that our artists at their architects made here. so typical of san francisco. san francisco is the city that knows how. mohammed, thank you for your ongoing leadership. we have come together again and again the first to break ground, and then to pour cement, and then to unveil the penrose awning. i understand sir penrose is here with us. that beauty up at all. and today, to cut the ribbon.

for something so spectacular, we will say to the rest of the country that these initiatives in our community are of national significance and modelled for the country. of all the things that mayor breed said about housing and economic development and jobs and success. i want to just say something about president barack obama. because this took resources over $400 million and even more of that from the american recovery investment act. [applause] >> one day after his inauguration, we passed the american recovery and reinvestment act. for our region, that meant a billion dollars for the central subway. studio parkway over $300 million, the caltrain

electrification, almost a billion dollars, over $400 million for this. closer to 700 if you add some of the appropriations. that bill was very very important to us. but the fact is, our community met the standards that our community would make. [applause] >> again, a model for the nation of national significance. i just want to say something, i am so glad that mohammed reference our dear mayor lee. he was so operational having being the chief administrative officer. he got things done. we certainly miss him but will always remember him and acknowledge him. that he saw, and so many of you gathered here, sought that this is a truly revolutionary initiative, appropriate for this

trail of innovation that we live in. the center does not only curb congestion and cut down commute, it transforms how we work and how we travel and how we live. and anything that has to do with infrastructure is about time. it is about time. the time we take people out of their cars pick the time the buses are not on the streets. it is about improving quality of life and improving quality of air. it is about the good health of our children. it is about the time we save and that all the big buses will be taken off the streets. some of you no kak you created it. it is a remarkable thing. i want to associate it with something going on in california at this moment. at this moment, we are suffering some terrible, terrible wildfires lack of intensity and density exacerbated by climate crisis. and what we are doing here is to

alleviate some of that. by removing our dependence on elements that would heat up the air. all that we are doing with mass transit and high-speed rail and all of those subjects are about making the planet a more wholesome place. lowering the temperature. lowering the heat. so we are all connected when we engage in infrastructure that is truly green. and this infrastructure, the sales floor transit center is truly green. for these and so many other reasons, i want to join in acknowledging everyone who played a role in this. i want to acknowledge maria, she was here for all of those things. the groundbreaking's and pouring of cement. now here today for the ribbon-cutting. mark from the tjpa, the executive director, thank you. where is mark? thank you for your leadership.

and yes, we are very proud to play a big role. we saw that it was very helpful with that and it helps to have a president who appreciates what we were trying to do here to help us to be on the appropriations committee and it helps to be speaker of the house to get the money. but it doesn't work unless there is all this matching initiative. whether it is the public paying their fair share in the bonding and the state and local commitments to its. this, today, is about community. let us thank everyone in our community for the role they played in making this initiative of such natural significance. people visit here want to do it where they live and also see that we have more to come. thank you very much. these. [applause] >> as indicated by nancy pelosi,

seldom, if ever it is a project of this size and this magnitude gets completed within the time period that any of us holds the public office. this project, is in particular, the beneficiary of a group of people who have handed it off from one time period to another, as they have managed to get themselves collected public office. the city embraced and scent david to to the board of supervisors. his colleagues made him the president of that board and in his capacity of the board, he cast the deciding vote to replace newsom with ed lee as the mayor of the city. and then he promptly took over and became a member of the california state assembly and in the process, literally became one of the god angels of what

happens with this transit centre. all the time, he had been part of the team, moving the project. ladies and gentlemen, a man who is a housing expert, as perceived by his colleagues in the legislatures, sustainable transportation, options, advocate, assembly member, david to -- chu. >> the son is signing to shining on the transit centre. grand central west is open for business. the sceptic said that we wouldn't make the tough decisions. we wouldn't choose the tough decisions to make it happen. what we chose differently, we chose to address the congestion on our freeways and our airpor airports. we chose to tackle the

environmental issues to reduce greenhouse gases. we chose to bring together the myriads of interest in our bay area. bringing together eight bay area counties to the center. bringing together 11 transit agencies to this centre. by the way, we have 60 more transit agencies to go. we have come so far. we have only been able to do it because it takes a village to create the transit village. and all of you have been those village leaders. i have the honor of helping to recognize a couple of the state partners who are responsible for this -- responsible for the vision, the design, helping to fund debt and helping to build it. thank you to stay partners. i know caltrain is represented today. they are represented here today. the california transportation committee. i have a number of california state legislative colleagues here.

representing berkeley, senator skinner. representing san jose, assembly member kara and representing oakland, assembly member rob popped up your act together with my colleagues and with all of you, the voters passed regional measure three in june. [applause] >> as he assembly leads, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that will go to help support this very project. there are to watch what hopes i want to mention as we move forward. last week, i had a meeting with fellow legislators from the states of washington and oregon. they do not want us to have the only grand central west on the west coast. they have a vision that we should be able to travel by train from san diego to l.a., to san francisco, to portland, to

seattle, and to vancouver. a west coast a vision for how we live. [applause] >> i have one additional hope and that is the hope for my 2-year-old son. i mentioned that word, high-speed rail. [applause] >> it is my hope that someday, my son gets on a train here that is like our experience of getting on b.r.t. and caltrain and he visits his friends in l.a. in the time it takes for me to visit my friend in san jose. some day that will happen. someday we will celebrate that. until that happens, we party on today here in california, here in san francisco. congratulations. [applause]

>> as i stated, it is one relay process after another for the resources that are needed to. san francisco has always been blessed in the halls of the legislature, even though we have very few members, so to speak, in terms of members. our members always seem to project themselves and present themselves and their colleagues embrace them and give them great assignments. the man that i am about to present to you is exactly in that category. you want to be nice to him because he is the budget chair. that means if and when there is a need for some immediate financing, he has the authority to leverage on behalf of san francisco in this region, on behalf of this project and we will hold him exactly to that. he did not have to leave the assessor's office and go to

sacramento but he chose to do that. now he has the responsibility and the obligation of making good on that. ladies and gentlemen, phil tang. chair of the budget committee. [applause] >> thank you mr speaker and mr mayor. yourself, leader pelosi, have always set the example for what responsible legislating is. for not just san francisco, before the bay area. i think we see our responsibility in ourselves, all of us to make sure that san francisco and the entire region gets the resources it needs to continue to be the economic powerhouse that it is. we have seen what happens today when we do not have enough housing at enough transit. we've done a phenomenal job creating jobs. our economy is doing incredibly well and we have a chance at a

challenge to move people around. that is what this transit hub is. this transit hub signals not just to san franciscans, but really people all over the bay area and people all over northern california that we are a region. unless we think regionally, but it can move people regionally and house people regionally. we will not be successful. they used to be a time when the city could go it alone and do it by itself. but that time has long gone. week are a complete region. sent this sculptor san francisco post's future is tied to oakland, berkeley, as it is to silicon vallie and san jose. our region has to work this way. we need to step up and sat -- sacramento and that is what we do every single day. i am proud to chair the bay area caucus and we are a caucus but we are fighting for the critical