tv Government Access Programming SFGTV August 29, 2018 8:00am-9:00am PDT
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thank you. >> thank you. do we have anyone else -- any other members of the public that would like to comment? mr. hague, welcome. >> scott hague, public merchants california. i would echo what mr. cornell said. number one issue, a seat at the table, and that has not changed. that's still a major issue, and i think the commission should ask the mayor to ask the departments and the supervisors to go to the small business commission and look at the input on things that they're putting forth that affect small business. and ideally, the input should be while the policy is being put together, not after it's
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been finalized. one of the major complaints of small business is we're brought in late in the process. and you saw that with the fpla. and surprisingly enough on that, not a single supervisor brought that to the commission due to the efforts of regina, it came before the commission and others. but that should be something that the mayor should ask the supervisors to bring this before the commission, before that type of -- well, certainly, before the commission, period, ideally, before policy is developed. the second thing is, and it was a recommendation, is buy local. and i'd like to see the commission recommend the buy
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local policy, working, obviously, with shop and dine, because it already exists, but expanding shop and dine and taking it to the point of encouraging employees to buy local and encouraging departments to buy local. as you all know, the numbers are very significant there, and the numbers of the city and assistance to businesses is really important, and hopefully, the commission could recognize that. thank you. >> thank you. kevin. >> hello. everyone, my name is aaron estevel. i am a merchant in then park. -- glen park.
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i just saw the agenda this evening. i've been involved as a merchant in san francisco for many years now. just want to point out that a lot of our contractors are also small businesses, and make also along with recommendation, some consideration for l.b.e.s under chapter 14, i believe it is. and san francisco tends to be a bit punitive when they get extra powers on, you know, mitigation costs and things like that, so i just wanted to bring that up along with your guys's recommendations, okay? thank you. >> thank you. >> hello, again, carlos gomez. hispanic chambers of commerce san francisco. i would more like to reiterate what steven and scott are saying in terms of participation. when we aren't on the menu, we aren't at the table. the most important is we have all representation from businesses and organization in
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anything that has to do with the creation or the support or the development for small businesses because the fact is that when it comes down to have people that may or may not have the expertise in writing contracts or incentives that will affect the economy of the small business, i think it's important to be sure that we are included in the process. i want thank you for the work that you're doing, the work that you're going to have coming in, but i want to make sure you represent the small businesses organization. thank you. >> sunshine, come on up. >> >> hi, everyone. i'm sunshine powers.
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now that you know me, you can call me sunny. it's not easy to have businesses in san francisco. it used to be the easiest city to have a small business, and now it's the hardest to have a small business. and small business is a backbone of who we are as a city. the points that i touched base on at the policy summit were the following. we have an absurd amount of vacant storefronts here in the city. there only be $765 charge, you know, a year, to these landlords, that's not okay. i highly recommend that the small business commission encourages the mayor to up this price instead of having it be a year fee, have it double after a certain amount of months and then double again, and maybe, also have you all work with people who are graduating from college who are interested in pop ups, if you want to see if
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they're into owning a small business so that we could fill some of these vacant storefronts, but also create another generation of strong business owners that can take this city into the future. being on the corner of haight and masonic, i've had eight years of road construction, every year, including five gas leaks during my busiest time. and again, all the road construction happens in the three months that i normally make all my money in because i lose money in all the other months. why it is not -- why d.p.a. or m.t.w. doesn't work more with the merchants in the area is beyond me. and if m.t.a. or d.p.w. was a small business, i don't think they would survive with how they act. it's like they do one project, and then, they tear the whole street up again, and they do
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another project. it should be more concentrated. and since we do have the highest minimum wage but also the highest cost of living, i implore the small business commission to encourage when we're building this affordable housing that a percentage of it goes to people who work in the neighborhood to encourage small businesses to have employees, to keep our costs down, do business better, and ensure that our businesses keep ongoing. thanks very much. >> thanks very much. >> hi there. i'm bob quinones. i'm the executive director of the counsel of merchant
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organization, and i also run the west portal merchants. we touched on a lot of -- i was on the policy transition team, as well, and we touched on a lot of great points. i just want to highlight activation in these merchant corridors, the way that stores are attempting to pull customers into their stores, we should be doing this on a street wide level as well, so as we all know, this is an activity rich city. there's festivals every weekend, and we know what happens. it pulls people from one area to another. some corridors are doing this very well. others need help. the fact is we're not really getting a lot of help from the city. the fees that are assessed are really high. sfpd fees, m.t.a., bus reroute
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fees, they really affect our effectiveness, how to activate these neighborhood corridors, so i just want to put some attention on that, as well. thank you very much. >> thanks very much. do we have any other members of the public that would like to comment? >> my name is ryan. i wasn't planning on speaking, but i read that thing, and sunny, you inspired me. i'm on the san francisco board of democrats, and a few others. i live in the castro, and it breaks my heart to see all these small businesses go out of business and then vacant for years. you guys are smarter and probably have heard this problem, but i just want to reiterate what she said and put my stamp of approval and, you know encourage you to address it. but. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. all right.
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someone out there hasn't said anything yet. all right. no other members of the public want to comment on this item? all right. seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioners, do we have comments? commissioner zouzounis? >> sure. thanks, everyone for your input, and it's exciting to see some of the democratic club be involved in this conversation because small business doesn't often have a lot of representation when -- in some of those electoral heavy bodies. so some stuff i want to add on and comment and highlight. so it's -- you know, some of the summary talks about how san francisco small businesses need to be involved more in advocating for housing and other greater community projects. i think part of that is that we are involved, we just don't have p.r. around it, showing, you know, whether it's merchant groups sponsoring things, like internships or events or just the revenue from the taxes we
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pay and what those fund? so i would say that we need, you know, better p.r. to show the community involvement that small businesses work on. i like the highlight of better interagency collaboration with oewd and office of tax and treasurers office. i think brainstorming tools in which we can hold other departments accountable to the conversations we have around small business is something that this commission can brainstorm so what kind of actual accountability tools for other departments involved in that conversation. more tech support for all business, that's something that's come up before, especially the immigrant owned, and little harder to reach businesses, how to involve themselves of on-line platforms, which ones to vet. i know in the convenience store industry, we're constantly being hit with scams, and
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there's, like, a lock of resources for how to deal with that. i was just talking to someone. there's an e.b.t. scam going around, so a lot of the stores that work with the federal government, e.b.t. systems, there's( there's predatory scams going on. i like the workforce small business connection resources for how to become a workers' cooperative, and i like that we identified areas of the workforce. you know, people who have priors, youth, that sort of thing. i would like to see that paired with industries that those people are working in and how to support those industries because we don't really have a breakdown of -- trying to find the way that that was on. -- page that that was on. we don't really have a breakdown of the sector where those constitch -- oh, yeah, here it is, targeted communities closely aligned with communities identified by
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the office of economic and workforce development, so those communities, where are they already working, so how do we support that industry and make sure that that workforce doesn't become more vulnerable, i would like to do that. and i think that that's it for my comments. >> okay. any other commissioner comments? >> well, i agree with some of the speakers talk about, like, especially a seat at the table, they've been talking about it for the past couple of years. and so far, i don't think we have a solution for that yet, so maybe that's something we need to work on. and also, the charter, i think that that's developed, but we should include it into our recommendation. >> yeah. maybe -- maybe some outreach -- as we get new supervisors, i think it's important for us to reinforce the reason that this
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commission exists and why it exists on, you know, because the voters approved it. and so it's -- their very constituents that we're here on their behalf and at their behest, and so we have an obligation to, you know, to recognize this commission and to do the things that this commission is here for, and that is review legislation prior to its enactment as to how it affects small businesses. so it would help, as we get new supervisors, to have some kind of an indoctrination program, a new one, an orientation, why we exists. everyone knows why the planning commission is here, everyone knows why the ethics commission is here, but not everyone knows why the small business commission is here, so that could be something we could look into. >> through the vice president,
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so i -- in reading this, and this has also been an issue with the round table, as well, or something that was discussed and -- it's -- it's under, i think, item number nine in the first section, insufficient resources for technology needs for small businesses to develop efficient interactions with city agencies. so this could be a commitment that this office can commit to or say that it will take a specific action on and what the time frame period is, but we have had some discussion around working with the tax and treasurer's office to identify alternate e-mails. so -- and this could be something that we work out with the tax and treasurer's office when a business registers so
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when that business registers, both the office of small business could send an introductory e-mail because i think a lot of times with the permitting and opening issues is there are many businesses that we still get engaged with but sort of down the road and say i wish i knew about you, so there's still an ample opportunity for our office to improve and increase its outreach to the business -- to newly opening businesses to make sure that they understand and nknow what resources are here for them. so this could be one thing, a recommendation that we could make to the mayor. and then, of course, is the mayor knows about it and is supportive of it, then, we will get that much more support in making that happen. i also -- there's been -- there was lots of discussion around streamlining permitting and the engagement in the permitting
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process and communication, and so i don't think many businesses know about 49 vanness, which is going to be the new facility and offices for d.b.i., d.p.w., d.p.h. will have some resources there, the planning department. so many of those agencies are going to be in one building, and on the second floor is going to be a -- one floor for all permitting for those agencies. so we're also going to -- the police department is going to be there, the office of small business is going to have a small seat -- excuse me, a small space there. d.p.h. is going to be there, the entertainment commission. so all the regulatory -- key regulatory agencies -- and fire
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is going to be there. so that's going to have a streamlining component. but what this also brought to mind is we're starting to discuss the technology that's going to be developed and established with 49 vanness is a need to ensure that it's integrated with the on-line business portal. you will be receiving, at the end of the year -- this has been delayed because the assistance that the portal team provided to the office of cannabis, but more applications going on-line, being able to submit them on-line and pay for them on-line. and that integration with those agencies through the business portal. so if that's an interest to the commission, then, we can make that recommendation to ensure that it's a recommendation. we can't mandate the department of technology work to integrate, but if that recommendation is made to the mayor, then perhaps the mayor
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can make that. >> sure. that's a reasonable recommendation. commissioner ortiz-cartagena. >> sure. definitely i agree with everything. there should be some cultural sensitivity, because all small businesses, we're minority and we're fighting the same fight, but in my neighborhood in the mission, language is a barrier, culture is a barrier, and being sensitive to those neighborhoods in particular, or in chinatown or any neighborhood, the city should have the obligation to know the culture and the community they're trying to serve, and the impact they're having. again, just like president dwight said, we are the voice of the small business, and for supervisors not to bring things to our attention prior to them seeing it, that's not cool. so definitely take this into account, letting the supervisors, like you said, president dwight, no what we
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are and what we're here for. and i guess the last thing is try again in this -- and everybody says it, everybody that's attended, but making sure that other departments don't operate in silos. if the sfmta has a project, make sure the d.p.w. knows because they have to have an impact. sometimes there's been studies when they do project, and they said yeah, there's going to be a loss of about 20% of small business, and that's not acceptable. they don't have to make payroll, they don't have to make lease payments, so they have to be conscious of that, and that's what we're here for. >> any other commissioners like to comment? >> can i just -- >> commissioner zouzounis in. >> -- follow up on that? i think i agree and something that the community that i come from, sting operations and enforcement is an area of -- where cultural sensitivity needs to be part of the conversation, especially in light of immigration laws and
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the travel ban. i think a conversation with sfpd and department of public health. and we've had sting operate -- like, two sting operations or one sting within several months in which we have undercovers coming into my family's store, and we've had reports some other businesses that -- comments about people's religion have been made, so there's definitely complaints, and there's not really an avenue about how to make complaints around enforcement and cultural sensitivity issues, so i'd love to have that be a topic, as well. >> any other commissioner comments? all right. so there was a discussion item. >> so commissioners, i also will be working with oewd to create recommendations to the
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mayor. so i will take your feedback, incorporate it, and then -- and then send you a set of recommendations. i -- in addition, i just would like to just hear -- also get a little bit of a response from you in terms of also making a recommendation for vacant storefronts. in addition to prices and things of that sort, i think the city needs to also understand the cost of doing business is also preventing business expansion, as well, and the challenge of hiring people from some feedback that i've heard from other businesses, so they're choosing to expand outside the city and not within the city. and then, the other element, since we have it on our to do for the legacy business program in developing guidelines, we're
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first going to develop guidelines on how to do vertical divisions so that you can separate out the commercial space and the -- for mixed use building and the residential space in the t.i.c.s, but to also move into supporting commercial condos in the vertical subdivision so that we can condoize just the commercial space and not the residential space. and incentives because as commissioner dooley has talked about for many years that there are long-term vacancies where the property owners just not choosing to rent the commercial space. so if we can develop some kind of incentive to help them go through those vertical subpositions and create commercial condos. >> okay. all right.
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great. so you will make the latest changes and updates and pass that onto the mayor's office. next item. >> item five, update and report. updates on the small business commission. updates on policies, announcements from the mayors and small business activities. >> thanks to all of you who came out tonight. thanks very much. >> discussion item. >> commissioners, i just have a very brief oral report. so if we do not -- there's -- i just -- commissioner adams has question questioned this, whether we might want to have a meeting at the end of august. we do not have any legislation scheduled, and our next legacy business presentation is the first meeting of september, so i might be reaching out to you on that.
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so at one of the september meetings, we will be presenting -- i'll have rhea present to you a program that we are putting together from the a.b.e. from that additional $4 that we're collecting to help support small businesses that are being required to comply with the accessible business entrance program by their property owners, so we have some funding and -- from that $4 so we're developing a program that we'll be able to disburse that with which to help our small businesses. and then, i have mentioned that we are relocating our offices from 110 to 140. i have now been given that november is the date that that is happening, so just to let you know that. and then, for our september meeting, we will be hearing three pieces of legislation. there's been some updates introduced from the department of public health around the
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in the mission that is gentry find and all that, it's a good example. we highlight the negative, but it's a good example to highlight the positive and make money. i wanted to give a shoutout to my kids at home, love you guys. [laughter] >> all right, there you go. >> get ready for bed! >> any other commissioners want to shout out to their families? all right -- i don't have anything to report. do we have public comment on commissioner's report? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> item 7, new business, allows
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commissioners to introduce new agenda items for future consideration by the commission . before they come to the commission, they are planning on having meetings with merchants. at least three of them. 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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>> 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
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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
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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] ♪
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>> 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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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. >> for the first time in nearly two decades fishers have been granted the legal right to sell
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fish directly to the package right off their boat -- to the public right off their boats in san francisco. it's not only helping local fishers to stay afloat but it's evoking the spirit of the wharf by resurfacing the traditional methods of selling fish. but how is it regulated? and what does it take for a boat to be transported into a floating fish market? find out as we hop on board on this episode of "what's next sf." (♪) we're here with the owner and the captain of the vessel pioneer. it's no coincidence that your boat is called the pioneer because it's doing just that. it's the first boat in san francisco to sell fish directly from the boat. how did you establish your boat into such a floating fish market? >> well, you know, i always thought that it would be nice to be able to provide fresh fish to the
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