>> all right. good morning, san francisco. [applause] >> welcome this morning. my name is miguel bustos, and i am the director for the center for social justice at glide, and we welcome you. [applause] >> before we get into our program, i just want to acknowledge some family friends that are here. we have sheriff hennessey, who's here. i saw her earlier. we have a glide board member, herby foster, who's here. we have janice mercanti, the founder of our organization. we have the reverend cecil williams, the man who started it all, and we have our

illustrious director here. ad glide, we believe it's about radical inclusion and love in all we do. not just in a few things, but in all we do. and this safer inside demonstration site is an example of unconditional love and radical conclusion for all. we're glad that you're here. we're glad that you care, and we're glad that you, too, believe that every single life is important and valued, and it's through this safer inside demonstration site that we want to show the rest of the world that it's about safety, it's about community, and dignity, something that we're all called by our makers to give one another, a sense of dignity, and so that's why we're here

today, and that's why we're glad you're here today, because you will help us spread the word of this wonderful work of unconditional love and radical inclusion. our first speaker really needs no introduction. she was born and raised here in this wonderful city of st. francis. she's been a stuanch supporter of sites like this since before she were mayor. she believes in caring, she believes in leading, and she believes in the fact that we all deserve dignity. so ladies and gentlemen, help me welcome the mayor of san francisco, mayor london breed. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, miguel, and thank you all so much for being here today. what a beautiful day in san francisco. i'm excited to be here in the tenderloin to talk about something that we know is a real challenge here, not just

in this particular neighborhood, but throughout the city. i want to thank safer inside for this incredible effort that has helped us to realize exactly what a facility like this would look like. many of you know that i pushed to start a task force back in 2017, one that brought people together to talk about the impacts of what it would mean to open up a safe injection site here in san francisco, and i want to thank so many of the people who participated in the task force, who sat and worked with people who spent an incredible amount of time to develop a report which leads us here today, an example what a site like this could actually look like. we are here today to save lives. that's what this is about. we know that we are in the midst of one of the worst public health crises of recent

memory. approximately 2 million americans across our country are struggling with substance abuse, disorders related to opioids. more americans are dying in one year than who died in the vietnam war. san francisco is not immune to those impacts, and we have an estimated 225,000 individuals who are injecting drugs. last year, 193 people died of drug overdoses, and if you walk on the streets of san francisco, you can see the heartbreaking symptoms of this every single day. people who are struggling with addiction that they cannot beat on their own, and worst of all, they are suffering alone without access to medical treatment that can actually save their lives. continuing with the status quo and just hoping that things will get better is not an

option. substance abuse is not simply going away because we don't want to see it. these type of overdose prevention facilities work. i've seen the results firsthand when i had an opportunity to travel to vancouver, canada, to see exactly how these places work and how they have saved lives. in fact, the insight location in vancouver, zero, zero overdoses in the 15 years of its existence. these sites are not about providing a place for people to use drugs, they're about using a proven approach to solving the health crisises. they will save city resources that we are currently spending

on the impacts of this crisis. it's estimated that one booth site could save san francisco up to $3.5 million by reducing hospital stays, hiv and help tie shelp -- hepatitis c overdoses. i want to show that these sites can be implemented in a clean, safe, and effective way. we are giving people the opportunity to see for themselves how these locations will work and voice any concerns or questions that they may have, so i want to invite folks to come and tour this facility. people who have questions, people who are uncertain about what this actually means, here's your opportunity in san francisco to see for yourself, as well as hear from health professionals, researchers, community representatives, and civic leaders who support bringing this proven approach

to san francisco. on monday, the california state legislature passed ab-186, which would allow san francisco to run a three-year pilot of safe injection sites. it is now up to the governor, and i am hopeful that he will sign this bill into law because safe injection sites help people in addiction and will help by reducing overdoses, reducing the drug uses on the streets and help get discarded needles off our streets. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: i want to thank all of those who participat participated on the task force in 2017. i want to thank senator scott wiener and susan egmon for their leadership on 186. i want to thank glide for continuing to be a leader for

pushing efforts that are controversial -- [applause] >> the hon. london breed >> the hon. london breed: -- but need to be done because it can save and change lives, a place of hope and a place of inspiration. thanks to janice and reverend katani for being here, and the work that you do in this effort, but also, the work every single day that you do for folks here in the tenderloin. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: i also want to thank the senior program director of programs for the glide foundation as well as reverend fong, who is here from chinatown community development. thank you so much. i want to thank the safer inside community who helped to sponsor this project and spent countless hours of putting it together in a way for people to see m.o.how it actually works. thank you to the tenderloin health improvement partnership

and to capital one design pro bono for their support. thank you to laura thomas, and she has been in this fight for so many years. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: one of the first persons to bring it to my attention and to really, you know, help me to understand exactly what it could mean, and she has been an advocate with the drug policy alliance for many, many years, and we are just one step closer to making what is your dream a reality, so thank you for your hard work. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you to the st. francis foundation, the st. anthony's foundation, the tenderloin health improvement partnership, and thank you to zendas, and the project leadership and design team, all of the people who came together and put in not only a lot of hard work, but a lot of love. love for the desire to make this a place about helping people and about saving lives. it matters, the work that you

are all doing and the work that we will continue to lead the way here in san francisco. we know that there continues to be legal challenges, but here in san francisco, we are not afraid. we have faced worse obstacles in trying to move this city and this country forward, and today, you find a community of people who will stand strong and who will fight to do the right thing. the lives of the people who we are trying to help are counting on it. thank you all so much for being here today. [applause] >> thank you, mayor breed, for those wonderful words. always inspirational. next i'd like to introduce to you another wonderful leader, a leader at glide that has been doing incredible work, helping us see the light, and that's our executive director,

rita shiman. >> thank you, miguel. good morning, mayor breed, i love being able to see that. good morning, and good morning community. it's a wonderful day. it's a day full of inspiration. you know, we're in the midst of the crisis that was somewhat described by the mayor. we're in the midst of a crisis today. what's the crisis? you know now the number one cause of death for people under the age of 50 in the united states is overdose. the age of 50 -- under the age of 50, the number one cause of death in the united states is overdose. every day, we see our brothers and sisters of all ages suffering from drug use disorder. they're in the streets, you see

their pain and suffering. i'll be repeating some of the things that the mayor said because it's worth repeating. here in san francisco, there are more than 22,000 folks using intravenous drugs. 33% of the overdose deaths that occur in san francisco occur right here in the tenderloin and south of market. the trauma we see in the streets is transferred to everybody in the community, whether you are suffering directly from addiction. we're all affected by this crisis. so why am i inspired today? because i just toured the overdose prevention demonstration site at glide with the mayor and many of you. we just saw a tool that could save lives, could save money, that is effective, rational,

compassionate, humane. we just saw something that works to end the overdose crisis. [applause] [inaudible] >> -- a demonstration site. when you enter it, you'll get a deeper understanding of what safe injections overdose prevention site is. safe injection environment creates or prevents overdose. safe injection environment prechbss overdose. safe injection saves lives. saving lives means people have a chance to get in real recover

recovery.so recovery. some people say we're just allowing people to use drugs. the -- [inaudible] >> there has never been an overdose death anywhere in the world for over 30 years in more than 120 safe injection overdose prevention sites operating in 65 cities in ten countries. never one life lost. [applause] >> san francisco rates in overdose deaths. it's a little lower than some other cities, and that's because we're good at getting services to the people. thank god for all the services available to all folks in san francisco, but we can save more

lives, and every life matters. every life matters. i'm super inspired because our safer injection overdose inside is all about the next -- [inaudible] >> i will keep repeating this. every life is worth saving, every life is worth saving. [applause] [inaudible] >> the surgeon general said that alcohol and drug dependency are not moral issues, they are chronic conditions of the brain that need to be understood. we know that studies of the

people who are challenged and susceptible to drug use disorders overwhelmingly have trauma, serious trauma in their past. these people are caught in a position that could easily befall any one of us. all of us deserve the dignity, love, and a sense of connection. all lives are worth saving. so i'm saying a lot, i'm repeating a lot today. hard science, evidence based, love and connection because it's this attitude and approach that is going to make our site successful. so tell everybody to come down to see the safer inside overdose prevention demonstration at glide. it'll be up through friday.

you can come and tour, and i especially want to thank, again, the cosponsors because glide is so happy to be hosting and one of the cosponsors with capital one design, drug policy alliance, st. francis foundation, st. anthony's foundation, tenderloin health improvement partnership, zen desk, and i want to mention a very important partner that helped us design this, and that is san francisco's drug users union. [applause] >> i have to give a special shout out to a few folks, paul harkins and janet ector and the glide harm reduction team. [applause] >> who make the love and services possible for our folks. as one person who helped us design the demonstration site said, thank you for thinking about our lives. so glide has something for everyone. come to glide so sunday's

celebration. we have famous fried chicken on thursdays. come help serve a meal, three times a day, 364 days a year. we're here for the whole community. everybody's life is worth saving, and that's why we're supportive positive safer inside safe injection overdose prevention sites. let's have san francisco lead the way. [applause] >> thank you, rita. i also want to acknowledge two of our health commissioners here: dan bernal and james loyce. thank you so much for being here and joining us on this special day. [applause] >> you know, it takes a village, and the city and county of san francisco, and especially the health department has been a really wonderful partner. and i want to acknowledge gary, who's here, the interim director, and i want to

introduce to you dr. barry zevin who's a specialist for the san francisco department of public health. [applause] >> similmer down. thank you very much. the -- i'm a physician. i'm trained as an internal medicine specialist and an addiction medicine specialist. i reviewed the literature on things related to people who use substances. i've been involved in the harm reduction movement for 25 years. i've been treating patients who use drugs for 30 years. t the -- i have had numerous

patients in the past 30 years die of overdose. i've had numerous patients die of substance use related disorders, preventible disorders. i have embraced the idea that we meet people where they're at, a very fundamental idea in harm reduction practice. what we know about people who inject drugs is there are numerous barriers to them being able to come in to a conventional medical office. there's barriers to treatment, there's barriers to care. we need to meet people where they're at, so i've been doing it for 30 years. this is a process that takes time. it takes time for individual people.

today, in the street, in the alley where our offices are, just as i was coming out to this, i saw an individual alone, sitting on the ground, injecting. that is just from a practical point of view, a big public health problem, and a big problem for that individual's health. we need to have a way that that person can come into a welcoming door. that is somebody who's injecting in the alley not because they want to be doing that outside, certainly not because they want to be dying outside, not because they don't want help. that's somebody who doesn't have a choice. there's not someplace else for that person to be in their current place in their current way. now we're going to outreach to

the alleys, we're going to outreach to the streets. my programs are outreach and shelter health. there are many other departments in the city of san francisco that are working in the streets, that are working in all kinds of places where substance users are. we need someplace that's compelling, someplace that will bring people in the door with the idea that i can trust this place, and it's going to be good for my health 'cause there surely are reasons why just saying hey, i'm a doctor, trust me, is not something that's going to work from the point of view of what our people's experience has been. this is a way for people to come into a door, a trustworthy door, and then have the -- have the experience of -- and someone used the word "love."

i'm going to use the word "love" too, a word that is not always associated with the public health care. but that is the first step. when somebody can feel that love, that's where the trust is, that's where the change is, and that's where the lives get saved. i -- you have heard from several people. i'll reiterate. the evidence, scientific evidence is very strongly in favor of this model of care. the evidence is strong that people want help. the idea that somebody that's using substances, it must be that they don't care about their health. i have 27 years of experience here in san francisco talking to thousands of people who, the first thing they say is i care about my health. there may be many barriers to may being able to care for myself, but it's not lack of

caring. okay. we reach people where they're at with that care. this is a step in that direction. can people change? i think that's one of the questions that ultimately comes up for a lot of people. i can usually convince people with the evidence, with the idea of just the practicality of a safer injection space, that this will reduce death and overdose, this will improve people's health. this will actually be something that people take advantage of. this is going to be something good for our community health. the question is is it something that will actually lead to change, and i've seen so many people who the smallest thing -- walking in a door that

they've walked in 100 times before, but today, they were greeted in a way that led to that change to know that it actually works, to change people's lives, saves people's lives, and it's something i'm looking forward to working with as i work with people wherever they are. so i want to thank my team, i want to thank the department of public health, i want to thank mayor breed especially for the incredible support of doing this, and these steps are small steps, but we're moving in the right direction, and that's what harm reduction is about, so i'm very grateful that we're here. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, dr. zevin. and i want to thank greg wagner. thank you so much for being here. well, ladies and gentlemen, that is it for today. we will have a spot for questions and answers for the press right over here on this

side. come to glide, come see what we're doing. come see the miracles that happen, not just today but every single day, and we look forward to seeing you. thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen. [applause] [music] >> san francisco city clinic provides a broad range of sexual health services from stephanie tran medical director at san francisco city clinic.

we are here to provide easy access to conference of low-cost culturally sensitive sexual health services and to everyone who walks through our door. so we providestd checkups, diagnosis and treatment. we also provide hiv screening we provide hiv treatment for people living with hiv and are uninsured and then we hope them health benefits and rage into conference of primary care. we also provide both pre-nd post exposure prophylactics for hiv prevention we also provide a range of women's reproductive health services including contraception, emergency contraception. sometimes known as plan b. pap smears and [inaudible]. we are was entirely [inaudible]people will come as soon as were open even a little before opening. weight buries a lip it could be the

first person here at your in and out within a few minutes. there are some days we do have a pretty considerable weight. in general, people can just walk right in and register with her front desk seen that day. >> my name is yvonne piper on the nurse practitioner here at sf city clinic. he was the first time i came to city clinic was a little intimidated. the first time i got treated for [inaudible]. i walked up to the redline and was greeted with a warm welcome i'm chad redden and anna client of city clinic >> even has had an std clinic since all the way back to 1911. at that time, the clinic was founded to provide std diagnosis treatment for sex workers. there's been a big increase in std rates after the earthquake and the fire a lot of people were homeless and there were more sex work and were homeless sex workers. there were some public health experts who are pretty progressive for their time thought that by providing std diagnosis and treatmentsex workers that we might be able to get a handle on std rates in san francisco.

>> when you're at the clinic you're going to wait with whoever else is able to register at the front desk first. after you register your seat in the waiting room and wait to be seen. after you are called you come to the back and meet with a healthcare provider can we determine what kind of testing to do, what samples to collect what medication somebody might need. plus prophylactics is an hiv prevention method highly effective it involves folks taking a daily pill to prevent hiv. recommended both by the cdc, center for disease control and prevention, as well as fight sf dph, two individuals clients were elevated risk for hiv. >> i actually was in the project here when i first started here it was in trials. i'm currently on prep. i do prep through city clinic. you know i get my tests read here regularly and i highly

recommend prep >> a lot of patients inclined to think that there's no way they could afford to pay for prep. we really encourage people to come in and talk to one of our prep navigators. we find that we can help almost everyone find a way to access prep so it's affordable for them. >> if you times we do have opponents would be on thursday morning. we have two different clinics going on at that time. when is women's health services. people can make an appointment either by calling them a dropping in or emailing us for that. we also have an hiv care clinic that happens on that morning as well also by appointment only. he was city clinic has been like home to me. i been coming here since 2011. my name iskim troy, client of city clinic. when i first learned i was hiv positive i do not know what it was. i felt my life would be just ending there but all the support they gave me and all

the information i need to know was very helpful. so i [inaudible] hiv care with their health >> about a quarter of our patients are women. the rest, 75% are men and about half of the men who come here are gay men or other men who have sex with men. a small percent about 1% of our clients, identify as transgender. >> we ask at the front for $25 fee for services but we don't turn anyone away for funds. we also work with outside it's going out so any amount people can pay we will be happy to accept. >> i get casted for a pap smear and i also informed the contraceptive method. accessibility to the clinic was very easy. you can just walk in and talk to a registration staff. i feel i'm taken care of and i'm been supportive.

>> all the information were collecting here is kept confidential. so this means we can't release your information without your explicit permission get a lot of folks are concerned especially come to a sexual health clinic unless you have signed a document that told us exactly who can receive your information, we can give it to anybody outside of our clinic. >> trance men and women face really significant levels of discrimination and stigma in their daily lives. and in healthcare. hiv and std rates in san francisco are particularly and strikingly high were trans women. so we really try to make city clinic a place that strands-friendly trance competent and trans-welcoming >> everyone from the front desk to behind our amazement there are completely knowledgeable. they are friendly good for me being a sex worker, i've gone through a lot of difficult different different medical practice and sometimes they weren't competent and were not friendly good they kind of made me feel like they slapped me on the

hands but living the sex life that i do. i have been coming here for seven years. when i come here i know they my services are going to be met. to be confidential but i don't have to worry about anyone looking at me or making me feel less >> a visit with a clinician come take anywhere from 10 minutes if you have a straightforward concern, to over an hour if something goes on that needs a little bit more help. we have some testing with you on site. so all of our samples we collect here. including blood draws. we sent to the lab from here so people will need to go elsewhere to get their specimens collect. then we have a few test we do run on site. so those would be pregnancy test, hiv rapid test, and hepatitis b rapid test. people get those results the same day of their visit. >> i think it's important for transgender, gender neutral people to understand this is the most confidence, the most comfortable and the most knowledgeable place that you

can come to. >> on-site we have condoms as well as depo-provera which is also known as [inaudible] shot. we can prescribe other forms of contraception. pills, a patch and rain. we provide pap smears to women who are uninsured in san francisco residents or, to women who are enrolled in a state-funded program called family pack. pap smears are the recommendation-recommended screening test for monitoring for early signs of cervical cancer. we do have a fair amount of our own stuff the day of his we can try to get answers for folks while they are here. whenever we have that as an option we like to do that obviously to get some diagnosed and treated on the same day as we can. >> in terms of how many people were able to see in a day, we say roughly 100 people.if people are very brief and straightforward visits, we can sternly see 100, maybe a little

more. we might be understaffed that they would have a little complicated visits we might not see as many folks. so if we reach our target number of 100 patients early in the day we may close our doors early for droppings. to my best advice to be senior is get here early.we do have a website but it's sf city clinic.working there's a wealth of information on the website but our hours and our location. as well as a kind of kind of information about stds, hiv,there's a lot of information for providers on our list as well. >> patients are always welcome to call the clinic for there's a lot of information for providers on our list as well. >> patients are always welcome to call the clinic for 15, 40 75500. the phones answered during hours for clients to questions. >> >>

>> 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 ca