rulers project for free wifi and developing projects and insuring patient state of at san francisco general hospital our it professionals make guilty or innocent available and support the house/senate regional wear-out system your our employees joy excessive salaries but working for the city and county of san francisco give us employees the unities to contribute their ideas and energy and commitment to shape the city's future but for considering a career with the city and county of san francisco >> i moved into my wonderful,sco beautiful, affordable housing march 7th. i have lived in san francisco since i was two-years-old.

i've lived in hunters view for 23 to 24 years now. my name is vlady. i use titus and i am the resident commissioner for the san francisco housing facility. from the very beginning, this whole transition of public housing and affordable housing was a good idea. but many, many residents didn't think it would ever actually happen. it's been a life changing experience. and i'm truly grateful for the whole initiative and all those that work on the whole sf initiative. they've done a wonderful job accommodating the residents, who for many years have lived in

delap tated housing. now they have quality housing. i was on a street where the living room and the kitchen and stairs. it wasn't large enough to accommodate. the children are grown. i had the accomplish of having a dishwasher in my home. i really like that. [laughter] i really like not having to wash dishes by hand. we still do it from time to time. the mayor's office has been a real friend to us, a partner. we know that our city supports us. i love san francisco. just to be able to stay in my community and continue to help the residents who live here and continue to see my neighborhoods move into new housing, it's been a real joy. it's been a real joy.

shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do their shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services within our neighborhoods, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> my name is ray behr. i am the owner of chief plus. it's a destination specialty foods store, and it's also a corner grocery store, as well. we call it cheese plus because there's a lot of additions in addition to cheese here. from fresh flowers, to wine, past a, chocolate, our dining

area and espresso bar. you can have a casual meeting if you want to. it's a real community gathering place. what makes little polk unique, i think, first of all, it's a great pedestrian street. there's people out and about all day, meeting this neighbor and coming out and supporting the businesses. the businesses here are almost all exclusively independent owned small businesses. it harkens back to supporting local. polk street doesn't look like anywhere u.s.a. it has its own businesses and personality. we have clothing stores to gallerys, to personal service stores, where you can get your hsus repaired, luggage repaired. there's a music studio across the street. it's raily a diverse and unique offering on this really great

street. i think san franciscans should shop local as much as they can because they can discover things that they may not be familiar with. again, the marketplace is changing, and, you know, you look at a screen, and you click a mouse, and you order something, and it shows up, but to have a tangible experience, to be able to come in to taste things, to see things, to smell things, all those things, it's very important that you do so. [♪]

>> i am the supervisor of district one. i am sandra lee fewer. [♪] >> i moved to the richmond district in 1950 mine. i was two years old. i moved from chinatown and we were one of the first asian families to move out here. [♪] >> when my mother decided to buy that house, nobody knew where it was. it seems so far away. for a long time, we were the only chinese family there but we started to see the areas of growth to serve a larger chinese population. the stress was storage of the birthplace of that. my father would have to go to chinatown for dim sum and i remember one day he came home and said, there is one here now. it just started to grow very organically. it is the same thing with the

russian population, which is another very large ethnic group in the richmond district. as russia started to move in, we saw more russian stores. so parts of the richmond is very concentrated with the russian community and immigrant russian community, and also a chinese immigrant community. [♪] >> i think as living here in the richmond, we really appreciate the fact that we are surrounded three natural barriers. they are beautiful barriers. the presidio which gives us so many trails to walk through, ocean beach, for families to just go to the beach and be in the pacific ocean. we also also have a national park service. we boarded the golden gate national recreation area so there is a lot of activity to do in the summer time you see

people with bonfires. but really families enjoying the beach and the pacific ocean during the rest of the time of year. [♪] >> and golden gate park where we have so many of our treasures here. we have the tea garden, the museum and the academy of sciences. not to mention the wonderful playgrounds that we have here in richmond. this is why i say the richmond is a great place for families. the theatre is a treasure in our neighborhood. it has been around for a very long time. is one of our two neighborhood theatres that we have here. i moved here when i was 1959 when i was two years old. we would always go here. i love these neighborhood theatres. it is one of the places that has not only a landmark in the richmond district, but also in san francisco. small theatres showing one or two films.

a unique -- they are unique also to the neighborhood and san francisco. >> where we are today is the heart of the richmond district. with what is unique is that it is also small businesses. there is a different retail here it is mom and pop opening up businesses. and providing for the neighborhood. this is what we love about the streets. the cora door starts on clement street and goes all the way down to the end of clement where you will see small businesses even towards 32nd. at the core of it is right here between here and 20 -- tenth avenue. when we see this variety of stores offered here, it is very unique then of the -- any other part of san francisco. there is traditional irish music which you don't get hardly anywhere in san francisco. some places have this long

legacy of serving ice cream and being a hangout for families to have a sunday afternoon ice cream. and then also, we see grocery stores. and also these restaurants that are just new here, but also thriving. [♪] >> we are seeing restaurants being switched over by hand, new owners, but what we are seeing is a vibrancy of clement street still being recaptured within new businesses that are coming in. that is a really great thing to see. i don't know when i started to shop here, but it was probably a very, very long time ago. i like to cook a lot but i like to cook chinese food. the market is the place i like to come to once a year. once i like about the market as it is very affordable. it has fresh produce and fresh meat. also, seafood. but they also offer a large selection of condiments and

sauces and noodles. a variety of rice that they have is tremendous. i don't thank you can find a variety like that anywhere else. >> hi. i am kevin wong. i am the manager. in 1989 we move from chinatown to richmond district. we have opened for a bit, over 29 years. we carry products from thailand, japan, indonesia, vietnam, singapore and india. we try to keep everything fresh daily. so a customer can get the best out a bit. >> normally during crab season in november, this is the first place i hit. because they have really just really fresh crab. this is something my family really likes for me to make. also, from my traditional chinese food, i love to make a kale soup.

they cut it to the size they really want. i am probably here once a week. i'm very familiar with the aisles and they know everyone who is a cashier -- cashier here i know when people come into a market such as this, it looks like an asian supermarkets, which it is and sometimes it can be intimidating. we don't speak the language and many of the labels are in chinese, you may not know what to buy or if it is the proper ingredients for the recipe are trying to make. i do see a lot of people here with a recipe card or sometimes with a magazine and they are looking for specific items. the staff here is very helpful. i speak very little chinese here myself. thinks that i'm not sure about, i asked the clerk his and i say is this what i need? is this what i should be making? and they actually really helped me. they will bring me to the aisle and say this is battery. they are very knowledgeable. very friendly. i think they are here to serve not only the asian community but to serve all communities in the

richmond district and in san francisco. [♪] >> what is wonderful about living here is that even though our july is a very foggy and overcast, best neighborhood, the sleepy part outside on the west side is so rich with history, but also with all the amenities that are offered. [♪] >> the hon. london breed: well, i know the road to get here wasn't easy, but we all came together to make sure that we provide the support that will make hopefully a difference in what you receive in your

paychecks. this discussion started over a year ago at the board of supervisors and it's one that i'm committed to. thanks to the tireless work and dedication of everyone here today, we now have an ordinance that will create a path to success for those who take care of our most vulnerable communities. this starts first with our in home support services workers. these are people who support our seniors and persons with disabilities so they can remain in their homes and in their communities. they help with tasks that we often take for granted, like getting groceries or taking a bath or going to the doctor. i know personally about the importance of this difficult work and how challenging it can be. it was in home support services workers who took care of my grandmother when she could no

longer take care of herself. we have more than 20,000 workers who support 22,000 low-income seniors and people with disabilities in san francisco. and if it was not for this important work, these individuals do every day so many of our seniors and difficults living with disabilities would not be able to stay in their homes and get the care that we know they need. in addition to our in home support services workers, we have many nonprofit organizations who provide essential services in san francisco to those of all income levels and backgrounds. this ranges from homelessness to workforce development, housing, domestic violence prevention to child care and so many others. these workers are on the front lines of taking care of our most vulnerable communities, our in home support services and nonprofit workers provided

tremendous support and care for so many throughout san francisco, but they often are paid the least and, like so many of our residents, are too often struggling to get by in an expensive city like san francisco. san francisco has always demonstrated a commitment in supporting our lowest wage workers. when the governor significantly reduced financial support to counties for in home support services programs, san francisco stepped up to fill in that gap. we have led the way in raising our minimum wage to one of the highest in the country, and we are continuing that leadership today with this legislation. the negotiations were difficult, very difficult, and they were long, but that's because we all knew the importance of making sure that everyone had a seat at the able in this conversation.

as a result, we have an ordinance that reflects our commitment in taking care of what are the lowest wage earners in san francisco and moving them to a better place although we know they deserve a lot more. our in home support service workers will see a wage increase of $3.75 from their current wage over the course of next five years. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: the minimum ordinance will also raise the wages of our cities, contracted nonprofit workers for $1.50 over their current wage effective july 1 of 2019. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: and we should also mention the minimum compensation ordinance and how it's impacted the airport workers and their increase. this is part of my commitment as mayor to make sure that all san franciscans have equal access to opportunities and can live in

the communities they serve. san francisco has some of the highest paying jobs in the nation, but we need to make sure that our economic success doesn't leave low and middle-income families behind. by harnessing our thriving economy, we can lift up those communities who have been left behind for far too long and give them opportunities to succeed. this includes investing in why we are here today, and i am just really grateful for your hard work and the work that you continue to do to take care of so many of our elderly and disabled folks throughout san francisco. and at this time, i'd like to bring up supervisor sandy fewer, who was a lead sponsor on this legislation. [applause] >> supervisor fewer: thank you, mayor breed. i'd like to thank a couple of

people here today that actually helped to make this happen. of course our labor partners and their leaders here today. suiu 1021 and 1015. without their urging and direction, i don't think this would have happened, and their tenacity, actually to stay at the table. i'd also like to thank my cosponsors, supervisor ronen, yee, and kim, and to recognize with us today supervisor jeff sheehy who actually started this conversation. [applause] >> supervisor fewer: and then, i would also like to take a moment to thank our mayor, mayor breed, and her wonderful staff who came back again and again and again at the table to come to an agreement to serve these workers in san francisco. i am honored to have helped create this legislation and to be part of this historic moment. this legislation is important

for three reasons: one, the immediate relief that it will give to over 20,000 of our low wage workers. these workers who take care of our elderly, our disabled, people who staff our nonprofits, they are struggling to make ends meet in this city, and who are they? they make $15 an hour in our city. the average age of 58 years old, and 78% of them are women, and almost 80% of them are people of color. they are on the verge of homelessness themselves. second, this legislation demonstrates that we value this workforce. they do important necessary work that binds our community together, at that allows our seniors and disabled to age in their own homes and with greater health out comes and also to greater mobility. and so i think it's so important that this legislation actually lifts up the work that they do,

and the city as a whole recognizes how important that work is. and third, this reinforces our commitment to seniors and people with disabilities, children and their families, and we are planning for the future of our senior population that will increase 69% from 2010 to 2030. this, to be frank, is not a living wage in san francisco. this will give workers some relief, but this is definitely not a living wage in san francisco. we are experiencing the largest wealth gap that we have ever had historically in san francisco, and these workers will continue to struggle as they do their hard work. this legislation today actually gives them some relief, but let's just be frank. it is not a living wage here in san francisco. i think it's important to do this, because this is the right thing to do. in a city where the economy is

booming, where some of our low-income and moderate wage workers wh workers should have a piece of the pie. we don't leave anyone in this city behind, people who makeup the fabric of what san francisco is and who we are. this is a bold statement, and i just want to honor everyone who was at the table and thank you to mayor breed and her staff once again for coming to this agreement. i'd like to take a moment, also, to introduce my colleague, hillary ronen, who was so instrumental working with me on this legislation. supervisor ronen? [applause] >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much, supervisor fewer. i just wanted to make two quick points. thank you to the mayor. one of your biggest budget commitments that you've made to this workforce says a lot about your values, and we just want to thank you so much for that incredible, incredible commitment. and then, number two, this piece

of legislation really shows and reminds us what san francisco is all about. not only do we do the morally right thing by our incredible workers who give so much love and support to our seniors and our homeless population, and so many who are struggling to survive here in san francisco, but this legislation is smart planning. we have an exploding senior population in san francisco, and we don't have the infrastructure to take care of this population. we have a homeless crisis raging in our streets, and we depend on nonprofits who aren't able to hire the workforce to take care of those struggling the most. this legislation is so forward thinking, and that's what san francisco is known for. we have the heart but also the brain to do the right thing and to think about our future. so congratulations, everyone. this is a wonderful, wonderful

day, and a huge round of applause to my colleague, supervisor fewer, who is a fighter through and through. and it was so fun to work with her on this lemgislation. >> supervisor fewer: and now i'd like to introduce from the labor council rudy gonzales. [applause] >> good morning. i have to tell you that there are a lot of things that are left unfinished. it's important, coming from the labor movement where miners and long shore men were murdered in this city for standing together. wow, is it a sign of the times that our workers were able to stand together from electricians to teachers, airport workers, everybody stood shoulder to shoulder to make sure this important legislation was realized. i want to take a moment to recognize the leadership of our labor council. without their leadership and

mentorship of this council, we wouldn't have been able to do this. we're used to be attacked, or used to being the resistance in a moment of resistance. it's okay to celebrate these wins. we have a lot of thing that we disagree on policy wise, but this is a statement of value, and a time to celebrate because the lowest paid people in our city are getting the attention and commitment of this fine government, and this is an example of people coming to a table with leadership, an initiative that was started 18 months, when some people weren't even in elected office at the time and coming together and saying we're going to pick up the pieces, we're going to do our hard work and commit our staff, our hard work, our budget, and our values to the people who need it the most. when i say the people who need it most, i want to talk about the clients. we talk about our ageing population, but there are disabled children that need care. some of the most null verbal in our city who need -- vulnerable

in our city who need addiction treatment and housing services and supportsive services, they're being supported not only by our city workers in our city, but our nonprofit workers. i want to take a moment to recognize the incredible leadership of our mayor, mayor breed, who took this issue head on. [applause] >> supervisors fewer and ronen and supervisor yee, and everyone who voted to support this. supervisor kim, obviously. without people at the team and everybody in the supervisors' office who are dedicated to seeing this thing through, and all the courageous workers, that would not have been possible. i want to introduce you to one of the courageous workers, one of the people who gets this work

done, claudia, will you join me? claudia is a 25 year inhome health worker, and i wanted to let her say a few words about what she does. >> yeah. [speaking spanish language] >> yes. as rudy was saying, my name is claudia, and i'm an in home support care services worker. i've been doing this work for 25 years. of those 25 years, i've been involved in the union movement 22 of those years. i'm so excited to be here today. this is a historic moment today

as mayor breed signs this legislation that will have a huge impact on our lives. >> yes. [applause] [speaking spanish language] >> i also want to recognize the incredible and fierce leadership of several boards of supervisors who because of their leadership, we were able to get to this final deal. i feel like as a home care service worker that finally our work is being recognized, that we do have dignity and respect. [applause] [speaking spanish language]

>> i remember when mayor breed met with many of us workers of home care, and she actually has a home care story, as well, and she understands how difficult this work is, so i was not surprised when she made a decision to support this legislation. [applause] [speaking spanish language] >> and i just want to remind everyone, without a doubt, this has a tremendous impact on the roughly 20,000 home care providers here in san francisco, but the day after the election, this also sends a message that the city and county of san francisco has created a new standard for home care providers. that message will be sent across the country, across the region and throughout the state of california. thank you, si se puede.

[speaking spanish language] >> thank you, again, mayor and supervisors for your support and for your understanding and valuing the important work that we do. thank you. thank you. [applaus [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you all so much. and i'd like to also recognize other supervisors who have joined us today. it was a unanimous vote at the board of supervisors, including the leadership of the president of the board of supervisors, malia cohen is here. along with supervisor safai and supervisor yee. thank you for joining us. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: now, let's get to the important task, and i'm going to ask former supervisor jeff sheehy to join

us as the original sponsor of this legislation as we sign this very important piece of legislation to guarantee the commitment that we are making as a city for inhome support services workers and nonprofit workers in san francisco. thank you all so much for being here today.

[applause]

>> hi, i'm corn field and welcome to doing building san francisco, we are doing a special series, called stay safe, how you can stay in your home safely and comfortable, and we know that an earthquake is coming and there are things that you can do to reduce the effects of the earthquake on your home. let's take a look at that. >> here at the spur urban center on mission street in san francisco talking about staying in your home after an earthquake. i have guests today, pat buscavich and his dog, harvey and david, and both structural engineers and we want to talk about things that you might do before an earthquake to your home to make it more likely

that your home will be ha bitable after an earthquake, what should we do? both structural and maybe even important non-structural things. >> you hear about how to prepare an earthquake kit and brace your book shelves and water tank and that is important. what you have to be careful is make sure that you are not going the easy things to make yourself feel better. if you have a bad structure, a bad building, then you need to be looking at that and everything that you do to keep your collectables in place is small and compared. if you have taken care of your structure, then there is a lot of stuff that you can do in your house that is non-structural and your chimney and water tank. >> let's talk about what the structural things might be. >> and he is exactly right. you don't want to make the deck chairs safe on the titanic, it is going down, you are going down, you have to make sure that your house is safe. there are basic things that you need to do including bracing the water heater, not just

because of fire hazard but because of the water source and the damage, but basic things are installing anchor bolts, and adding plywood and strapping your beams to column and posts to footings and foundations are really easy things to do and most contractors can do the building department is set up to approve this work, and these are things that every home owner should do, and it is a little harder because you have to get a building permit and hire a contractor. but you want to be able to after a big earthquake to climb in bed that night and pull the covers up and say i don't have to worry about going to a government shelter. >> that is the main focus that it is great to have an earthquake kit to be able to bug out for 72 hours. here is a better idea, stay in your own home and in order to do that you have to be make sure that your structure is okay. if you have a house, the easy things to do with the wood construction is feasible. if you have a renter or you live in a concrete building,

you need to talk to the building own , and make sure they have done their due diligence and find out what the deficiencies are. >> when i have looked at damaged buildings,vy seen that a little bit of investment in time and money and structural work provides great dividends. >> especially if it is the wood frame, typical house that you can do the things that i was talking about, the anchor and the plywood in the first garage area, you know if you refinanced in the last three years, get some of that savings and it is a really good investment. and the other thing that i try to tell people, earthquake insurance is not the solution to the shelter in place, if there is a big earthquake and your building is damaged, you are not in your house, you may be somewhere else, if you work in the city, it is going to be really hard to commute from sonoma, you want to do what is necessary so that your house is retrofitted and a couple of years of earthquake premium could get you to a level that

you could be in the house after a significant earthquake and it may have damage and there is still a shelter in place where you are at home and you are not worried for the government taking care of you and you are living in a place where you can go to work and you want to have your wood frame house is really easy to get to that level. on top of the wood frame house, i mean every wood frame house in the west half of the city have a water tank and the water tank fall over because they are gas fired and start fires. and that is something that you could do for yourself, and for your neighbors and for the whole city is make sure that your water tank is braced. >> if you look at the studies that are predicting on fires, we are going to have a lot of fires and for every water tank that is braced there is a potential of one less fire that the fire department is going to have to fight and we don't want to have any more fires than we need to. so bracing the water heater is the first thing that you want to do. >> and so easy, and you go on-line and you google, earthquake, water and heater and you google the sites where

you can find the details and you can put them out there on the hardware store and you can hire a small contract tore do that for you. that is a couple of hundred bucks, the best investment. if you are in other types of building it is complicated. if you are in a high-rise building you just can't anchor your building down because there are no anchor bolts, but at that point, the tenant should be asking questions of the owner's and the managers about earthquake preparedness >> and don't take the easy answer, oh, our building is safe it was designed to code. that is not the right answer, ask the tough questions and see if you can get a report that has been given to you. >> what is the right question? will i be able to stay in my home after the expected earthquake? is that a good question to ask? >> yeah, you may be more specific if you talk to the owner, if it is not a recent building, if it is ten or 20 years old see if they had an inspection done and there you will have a written before that will tell you all about the

structure. >> thanks, pat. >> thanks, harvey. and thanks david for joining us and thank you for joining us on

>> when i open up the paper every day, i'm just amazed at how many different environmental issues keep popping up. when i think about what planet i want to leave for my children and other generations, i think about what kind of contribution i can make on a personal level to the environment.

>> it was really easy to sign up for the program. i just went online to cleanpowersf.org, i signed up and then started getting pieces in the mail letting me know i was going switch over and poof it happened. now when i want to pay my bill, i go to pg&e and i don't see any difference in paying now. if you're a family on the budget, if you sign up for the regular green program, it's not going to change your bill at all. you can sign up online or call. you'll have the peace of mind knowing you're doing your part in your household to help the environment. >> good morning, everybody. thank you so much for everyone being out here today. of course, the jug shop for welcoming us to this extraordinary celebration that really speaks to a community

partnerships and the success of our invested neighborhoods programs and neighborhood economic development here in san francisco. we're very happy to have everyone here with us today. and to kick us off with this commemoration of our polk c.b.d. is our mayor. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. i'm so excited to be here today. this is the 16th community business district in san francisco. this is what happens when communities come together. businesses, neighbors, and all of you are an example of how we make sure that we keep our city clean, we keep it safe, and we do it all together. i want to thank you and i want to thank suzanne, for her leadership. [applause] for the past three years, really spearheading this effort and getting it through. this was one of the lowest votes that we were able to get through the board of supervisors when

you had the folks who were the property owners here vote to move this thing forward and i am just so glad it passed. it's going to make a difference. those folks who were not necessarily supportive, they're going to be happy with the results too. i can't wait until we clean up san francisco. this is helping in our efforts to do so. and so we also will have embassadors and people who are out on the streets. we want the businesses here to grow and to thrive. places like the jug shop, which are a legacy business in san francisco. we have to do everything we can to protect our business community. we announced we will be opening another 1,000 shelter beds by 2020 here in the city and county of san francisco. we know we have a crisis on our hands and we know that we have to make smart investments because we see it on our streets every single day. it's effecting the quality of life. it's effecting the business community. we know that many of the people sadly that are struggling on our

streets are experiencing a lot of challenges. and we want to thank you. we want to thank the discovery polk community benefits district for its work and its contributions and being partners in this effort to make sure city safer, to make sure city cleaner, and we know that there's so much work to do. this process has brought so many businesses together and i am just excited to be here today to sign the legislation that made it possible. this is your victory. we're going to get to work to make san francisco an even better place for each and everyone of us. thank you so much for being here today. [applause] >> thank you, very much, mayor breed. of course, our next speaker is a long-time champion of community benefits. the author of the legislation and help make them possible. supervisor of our district 3,

aaron peskin. >> thank you. so this is the 15th community benefit district in san francisco. as i like to say, all of our districts are created equal. district 3 is more equal. why do i say that? because we have five of the 15 community benefit district. when i first became a supervisor 18 years ago, there was one business improvement district in san francisco. one. the city of berkley had more. san diego had dozens of them and i tred to figure out why was san francisco behind. and the answer actually was because the state law didn't think about places like san francisco, where we had mixed-use neighborhoods. the vibrant communities of polk street, north beach, and so we had to create our own law.

that became article 15 of our business and tax regulation code. that began, what has spread all over san francisco. now let me say, it is very rare that people come together to celebrate the fact that they all voted to raise their taxes. that is exactly what we are doing today. it stays in the community. it does not mean a diminishment of city services. it's services on top. i am very bullish on polk street. it is remarkably a vibrant community. i want to salute the lower polk neighbors and the lower polk c.b.d. which was at the forefront, that gave suzanne and the steering committee the vision that the c.b.d. to be extended in a northerly manner. there's going to be an economy of scale. christian mar tan, who does a remarkable job of running the lower polk c.b.d. is going to be the staff to the middle polk

discover polk c.b.d. this makes a ton of sense. larry stringer from our public works department is going to continue -- you are in trouble. it's all good. it's going to continue cleaning your streets and emptying the trash cannes. thicans.this is a real boone foe city and county of san francisco. i'm delighted. on behalf of all of my colleagues, who the voters passed it by yes, 50.01%, we voted unanimously to allow this c.b.d. to move forward. thank you, mayor breed. this is actually the first time, since mayor breed has become mayor i've been involved in an official signing ceremony and i cannot be more delighted. i want to shout out jaoquin torez and chris corgis who did a remarkable job. [applause] >> they came in and they brought

me a list because they knew the election would be tight. they asked me if i knew those people because we needed just one or two more properties to vote yes and i found one guy who i knew, who actually was on the east coast. he said, yes, that is on my desk. i said, you have until 2:00 on tuesday to get back to the city and county of san francisco, vote that ballot and that is what took us over the top. thank you chris corgis. i want to shout out northern captain joe english ler who has joined us. with that i'll turn it back to jaoquin torez. >> we all know if it wasn't for the hard work of the steering committee, in addition so many community members today, this event today and these resources couldn't be made possible. and it does take leadership, tenacity and commitment and i couldn't think of a person that exemplifies the definition of those words more that dr. suzanne markle-fox who i would like to invite up to speak

to us. the director of the steering committee who made this possible. [applause] >> thank you. thank you so the lower polk, the discover polk community. you can tell i'm nervous. thank you very much to the lower polk community benefit district. it really was not only our fiscal sponsor but also our mentor for all of the process that we went through since may 2015. thank you to debra neman who was another informal mentor. shared her knowledge and experience and we definitely want to follow in her tracks. i'd also like to introduce you to the president of our board, tiffany yang, who is a brilliant young woman who is going to be taking this to the next level. the wonderful thing about this community benefit district is

how property owners, neighbors, business owners and the faith community all came together to work on this. it was an amazing experience for me. it really demonstrates the vibrancy of this community. as others have said before me and will say after i'm sure, that our goals are a cleaner, safer and even more vibrant business community in the discover polk area. thank you, everybody. [applause] >> thank you so much, suzanne. really, congratulations and savor this moment. it really is an anchor for so much incredible work to come. i want to point out, you can sense there's a community here supporting efforts like these. i did want to shout out again, i know exercise peskin and mayor breed also recognized some of the folks from our fellow community benefit districts across the street who have come here to celebrate. it's a strong community of folks who believe in the leadership

and the impacts that this work can create across san francisco. christian martin to support these efforts along polk street. deb neman and her work in san francisco for the c.b.d. and simon bertrand from the tenderloin community benefit are all here to say thank you. congratulations for those who are willing to take on a leadership role to make benefits happen in our communities. but it also takes merchants. as well and their support to make this work happen. so, ray baird supported this benefit district idea early on. providing refreshments at community gatherings. ray, we want to say thank you so much. invite you to come on up and say a few words. >> i'm no politician. i'm not great at doing this. i'm just humble merchants with a beautiful store back here.

it's great we have the back drop of my store in the back there. whoever masterminded that did a really great job. thank you to everybody who came out today. there's a lot of sharp-dressed people from the city that are here. i feel a little under dressed. i'm excited for the opportunity that the c.b.d. brings us. i kind of wanted to relate it to some stories that were in the news recently. there was a horrible story about some crime that happened in the tenderloin and the footage from the cameras that the c.b.d. installed were very beneficial to the police and so i think that's one of the resource that's is going to be of great benefit to us. we need it. i don't want to be a bummer and remind everyone about how hard the streets of san francisco are. we live here and know the reality of that. filmore has beat cops. the news came across, i was watching on the news the next day, we had an incident at the store where we had to call the police