with the arts community here where you have the symphony, the opera, sf jazz. this place has become a hub for artists everywhere, and now that the san francisco conservatory of music has decided to take it even a step further to decide to come up with this innovative plan to come up with 420 units of housing for their students, it's absolutely amazing, and we should all be proud of what this project would do for housing in the city and county of san francisco. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you also equally important, the 27 residents who were once housed here were not only housed very close to this particular development as it's under construction at the same rent they were paying, they will also be moved back into this building when it's built at the same rents that they had been paying through their rent control.

and here's the thing: 27 people are not being displaced as a result of this project. we are adding more units, we're not displacing anyone, and the reason this is so great for the environment, it is within walking distance of the san francisco conservatory of music. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: i can't be more proud. we have to do more to build more housing in san francisco. we have to think about the fact that this is an innovative place. people want to live here, they want to work here, they want to grow here, they want to thrive here, but what makes san francisco incredibly -- a great place for all of us, it's the arts, it's the music, it's the entertainment. it's all of the things that people come here to enjoy, and how are we going to continue to grow if we don't have opportunities that exist for them? if we don't provide housing that they can afford?

if we don't open the doors of our opportunities to our artists who we know are constantly being displaced? it's a great day for san francisco, it's a great day for the arts community, and i am so looking forward to all the work we're going to continue to do to revitalize the civic center area. yesterday, i looked out the window from my offices at city hall, i saw children playing in the park, i saw people standing in line at the birite we just opened two days ago, i saw people doing zumba, i saw people talking to people on the street, just hanging out. it's amazing, when you're taking care of everyone, including the community, every can enjoy. this is a project that's going to benefit this area and

hopefully grow and thrive and provide places like this that provide housing like this for each and every one of us. thank you all so much for being here today. [applause] >> thank you, mayor. thank you so much for your support and your commitment to the arts. we really are very honored to have you take time from your busy schedule today to be with us. and now, i have the pleasure of introducing the person who has designed this building, marvelous facility for all of us, but the best design architect in the city of san francisco, mark cavanero.

>> thank you. we've been working on this for years, to see a building coming out of the ground is every architect's dream. we talked about innovatition as we talked about this project, and i think that word is really singular for this building, and the vision that tim and dave and the board have, in that we're not just building a building, but a whole organism for arts and music. the students will be living here, performing here, and it will offer a whole snapshot into arthur world when you're walking or driving up vanness or hayes. it's not just about education, it's about a whole san francisco community coming together in one new building. and for an architect, it can't get much more exciting. so thank you for all of this, and thank you for letting me be

a part of this, dave, tim, and the board. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. i can't wait to see this coming up. now i have the pleasure to introduce my good friend and coconspirator, president of the music conservatory, david stow. >> believe we're standing here, no really. i've worked on some projects, if you want to try and reach beyond your grasp, this project is really that. it's only because of some people that are sitting here and some people that are not here today. mayor breed and supervisor kim, i can't say enough about these two individuals.

nothing goes through city hall this fast, at least in my experience. the reason this happened is there were great advocates in the city. people saw the benefit of it for the community, and it happened at an extraordinary rate. but before i talk to the building, i want to talk about some people that made this happen. some of you who may not recognize that this made this happen, jessica downs. you're out there somewhere. can you raise your hand? honey, thank you. the amount of time that this requires requires help from somebody who is your friend and believes in it with you, and jessica did that. i is also want to say we have a top team of anybody in san francisco. as i represent the conservatory, i can't tell you how famous our team is.

the development crew, the senior staff, our c.f.o., katie, kathrin -- everyone here from the sfcm staff, raise your hands. ladies and gentlemen, this is a great group, and we would not have gotten it done without them. this started in a couple of interesting ways. mark cavanero accepted my invitation for a cup of coffee. we had no project, no site, nothing. mark started sketching on his own what it would look like, a facility like this. mark brought his team, a great crew at cavan 0ed ro. this team worked tirelessly. this project is a residence unit for students. it is two spectacular performance halls, a recording studio, teaching space, a restaurant, yes, sitting right here. if you can imagine the

architectural constlants like doing sweeping glass on the west and north walls that also create a beautiful acoustical space. but the reality is 90% of the concerts in those spaces are free to the public. this is a great way to bring music in, and in that building, 99% of the students are on financial aid, and the 27 units are rent stablized, and every dollar it generates goes back to support scholarships for future students. [applause] >> these guys did an extraordinary job. i can't say enough about how many hurdles they across for us.

our law firm did amazing work. there was so many folks working at the city level who also provided this great work. and the fact is it was the team that made it happen, and i said to our c.f.o. this morning that at every point in this project, there was somebody on the team that made an extraordinary event happen. otherwise, the entire thing would have stopped. that's how much this was a combined project. but ladies and gentlemen, we don't do projects like this without people who actually believe and put substantial resources behind them. and i can't tell you how fortunate we are in san francisco because when you look to davies hall, the opera, the conservatory, sf jazz, to the museums, to the incredible cultural life that we enjoy here, it is because actually not as many as you think, but actually, a very small handful of people for generations have made those things happen for this city and are making this

building happen right now. not here are richard blum and senator feinstein, and others, all whom made substantial financial events. can we give them a round of applause, please, for their leadership on that. [applause] >> the next phase of this, the architect, we have lots of fund raising, as you can imagine. financing makes it all happen, and this was a tricky project to finance. hey, we're this conservatory of 400 students, and we want to build this $90 million building on vanness. think about this. this happened because jim herbert decided it would happen. jim, on behalf of myself, thank you to you and all of your team. it's 3.9 prs fixed over 30 years

because jim thought it was important to put up this building. jim and cecelia, i just want to thank you for that. it was incredible. early folks who were in, carol and lyman casey. carol's family has been supporting the art ms. this city in so many ways with affection and tremendous investment. carol was one of the first people who walked in my office and we were talking about this, and she said this needs to happen, and she continued the investment and continued the investment. carol i want to thank you for all that you've done for us. thank you so much. [applause] >> along the way, every project has a patron saint, actually, and the fact is i will talk about this a bit more today, but we lost bill bose early on, and

when that happens, that laefshs kind of a vacuum in leadership. barney osher stepped in and made this thing happen. he not onlily invested in this, but i can't tell you what it meant to this being accomplished. and so this brings us down to the finish line. we were in raping of getting this done. jim was prepared to give us a loan, but frankly we were short and we needed a gift and a bridge that was crossed, and a colleague and a friend of mine who was a wonderful composer, but i have to tell you, you see his name because of the enormous amount of giving done, and that was gordon getty, and gordon stepped in and absolutely made this project get across the finish line, and that was how we

got there, and gordon, i can't thank you enough. but i want to say that none of this, none of this would have han if it weren't for bill. -- happen if it weren't for bill. bill bose, even before there was a property, even before there was a design, it was me and bell at the union club with bill saying, we need this. he was quiet, and he said, you know, that sounds like a good idea. bill believed in the necessity of housing for students from the moment the civic center project was arrived at on oak street. he has given so generously to so many projects: students,

environment, the arts, education. he has advanced so many companies and career throughout his lifetime. and he really resisted anything being named for him. and the fact is, the fact that this building will be named for william k.bose and ute bows will be wonderful, because it'll have a great soul. and perhaps one of the things that this led me to do was to get to know ute, and i will talk about that at lunch today. but the people we find in this city in this kind of work aren't to be found in many places in this world. they just aren't. that brings me to the final folks i want to thank. we wouldn't have gotten here and i wouldn't have gotten here if it weren't for our board chair, tim folk, and his amazing wife, virginia. virginia, thank you for being here, by the way. i want all of all board members,

can you raise your hands for a second -- we have multiple seven figure donors that -- out in the audience. i've never seen a board this cohesive, this supportive that made it a pleasure. it's a dream come true for this conservatory, but i think it's a dream come true for all of us. i can't say more than thank you, but i wish that i could because the gratitude runs down to my very bones. it's a privilege to be standing here with you all because it makes me a better person. i can tell you we've crossed over, 109 million for this project, but there's still time to investment any of you that are inspired to be involved, let

me know. so let's fine will he get to the reason we're doing this. students, can you raise your hands out there. we're going to give you a round of applause. [applause] >> if there's ever a moment where you're wondering if we can get it done, if you stand for a moment in our building with our students, you wonder how you can get it done. they're amazing young students, and they will go out and change the world, and they have changed the world for over 100 years. the fact that we can put a roof over their head that's affordable is amazing. as i said, 99% are on financial aid. it's my pleasure to introduce the chair of our student council. she is a master's student of voice, mia skolnick.

>> good morning, everyone. my name is mia skolnick, and i am a second year master's student in voice here at the conservatory. sf conservatory is a special place, and i am so proud to be here. i applied to several conservatories around the country, but i chose to come here because of its diversity, values, and the feeling i got when i came here. there was a welcoming atmosphere at the conservatory that let me know right away i was at home. two years ago i was living in portland, oregon, where i grew up, working a regular office job, singing on the side. i had gotten my undergraduate degree in music had you had drifted away from my passion.

one day, i had a realization that life is too short not to do what makes you happy, and that was what led me to san francisco and to the conservatory. sfcm is providing me with skills and tools to become a professional musician out in the world. the caliber of excellence we have here at sfcm is simply unmatched, and i wouldn't be getting this kind of education anywhere else. the bose center will expand our dynamic community as our campus more than doubles in size providing even more state of the art opportunities and resources for students. the bose center will mean so many wonderful things for our future, its proximity to the incredible arts partners in the civic center area, beautiful new spaces for collaboration among students, if a kilt, and visiting artists, and most importantly, it means that sfcm

can reach and inspire even more musicians of the future. on behalf of all my fellow students, thank you so everyone who has made this project possible, and now, let's break

ground. [applause]

(music) >> herb theatre,open rehearsal. listen to the rehearsal. i think it is fun for them, they see our work process, our discussions, the decisions we make. it is good for us. we kind of behavior little bit when we have people in the audience. msk (music) >> we are rehearsing for our most expensive tour; plus two concerts here.

we are proud that the growth of the orchestra, and how it is expanded and it is being accepted. my ambition when i came on as music director here -- it was evident we needed absolutely excellent work. also evident to me that i thought everyone should know that. this was my purpose. and after we opened, which was a spectacular opening concert about five weeks after that the economy completely crashed. my plan -- and i'm absolutely dogmatic about my plans --were delayed slightly. i would say that in this very difficult timefor the arts and everyone,

especially the arts, it's phenomenal how new century has grown where many unfortunate organizations have stopped. during this period we got ourselves on national radio presence; we started touring, releasing cds, a dvd. we continue to tour. reputation grows and grows and grows and it has never stopped going forward. msk(music) >> the bay area knows the orchestra. you maybe take things for granted a little bit. that is simply not the case will go on the road. the audiences go crazy. they don't see vitality like this on stage. we are capable of conveying joy when we play. msk(music)

>> any performance that we do, that a program, that will be something on the program that you haven't heard before. string orchestra repertoire is pretty small. i used to be boxed into small repertoire. i kept constantly looking for new repertoire and commissioning new arrangements. if you look at the first of the program you have very early, young vibrant mendelson; fabulous opener and then you have this fabulous concerto written for us in the orchestra. is our gift. msk(music) >> and then you have strauss,

extraordinary piece. the most challenging of all. string orchestra work. 23 solo instrument, no violin section, now viola section; everybody is responsible for their part in this piece. the challenge is something that i felt not only that we could do , absolutely could do, but i wanted to show off. i can't tell you how aware i am of the audience. not only what i hear but their vibes, so strong. i have been doing this for a long time. i kind of make them feel what i want them to feel.

there is nobody in that audience or anywhere that is not going to know that particular song by the fourth note. and that is our encore on tour. by the way. i am proud to play it, we are from san francisco. we are going to play that piece no matter where we are.

. >> my name is dave, and i play defense. >> my name is mustafa, and i am a midfielder, but right now, i am trying to play as a

goalkeeper, because they need a goalkeeper. >> soccer u.s.a. is a nonprofessional organization. we use sports, soccer in particular to engage communities that can benefit from quality programs in order to lift people up, helping to regain a sense of control in one's life. >> the san francisco recreation and park department and street soccer u.s.a. have been partners now for nearly a decade. street soccer shares our mission in using sport as a vehicle for youth development and for reaching people of all ages. rec and park has a team. >> i'm been playing soccer all my life. soccer is my life. >> i played in the streets when i was a kid. and i loved soccer back home. i joined street soccer here.

it was the best club to join. it helps me out. >> the tenderloin soccer club started in the summer of 2016. we put one of our mini soccer pitches in one of our facilities there. the kids who kpriez the club team came out to utilize that space, and it was beautiful because they used it as an opportunity to express themselves in a place where they were free to do so, and it was a safe space, in a neighborhood that really isn't the most hospitalable to youth -- hospitable to youth playing in the streets. >> one day, i saw the coach and my friends because they went there to join the team before me. so i went up to the coach and asked, and they said oh, i've got a soccer team, and i joined, and they said yeah, it was he for everybody, and i

joined, and it was the best experience ever. >> a lot of our programs, the kids are in the process of achieving citizenship. it's a pretty lengthy process. >> here, i am the only one with my dad. we were in the housing program, and we are trying to find housing. my sister, she's in my country, so i realize that i have a lot of opportunities here for getting good education to help her, you know? yeah. that's the -- one of the most important things that challenge me. >> my dad was over here, making some money because there was not a lot of jobs back home. i came here, finish elementary in san francisco. after that, i used to go back to my country, go to yemen, my

country, and then back here. last time i went back was a couple years ago. >> i came here six months, i know nobody. now i have the team has a family, the coaches. amazing. >> i'm hoping for lifelong friendships, and i'm super inspired by what they've been able to achieve and want to continue to grow alongside them. >> i love my family, i love my team. they're just like a family. it's really nice. >> street soccer just received a five year grant from the department of children, youth and family, and this is an important inreflection point for street soccer u.s.a. because their work in our most important communities is now known beyond just san francisco recreation and park department, and together, we're going to continue to work with our city's most vulnerable kids and teach them to love the

beautiful game. >> i want to tell everybody back home, i hope you all make it over here and join teams like this like street soccer u.s.a., and live your life. get a better life. >> right away, just be patient, and then, everything will be okay. >> i view san francisco almost as a sibling or a parent or something. i just love the city. i love everything about it.

when i'm away from it, i miss it like a person. i grew up in san francisco kind of all over the city. we had pretty much the run of the city 'cause we lived pretty close to polk street, and so we would -- in the summer, we'd all all the way down to aquatic park, and we'd walk down to the library, to the kids' center. in those days, the city was safe and nobody worried about us running around. i went to high school in spring valley. it was over the hill from chinatown. it was kind of fun to experience being in a minority, which most white people don't get to experience that often. everything was just really within walking distance, so it make it really fun. when i was a teenager, we didn't have a lot of money. we could go to sam wong's and get super -- soup for $1.

my parents came here and were drawn to the beatnik culture. they wanted to meet all of the writers who were so famous at the time, but my mother had some serious mental illness issues, and i don't think my father were really aware of that, and those didn't really become evident until i was about five, i guess, and my marriage blew up, and my mother took me all over the world. most of those ad ventures ended up bad because they would end up hospitalized. when i was about six i guess, my mother took me to japan, and that was a very interesting trip where we went over with a boyfriend of hers, and he was working there. i remember the open sewers and gigantic frogs that lived in the sewers and things like that. mostly i remember the smells very intensely, but i loved

japan. it was wonderful. toward the end. my mother had a breakdown, and that was the cycle. we would go somewhere, stay for a certain amount of months, a year, period of time, and she would inevitably have a breakdown. we always came back to san francisco which i guess came me some sense of continuity and that was what kept me sort of stable. my mother hated to fly, so she would always make us take ships places, so on this particular occasion when i was, i think, 12, we were on this ship getting ready to go through the panama canal, and she had a breakdown on the ship. so she was put in the brig, and i was left to wander the ship until we got to fluorfluora few days later, where we had a distant -- florida a few days later, where we had a distant cousin who came and got us.

i think i always knew i was a writer on some level, but i kind of stopped when i became a cop. i used to write short stories, and i thought someday i'm going to write a book about all these ad ventures that my mother took me on. when i became a cop, i found i turned off parts of my brain. i found i had to learn to conform, which was not anything i'd really been taught but felt very safe to me. i think i was drawn to police work because after coming from such chaos, it seemed like a very organized, but stable environment. and even though things happening, it felt like putting order on chaos and that felt very safe to me. my girlfriend and i were sitting in ve 150d uvio's bar, and i looked out the window and i saw a police car, and there was a woman who looked like me driving the car.

for a moment, i thought i was me. and i turned to my friend and i said, i think i'm supposed to do this. i saw myself driving in this car. as a child, we never thought of police work as a possibility for women because there weren't any until the mid70's, so i had only even begun to notice there were women doing this job. when i saw here, it seemed like this is what i was meant to do. one of my bosses as ben johnson's had been a cop, and he -- i said, i have this weird idea that i should do this. he said, i think you'd be good. the department was forced to hire us, and because of all of the posters, and the big recruitment drive, we were under the impression that they were glad to have us, but in reality, most of the men did not want the women there.

so the big challenge was constantly feeling like you had to prove yourself and feeling like if you did not do a good job, you were letting down your entire gender. finally took an inspector's test and passed that and then went down to the hall of justice and worked different investigations for the rest of my career, which was fun. i just felt sort of buried alive in all of these cases, these unsolved mysteries that there were just so many of them, and some of them, i didn't know if we'd ever be able to solve, so my boss was able to get me out of the unit. he transferred me out, and a couple of weeks later, i found out i had breast cancer. my intuition that the job was killing me. i ended up leaving, and by then, i had 28 years or the years in, i think. the writing thing really became intense when i was going through treatment for cancer because i felt like there were so many parts that my kids didn't know. they didn't know my story, they didn't know why i had a

relationship with my mother, why we had no family to speak of. it just poured out of me. i gave it to a friend who is an editor, and she said i think this would be publishable and i think people would be interested in this. i am so lucky to live here. i am so grateful to my parents who decided to move to the city. i am so grateful they did. that it never

can you please rise for the pledge of allegiance? i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. commissioner mazzucco i would like to call roll. >> please do. >> vice president mazzucco. present. dejesus present. hirsch here. hamasaki here. elias here brookter present taylor here. commissioner mazzucco, you have a quorum. also with us tonight is the chief of police, willia