have experienced these tragedies we will not rest until there is equity and ensure a basic human rights for all of our communities. but i know i can't do this work alone and i want to thank all of you for joining us here today. not only for what we have all ready achieved but for what we will continue to achieve by working together. and that is why i wanted to do something really special to commemorate this time and -- here it is. [laughter] >> i am not only committed to making sure that we celebrate our transgender community, but we honor it by doing something that has not been done anywhere else in our country. today, i am happy to recognize the entire month of november as transgender month in the city

and county of san francisco. [applause] >> i would also like to recognize and appreciate the work of our transgender advisory committee because they are spending countless hours working to push forward the right policies, the right investments, the right things here in the city that we need to do in order to address many of the challenges we face. here, i would like to present commissioner melanie with this award, as well as honey mahogany , two of the leaders of the transgender advisory committee here and we will do everything we can to continue to work together in order to move the great initiatives forward based on the work that we know you are both committed to doing. thank you both for being here today. [applause]

now i give you an opportunity to speak. >> good afternoon, everybody. some of us are bay area locals. some of us have been born and raised in san francisco. some of us relocate here for a better tomorrow. san francisco is the first city in the nation to have a trans alleged government office. this city is committed to the advancement of the transgender community. i am a proud member of the transgender advisory committee and i am honored to work alongside some of the fiercest community leaders in san francisco. if you are part of the t.a.c. team, please stand up. we would like to acknowledge you [cheers and applause] >> thank you for being leaders in our community.

at the t.a.c., we help prioritize community needs and give recommendations that advise the office of transgender initiatives and the mayor's office. i am also a human rights commission or. i was appointed by our late mayor ed lee, may he rest in peace. i would not be here today without the guidance of some amazing people like teresa sparks, cecelia chung, nikki, jason chan, and francis sang. thank you all. i mentioned this because i want to stress the importance of leadership. this recent midterm election, we had a rainbow wave, everybody. record breaking numbers of lgbtq , women, people of color elected into office. that is amazing. [applause] >> i would love to see even more leadership programs like s.f. team, transgender empowerment

advocacy membership program at the san francisco community health centre and more of encouraging civic engagement, leadership and pathways to appoint more trans and gender nonconforming folks to city boards and commissions. it is crucial to normalize trends people as leader -- transgender people as leaders. they need to see more representation that they identify with. youth need to see and believe that they can be leaders too. i love san francisco and i truly believe it is, and will continue to be the best city for my competing -- for my community to live and survive in. happy transgender awareness week , now month. thank you. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you, melanie. good day, everyone. happy day today. as someone who was born and raised in this city, which is steeped in so much history, i am

proud that san francisco continues to be a leader in the fight for justice and equality, especially as it pertains to the transgender community. while our community has been under attack, not just by the current federal administration, but by many who preceded them, we continue to exist despite their best efforts to stymie us, shut us out or eliminate us. we have history in this city. we can directly trace the lgbt civil rights movement back to the corner of turk and taylor where in 1966, the riots was the first documented collective uprising of lgbt individuals in the country. [applause] >> the riots recently inspired the founding of the transgendered cultural district. the first officially recognized transgendered district in this country. [applause]

>> it's important that we remember this history. and that we consider how it impacts us today. the tenderloin is still has the highest concentration of trends -- transgender folks in san francisco. this is changing with the tide of new development. the transgendered cultural district was created not just as a way of preserving the importance of the legacy of the tenderloin, but also as a mechanism to push back against the displacement of the transgendered community. it was created to be an advocate to serve as a resource and a safe space. it is has been -- it has been my honor to present the district thus far along with cofounders. it has also been a great pleasure to work with claire farley and others in the

salespersons from the office of sales -- of transgender initiative. oti has been a tremendous resource and support for the community being a strong advocate for inclusion and frequently prioritizing the voices of underrepresented members of the community including people of color, formerly incarcerated individuals, and the undocumented. through working with o.t.i. and serving on the trans- advisory council, we have been able to make key recommendations on how to best support the needs of the community in san francisco. these recommendations are improving access to safe housing for transgendered and lgbtq communities by providing targeted housing programs and services that prioritize vulnerable populations such as transgendered, homeless individuals, recovering from gender affirming procedures, and lgbtq older adults. improving mental health of communities by developing and implementing specific mental health services programs and

peer support initiative and expanding funding such as dedicating resources to support trans- arts and community events increasing economic development program designed for various trans- communities living in poverty are at risk of living in poverty. increasing access to education and employment opportunities by instituting gender systems, increasing access to legal immigration services and legal services for people with criminal records, increasing civic engagement of communities by developing and implementing leadership development programming, increasing care, planning and care coordination by developing and implementing navigation strategies, and reducing rates of incarceration, were recidivism, and economic disparities by increasing funding for prevention for programs focused on trans communities. we hope to be able to continue to work with the mayor process -- the mayor's office and the city and county of san francisco

to make sure these recommendations are implemented so that the contributions of the transgendered community to our city's history, strength, and culture, are not just honored, but carried forward into the future. thank you. [applause] >> we could not do this work alone without our fabulous members of the board. one particular board member new to district eight is the only out gay supervisor on the board and we could not do the work without him. please welcome supervisor mandelman. [applause] >> thank you, claire. i believe we've been joined by my colleague, asha safai.

thank you. at a time when the lgbtq community and trans people in particular are under siege from a hostile and toxic presidential administration, it is clear -- it is crucial for san francisco to stand with and support the community. i want to thank mayor breed for her strong and immediate repudiation of the president's attempt to erase transgendered people by undermining them. as a supervisor for district eight and the only supervisor, i feel a special responsibility to represent our entire queer community and to be very gay doing it. and until we have a transit supervisor, and i suspect there may be one or more of those out in the audience or behind me, it is my honor to advocate for the trans community and to be here today. in san francisco, i think we all know the transgender community

continues to face disproportionate and unacceptably high rates of violence, homelessness and unemployment. despite the advances we've made as a city, it is clear we need to invest in additional support services and resources to address these disparities. since taking office in july, i worked closely with claire and the staff at the office of transgender initiatives to start inclusive proper -- policies and programs for the folks in san francisco. the mayor did her proclamation. we have our strategic -- strategy of honor from the board of supervisors. i'm honored to share this commendation from the board with a transgendered advisory committee. this is the first of its kind. it works to address important issues impacting trends and gender nonconforming communities committee members wrote represent diverse sectors and leverage their experience to help inform local policies, priorities and grams.

where is our t.a.c. leadership? come on up. here we have this. then we will do the photograph and folks will get it. it is good. [applause] >> all right. thank you. in these challenging times, it is important we remember our history and the elders who came before us. at the same time, we must also support our trends and lgbtq youth who are the leadership of tomorrow. today i'm honored to introduce two important community leaders. donna persona is a legendary community advocate and cocreator of the compton cafeteria hit play and performer at aunt charlie got shot lounge in san francisco. or story has been featured around the world including in the out magazine article, tenderloin is the night and in the short film beautiful by night. jojo tie is the youth commissioner representing district eight and a health worker.

jojo is a clear, trans and filipino born and raised in san francisco and based in the castro. from their own life experiences of navigating personal and institutional challenges, they are committing to supporting lg deep -- lgbtq youth through luth -- youth empowerment and leadership. please welcome donna and jojo. [applause] >> good afternoon. i'm donna persona and i would like to talk a little bit about the honor i've had in cowriting the play. when i was on the fence, coming from san jose, i wanted to find people that i felt were more like me. so i don't know how i came to

this decision that san francisco would be the place to come, but i got on a greyhound bus and i came to san francisco. i couldn't get into bars, i didn't know where they were anyway. i landed on a place, compton's cafeteria. an all-night diner. i would say that is where i first -- i saw these beautiful women and i later learned that they were born as male. but i became friends with them and i learned about their lives. they had decided to match there outside with their insides. they had what i call a courageous nests. by deciding to live the way that

they know that they are, they were started by being abandoned by their families. they had no family, and they came to san francisco, and their lives became completely criminalized. they couldn't get jobs. they couldn't go to school. they couldn't get any kind of healthcare. so this play will tell the story of their lives. when you see this play and hear these stories and learn about them, you will understand what informs their choices in life. i will say that these women were sex workers and they ended up in prison, sometimes.

in one case, in many cases, they found themselves in prison because they were impersonating a woman. they were wearing women's clothes. they went to jail for that, served time, and you come out of jail, and you can't go to college, you can't get a job. so it spirals down from that. so they did what they had to do. but i knew them, and i'm saying that they were wonderful human beings, and they created a family together, themselves. so this story and this play will let people know why they made the choices they made and the bravery. their bravery. this happened 52 years ago. i would like to say that i think

they put in place the foundation of liberation. [applause] through their personal needs, this comes with a foundation. they sought out healthcare and transitions. by transitioning those days, they had what they called hormone parties. there was nothing illegal. there was no place safe to do any of this. so i hope you can imagine how traumatic that is. it is hearsay. you come to this place and you can get injections for this or that. today, i know one woman who is suffering from the procedure she

had back then. imagine this. when somebody -- when one of them ran into trouble with one of their procedures, who do they go to? i can imagine somebody saying, you didn't like what you got, go to the police. that is impossible. by laying down the things that they need, housing, education, healthcare, and just being permitted to feel normal, that's all they wanted was to feel normal. today, we are benefiting from what they laid down. the needs that transgendered people need. and with this play, this is something i say from time to time. these ladies that i knew, they

were born, they lived a while, and then they died. most of them died. they couldn't survive. so they didn't get anyone saying to them, everything you are doing and who you are is wonderful and right. they did not get to hear that. we get to hear that now and we get support. they did not get that. so what is most meaningful for me is to know that their lives are engendering good things now. so their life is not in vain. it wasn't in vain. and i want to believe -- i am honouring them and i hope you will honor them. and somehow their life was not a waste. i wasn't brave enough to do that and do what they did.

but they came before us and they are our modules. we heard about it already tonight and today. there is a push back. there is forces that want to take away what we've gained. so i'm going to say, now, more than ever, we have to get out there and do something. i am going to say, sometimes in the past, other transgendered people or people under the clear spectrum, i tell them, just by presenting in the streets, you are doing part of the job. people see you and they say, they exist, they belong here. but we need to do more of that now. i will ask -- [applause] >> i will ask each and every one of you whether you are transgender or not, to do something. don't stay home.

you have to do something to keep thriving. [applause] >> thank you. >> i would also like to say, we have transgender day of remembrance. please remember this group. that is part of remembrance. they deserve it. and the youth, i want the history and the older people like me, i'm 72 years old, to come together and fight together we will hand over the torch to the young people. i will stay busy myself. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you for sharing your story. today, i am here because i believe that transgender and youth are the leaders of tomorrow. i wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the work of my

transgender sisters and leaders of the past. the screaming queens who righted over 50 years ago in the tenderloin. at dream of the future, where transgendered youth art, empowered and celebrated for who they are, of a future that lets me on a pep -- be unapologetically meat without having to need or explain who i am. today, the transgender nonconforming youth of san francisco face many barriers. a resilience helps us overcome prejudice, discrimination and violence. our wisdom and knowledge guides us as we navigate the multiple institutions that were not created for us. we are more than numbers and statistics. we are contributors and leaders in our communities. we are a community that is here to be up for one another and support and uplift each other to heal and grow. we will not be quiet and back down until we are included in the conversation and decision making process with full equity.

what trends use leadership needs to meet -- means to me as having visibility. it looks like taking a step forward in the right direction towards positive social exchange it sounds like our voices and reclaiming our rights. it feels like freedom and liberation. it ignites others to take action with us. as we gather here today to kick off transgender awareness week, i want to challenge all of you to envision a future where transit -- transgender nonconforming youth are thriving in a more inclusive environment. it takes each of us to build awareness, speak up and be linked to bad policies that support safety and leadership for trans people. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> i want to thank you all for coming out today and thank you to mayor breed. supervisors and our t.a.c.

we can do this work together. don't give up and stay hopeful. join us for a little reception. thank you. [♪] ♪ >> about two years ago now i had my first child. and i thought when i come back, you know, i'm going to get back in the swing of things and i'll find a spot. and it wasn't really that way when i got back to work. that's what really got me to think about the challenges that new mothers face when they come back to work. ♪ >> when it comes to innovative ideas and policies, san francisco is known to pave the way, fighting for social justice or advocating for the

environment, our city serves as the example and leader many times over. and this year, it leads the nation again, but for a new reason. being the most supportive city of nursing mothers in the work place. >> i was inspired to work on legislation to help moms return to work, one of my legislative aids had a baby while working in the office and when she returned we had luckily just converted a bathroom at city hall into a lactation room. she was pumping a couple times a day and had it not been for the room around the hallway, i don't know if she could have continued to provide breast milk for her baby. not all returning mothers have the same access, even though there's existing state laws on the issues. >> these moms usually work in low paying jobs and returning to work sooner and they don't feel

well-supported at work. >> we started out by having legislation to mandate that all city offices and departments have accommodations for mothers to return to work and lactate. but this year we passed legislation for private companies to have lactation policies for all new moms returning to work. >> with the newcome -- accommodations, moms should have those to return back to work. >> what are legislation? >> we wanted to make it applicable to all, we created a set of standards that can be achievable by everyone. >> do you have a few minutes today to give us a quick tour. >> i would love to. let's go. >> this is such an inviting space. what makes this a lactation room?

>> as legislation requires it has the minimum standards, a seat, a surface to place your breast on, a clean space that doesn't have toxic chemicals or storage or anything like that. and we have electricity, we have plenty of outlets for pumps, for fridge. the things that make it a little extra, the fridge is in the room. and the sink is in the room. our legislation does require a fridge and sink nearby but it's all right in here. you can wash your pump and put your milk away and you don't have to put it in a fridge that you share with co-workers. >> the new standards will be applied to all businesses and places of employment in san francisco. but are they achievable for the smaller employers in the city? >> i think small businesses rightfully have some concerns about providing lactation accommodations for employees, however we left a lot of leeway in the legislation to account for small businesses that may

have small footprints. for example, we don't mandate that you have a lactation room, but rather lactation space. in city hall we have a lactation pod here open to the public. ♪ ♪ >> so the more we can change, especially in government offices, the more we can support women. >> i think for the work place to really offer support and encouragement for pumping and breast feeding mothers is necessary. >> what is most important about the legislation is that number one, we require that an employer have a lactation policy in place and then have a conversation with a new hire as well as an employee who requests parental leave. otherwise a lot of times moms don't feel comfortable asking their boss for lactation

accommodations. really it's hard to go back to the office after you have become a mom, you're leaving your heart outside of your body. when you can provide your child food from your body and know you're connecting with them in that way, i know it means a lot to a mommy motionlely and physically to be able to do that. and businesses and employers can just provide a space. if they don't have a room, they can provide a small space that is private and free from intrusion to help moms pump and that will attract moms to working in san francisco. >> if you want more information visit sfdph.org/breastfeedingatwork. ♪ ♪

>> we are very excited to introduce our next speaker. someone who can speak about the importance of affordable housing and what it means for low income families in the mission district pick someone that understands this and actually talks about this on a regular basis throughout san francisco. i'm very honored to introduce our mayor, london breed to the podium. [applause] >> thank you. it is so exciting to be here. to break ground on 100% affordable housing. [cheers and applause] >> finally, after almost ten years, we are finally building -- building affordable housing in the mission for those whose income ranges anywhere between 30 and nifty% a.m.i. and i think i'm more excited because -- 30 and 50% a.m.i. and i think i'm more excited because even though we have had

challenges making sure people who live in the communities can have access to the affordable housing built in their community , we will not have that problem with this project. because of the neighborhood preference legislation that i and others on the board of supervisors put through a few years back, i got so much support for that legislation from this community. to dedicate 40% of the 80 units to the people who live in this district first. [applause] there are so many people that have made this possible and i just want to thank each and every one of you for all of your hard work, including the mayor possess office of housing, bridge has an, of course, commission housing development corridor, thank you for your advocacy and your work around not just helping to build new affordable housing, but the small sites acquisition program, and all the work that you

continue to do. all of the architects and the contractors, thank you all so much for being patient, working hard, putting together a project that we know is going to be absolutely incredible in this community. i also want to acknowledge, in addition to neighborhood preference, some of you may know that there are people who live in public housing. there are challenges with locations and we also have an opportunity to welcome in residence of public housing to this new development as well. it's part of the plan. a way to try and make sure that people have access to affordable housing. that people are able to stay in their communities. i just want to thank each and every one of you for the hard work and i see someone who snuck in here and is trying to hide. roberto hernandez.

thank you for your advocacy and the work that you have done to help us with neighborhood preference. holding folks in city hall accountable to make sure that the housing that gets promised to this community gets built in this community and that we do a better job as a safety of providing opportunities with our application process. because the real work begins. we better get -- we build the housing but we have to make sure that we outreach all over this community to folks unfortunately , in some instances struggling and in the process of being displaced. that we make sure that we help them get those applications in. that is what i am committed to. the planning department to, thank you so much for being here thank you to each and every one of you for your work. i am excited to be here during this groundbreaking and i'm looking forward to making sure

that we don't let another ten years go by before we break ground on another affordable housing development. [applause] folks, let's celebrate today and tomorrow, let's continue to roll up our sleeves and get to work. we have got to do more, not just in the mission, but all over the city and county of san francisco thank you all so much for being here today. >> thank you so much, mayor breach. and the project manager at bridge housing. for the last two years, it has been my pleasure to shepherd this project to this moment right now, which is so exciting. we are going to replace this vacant gas station with a beautiful building. it is really thrilling for me to say that. i would like to welcome supervisor hilary ronan which includes district nine. she has been a champion for many of the projects. we are glad you can be with us. thank you so much.

[applause] >> thank you everybody. what an exciting day. this site right here represents such a huge victory for the mission community. i. i love the fact that our friends are holding a sign that says house keys, not handouts. thank you! [cheers and applause] that is exactly what we want in our community. eighty-one units of truly affordable housing. sometimes when we talk about affordable housing, we are talking about housing that people are making over $100,000 are eligible for. not at this site. we are talking about a family of four earning $35,000 a year who will be living right behind us. finally housing for the families that we have all been fighting for in this neighborhood. it is truly remarkable. what's even more remarkable about this, and i've seen so

many faces of so many people i love in this crowd, this was slated to be luxury housing. it was going to be housing for people -- for people who grew up in the neighborhood would never be able to afford. and this community fought hard, fought a long, fought to get $50 million from the last affordable housing bond to come to the mission district. this was one of the sites that came out of it. please give yourselves a round of applause, mission community, because you made this site happen. i also want to congratulate mission housing development corporation his. is such an important organization in our community. this is the first time in ten years that you are breaking ground on a new affordable housing site in the mission which is just incredible.

you are back in action and you will be the powerhouse organization that in the past is built so much housing in our neighborhood and are doing so again. shortly after this, you will break ground on 1950 mission, which will be another truly affordable housing site. mission housing development corporation and housing in the mission. we couldn't be more excited. we love you, and as the mayor said, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work and get this housing built. congratulations. [cheers and applause] >> thank you supervisor ronen. we are pleased to be working hand-in-hand with your office on the critical issues that our community continues to face. just like supervisor ronen just said, there was a point in time where many did not believe that mission housing was going to make a comeback.

so we were resilience. just like this communities. our team came back stronger than ever, with one goal in mind. to uphold our mission statement, to build affordable housing in our district. in san francisco. our board supported us every step of the way. this isn't just a celebration for mission housing today. but it is a win for this neighborhood. at this specific site, was one because of community advocacy. today we come together as a community to celebrate. our next speaker is someone i work with on a daily basis and i've gotten to know him extremely well. i have to say that his spanish has gotten a little better. he loves latin food. particularly tacos. if you ever want to offer him something to drink, offer him some tamarind water.

he is currently laughing. you can find him specifically at the panel discussions, at schools during presentations on affordable housing, asking either myself or a team member in the organization to help a local nonprofit in the mission. or walking around wearing a t-shirt with various messages. many of them about housing. his work has not gone unnoticed. certainly not by our team or our board or affordable housing community. he has been my counterpart in mission housing. together, we have overcame many obstacles to get to this place of celebration and groundbreaking. i am very pleased and honored to introduce our executive director of mission housing, my counterpart. [applause]

>> i feel like everyone said my whole speech, i guess i can go home, right? thank you, everyone. thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and for mission housing. >> it has been a nostalgic kind of a day, thinking back on seven years ago and where mission housing was and where i was. i can't -- there were countless meetings of me -- of people telling me i was crazy for thinking that i could help take over mission housing. that will never happen. it is impossible. you are never coming back. over and over again, if it wasn't for marcy at and the staff and our board and the leadership and support, it probably would have been rights. the fact is, mission housing was created to actually develop

community. mission housing was created to be a backbone for infrastructure or whatever you want to call it. that is what we are again. i am really proud to stand here next to this broken dirt and guarantee that 80 some odd units of affordable housing are coming but what i'm most proud to do is to be with our community and to break ground with the people who stood by us. the people who didn't believe that this wasn't going to weigh. who wanted us to regrow. i would like to personally dedicate this building and the rest of our building to the mission community. why don't we give the mission community a hand we -- why do we give them a hand? [applause] >> i would be remiss if i got up here and i didn't point out to the fact that this project and all the thousand units of

affordable housing in the mission were originally and only made possible by a man who had the foresight to lead and to listen to the mission community. when mayor ed lee decided to focus on affordable housing and fix our public housing and to build more units, it was something -- that without it, i don't know mission housing could have come back like we have. while he is not here physically with us, i am fairly certain he is looking down on us and smiling. thank you. [applause] >> i really do want to thank the mayor and all of our partners and supervisor ronen. there so many people. i'm sorry, i honestly have not been this tongue-tied ever. anyone who knows me knows what an emotional day this is been. i will just leave by saying

thank you. thank you for believing in mission housing. i assure you that we believe in ourselves and that we will not go another ten years. we won't go another ten months for another groundbreaking. if unlimited money was made available, we wouldn't say no to that. okay. let's get on with the show. thanks, everybody. [cheers and applause] >> thank you so much. it is a pleasure to work with you and john and michael and your whole team in partnership on these projects. i would like to introduce the c.e.o. and president, cynthia walker. when she joined us, she brought a long-term commitment to affordable housing with her cat demonstrated by 30 plus years of experience from alaska, seattle and now here in san francisco. she has been projects like this to life for a long time. i appreciate cynthia's

leadership. through all the twists and turns that we go through, trying to blow things out of the ground, and there are many, many twists and turns. i feel personally supported by cynthia. please welcome cynthia parker. [applause] >> thank you. thank you everyone who is here today. it does indeed take a village to get this type of development off the ground. we can't do it without the support of our partners and also , bakers, the mayor, assembly members, supervisors, everyone who is here has had a hand in making this happen. but it is particularly an auspicious project because of our partnership with mission hell being with sam and his group. and also, the neighborhood preference, which is incredibly important here. in this code today, for someone

to rent a market rate unit, they have to earn a wage of $54.76 an hour in order to pay the rent on an unrestricted property. so with this particular 100% developed project back we are able to rent it to families who are making $35,000 a year. a family of four. we are not reaching everyone because there are many people who live in this neighborhood to make less of -- less than that. recent survey of latino residents in the neighborhood indicated 30% of them made about $11.56 an hour. they are still living here and as rents go up, they are being forced out. i want to thank the mayor personally for her efforts and for everyone who has advocated

for the neighborhood preference. and for also making resources available and the support that is necessary to get this type of 100% development project off the ground. it takes a village and it takes all of us to make a commitment. i see you have some tears in your eyes. i think i met sam when i got here a little over seven years ago. he was in another job and another life and then he left and called me up. he said, i've gone to work at mission housing. and i said well, cool. he said we have not done a project for the longest time. do you want to topically come on over. he did. he said this is what my vision is for mission. i want to get it back on the grounds and i want to be developing more housing. i want to be focused on the housing in the mission and i want to catalyze all of the things that have gone on in that

community. i said, how can we help we what happens as a result of that is that we formed a deep partnership. we are engaged with other organizations because it takes a village to create this type of work here. but i really celebrate the fact that this is our first project. we will have another one breaking ground very shortly, and it will also accommodate families and seniors and we will have children living here. it will be back to the neighborhood. that's what is so important. i want to also comment on an article that i saw in the paper today, in the chronicle, which i thought was sort of interesting. it was a contrasting of new york and san francisco. i can't --dash i don't know if it is accurate or not. i certainly hope it wasn't but i did fire up an e-mail to the chief of staff.

i said new york has made this commitment to housing and to affordable housing and to public housing that san francisco has not done. and that is why new york is much more economically diverse. my e-mail back to his chief of staff was someone i happen to know, was i hope this isn't an accurate statement. the next city, with this mayor, this is not the case. i want to thank you mayor breed. i want to thank everyone who works in this city. i know projects like these is a commitment that the city has that will make this city support the residents of the city and always and providing more housing. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, cynthia. i want to take a moment. we said it takes a village. i want to name a couple of the folks who have been critical in bringing this to life. tom, chris, dan and miguel and

anita, you guys have literally broken the ground behind me. thank you so much. those are our contractors. [applause] >> travis, mary, irving, the enhanced beauty of the urban landscape can deliver the credit to your fabulous design. thank you so much. [applause] >> you are rock stars. kevin, joan, jenny, mara, aaron, and kate from the mayor's office of housing. you are partners every step of the way and we are so grateful for everything. we talk on the phone almost every single day. heather, eileen, joshua, amy, and william. you make all of our long loan documents really fun to read. thank you. justin, doug, mike, larry, and

jamie and rebecca, thank you for all you do. [applause] and of course, there are so many more people than just that that have been sitting around all day those are just some people i wanted to call out. the fun part of this project is a san francisco housing authority, our permanent lender -- and our construction and equity lender, bank of america, it's been a pleasure closing this deal. i am really excited to welcome the managing director for the bank of san francisco in east bait bay market. please join us. [applause] >> thank you so much. we're so honored and grateful to be with you all today. i love this scene at the groundbreaking. thank you for that item.

americas grateful and honored. sixty-six -- 56 and a half million dollars in financing for this project. it has been stated again, i wanted to thank you mayor breed for her continued unwavering support for affordable housing. and supervisor ronen for her support of this amazing neighborhood in the mission. you guys are wonderful partners. thank you so much for the work you do together. the two developers working on the project with us with bridge housing and mission housing. i would like to thank all of the bank of america associates who work every day to assist our communities and who work on affordable housing. we look forward to many more occasions. thank you. [applause] >> thank you for being here tonight. our closing speaker needs no introduction.

he is known to many people across the city as a community leader, home grown native a passionate advocate. he has been working in this neighborhood for years ensuring that the voices of our people is not only being heard but also respected. there is an organization partner of ours not only here at 419 but also across the street. not too far away from here. they are an integral part of the community and we greatly value the work we do on a daily basis. without further ado, i would like to welcome someone to the podium for closing remarks. [cheers and applause] >> good evening, everybody. i am an organizer. i'm so humbled to be here among so many community warriors. a lot of people who have spent a lot of long hours and organizing hours on this street talking to

neighbors and making sure we get what we need and what we deserve in this case, affordable housing we started our groundbreaking with a blessing. we started with movement. we were led in four directions. so appropriate and so fitting that we started with movement. because its movements that organizes this piece of land. it is movement that advocated. it is movement that unfolds banners like that one. it is movement that demanded that sights like this return to our neighborhood and returned to the hard-working families and individuals in san francisco. we started with a blessing that called on our ancestors to guide us, to protect us, and people are resilient. resilient because this isn't the end of our journey. this is in the end of the

movement. we are on a long distance marathon. it is far from over. it is a marathon that includes not only building and reclaiming land to build affordable housing , but also protecting renters and they're existing homes. it is making sure that we get the most amount of benefits with any luxury corporate developer that comes into our hood. because of families in our community deserve more. just walk around these streets. there are hundreds and thousands of our loved ones on the streets we see them intense. we see them living in cars. or you don't see them. because they are doubled and tripled in apartment buildings like this. this is why we do it. we do it for all the hundreds of homeless kids that come to school after a restless nights

sleeping in the shelter. they deserve more. they deserve more. and we deserve more. when you join our movement, will you join our movement. we are just getting started. are you all ready to party and celebrate we -- are you ready to party and celebrate, i thank everyone for being here. i will turn it back over to marcy. please stay. we have delicious food from some local vendors and local mom and pop businesses to support the hoods and support the neighborhoods. thank you all for being here. [cheers and applause] >> okay. thank you so much. we would like to invite all the speakers to come up and grab a shovel, and we will take a picture, a break in the ground, after that, anybody else is welcome to take a picture with a shovel once we are done. thank you all so much for being here. it is really a great moment for

us in the city and the neighborhoods. thank you. >> i moved into my wonderful, 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.

>> chair peskin: good morning and welcome to the san francisco transportation authority for today, tuesday, december 4, 2018. our clerk is mr. albert quintanilla. mr. quintanilla, could you please call the roll. [roll