>> we get to build the community here. this is different. first of all, this is a great location. it is in a less-populated area. >> of lot of people come here just so that they can participate in this program. it is a great opportunity for people who have a little bit of photographic experience. the people have a lot, they can really come together and share a love and a passion.

>> we offer everything from traditional black and white darkrooms to learning how to process your first roll of film. we offer classes and workshops in digital camera, digital printing. we offer classes basically in the shooting, ton the town at night, treasure island. there is a way for the programs exploring everyone who would like to spend the day on this program. >> hello, my name is jennifer. >> my name is simone. we are going on a field trip to take pictures up the hill. >> c'mon, c'mon, c'mon.

>> actually, i have been here a lot. i have never looked closely enough to see everything. now, i get to take pictures. >> we want to try to get them to be more creative with it. we let them to be free with them but at the same time, we give them a little bit of direction. >> you can focus in here. >> that was cool. >> if you see that? >> behind the city, behind the houses, behind those hills. the see any more hills? >> these kids are wonderful. they get to explore, they get to

see different things. >> we let them explore a little bit. they get their best. if their parents ever ask, we can learn -- they can say that they learned about the depth of field or the rule of thirds or that the shadows can give a good contrast. some of the things they come up with are fantastic. that is what we're trying to encourage. these kids can bring up the creativity and also the love for photography. >> a lot of people come into my classes and they don't feel like they really are creative and through the process of working and showing them and giving them some tips and ideas.

>> this is kind of the best kept secret. you should come on and take a class. we have orientations on most saturdays. this is a really wonderful location and is the real jewel to the community. >> ready to develop your photography skills? the harvey milk photo center focuses on adult classes. and saturday workshops expose youth and adults to photography classes. >> growing up in san francisco has been way safer than growing up other places we we have that bubble, and it's still that bubble that it's okay to be whatever you want to. you can let your free flag fry

he -- fly here. as an adult with autism, i'm here to challenge people's idea of what autism is. my journey is not everyone's journey because every autistic child is different, but there's hope. my background has heavy roots in the bay area. i was born in san diego and adopted out to san francisco when i was about 17 years old. i bounced around a little bit here in high school, but i've always been here in the bay. we are an inclusive preschool, which means that we cater to emp. we don't turn anyone away. we take every child regardless

of race, creed, religious or ability. the most common thing i hear in my adult life is oh, you don't seem like you have autism. you seem so normal. yeah. that's 26 years of really, really, really hard work and i think thises that i still do. i was one of the first open adoptions for an lgbt couple. they split up when i was about four. one of them is partnered, and one of them is not, and then my biological mother, who is also a lesbian. very queer family. growing up in the 90's with a queer family was odd, i had the bubble to protect me, and here, i felt safe. i was bullied relatively infrequently. but i never really felt isolated or alone. i have known for virtually my entire life i was not suspended, but kindly asked to

not ever bring it up again in first grade, my desire to have a sex change. the school that i went to really had no idea how to handle one. one of my parents is a little bit gender nonconforming, so they know what it's about, but my parents wanted my life to be safe. when i have all the neurological issues to manage, that was just one more to add to it. i was a weird kid. i had my core group of, like, very tight, like, three friends. when we look at autism, we characterize it by, like, lack of eye contact, what i do now is when i'm looking away from the camera, it's for my own comfort. faces are confusing. it's a lack of mirror neurons in your brain working properly to allow you to experience empathy, to realize where somebody is coming from, or to realize that body language means that.

at its core, autism is a social disorder, it's a neurological disorder that people are born with, and it's a big, big spectrum. it wasn't until i was a teenager that i heard autism in relation to myself, and i rejected it. i was very loud, i took up a lot of space, and it was because mostly taking up space let everybody else know where i existed in the world. i didn't like to talk to people really, and then, when i did, i overshared. i was very difficult to be around. but the friends that i have are very close. i click with our atypical kiddos than other people do. in experience, i remember when i was five years old and not wanting people to touch me because it hurt. i remember throwing chairs

because i could not regulate my own emotions, and it did not mean that i was a bad kid, it meant that i couldn't cope. i grew up in a family of behavioral psychologists, and i got development cal -- developmental psychology from all sides. i recognize that my experience is just a very small picture of that, and not everybody's in a position to have a family that's as supportive, but there's also a community that's incredible helpful and wonderful and open and there for you in your moments of need. it was like two or three years of conversations before i was like you know what? i'm just going to do this, and i went out and got my prescription for hormones and started transitioning medically, even though i had already been living as a male. i have a two-year-old. the person who i'm now married to is my husband for about two years, and then started gaining

weight and wasn't sure, so i we went and talked with the doctor at my clinic, and he said well, testosterone is basically birth control, so there's no way you can be pregnant. i found out i was pregnant at 6.5 months. my whole mission is to kind of normalize adults like me. i think i've finally found my calling in early intervention, which is here, kind of what we do. i think the access to irrelevant care for parents is intentionally confusing. when i did the procespective search for autism for my own child, it was confusing. we have a place where children can be children, but it's very confusing. i always out myself as an adult

with autism. i think it's helpful when you know where can your child go. how i'm choosing to help is to give children that would normally not be allowed to have children in the same respect, kids that have three times as much work to do as their peers or kids who do odd things, like, beach therapy. how do -- speech therapy. how do you explain that to the rest of their class? i want that to be a normal experience. i was working on a certificate and kind of getting think early childhood credits brefore i started working here, and we did a section on transgender inclusion, inclusion, which is a big issue here in san francisco because we attract lots of queer families, and the teacher approached me and said i don't really feel comfortable or qualified to talk about this from, like, a cisgendered straight person's perspective, would you mind talking a little bit with your own experience,

and i'm like absolutely. so i'm now one of the guest speakers in that particular class at city college. i love growing up here. i love what san francisco represents. the idea of leaving has never occurred to me. but it's a place that i need to fight for to bring it back to what it used to be, to allow all of those little kids that come from really unsafe environments to move somewhere safe. what i've done with my life is work to make all of those situations better, to bring a little bit of light to all those kind of issues that we're still having, hoping to expand into a little bit more of a resource center, and this resource center would be more those new parents who have gotten that diagnosis, and we want to be this one centralized place that allows parents to breathe for a second. i would love to empower from the bottom up, from the kid level, and from the top down, from the teacher level. so many things that i would love to do that are all about changing people's minds about

certain chunts, like the transgender community or the autistic community. i would like my daughter to know there's no wrong way to go through life. everybody experiences pain and grief and sadness, and that all of those things are temporary. [♪] >> i just don't know that you can find a neighborhood in the city where you can hear music stands and take a ride on the low rider down the street. it is an experience that you can't have anywhere else in san francisco. [♪]

[♪] >> district nine is a in the southeast portion of the city. we have four neighborhoods that i represent. st. mary's park has a completely unique architecture. very distinct feel, and it is a very close to holly park which is another beautiful park in san francisco. the bernal heights district is unique in that we have the hell which has one of the best views in all of san francisco. there is a swinging hanging from a tree at the top. it is as if you are swinging over the entire city. there are two unique aspects. it is considered the fourth chinatown in san francisco. sixty% of the residents are of chinese ancestry. the second unique, and fun aspect about this area is it is the garden district. there is a lot of urban agriculture and it was where the city grew the majority of the flowers. not only for san francisco but for the region. and of course, it is the

location in mclaren park which is the city's second biggest park after golden gate. many people don't know the neighborhood in the first place if they haven't been there. we call it the best neighborhood nobody has ever heard our. every neighborhood in district nine has a very special aspect. where we are right now is the mission district. the mission district is a very special part of our city. you smell the tacos at the [speaking spanish] and they have the best latin pastries. they have these shortbread cookies with caramel in the middle. and then you walk further down and you have sunrise café. it is a place that you come for the incredible food, but also to learn about what is happening in the neighborhood and how you can help and support your community. >> twenty-fourth street is the birthplace of the movement. we have over 620 murals.

it is the largest outdoor public gallery in the country and possibly the world. >> you can find so much political engagement park next to so much incredible art. it's another reason why we think this is a cultural district that we must preserve. [♪] >> it was formed in 2014. we had been an organization that had been around for over 20 years. we worked a lot in the neighborhood around life issues. most recently, in 2012, there were issues around gentrification in the neighborhood. so the idea of forming the cultural district was to help preserve the history and the culture that is in this neighborhood for the future of families and generations. >> in the past decade, 8,000 latino residents in the mission district have been displaced from their community. we all know that the rising cost

of living in san francisco has led to many people being displaced. lower and middle income all over the city. because it there is richness in this neighborhood that i also mentioned the fact it is flat and so accessible by trip public transportation, has, has made it very popular. >> it's a struggle for us right now, you know, when you get a lot of development coming to an area, a lot of new people coming to the area with different sets of values and different culture. there is a lot of struggle between the existing community and the newness coming in. there are some things that we do to try to slow it down so it doesn't completely erase the communities. we try to have developments that is more in tune with the community and more equitable development in the area. >> you need to meet with and gain the support and find out the needs of the neighborhoods. the people on the businesses that came before you. you need to dialogue and show respect. and then figure out how to bring

in the new, without displacing the old. [♪] >> i hope we can reset a lot of the mission that we have lost in the last 20 years. so we will be bringing in a lot of folks into the neighborhoods pick when we do that, there is a demand or, you know, certain types of services that pertain more to the local community and working-class. >> back in the day, we looked at mission street, and now it does not look and feel anything like mission street. this is the last stand of the latino concentrated arts, culture and cuisine and people. we created a cultural district to do our best to conserve that feeling. that is what makes our city so cosmopolitan and diverse and makes us the envy of the world. we have these unique neighborhoods with so much cultural presence and learnings, that we want to preserve. [♪] .

>> working for the city and county of san francisco will immerse you in a vibrate and dynamic city on sfroert of the art and social change we've been on the edge after all we're at the meeting of land and sea world-class style it is the burn of blew jeans where the rock holds court over the harbor the city's information technology xoflz work on the rulers project for free wifi and

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>> hi, everybody. we're going to get started. welcome, welcome, welcome to the last day of the old margaret hayward playground. that's worthy of some applause, i think. [applause] >> before i introduce the mayor, i just want to say thanks to all of the amazing community partners who have worked with us to pull this off. this was a complicated planning effort, and we have some really, really, really passionate community partners and stakeholders, who i'm going to acknowledge in a second, and city agencies, and we have just an amazing design that is really going to serve this neighborhood, that is really going to serve the institutions

around this neighborhood, the nonprofits around this neighborhood, and we're so excited about this project. so my special guest here to the right is a community member that grew up in this park, and that's what makes this so special. i've had the opportunity to talk to the mayor about her own memories, playing in this park. this was your park, right? and so we are so honored to be able to think about the next generation, so let me announce or mayor and park -- our mayor and parks champion, london breed. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. i am so excited to be here today, because i spend many years in this park. in fact, this playground structure that is here is not the playground structure that is here when i was used to play. it was wood. it was made out of wood. we used to get splinters in that park on a regular basis. the swing -- the slide was

really, really high. nisha, you remember that. the slide was really high, and we used to jump off the slide. i mean, we were -- we were -- don't do that. don't do what we did. i used to eat lunch here through the free lunch program, and i used to get snacks here. i played chess and checkers when kids played board games. i basically spent my entire childhood in this playground, and it was a place that was safe. it was a place that i loved to come to and language out, and i was so grateful that it was just in such close proximity to where i lived because it wasn't a far walk. and so renata, who was the rec director here at the time, she was absolutely amazing. and you know, we miss her dearly. she passed away a few years

ago, but anitra is going to be the new person to run this rec place with a lot of the kids that are standing here behind me. and it does take a village, and it does take a lot of support, especially for our young people, who deserve to have every opportunity that is available to them. and it was because of programs like what existed here at margaret hayward playground is the reason why i was able to grow and to thrive in san francisco. living right across the street at plaza east, which didn't look like what it looks like now, too, large towers of public housing, and my grandmother, she raised me, and in order to get me out of her hair, she'd say go to the park to play. but it's amazing to be with all

of you here because we are going to make this park, this playground, this rec center, we are going to make it into something that is absolutely incredible. in 2016, a plan began with so many community organizations began in this neighborhood to say what the people wanted, what the people who live here wanted, in terms of a new playground and recreation center, and how are we going to deliver to make this place an incredible place, not only for this generation, but for generations to come. so this $28 million project, $28 million -- [applause] >> the hon. london breed: it's going to usher in what i think is absolutely incredible. i'm so grateful for the leadership of rec and park and phil ginsburg and all the work that you continue to do to be a champion for our parks in san francisco. i am so excited that rodney -- is rodney here?

yes, rodney and the ymca, and anisha's here. i'm excited that they're going to be implementing great programs that the ymca provides, and i'm looking forward to being here in how long, phil? >> 15, 16 months. >> the hon. london breed: 15 months when we cut the ribbon of the new recreation center and playground. and hopefully, the swings are going to be strong enough to bold adults, too. >> both of us. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, phil. appreciate it. because we are still kids at heart, and that's what parks do for all of our citizens. we want kids to get outside and play. we want adults and others to enjoy our basketball courts and our tennis courts and our rec centers and all that san francisco has to offer.

so i just want to say thank you to the voters for continuing to support parks funding every time you see it on the ballot. thank you to the community of the western addition for not only supporting this and being actively engaged, but continuing to support parks in this neighborhood. and i guarantee you that even though this park is utilized, especially during the summer, this park, when it is completed, it's going to be hard to get into, i assure you of that, and i am looking forward to being here within the next 10 months to cut the ribbon so we can get to playing and swinging and enjoying ourselves. thank you all so much for being here today. >> thank you, mayor. [applause] >> did i say 15 months? no pressure -- yes, i did. you know, the mayor talked about the importance to her of being able to walk to a park, or maybe it was the importance

of your grandmother being able to send you to a park. >> the hon. london breed: yeah, that too. >> you know, mayor, you ged to preside over the first city in america where everyone in the city can walk to a park. it really is an extraordinary thing that sets san francisco apart. so it's worth noting. it's my pleasure to bring up our newest district five supervisor for whom community is definitely first, vallie brown. [applause] >> ms. brown: thank you, phil. i remember when we were talking about this probably in 2000 --

and what was it? 10? >> it was a long time ago. >> i don't know. it's been a long time. but i want to thank mayor breed and parks and rec for saying that parks are important not only to this city, but this district. this district is very special to me, and the people who live around here. and i really am happy to see us keep moving forward with green space. but this process just wasn't a city hall or department effort. this was a community effort, and you have to remember, and all the people standing behind me, we have sheryl davis that used to be with mo' magic, and she was there, pushing for it. there's james -- where's james? he was part of it, also. and then, there was kelley

groves, and barbara, who started the process. i know judith cohen is here. rodney's here from buchanan y, and then, spencer, are you here? oh, well, boys and girls club has been part of this, but you know, they're busy with the kids today. but one of the things that i really always admired and truly respect in the western addition is that the community comes forward and says look, what's best fore the community, and they look at it as a whole. and kids have always come first in this community, and that's all something i think we all some strive for when we're looking at legislation or we're looking at things in this city, what is good for the kids that are here, and i'm just really happy to be part of this, and i will be there in 15 months? >> you betcha.

>> cutting that ribbon with mayor breed and everyone behind me, and kamaya from mo' magic. but thank you everybody for coming, and we'll all be back in 15 months. it's on my calendar. thank you. [applause] >> i should have said 17 months. supervisor brown started to introduce some of the community members, so let me acknowledge -- more formally acknowledge our amazing partners. judith cohen. you're going to hear in a second from chuck collins and rodney chin of the ymca. they've just been such amazing partners not just at this site, but all across the city. bobbie sisk from bethel a.m.e. bobbie -- without bobbie's help

and bobbie's support and encouragement for this renovation, it might not have happened, so thank you, bobbie, for really understanding the bigger vision here. a special shoutout to gary cannonand melinda schrade. they've made an incredibly generous gift that will enable us to convert the fields us us into athletic fields that can be used year-round. we're just going to get more kids playing on the fields because of their generosity, so thank you very much, sacred heart. the mayor and supervisor brown gave a shoutout to sheryl davis, but sheryl deserves as many shoutout as we can give her. before that, sheryl running mo'

magic was amazing. i was to recognize the western addition, prosac for all of their help. so many partners, and it just speak to see what the mayor said about the importance of this space. very briefly, let me just acknowledge the design and construction team because they are extraordinary. this is a design done by our very own department of public works. i want to thank mohamed and jen and the entire design team for their work. it is an extraordinary design. i want to thank the construction team, bachman. we ended up with a great, great contractor. they've worked with us on our civic center playgrounds. they really understand the level of excellence that is required of them on a city public works project.

and i also want to acknowledge a special thank you to mary ellen keller. i am going to conclude with thanking my own staff, but before i do that, let me bring up chuck and rodney from the y. the ymca has been a long-standing tenant at this site, working with the kids to give them the love and support, attention, recreation, and culture that they deserve, and they are going to continue to be here with us. our partnership with the y is really extraordinary. it's at bodecker, it's all over the city. i am really excited for it, and with that, let me invite up rodney and gary from the ymca. >> thank you, phil, and thank

you, mayor breed. the last time i saw the mayor here, we were having a program for kids about sugary beverages. and then, mayor breed came over and spent the better part of an hour with them, being involved with them on a really personal level. and i didn't have such the great appreciation for her relationship to this park, but it was clear in her relationship to those children. and i want to thank you for that leadership. also, supervisor brown, i may be the oldest person here right now, but i was born here. we lived on pine street, and the history of my family in san francisco really started in what we call the fillmore, and now the western addition. so this is really sacred ground for me personally, and a place where i had the opportunity to become who i am because of everybody who worked so hard for young people at that point in history. and now, we're on a different

time frame, where young people are less visible in our city, and whether we need to come together and say whether or not we're going to have a city that really embraces young people, and the department of health is a focus of so much work, but it's also a folk you go of sheryl and so many other people that are here that enable us to do what we can for young people. there's not a representative of the boys and girls club, but let me be that person for a second and say they appreciate the opportunity to work together. as phil already said, we're working together in other parts of the city, and bodecker is a really complex and difficult community right in the middle of the tenderloin, and how community partners come together and not compete, but really learn how to come together and partner and collaborate in the margin of difference in the victory whether our kids are going to

learn to thrive. i want to thank all of our leaders who come together to make us a better city. thank you very much. rodney? >> thank you, everybody. [applause] >> i just first want to say, what a beautiful day, and i first remember over six years ago when this bond was proposed and announced. i was standing up there on the stairs, and just imagining what this would be. and i must say that the current plans that the rec and park and the public works people have put together is beyond any imagination that i could have thought of. so nothing left to say but let's get it done, and i will make sure that we're here to do the work in the community. thank you, everyone. >> thank you, rodney. >> and what rodney didn't mention is like the mayor and like chuck, rodney lives just a block or two away, so the community roots grow deep. so madam mayor i don't remember, would you lead us in a ground breaking.

let's get around this pile of dirt and put on our helmets. [inaudible] >> the hon. london breed: all right. you guys ready? you going to help me count? all right. ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. [cheers and applause] >> you got it. women's network

sustainable future . >> san francisco streets and puffs make up 25 percent of cities e city's land area more than all the parks combined they're far two wide and have large flight area the pavement to parks is to test the variants by ininexpensive changing did new open spaces the city made up of streets in you think about the potential of having this space for a purpose it is demands for the best for bikes and families to gather.

>> through a collaborative effort with the department we the public works and the municipal transportation agency pavement to parks is bringing initiative ideas to our streets. >> so the face of the street is the core of our program we have in the public right-of-way meaning streets that can have areas perpetrated for something else. >> i'm here with john francis pavement to parks manager and this parklet on van ness street first of all, what is a parklet and part of pavement to parks program basically an expense of the walk in a public realm for people to hang anti nor a urban acceptable space for people to use. >> parklets sponsors have to apply to be considered for the program but they come to us you know saying we want to do this and

create a new space on our street it is a community driven program. >> the program goes beyond just parklets vacant lots and other spaces are converted we're here at playland on 43 this is place is cool with loots things to do and plenty of space to play so we came up with that idea to revitalizations this underutilized yard by going to the community and what they said want to see here we saw that everybody wants to see everything to we want this to be a space for everyone. >> yeah. >> we partnered with the pavement to parks program and so we had the contract for building

236 blot community garden it start with a lot of jacuzzi hammers and bulldozer and now the point we're planting trees and flowers we have basketball courts there is so much to do here. >> there's a very full program that they simply joy that and meet the community and friends and about be about the lighter side of city people are more engaged not just the customers. >> with the help of community pavement to parks is reimagining the potential of our student streets if you want more information visit them as the pavement to parks or contact pavement to parks at sfgovtv.org

♪ >> welcome to hamilton recreation and aquatics center. it is the only facility that has an integrated swimming pool and recreation center combined. we have to pools, the city's water slide, for little kids and those of you that are more daring and want to try the rockslide, we have a drop slide. >> exercises for everybody. hi have a great time. the ladies and guys that come, it is for the community and we really make it fun. people think it is only for those that play basketball or swim. >> i have been coming to the

pool for a long time now. it is nice, they are sweet. >> in the aquatics center, they are very committed to combining for people in san francisco. and also ensuring that they have public safety. >> there are a lot of different personalities that come through here and it makes it very exciting all the time. they, their family or teach their kids have a swim. >> of the gem is fantastic, there is an incredible program going on there, both of my girls have learned to swim there. it is a fantastic place, check it out. it is an incredible indication

of what bonn dollars can do with our hearts and facilities. it is as good as anything you will find out why mca. parents come from all over. >> there are not too many pools that are still around, and this is one-stop shopping for kids. you can bring your kid here and have a cool summer. >> if you want to see some of the youth and young men throughout san francisco play some great pickup games, come wednesday night for midnight basketball. on saturdays, we have a senior lyons dance that has a great time getting exercise and a movement. we have all the music going, the generally have a good time.

whether it is awkward camp or junior guard. >> from more information, visit >> this has been a dream in the making, especially for our general manager, for many, many years, to be able to allow residents of the tenderloin and western addition to be able to walk and skate at civic center plaza and experience a little slice of an east coast winter.

>> it truly was a one-of-a-kind collaboration between willie b. productions and the city departments. he said i want to challenge you to come up with something bigger and more fun, and something in such a historic location right here, right in front of city hall. this is amazing. >> we starting off by leveling the entire plaza. it was about a two-week process to get the area brought up to a dead level because the ice risk itself is not tolerant of any change in slope, because the water would build up at one end. then, we brought in these refrigeration panels that we can circulate a brine solution

in to bring the solution down to colder than 32°, and then, start spraying water on it, which, for the last two days, nature has taken care of that for us. and then freeze it, and it becomes ice that you can skate it. >> as you can see, the ice is about an inch thick, and it'll get up to 1.5 inches thick. with that, we can control the ice. most people that do outdoor skating rinks make a big sand box, and they lay these tubes in it, cover it with sand, and then, the ice gets to be about 6 inches thick or 8 inches thick. well, with that thick, you're not going to control the surface. it gets wet with the sun. that makes it unique with our

1.5 inch thick ice, with the panels. >> this year, we're bringing a unique feature to san francisco. it's a skate track that runs down through the trees. it's over 400 feet of track. this is sort of models after -- modelled after the city hall in austria. you can make a narrow skating path and get that experience. >> what we are doing is working with the san francisco unified school district to bring any kids who go to school in the tenderloin to skate here for free. the operators have been wonderful in making that possible, and we have been -- we, the recreation and parks department, have been the people connecting schools to this ice rink. >> there has to be well over 100 people that have either been married or proposed to on the ice. in fact, they have this club that gets together once a year, and they go down to john's

grill, and they celebrate and drink and eat and dine, sometimes before, sometimes after skating. they go to union square, and they relive those magical moments all once again. so who knows, with city hall being right here, we could see an increase in proposal and marriages on the ice. i don't know, but i've been on it. it's not just about you coming and getting on the ice, it's about you coming and skating successfully, skating safely, and creating those holiday magical

>> commissioner mcdonald has an excused absence pick we welcome you but we ask you turn off any sound producing devices that may go off during the meeting, please. we would ask that you take any secondary conversations outside to. if you would like to speak on an item today, we request but do not require that you complete a blue card. how many minutes per each item today? >> how many people here intend to speak to the commission, by rays of hand? okay. we will do two minutes per. >> okay. each person will htw