getting away. it was quite a way to begin, and she has been with us every single step of the way. the g.m. for the marriott international, here to represent the hotel community, who has always understood the importance of this facility, not only to the visitors on the hotel, but to the city itself and our people. peter gomez, the san francisco travel board chair, his entire career who has been in the hospitality industry, you know as well, as do all of us, to see the importance of the industry in san francisco. senior manager at the department of public works, our leader in technical design, construction, and contracts for the past seven years. you have been at this building almost every day since construction in the past seven years. the president and c.e.o., jeff peterson, who has assembled a talented team, but not only finished expansion on time and on budget, but work to make sure the building can be used during destructors construction, which

was a remarkable feat. this building does not close down the demolition was taking place, and when the construction happened, but it remains open and continuously operated during that time. a senior director of citywide sales operations for san francisco travel, mr patrick, who did a spectacular job working with are committed convention clients for the past four years, guaranteeing their mate -- meetings could continue in san francisco. and the moscone general manager, bob sauter, who made sure the facility remained operational while these improvements were being made. let's give them all a round of applause. [applause] >> we are also very happy to be joined by many department heads for the city and county of san francisco, as well as leaders of the hospitality industry and the hotel community who help generate the funding to make this event possible and make this building possible. each one of these people had a key role in this project, and

its success, so we all really have to show them debt of appreciation. let's help to thank the many sponsors, partners, and friends of the san francisco travel association, the moscone centre, in the city and county of san francisco. without their support, the event today would not be possible. our special thanks to creative technology, curtain convention services, freeman, hartman studios, impact lighting, jazz mafia, local 16, sound on stage, and the children's creativity museum. let's give them all a round of applause. it is my great pleasure to introduce the mayor of san francisco who is dedicated her life to the city she was. she is dedicated to create the

city even more incredible than it is. it is one of the most beautiful cities to live and in the world, and she is committed to make it even better than it is today. is my pleasure to introduce mayor london breed. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, and welcome everyone. i know this project has been a long time coming, and some of you her right here in 1981 probably remember when this whole area was nothing but parking lots. this wasn't necessarily an area that so many of us ever spent time in, and to see it grow into what i think is one of the best convention centres anywhere, is absolutely amazing. this expansion is something that is overdue. it is done to help generate the kind of tourism that san francisco is so very proud of. we know that there are challenges that exist in our

city. we know that we have to address the issues around homelessness and housing, and things that impact our tourism industry, and i am committed to making those investments, his and that not just the people who visit our city have a wonderful experience , but also the people who live here, to have a great experience as well. [applause] >> this convention centre will host and bring visitors from around the world who are going to not only visit here, but also work here, and as a result, will generate millions of dollars in revenue here at this convention centre, and for our hotels, and our small businesses in the surrounding community. it was critical to ensure that moscone centre remain one of the top meeting destinations in the world and today, we are proud to unveil this world-class facility

in a world-class city. and includes new exhibition space, meeting rooms, and incredible ballrooms, and other support areas. it also includes thousands of new jobs caregiver brings in streetscape improvements, and family-friendly public spaces for visitors, and residents to enjoy alike. we have a beautiful art installation as well, including a new sculpture on howard street by artist christine corday who is here celebrating with us today. moscone centre will remain one of the most sustainable convention centres in the country with the largest rooftop solar panel array in san francisco, and other sustainable -- key sustainability features. and thanks to the incredible project team at san francisco department of public works, which led the implementation of this expansion, we were able to do this project without

interrupting the conventions that we already had scheduled. that is because we know and understand how important tourism is to san francisco. we know that we are an international destination where people come from all over to visit our amazing restaurants, our businesses, our cultural activities, and i am committed to ensuring that the people from other cities and states and countries have a great experience. i'm excited because this is finally done, and traffic is challenging, and congestion in san francisco, but ultimately, there might still be traffic and congestion in this area, with us because we will be bringing more people to this area who will be enjoying this convention space. i want to recognize and thank some amazing people who contributed to helping to make this possible. one of them is supervisor jane kang who represents this district, and is joining us here

today, as well as supervisor rafael mandelman. thank you both for your supervising and commitment in supporting and moving forward these projects. i specially want to thank the department of public works, mohammed nuru, and the department of public utilities commission, harland kelly from p.u.c. i remember many years ago when i served as an intern under the former mayor, willie brown, and how many staff meetings we attended where mayor brown would constantly yell at harland, in particular, who i'm not sure if he is here today, but his wife is here so she can represent him you were in those meetings because i was your intern, and he would yell about, when will i get my sidewalk while when will this be done while and i find myself doing the same thing to a lot of the department heads, but i want you all to know how much i appreciate the work that you've done here in order to make this facility what it needs to be for all of us, and also making sure it is one of the

most environmentally friendly facilities anywhere. i want to thank john noguchi, the director of convention facility, and all the employees and people and members of local two, who continue to work in this facility, and the team as -- s.f. travel, and so many people who contribute to the vibrancy of our great safety. and also, i want to finally think the residents and the business in this neighborhood. the people who basically suffered through the changes and all of the challenges that exist here, and i also would like to thank the san francisco police department for keeping the community and residents safe all over our city. the namesake of this facility, named after the former mayor was committed to our core values of inclusion, bringing people

together, and pushing for transformative projects like here at moscone centre. today, not only do we rededicate this facility in his honor, we also honor another true champion of san francisco values. someone who was an incredible mayor who pushed for the expansion of this project, but also more importantly, pushed for the funding to get it done. it was both city funding, and private dollars that made it possible, and because of the leadership of our late mayor, ed lee, it was possible. here, joining us today, anita lee, his wife. thank you so much for being here with us today. [applause] >> as a result of his hard work, here we are. and incredible facility, and so today we will be dedicating this

south lobby in honor of mayor edwin m. lee. [cheers and applause] >> thank you all so much. web core, and all of the folks who worked on this project, it really does take a village. that is why you see so many people on the stage, but we also know that so many of the folks who have contributed to making this place possible are here, and the people who are committed to making sure that this place thrives will continue to be actively engaged in making this incredible and welcoming place for so many people who will use this convention centre, and enjoy san francisco for years to come. with that, i would like to introduce a person who made this

project possible. the expansion work certificate of participation bonds, and other kinds of creative financial tools to get it done, and she was there every step of the way, managing the different departments, pushing for the different financing, and getting creative about solutions in order to deliver this project for each and every one of us, ladies and gentlemen, our city administrator, naomi kelly. [applause] >> thank you, mayor breed for the kind introduction. good morning everyone. i am so happy to be standing here today after seven plus years in the making. before i say more, i want to recognize the late mayor, george moscone, who had the vision that a convention center should be here at third and howard street.

i'm incredibly grateful to be here today as we honor the late mayor, ed lee, who is a true champion of the moscone expansion project. this project is really a win-win for our city. yes it boosts tourism, but it also generated thousands of local jobs. over its four phases, the expansion was responsible for about 3400 temporary jobs, and over 900 permanent jobs. when the center was built, it was a cutting edge facility, but over time, it became clear we needed to keep up with our competition. prior to the expansion, moscone had significantly less exhibit space than the country's top 12 convention centres, and we were at risk of losing many of our big conventions to other cities. that would have meant lost jobs, and would have meant lost revenues from visitors spending in our city.

we are back in a very competitive position, and now offer a lot of things that other convention centers lack. we have an iconic building design, public open spaces, a nearby garden, a dedicated visitor information centre, and incredible light build pre function hall. when planning for the expansion, one thing we wanted to do was make sure we incorporated the input and partnership of this community. when george moscone had envisioned moscone here, as mayor breed said in 1981, it was on improved parking lot, and whatnot -- not much of a community. this location is in the heart of the city where people live, work , and visit, which means a livability on the vibrancy of this communities a top priority. supervisor jane kim made sure if that's. we had community meetings pick one on ones, and actively listen

to people about the concerns and ideas. now there's a thousand more square feet of new public open space back a redesigned pedestrian bridge, and a beautiful area that allows families and residents to better access the playgrounds and the open space. we really wanted this convention centre to be woven into the surrounding neighborhood, to make it an overall better environment for visitors and residents. i want to thank you all for coming here today, and celebrating this milestone with the city. thank you mayor breed for overseeing the final finishes for this successful project, and i also want to give a big thank you to public works director, mohammed nuru. [applause] >> and his team who gave their blood, sweat, and tears to this project. to the architect, as well as the project manager extraordinaire and the rest of the public works staff.

[applause] >> i must also give a special thank you to the deputy city administrator. you hear joe talk about this project being on time, and on budget, it was can's work working with joe, and broke, and edgar and the hotel industry to make sure that we get this project delivered on budget. i also want to give a thank you to the other san francisco departments who worked collaboratively to bring this center here today. i saw some other elected officials and department heads who are out in the audience. i want to recognize our public defender. [applause] >> and our fire chief. thank you to s.f. travel, and your team, to the architects, and the building contractors for

all your hard work. this was not a project with a flexible deadline. this was a project with a dropdead deadline, and this time next week, the moscone centre will open thousands of people moving in for the first convention. congratulations to everyone. now i would like to invite joe back to the microphone. [applause] >> thank you. thank you again to the city and county of san francisco for making this happen. this is the city's building. the other things i want to bring to the attention is to the hotel community. because they came up with two thirds of the funding to make this project happen. without the cooperation of the hotel community, and the city, this incredible building, this economic driver for the city in this region would not be here today. on behalf of the hotel community , i would like to ask john campbell to come up and say a few words. [applause]

>> good morning everyone. i am just beaming today, and i see many members of the hospitality industry beaming as well, the audience, and i am really here to represent the entire san francisco hospitality industry, hotels, restaurants, attractions, and we are so thrilled to be at this finishing line after the many years of planning and construction of this refreshed and renewed centre. we have an amazing facility to partner with as we bring world-class confident -- conferences and conventions to our city. san francisco is an amazing convention city. and the expanded moscone centre will keep us world-class to continue to host these large conferences and conventions for the future. i too have to acknowledge a number of folks here today, and i want to start by thanking, and a special acknowledgement to the meeting planners that are here

today. i want to thank them for working with us throughout these last years of construction. we know it has not been easy and we appreciate it. the project has been a true team effort on so many fronts. it is a public-private partnership between moscone expansion district, formed by the hotel community, and the city and county of san francisco it doesn't stop there as we work together through the many years of design by skidmore owning. showing off today as we sit in this amazing lobby. and the constructions schedule was complicated as we continue to keep moscow the up and running, the majority of the time, it was vital to the city, to our hotels, to the industry, not to lose the economic impact

that the center generates. i thank you to everyone who worked so hard to ensure that clients had successful shows, construction continued to be on time, and the city stayed busy. and now the exciting work really begins. we are committed to working closely with the centre, was san francisco travel, with everyone to continue to attract the very best events to our city. we know there are no better teams, hospitality industry, and convention center in the country thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. we have heard a lot about the building, and its on-time, on budget. did i say that already call so we are prepared -- we have prepared a short documentary to show you about the development of this building, the construction, by irving street films and our own dan golding. if i can turn your attention to the screens, we would like to

run this video. ♪ >> moscone plays an important role in attracting conventions. >> meetings and conventions that account for over $700 million of direct spending. >> when a guest comes and stays in san francisco, 60 5% of his outside of this hotel. >> they spend money in our hotels and spend money in our restaurants. [♪] >> we needed to retain clients, and we need it to expand to attract others. >> we needed to be able to compete with other cities on a different level, and the expansion of moscone is going to give us a different edge, and a different opportunity. >> we had a team that went out and surveyed and met with all of the customers, and additional exhibition space was at the top of every list. and not just random exhibition space, but continuous exhibition space.

>> it offered 470,000 square feet of space between the two at hall's. >> with this expansion, not only can we take the conventions that we used to have, but now we can take conventions that maybe didn't fit before. >> for us, having all the flexibility with the air walls and being able to create spaces and meeting spaces is really important to us. >> the convention centers are just walls, and you can't see where we are. it was important for us to have a light, to have balconies that people can access, and see where they are, and feel san francisco while they are in the building. >> the moscone expansion was a very challenging project. it was half new build, half renovation, and we were doing all of this within our occupied space. >> one of the most important, problematic functional issues with the moscone centre expansion, is to find a way to make the exhibition centre, which was built originally asked what was separate spaces, one on the north side of the street, and one on the health just south

side of howard street, to connect these as one continuous space. this involves finding ways to exit but does expedite on how street and giving that street operational, while that construction happens. we could not simply close the streets and build the building. the traffic needed to slow day today. we needed to be respectful of the businesses, and not to be creating too much of an impact for them. >> you are in the center of an island, surrounded by an ocean of people, massive amounts of vehicles and cars, and construction around the project. 400 people on site daily. 40-50 subcontractors coming in and out of the building, 700,000 pages of drawings to refer to. there's a lot of moving parts. >> a big part of the success in managing the construction project was the location of the project management team. >> what that means is the entire team was located in a single building where they could have meetings, where they could talk to each other, and the goal was

to break the barriers of being separated in multiple locations. >> we know of no other project like this in the world. expansions -- of expansions that was done while the building was being used for typically they shut the building down for a period of two or three years. our concern was what would be the impact on the economy? we took a much more difficult road, and we decided to keep the building open. the most -- the moscone project -- >> environmental features of the building are a key component of the design. >> we are starting construction for the city his largest array of rooftop solar panels right here at the center. >> we literally are harnessing water for moisture of the air. we are combining at the end with rain water we are collecting in the wintertime. finally we are harvesting water below the building. >> we actually pumped out about 15 million gallons of water a

year, and in the past, it has come directly into the sewer to be treated. we have added a water treatment plant, and we pumping in and capturing that water and treating that water on site and putting it back in the gardens get putting it in our toilets, putting it in our street cleaners. >> the moscone centre has been part of the neighborhood for many years since we opened in 1981. since that time, after every project and expansion that we've been through, we have always engaged that neighbors. >> the community went into the process with various concerns about size and scale of the convention centre, construction timeline, construction process, noise, we had over 24 community meetings with community leaders, one-on-one meetings, and the most important thing is that we listen to their feedback. >> they brought us in early so we had a chance to inform things was not as if we were being told what was going to happen, it was actually a dialogue.

>> differences that the community proposed to us that we ended up incorporating into the design were really win-win for both of us. >> terraces were not part of the design, but the community came out and really wanted the architects to come up with a different way to sort of soften the façade of the building, and the terraces were a natural way to do it. >> the top lab that recently opened is a place for kids, five years of age and younger, and that has been an important addition to the neighborhood, because we have seen over the last several years, a growing number of families with very young children. >> we have the replacement of the pedestrian bridge fully landscaped with seating and public art. >> we have cooperated with the san francisco arts commission, and we have four installations in and around moscone centre. >> the project is 550 million plus. >> the financing strategy was unique to some extent. we knew the city had to contribute to a portion of it,

we had to agree on what stuff contribution staff contribution was, but we also needed the hotel community to be a part of it. >> the discussion about the expansion was unanimous and that we needed to do it. the hotels came together, and we voted on a funding mechanism which would put an assessment on the room revenue. that assessment is funding about two thirds of the project. the other third of the project will be funded by the city and county of san francisco. we can't move business forward unless we work together, and this is a great example of that. this is a great example of how public and private can come together. >> we've had a lot of collaboration. we have had a long history of neighbors being involved, and city's leadership, nsf travel and all the partners really trying to do something great for the city, would also make sure that everyone feels good about how it impacts the neighborhoods , and how they partnered with such a good

project. this has been a seven year project, and during that time, all of our approvals were unanimous at the city from the beginning, up until now. >> the moscone expansion had a significant impact in creating jobs in san francisco. over 3500 temporary construction jobs, and over 900 permanent jobs. >> we at the city have a requirement that we referred to as local business enterprise. we set a goal of 15% of participation, and over $60 million has been allocated to local frames for the design, and many of the construction signs. >> we had a poster of the globe on our field office wall, and we literally had a pain on every single continent from all of the hands that have touched this project from all of the tradespeople. it is very much san francisco. >> we are seeing the reward from

this project straight away. we have seen what the convention calendar looks like. 2019 will be one of the best convention years that the city has ever enjoyed. >> what is very exciting about this project as it will be serving generations to come. >> and to make it part of the welcome mat to our visiting the city has been just an extraordinary privilege. >> we deliver a significant building. it will be an iconic structure that sits in the middle of the city like a jewel. [♪] [applause] >> a truly has been an amazing partnership, but the city, in hotel and hospitality committee, the neighborhood and our customers, to this holding is really dedicated ford to make this all come together. his and now we are going to cut

the ribbon, and officially dedicate this building. we have spaces here after we cut the ribbon that we want to make sure you get around to see and see some of the meeting spaces, the ballroom spaces, the building on both sides will be open. our friends at the community benefit districts have great outdoor entertainment planned, and the golden state warriors and the giants will be displaying their san francisco pride by having all six of the championship trophies on display in the north lobby so you can take your selfies with them. we want to thank the giants from the warriors and we will officially open and dedicate this building. the mayor has a giant pair of scissors. we will get this in place and cut the ribbon.

>> six, five, four, three, two, one. [cheers and applause] [♪] [♪].

>> neighborhood in san francisco are also diverse and fascist as the people that inhabitable them we're in north beach about supervisor peskin will give us a tour and introduce is to what think of i i his favorite district 5 e 3 is in the northwest surrounded by the san francisco bay the district is the boosting chinatown oar embarcadero financial district fisherman's wharf exhibit no. north beach telegraph hill and part of union square. >> all of san francisco districts are remarkable i'm honored and delighted to represent really whereas with an

the most intact district got chinatown, north beach fisherman's wharf russian hill and knob hill and the northwest waterfront some of the most wealthier and inning e impoverished people in san francisco obgyn siding it is ethically exists a bunch of tight-knit neighborhoods people know he each other by name a wonderful placed physically and socially to be all of the neighborhoods north beach and chinatown the i try to be out in the community as much as and i think, being a the cafe eating at the neighborhood lunch place people come up and talk to you, you never have time alone but really it is fun hi, i'm one the owners and is ceo of cafe trespassing in north beach many people refer to cafe trees

as a the living room of north beach most of the clients are local and living up the hill come and meet with each other just the way the united states been since 1956 opposed by the grandfather a big people person people had people coming since the day we opened. >> it is of is first place on the west that that exposito 6 years ago but anyone was doing that starbuck's exists and it created a really welcoming pot. it is truly a legacy business but more importantly it really at the take care of their community my father from it was formally italy a fisherman and that town very rich in culture and music was a big part of it guitars and

sank and combart in the evening that tradition they brought this to the cafe so many characters around here everything has incredible stories by famous folks last week the cafe that paul carr tennessee take care from the jefferson starship hung out the cafe are the famous poet lawrence william getty and jack herb man go hung out. >> they work worked at a play with the god fathers and photos he had his typewriter i wish i were here back there it there's a lot of moving parts the meeting spot rich in culture and artists and musicians epic people would talk with you and you'd get

>> my name is randy shaw and i'm a director of the tenderloin housing clinic appeared eight years ago, in january of 2011, i realized there was something really wrong with the tenderloin , that we don't have enough lights period people say they don't feel safe in the tenderloin at night, and it is because we don't have streetlights. just coincidentally with that, see pmc was planning on building a new hospital -- cpmc was planning on building a new hospital. and i thought the biggest impact would be all the cars driving up the street to get to the new hospital so that it was really important for the pedestrian safety of the tenderloin to have more streetlights, so i asked mark aronson, who happens to be here today, a professor at hastings, if his class would do a study analysing the existing

streetlights, and here on february 6th, 2011, they did this beautiful ten page study, which became the basis for our request. i also asked a member of the p.u.c., an engineer, for the per light cost, so i could -- took those numbers, and asked the then mayor, ed lee, if you could get us the money from cpmc. we figure the cost of adding lights would be $3 million. so i asked the mayor to ask for $3.5 million figuring there would be some bargaining. they would bargain with us, and i thought well, we asked for $3.5 million, we are pretty safe to get $3 million. if you know ed lee and how much he loved the tenderloin, he met with cpmc, and he got us

$4 million. a million more dollars than it we needed. he said randy, i want to make sure we have enough money. he was smart. so what happened was a board of supervisors approved at all in 2012, but then cpmc had to downsize the project, and it started again in 2014. in 2014, we had a little bit of a conflict with city officials. you see these beautiful teardrop lights qantas everyone like those lights while we are a historic district. we had engineers who said we are not putting in those lights. we are putting in the modern lights because they work better for lu d. we are having an argument on taylor street of august 2014. and i said to him, let me put it to you this way. mayor lee wants teardrop lights. do you want me to tell the mayor you are not agreeing to what he wants? he did the same thing to mayor

breach. you get mayors who really care about the tenderloin like them, in the city bureaucracy starts listening to the neighborhood. that is what happened. it took a very long time. i used to joke about harland kelley at the p.u.c. that whenever he saw me across the street, he knew i would harangue him about the delays. i have e-mails from the staff saying, randy, we are really sorry, but worse case scenario, it is finally going to open in the end of 2015. we finally thought it was going to open earlier in 2018, twice the wrong hardware was delivered , and barbara hale who is the assistant, since i don't know how this could happen. it is never happened before. twice they sent to the wrong fixtures, were finally, on december 21st, they were installed, and they're all in

all the north-south streets, and eddy street, and i think it is all really fitting in perfectly with mayor breed overall strategy for the tenderloin. from the first week she came into her job, she was here on a friday in the tenderloin. in the last 12 months, we have seen more police activity in the tenderloin then we have seen in years. we know it is a mayor who is paying attention. and the police are working hard to, but the mayor, as a team, i want to thank mayor breed for joining us today and for her support for the tenderloin. >> thank you randy. i am really excited to be here today. i know i have only been mayor for a short period of time. i think throughout the time, i have been in the tenderloin almost every single day. i came out here because first of all, a lot of the folks that i grew up with live out here and spend a lot of time here, and

they want their community to be safe too. we have to make sure that the resources that this community needs, so kids can get to school safely, so that folks who live here and especially our senior community, so they feel safe in their community, i want to see him clean streets in the tenderloin, i want to see safe streets and the tenderloin, and i want the people who live here, who spent time here to take care of the tenderloin too. this is an effort that is so critical to the success of this community, and i say yes, community, because there are so many people from so many parts of san francisco that live here, that enjoy this community. some amazing park space, and part of what our responsibility is is to make sure that the resources that this community needs, they get. that is why this opportunity for lighting, and i know people are thinking, well what is the big

deal about lighting? it is a big deal. every community in this city, they want pedestrian lighting. they want teardrop lighting. lighting fixtures that look this beautiful. the tenderloin, we have made it a priority so that this community knows it is a priority , that we are going to continue to make sure that the resources are brought to this community on a regular basis. i want to thank cpmc for their community benefit package that includes funding for not only pedestrian safety like these lights, buffer housing opportunity, for job opportunities, they are a part of the tenderloin community and so they have invested in the tenderloin community. in addition to all of that, there will be free services and care at the package to take care of the residents of this community. it is absolutely amazing. is a true testament to a real partnership between cpmc and the

city and county of san francisco i can't wait to be there in march when we cut the ribbon to open the new hospital on van ness avenue. i also want to thank harland kelly and the guys and gals at p.u.c. for your work. thank you so much for finally getting this job done, because a randy, not only did he harass the mayor at the time, he harassed every mayor of the board of supervisors, and that is why we finally have got it done, and yes, in less bureaucracy years than typical. i also want to thank the san francisco police department. thank you for so much for the officers who continue to walk the beach and develop relationships with the community on a regular basis. it definitely means a lot to have community policing so that members of our community feel safe when they are walking the streets. thank you to so many folks who

are a part of really the driving force. they are the reasons why we, as a city, pay a lot of attention to providing resources to the community, starting with randy shot in the tenderloin housing community clinic, essential safety s.r.o. collaborative, thank you so much. [cheers and applause] >> u.c. hastings, and unite here local two. incredible partners. people who are fighting and advocating for the tenderloin. i have made a commitment as i have said to you all before that we will continue to invest, invest, invest in resources. in fact, many of you heard about the significant amount of money that we actually came into recently. it is a one-time fund, and my proposal with conversations with so many people here today includes a significant investment, especially in the tenderloin community. make sure that you pick up the phone and call your supervisor

and other supervisors to let them know that the tenderloin will get its fair share of resources, and will not be forgotten. we will make it clean and safe for all of the residents and visitors alike. thank you all so much for being here today. [applause] >> thank you, mayor breed. as the mayor pointed out, the reason we have lights, the money came from cpmc, and one of the interesting things about the experience, there was a whole big narrative about how difficult it was for cpmc to work with certain people in the city, but their representative, from the very first time i met him, he said of course, we want to do streetlights pick whatever it costs, we want to do it. that is a fact. that is what he said to. it may get him into trouble forgiving us so much money, but he said cpmc wants to increase lighting in the tenderloin. it wasn't like the pole or the fighting, it was great. let me introduce -- i want to

make sure i get your name right. pamela kentucky -- kanaki. >> we indeed want to have safer streets in the tenderloin. so as you heard, i am the chief operating officer at cpmc. we have been part of san francisco neighborhoods for over 150 years. we are very excited, as mayor breed said to be opening our new hospital and our new campus just around the corner from here, on march 2nd, less than two months. as a not-for-profit organization , centre health believes in getting -- giving back to the communities. and these lights that everyone is talking about are one of the ways that we are working with our neighbors, the city, to make our communities better, safer and healthier. in fact, a couple days ago, last friday, i was going to dinner in

the tenderloin and i noticed the lights. i mentioned to my husband how beautiful the lights, how bright and beautiful they were, and so we are very pleased and proud to be part of the city, and the tenderloin. thank you very much. [applause] >> our last speaker, there is the empire market right across the way, which is benefiting from all these lights, and they have been a running that market for decades. she would like to explain what the lights mean to her. bora? [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. good evening everyone. my husband and i own empire market right across the street. my family, which includes my children who live in the tenderloin for many years. i work at our store at night so my family is happy to have

additional lights that will improve safety on sidewalks. during the daytime, a business owner and resident, we walk through sidewalks all the time. we are faced every day with safety issues, however, i am glad to know that new lights will offer a much safer situation. we will be able to know what is going on the sidewalk outside of our family business neighborhoods. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> it turns out that the lights actually got on before jane kim left office, within a few days.

jane kim by unexpectedly, so she would like to say a few words. [cheers and applause] >> so it really is incredible that these lights have come on. just a couple of days before my turn was ending, only because this was one of the first projects i worked on when i came into office in 2011. it only took a little over eight years, but this did really begin in the community first, when the negotiations with cpmc began about the move of their hospital to the van ness core door, and has a lot of questions about the impact that this hospital would have in terms of traffic to the neighborhood, in terms of economy, and many other things. it was groups like central city s.r.o. collaborative who had been working collaboratively on passages to increase adult presence on the streets as kids walk and back doors walk back and forth between school and afterschool programs, and i see many of our partners are here

today. and randy, who talked about a study of how this neighborhood had the least number of streetlights at night of any neighborhood here in san francisco. so this, along with the pedestrian safety improvement really became the priority at the community and how cpu josie beat -- and how cpmc could make this neighborhood safer and stronger. there are many steps along the pathway to get here, of which they were not the major obstacle because they committed to this program so early on. i can't mention how many neighborhood studies and community processes that our offices worked with so many of the community leaders here over the last eight years to make that happen. i want to give a huge shout out to the public utilities commission. i know the general manager is here. [cheers and applause] >> the staff really did a tremendous amount of work to move this money that has been committed to, which i should note, also went to the tenderloin museum that was

standing behind here today, and we actually had to repurpose other city funds to come to help fund with cpmc originally, which is a street lighting funding program, and the p.u.c. made that happen. and whether the challenges we are getting, we need to connect it to our infrastructure, to so many other design challenges, and then different wants from the community. the p.u.c. really came out, along with the mayor's office of economic development, working alongside our community leaders to make sure that this happened within eight years. so i just want to wish everyone a big round of congratulations. our neighborhood really does work together to make this community safer, and i want to thank our mayor for her strong commitment to making sure that the tenderloin continues to be invested in heavily and strongly , and prioritized over her time as mayor. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> and matt haney is out of town

or else he would be here, our new supervisor. thank you all. if you have any questions or anything important to ask to folks, enjoy the lights. the darker it gets, the brighter they are. thank you all. [♪]

>> it's great to see everyone kind of get together and prove, that you know, building our culture is something that can be reckoned with. >> i am desi, chair of economic development for soma filipinos. so that -- [ inaudible ] know that soma filipino exists, and it's also our economic platform, so we can start to build filipino businesses so we can start to build the cultural district. >> i studied the bok chase choy

her achbl heritage, and i discovered this awesome bok choy. working at i-market is amazing. you've got all these amazing people coming out here to share one culture. >> when i heard that there was a market with, like, a lot of filipino food, it was like oh, wow, that's the closest thing i've got to home, so, like, i'm going to try everything. >> fried rice, and wings, and three different cliefz sliders. i haven't tried the adobe yet, but just smelling it yet brings back home and a ton of memories. >> the binca is made out of

different ingredients, including cheese. but here, we put a twist on it. why not have nutella, rocky road, we have blue berry. we're not just limiting it to just the classic with salted egg and cheese. >> we try to cook food that you don't normally find from filipino food vendors, like the lichon, for example. it's something that it took years to come up with, to perfect, to get the skin just right, the flavor, and it's one of our most popular dishes, and people love it. this, it's kind of me trying to chase a dream that i had for a long time.

when i got tired of the corporate world, i decided that i wanted to give it a try and see if people would actually like our food. i think it's a wonderful opportunity for the filipino culture to shine. everybody keeps saying filipino food is the next big thing. i think it's already big, and to have all of us here together, it's just -- it just blows my mind sometimes that there's so many of us bringing -- bringing filipino food to the city finally. >> i'm alex, the owner of the lumpia company. the food that i create is basically the filipino-american experience. i wasn't a chef to start with, but i literally love lumpia, but my food is my favorite foods i like to eat, put into

my favorite filipino foods, put together. it's not based off of recipes i learned from my mom. maybe i learned the rolling technique from my mom, but the different things that i put in are just the different things that i like, and i like to think that i have good taste. well, the very first lumpia that i came out with that really build the lumpia -- it wasn't the poerk and shrimp shanghai, but my favorite thing after partying is that bakon cheese burger lumpia. there was a time in our generation where we didn't have our own place, our own feed to

eat. before, i used to promote filipino gatherings to share the love. now, i'm taking the most exciting filipino appetizer and sharing it with other filipinos. >> it can happen in the san francisco mint, it can happen in a park, it can happen in a street park, it can happen in a tech campus. it's basically where we bring the hardware, the culture, the operating system. >> so right now, i'm eating something that brings me back to every filipino party from my childhood. it's really cool to be part of the community and reconnect with the neighborhood. >> one of our largest challenges in creating this cultural district when we compare ourselves to chinatown,

japantown or little saigon, there's little communities there that act as place makers. when you enter into little philippines, you're like where are the businesses, and that's one of the challenges we're trying to solve.

>> undercover love wouldn't be possible without the help of the mayor and all of our community partnerships out there. it costs approximately $60,000 for every event. undiscovered is a great tool for the cultural district to bring awareness by bringing the best parts of our culture which is food, music, the arts and being ativism all under one roof, and by seeing it all in this way, what it allows san franciscans to see is the dynamics of the filipino-american culture. i think in san francisco, we've kind of lost track of one of our values that makes san

francisco unique with just empathy, love, of being acceptable of different people, the out liers, the crazy ones. we've become so focused onic maing money that we forgot about those that make our city and community unique. when people come to discover, i want them to rediscover the magic of what diversity and empathy can create. when you're positive and committed to using that energy,