the excellence of our local artist and after a world-renowned champion in the preservation and promotion of our proud latino culture, and strengthen the deep bonds of our community. it's been a space for gathering, for bringing people together, for fighting for civil rights for the community in a true beacon for 24th street mission latino community. as the country watches real estate market skyrocket out of control, it's been really difficult to see the changes on 24th street and the changes and the rapid displacement in our community. it's very important that as we see all these changes, which we understand pretty well because you are in the business of historic pres preservation we be it's important to evaluate our assets in the mission district, especially given the great time

we're in with the latino historic context, is that how we call it? that this is one of the buildings that has been in that list. i know that there is a couple more changes that need to be made to the statement and i know this is going to talk about this it was important for the supervisor to be here and to request the commissioners to please initiative this process and to really dedicate the appropriate staff time to evaluate this building and to see should it be protected, right. especially given that there isn't any space in the mission, any building, any space at all that has landmarking designation in terms of the latino assets so these could be potentially this

first building and so it's important should it or should not be. the answer might be know but we should be able to evaluate it. i know we have different parties here. we have community members. we have the building owners are here too, which we're really glad to see. we want to make sure that it's very clear that the supervisors' doors have always been open to the community and to our building owners for dialogue, right. to be able to continue to look at this building and be together in that space. also, with any of you commissioners, if you want to talk to us about this for any reason, supervisor ronen's doors are open. thank you. >> thank you.

>> this property was added to the historic preservation commission landmark designation work program on august 17th, 2016 as part of the san francisco sites of civil rights project under represented communities grants. the property was also previously identified in several local state and federally funded studies, including the south mission historic resources survey, the american latinos and the making of the united states, a theme study. the latinos in 20th century california national register of historic places context statement and in the draft san francisco latino contact statement. the fact sheet before you was prepared by department, staff and reference to the exiting study. the subject property is located at the southwest corner of 24th

and bryant street on the 50 by 100-foot parcel. it's mixed with use buildings constructed in 1895 with a attached addition at th the reaf the building. at the very rear of the parcel a a one-storey building that fronts bryant street. as written, this landmark pertains to the two mixed use storefront buildings at the northern portion of the lot, including portions of the interior of the buildings. the landmark designation excludes the 1930 residential addition and the detached one-storey building at the rear of the building. i'll provide a summary of the building's significance. first, the gallery a delarosa studio 24 building is significant for its association

with the chicano movement of the late 1960s and 1970s and with art history of the 20th century. as the site, and it's gift shop in workshop space, studio 24 for nearly 50 years. founded in 1970, it first opened in a commercial forefront space near 15th street in the mission district. however, it only operated from fotherefor a short period of tie moving to its long-term space in 1972. subject of the nom inization a property that it moved to in 1972 at the corner of 24th and bryant street. in 1984, the gala rea expanded to this adjacent storefront where it operated studio 24, it's gift shop and workshop. in 1999 the gallery and studio 24 switched space and have operated that way until the gala rea vacated the property at end of 2018? historians of latino art have

referred to the founding as quote, a watershed moment in contemporary latino cultural history, end quote. it was one of the first latino cultural organizations established in the united states and was among the earliest professional gallery available to latino artists. ththey reclaimed their cultural identity and thought to create spaces where latino artists mainstream gallery exhibit their work. many of the artists are associated with chicano art movement, exhibited their art at the gallery. one art historian dated the materials are among the foundational documentary text. chicano art movement. within its first decade, they perform a critical role of development of the community mural movement in the mission district.

they took over a mission billboard along bryant street. the images were contended to -- [ please stand ]

>> they continue to hold an annual exhibition in their gallery and was instrumental in the rise of the popularity and its television televise asian in -- and its -- they have amplified most marginalized voices within the field, for grounding, latina, queer, indigenous artwork.

they help solidify the latino identity of the mission district ,, and opened the doors for other latino cultural organizations in san francisco. they emerged early on as an important and influential figure in the latino arts field of the 20th century. they are also significant for their association with the development of a street cart suburb around 24th street in the mission district during the gilded age of the latter part of the 19th century. during this time period, transportation systems and infrastructure were established in the mission district that connected the area to downtown and the waterfront. streets from 20th to 24th street were completed in the mission valley, new transportation systems in the area included two outlines of the san francisco san jose railroad cable station, and eventually electric cars.

the introduction of cable cars and electric streetcars continued to develop this mission mission district at the street cart suburb it became a primary shopping destination and featuring a soul -- its own social hall, billboard -- billiard hall and social houses. largely because of 1906 fire and earthquake destroyed so many of them. lastly, the property has significant architecture is a rare example of the neighbourhood. mixed-use storefront building, and the design elements display character defining features

typical of edwardian areas including rustic sliding -- side and, and a large storefront opening. it also exhibits stick work, geometrical flat ornamentation, beaded corners and escorted bay windows of the façade. lastly, is double honed windows have multi- glazing, and they form an entry portico on the northwestern façade and are distinctive of the edwardian architecture. they have character defining features of their storefront along 24th street. features a checker to pattern, multi- late zones, large display windows, and the display windows for the storefront. they are contained very rare.

as mentioned earlier during the discussion of the area, the mural frame is a character defining feature of the property which is called out for protection. there are interior defining features of the two storefronts include the open interior storefront space is at both 2851 and 285,724th street, as well as the raised window displayed areas at both storefronts. staff recommendation to include the interior volume of the gallery space as informed by the california office of preservation historic context statement. it notes the primary interior spaces of latino cultural centres, especially exhibition and performance spaces should remain intact.

the studio 24 building has two periods of significance. the first corresponding with the year of construction, in the last major alteration from 1895, 21926, in the second period corresponds with the significance around the area, beginning in 1972, and ending in 1984 when it opened its gift shop and expanded into the second storefront. the building retains a high degree of integrity that conveys historical significance and the landmark nomination his department is department sponsored. hilary ronan is in support of the designation, in addition, the department received from front letters of support for landmark designation. they also received a letter and opposition from property owner which has been forwarded to all of you, and i have distributed hard copies as well. stuff remains committed to speaking and meeting with the

property owner to discuss their concerns and share some of the benefits and incentives that come along with landmark designation. i do want to clarify that the nomination was department sponsored, while at the galleria organization a designation, this was identified by the department over two years ago for a designation. the department believes that the property meets the established eligibility requirements and that designation is warranted. and as was mentioned earlier, this property would be the first landmark in the mission district associated with latino history as we know it today. this would represent the first of 20th century and latino history. if initiated today, the department will return to a subsequent commission hearing

with a resolution and amendment. as a reminder, this is only one of a total of five hearings that are required before designation, before a property is designated as a landmark. the board of supervisors makes the final decision. this concludes my presentation. i am happy to answer any questions. >> thank you. any questions before we go to public comment? i had actually two questions. >> one more thing that i forgot to mention, it's my understanding that if you were to continue a item than public comment may not be open. there is a lot of people in the community from different sides that are here and have taken the time to be here and i would request if you could take that into consideration. >> is there any interest in continuing this?

>> i have to clarify that the property owner did cement a letter of opposition and asked to continue this item to the next -- to a future hearing. >> do you want to address the continuance? >> i would say that we can at least open the hearing and take comments from everybody at a minimum and then consider whatever we choose to continue or not. >> i had two questions for staff and miss smith. for the benefit of the dialogue, briefly, you mentioned there are benefits. could you briefly give an overview -- it is a historic resource, therefore there are procedural requirements under this that are the same as they are for landmark building, but there's additional benefits of landmark building. could you give us a brief overview of what those are? >> i can start and tim can chime

in. under the environmental quality act, we are required to validate properties if there is a project and potential alterations, for example, to a building, we are required to examine if this property and this to historic resource under this law, if it is, then we have already decided that then we have to follow preservation guidelines in our decision-making about alterations or changes to the building. in that way, it really does not change much with landmark designation, and there is added process, we have this commission to come to, however, our review is essentially treated the same. the benefit for landmark designation is there is potential tax relief under the mills act.

there are some land-use and incentives in the planning code that allow for more flexibility. those are the two main benefits i am aware of in addition to the recognition. >> the mills act. >> yeah. >> commissioners, just as a point of clarification procedurally, if the commission does decide to move forward and initiate at this hearing, according to article ten, it would then require any permits that trigger a certificate of appropriateness that would have to come before this commission until the board of supervisors, or this commission makes a final decision at the second hearing and on whether or not to move the designation forward. >> thank you. thank you so much for your presentation. it was very good. this is an important cultural and community asset that we

should support. i had a question about the information that was supplied by the owners of the property. they said they were not property noticed. can you clarify that to make sure? >> we did notice the property owner both when their property was added to the land by designation work program in 2016 , and we also notified them this year, in january when we scheduled this hearing and offered an opportunity to speak with them and to discuss the process and the benefits under the planning code. we are only required to notify them before the second hearing with a recommendation hearing, but our practice is to generally notified them ahead of time. >> so they were correctly notified? >> on the address we mailed it too is the address on file in the s.s. or's office and we did send it certified. we knew it was received. >> thank you. >> any other questions?

i had a couple technical questions. was the current business -- did it reach legacy business status? >> yes. >> and as far as a character defining features, can you explain a little more on the tile, the exterior tile, and then the interior spaces caught the interior spaces and the assessment and what date was that tile. >> i just want to reference my documents. the tile was the later addition that was original to the building, but it was still added during the period of significance. we have a historic context statement that discusses

storefronts in san francisco, and so it falls within the second period of significant commercial storefronts during the time the businesses were expanding, and that particular type of tile was common during that period. i would just need to find -- 1906 to 1929 was when the expansion occurred, and when that type of tile became commonly used. so based on our photos of the area, the oldest photo we have is from 1951, which has the tile there already. in regards to the interior, as you mentioned because the property -- the significance is around the gallery, it is important to always keep some of that open space area so if you

were to walk by it to, you can recognize it as something that was used for a gallery. i think there is some flexibility there because we are not seeing the materials that are necessarily important, it is more about keeping the visual connection. >> okay. go ahead and take public comment we have quite a list of speakers i will read off a few at a time. because of the length of the list, if we can keep our comments to two minutes, that would be preferable. [calling names] >> if your name has been called,

stepped to the microphone and submit your testimony. >> maia. i would like to introduce myself my name is brooke oliver. i am a local attorney and activist, and i want to thank you, commissioners, for during the difficult job of balancing private and public interests in designating landmarks. we know that is very challenging and that is exactly the issue that you face here today. i am volunteering as a council. my law practice focuses on intellectual property and icons of social change, on my other clients include most of them muralists in the mission district in los angeles,, the united farm workers union, san francisco pride, dykes on bikes,

the sisters of perpetual indulgence, and most of the other nonprofits that are activist nonprofits in san francisco. i also live, work, and own property on balmy alley, which is central to the latino cultural district, which is a designation of balmy alley as a landmark would impact our property and its value. i understand the anxiety that the building owners may feel about this process starting. again i emphasize that the process here today would only be starting, and a continuance only slows the process, if we are going to continue to wait to start, that doesn't make any sense, it make sense that we've been waiting for 60 years, and it makes sense to start, and then work out the issues, and i ask you not to grant the continuance. i also urge the property owners

to view the value of their property as i view the value of my own property, which is that it is uniquely connected to the art and culture of the latino cultural district, and the mission district, and that has driven up property values because the arts and culture make the neighborhood so desirable. >> thank you. >> we really can't, i apologize. >> your time is up. >> i think there is an important point you need to be aware of. >> your time is up. >> the cultural icon -- >> ma'am, your time is up, thank you. >> i just want you to be aware of the movable mural on the side of the building as a key element >> thank you. mr hernandez? there will be a bell of 30 seconds. >> i am maia. i am 18. i'm the only teenager here, but this is a place that has been in

my life since i have literally had life. it is pretty cool. i know i couldn't imagine a mission without it, i know a lot of teenagers feel that way even though i'm the only person in this room. that mural is such a beautiful billboard, if any of you guys have seen it. i've never been able to -- and you stop at 24th and you're at a red light and look to the left , it is really hard to not smile. i think that's really important. i am going to go with that. >> thank you. [laughter] [applause] >> next speaker. [cheering] [laughter] >> hello.

hello, commissioners. >> hello. i insisted on being here today to help keep the landmark of the galleria, i don't really know what to say. [laughter] >> it's okay. >> think about what you wrote. >> it is a very strong force and they appreciate all types of races or genders and they are a very helpful community in the mission, and they should have at

least one standard landmark to mark their spot in the mission. thank you. >> thank you. >> good job. [applause] >> letitia. >> thank you. i have messy handwriting. thank you, good afternoon. i am a proud mother and a proud resident of san francisco. heaven lived in the mission district for 23 years. i worked in the stool district and i teach at san francisco state. i've received multiple awards in support of my art. might husband is also a educator and we are raising our children in the public school system. we have been involved for a very long time. i had nothing to do with my sun

's words except for bringing him here. he did that on his own because of how much galleria is our home , as it is for many artists, neighbours, and community members. i would not be the person i am today or the artist without the opportunities, experiences, and support this institution has afforded me. my family and i have fought to stay, and we have fought off in a legal eviction of our 20 something plus your home, and we are watching our neighbours and our friends fight to stay here as well. it is a bit traumatic to stay and constantly be saying goodbye , and seeing business doors close, friends move across the bay or leave, and to see -- to have to manoeuvre by foot or through traffic around the ripped up ground, and the metal frames of these new homes going up that are mostly not for us. the many services that it provides, perhaps most important , is giving a voice and space for us who have been

invisible and marginalized. this is a historic city with a legacy both in social change and to the arts. it feels, lately, especially like it is under attack. i ask you leave the country once again in a time where latino people are being attacked in all different forms, to mark this and make sure that the legacy on that corner is not completely erased. they say we have the largest outdoor exhibit in the world and i think this is an important and priceless part of the collection >> thank you. >> thank you. >> olga. >> thank you, commissioners. my name is olga. i come here not as a current resident of san francisco, but one that lives here for many years until i had to leave, as has already been stated. many of us had to leave. i have remained a daughter of the mission, and have remained a daughter of san francisco because of the galleria.

i was a student in santa cruz in 1969. i came here when galleria started in 1972. i have been part of the struggles of my community. i have been part of galleria ever since then, and it is not just the art which is exceptional, and the artists that have exhibited their are now icons that are held in private collections and in public collections at the smithsonian and so on. that is one part of it. the other is what it provides for many of the people here are still in the mission, fighting to stay in the mission, and remaining in san francisco to give it its vibrancy and its depth of culture and diversity. but also for those of us who have to move away. so i have been to so many events , cultural account political, poetry, and celebratory, in fact,, the

galleria remains as the beacon of light. so he landmark designation would continue to provide that kind of place. so i won't take any more of your time, i appreciate your patience , and i hope you do designate the galleria as a landmark historical place. thank you. >> thank you. >> debbie. >> she is not here. >> okay. we will call four more. lineup and come up. >> stephen mcdonald -- i'm sorry >> hello. i work at -- i have been organizing in the mission for over 20 years. when i was in high school, i worked at a creamery down the street, and i got to pass by the galleria every day, i really think galleria was a place that opened up my eyes to be proud of my heritage can't be a proud

women. its where i bought my first car in the nineties, and i think it is a really important -- like was said, is a special force for cultural heritage and left for yourself, and love for our community. i worked with the youth program, and for many years, we have partnered with the galleria through the native american generations program to include native youth and being able to build their leadership skills, and being able to connect to art and healing. being able to connect to art and building their own critical skills as first nations people that have been -- there was a massive genocide here in the city, and later on, we were able to do a campaign where we did stenciling, and have our youth here in the mission not only be their leadership and their art skills, but have a display of it

on 24th and bryant. that is something that our youth will never ever forget, and has really impacted our resiliency of staying here in the mission, staying in san francisco, given all the forces of greed and displacement. i urge you to please move this process forward and designate this as a historical landmark for the latino community, because i feel like it is necessary for our community. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> can we keep the noise down, please. stephen mcdonald.

>> good afternoon, members of the commission, mr president, ms. miss vice president. i am an attorney for the owner. the owner is 93 years old, and although she may have been given proper notice, it wasn't sufficient for her. i found out about this yesterday i'm trying to find them a land-use attorney. we do request a continuance. while i'm up here i might as well share some of the sentiments of the owners. there is no disputing significance of the galleria, none at all. the galleria is now gone, and the architecture -- i love architecture, i love preservation, i love art, i just came back from a tour of museums in mexico city. some of the artists that were depicted there i have known for decades. no one has mentioned the detriments to the owner. the benefits, the so-called benefits i'm told are illusory. the detriments are real. we are told the photo shoot i think the focus should be on a win-win. how can the galleria and is new and permanent location be supported? i've agreed to meet with ms. miss brooks, the representative of the galleria, and also with supervisor ronan's to see what we can negotiate.

we do request a continuance because we are not able to really address this on its merits, but we do have some creative ideas that would be a win. the building itself, i don't think in my humble opinion has architectural significance. just the history, just the galleria, we would like to support that in its future location. we hope the building however will remain unburdened by the real detriments that come with this designation. thank you very much. [applause] >> please keep the applause down rose chen. >> good afternoon, commissioners i am related to the property owner at the 24th street property. as you heard, she is an elderly woman in her nineties. i would like to convey to the

commission what she herself is unable to express in person. the property owner is 100% against the application for historical preservation designation of the property. the property owner does not give any support or consent for this designation and the application runs completely counter to what she wants. the application process is causing her much distress, affecting her health and well-being, in the property owner does not want any restrictions on her private property. the property owner does not -- does intend to remove the billboards that is affixed to her private property. it has been a magnet for vandalism, including arson, which poses great risk and harm to the building's occupants. the property owner does not want the inside space of the commercial area restricted to the modifications. in the event of a future tenant may need to modify that space,

the property owner requests that the commission denied approval of the application. went annie rivera, the director of the galleria initiated the application process in 2016 and 2017, the property owner's daughter was a family property manager but was seriously ill. she subsequently died in early 2019 and during this difficult period, the property management status was in turmoil and the property owner was not even aware that the application process had started. the property owner's own health severely declined during the crisis period, and without any knowledge of any of the applications for historical preservation and for the legacy status at the galleria, no family representative appeared at any of the previous hearings. >> thank you. >> we found that -- >> your time is up. sorry. >> okay. >> thank you. wayne fong.

and then wong murray. >> good afternoon, commissioners i am a property owner. again, my mother and family are strongly opposed in making the property a landmark. the galleria is no longer a tenant of our building. they have moved on, and eventually to folsom street long-term. it makes no sense to ask why they should dictate how we use our building. we should be allowed to move on as well, renovating our property to meet the needs of our next tenants. the galleria request to maintain inside open spaces and it is extremely unreasonable. it would severely limit the number of potential renters.

as law-abiding citizens, we will do our best for the community, but don't want to be overly hindered and how we maintain our property. the billboard, as my sister mentioned, has been a big liability, which we would like to move immediately. it is a frequent target for graffiti. over the years, we have received from the city a number of citations to remove the graffiti one night in 2015, an arsonist torched the billboard attached to the side of the apartment building. it could have burned to the building down and causing harm and death to the tenants above. the tenants were horrified, and remain fearful of a reoccurrence my family, my mother has been supportive of the galleria for

over 46 years, but at great personal expense. we sacrificed greatly. we are not asking for higher rents so they could continue to operate. >> thank you. your time is up. >> anyway, we do sincerely wish the galleria -- >> your time is up. >> we hope they can extend these sentiments as we try to move on. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. i am mary wong. i represent my mother and the building owner who opposes the landmark designation of her property on 24th street. the designation will restrict the use and occupancy of the property and the owner's ability to maintain, repair, and author the property. the restrictions will decrease a property value and discourage potential businesses that are

not in the attended group or the intended permits from wrecking the property. also these restrictions limit the sales price for what the property can sell for and limit the number of potential number of buyers and their purpose. these restrictions limit the type of mortgages that an owner can grant and security for a loan. i want to point out that the galleria rent payments were very late very often for months at a time. my sister was a property manager who went back and forth each month to collect the rent, but was met with excuses, one after another. the owner was not pushy when the person is a little behind, but the galleria took advantage of this kind and gentle person that they became agony for her to go into the galleria each month. the bullying she encountered caused great stress to her mental and physical health which contributed to her demise. in addition, the galleria states that they demand a fair lease in november 2018 in front of my mother for six hours which

caused tremendous stress for her and on a frail bedridden lady. intimidation and harassment tactics compromised her health and well-being. this is how the galleria -- they used bullying. this has contributed to a further decline in my mom's health. we ask that the galleria leave her alone. while we recognize the galleria -- >> it is hitting your hat. >> why we recognize that galleria's contribution to the committee, we feel great sorrow that this designate -- that this is a designated historic preservation landmark. >> your time is up. >> we want you to disapprove the application. >> thank you. >> we do have a long list. i will call out a few names. line up on one side or the other and we can come up. if you can keep it to two minutes, we will be hearing a lot of the same things. [calling names].

>> good afternoon. i am a staff member of the galleria. as a recently graduated art history student looking through the work that galleria and its resident artists have produced and almost half a century is to say the least mind blowing. this institution's contribution to the artworld and its communities has paved the way for someone like me to help continue its legacy for another 100 years or more. during a time in which major arts institutions are beginning to understand that diversity and representation can no longer be performative, many art writers are questioning whether small cultural institutions such as the galleria will maintain relevancy in the future. the answer is yes. the expensive archives at many of these institutions are a

reminder of what elders within these communities fought for, and what we as a future generation should honor and protect. this is why i stand here today, to ask the historic preservation commission to designate the building that galleria occupied and his billboard as a san francisco landmark to commemorate the work that this institution has contributed to the city's residents. as well as to remind our future generations that we come from a long lineage of resiliency. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is eric. my family has been in the mission since 1928. i am the president of the cultural district, as i want to point out that this location is within the area that was designated by the board of supervisors in 2014. because of our historic assets,

whether they are in that location or not, that the building does carry a lot of historic institutional memory for the community, and aspects, and also we want to point out that this area, also in the last 50-60 years, has been the center of the latino community and commerce in san francisco. also that mission area plan was adopted in december 28th without the inclusion of the documentation of our historic resources. it's been a long time coming to make sure that our historical resources are acknowledged and protected. we have lost other cultural assets which were appointed to the latino cultural district. if we do not have these cultural assets protected, we have no cultural district. we feel this must move forward and be heard today to begin the process. thank you. >> thank you.

>> good afternoon everyone. i am an artist, activist and homegirl from the mission, i am also a previous executive director of a nonprofit that holds the same name. we provide direct legal services i was there for 11 years. i always used to say that galleria was a sister agency because we were created from the same movement. we were created from the movement of self-determination to be able to sustain a type of society within ourselves and be able to support ourselves and be able to activate and have art and culture and be able to have an identity present. so galleria is sacred ground for me. if it helps, i would like to call it church, and what do you get at church? you get solace, you get community. it is where people have mourned

and people have celebrated. is where people have activated not only as artists, but activated politically. it is a place, it was a place where you could just be in this time of displacement, gentrification, greed, anti-immigrant sentiment, all of those things. it was a place where you could be and feel love and feel the energy of community of why it was created. all are welcome there peerk it was a therapeutic place, there were many a day where i would have to take off my nonprofit hat and i would go there just to get therapy, basically. not only because of its political content, but because of a the community and how it makes us feel. this property now, even though galleria is no longer there, let's make it clear, they were evicted from that space after 47 years of month-to-month rent. they were evicted. the fact they are not there is

because of what i like to call a violent way to remove them from the community. that building is an epitaph for us, and it is our identity. it is no longer erasure. think of community. thank you. >> thank you. i will read from from more. [calling names] >> hello. my name is lindy, and i sit on the latino cultural district council. as eric and vicky both mentioned , this corner has been such an important anchor for the district for so long.

both the gallery, but also the way that they use the public space, the way that their roots went out into the community, and just speaking of it in the past is an emotional thing, the billboard, the windows, the displays that reached out for all of the passersby and educated and sometimes provoked, and encompass the whole community, the artists in the community, many of who wouldn't be seem, and windy who went on to become nationally, and internationally known. it was really unfortunate from the perspective of the district that even with the negotiation of the city, they couldn't reach a resolution. but this is sacred space. the roots are really deep.

i new paragraph i am a neighbor as well, and it is just a really important anchor. we have brought up further down, we have this corner which galleria has owned this corner, and if they don't own any more, it should still be acknowledged for how much and how deep those roots are, and how far they reach, and even as market forces encroached on our public space, our plaza -- >> thank you. >> that is important, and the billboard is. thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is norman. i am a native new yorker. i have been out here for over 30

years and i am a parent and an educator and an artist. as a parent and educator. i have lived in the mission and learning about latino culture was at the galleria with the different displays, and the art that was always present. as an educator in the san francisco unified school district, i have found my voice. not just in the classroom, but as an artist, and ritual is one of the things that kind of binds communities. it binds cultures. and the ritual occurring every month with the full moon called attention, and it became the first place that i read my poetry on an open microphone, and has a lot to do with the

energy that has been spoken about, how to open the minds, how to open the hearts to strangers. so i am a regular reader at the open mic, i have been featured there, and in one instance of notoriety, i am sitting there, and this fella comes in from new york, and he is an artist, he was in a cab. he asked the cab driver, where can i read my art walk where can i read my poetry? the first place that he thought about was galleria. he came directly to galleria and was able to share the fact that he heard about this from across the country to come here to be able to share his art as well. it serves his memory. let's keep it in the future. >> thank you.

>> good afternoon. name is marilyn durrant. i am a san francisco mission native. i grew up less than a block away from this site on 24th and florida. i'm a community organizer and a poet. i've come here today to ensure that the previous home and legacy is made a historical landmark. one of the many beautiful things as it brings history to past and present stories. going just growing up around the corner my whole life, i learned about the world through this art i was in awe of what i saw and i want that for the future of my neighborhood to, for the future of my nieces and nephews, for the future of my youth, especially with the billboard. we had the opportunity to showcase that history of our youth experience about gentrification through art, and have their message and fluff --dash amplified on bryant

street. these are high school youth who can show the rod exactly what they thought about what was going on in their neighborhood. this place means a lot to me. many community members who have not had access to high end fancy art. i feel a lot of love in this room, and i see a lot of pain in this room because this is our home. i'm really disheartened to hear that the owners want to negotiate and talk now when they don't have a history of supporting this art space. i'm also sad we are considered bullies for wanting to preserve the arts and struggling to survive in the mission in san francisco, and i want to do this to be heard that this fire was not caused by galleria, caused by racism and my homophobia. [applause] >> the billboard is a way to tell our story when no one will listen. this is what communities about. this is what arts are about to peer galleria has been creating an building art and artists for decades. let that legacy live on.

thank you. >> i will ask and remind members of the public to refrain from any outbursts or to any disruptions of any kind. thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is oscar. i'm a long time organizer with a group that was mentioned by previous speakers. i'm here to ask that you all approve the initiation of the landmark designation for galleria for this space. this space is so important. i was raised in the city and born and raised in excelsior district. i consider the mission similar to what a foodshed or watershed is. it is our cultural shed. it is small growing up as a latino in this city. it is a resilient community. and being that it is two or 3 miles, i did not know about galleria until i was in college and i supposedly got woke. i grew up blue-collar and working-class. the only art on the wall is a

calendars we got. when i got woke and i understood that galleria was there, i still don't know good art compared to bad art but i know a good space. i know a good space with a wonderful people, and i'm so inspired see the young folks. elders came up like brooke and olga, and that is what this space represents. it is the bridge. especially despite the displacement and gentrification going on in our community and throughout the city, and all our communities. but african-american, filipino, et cetera, you name it, working-class white folks. it is very important to designate and initiate this process. let's work out the details with the landlords and the land owners, this process would allow to come up with that sweet spot,

the important thing is i don't want to echo what has been said already, but it is your job to save the people and save the buildings. is my job to save the people and our families. thank you. [calling names] >> i guess we are -1 person. thank you very much for your time and attention today. my name is lorraine garcia. i'm a former san francisco arts commissioner. i am also a founding member for the latino historical society, and also designated by congress

to be a commissioner to explore the creation of the national museum, and while it is an arts commission, i oversaw the public arts program which included at times, negotiating property owners and legacy sites. i would like to say that the galleria is not gone. in fact, is a property owner myself, from a house that was a historic side, and one that is even older, it has historic landmark, we are a historic home where there are restrictions that even i as a homeowner have to acknowledge, and that i would of course, live by because the reason that we make these properties historic. the other is that as a legacy business, that the galleria, whether it is in that site or not, there are still restrictions that the owners would have to abide by.

so there have been efforts to try and communicate that, and i agree with oscar that by going forward with the legacy, the initial landmark of work that we can in fact begin to inform and also find the ability to find a connection of how these 12 worlds can meet. i would like to close by saying that i echo all that's been said , that, in fact, given the horrific erasure of the latino community, that this would be an opportunity i think for u.s. commissioners overseeing an important area to be able to make sure we are not erased. san francisco is called san francisco for a reason. thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners i am a professor