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tv   Government Access Programming  SFGTV  January 28, 2019 6:00am-7:01am PST

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homes and in shelters and then there's more people in streets. at times it feels like an epic problem that really can't be solved. i think at times where i look at our city and we often times are a lightning rod for people. people are coming -- there are folks frustrated here and people are coming here from all over because san francisco is doing their part. san francisco is offering their services. that is one of the reasons why the state has decided to get involved. we realize this is no longer a city by city issue. mayor breed can't talk to other mayors, we have to figure out how to do this. everyone in the state has to do their part. one in four homeless people in our country lives in california. one in four. 134,000 people. we have 75 -- we have 7500 people here in san francisco.
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los angeles has 60,000. think about it. that is not a small town. that is a medium-sized town in california. so the problem is great. it is also a stage that we know we can solve problems. we know if we can build bridges, we can build all these buildings , we can build all this amazing housing and build the economy. we have an economy here in san francisco with 2% of unemployment, we are the fifth largest economy in the entire world in california. there is nothing we feel like we can't do. if we can't find a way to put people in homes, if we can't find a way to have people, offer people a life with dignity, than i don't think anybody else can. we will not stop trying, because that is what our city stands for we know that we believe that we are welcoming people from all around the world his, all around the country to come and live here regardless of their circumstance, regardless of
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their documents, regardless of why they're here, and because for the simple reason that they come here because this is a place where they can live, where they can thrive, where they can succeed. we want to continue to be the beacon of hope. that city ants that state where people want to come, where people can thrive, and where people can live out their dreams , that california dream is still alive and well. in terms of the state, we were so proud to work with the city about 20 years ago to ensure that caltrain's land, ten different parcels in the area, we want to thank tony at the team for working with us, to be able to give us land at a reduced rate. many of us probably walked by and drove by the slabs thinking okay, it is just empty land. it is just part of an offramp. before i saw the division circle , i had no idea what could be done with the parcel of land next to a freeway on-ramp or an
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offramp. it is amazing. this is now an on-ramp onto a different life, right? [applause] >> not only can you go to oakland, you can go into other areas. that is what we want people to turn to. i am proud this is a team effort the city, the mohammed, our mayor, our new supervisor, state and caltrain saying, hey, i spoke to them and they spent about $60 million a year just shoeing people off their land. they said, hey, how about we helped house people? let's not waste that money and let's be part of the solution. so that is what we are saying. let's be part of the solution. so the state was proud to give the city $10 million for navigation centers. went on division center that got put off.
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the state also said we will give $500 million across the entire state. $27 million to san francisco to help put up emergency shelters. why quiet we have an emergency crisis in homelessness. it is an emergency. when you have this many people living on the streets. i know that is the beginning. we need to do more and not only do we need to do more in terms of funding and taking a hard look, we need to make sure that everyone is building homeless shelters and housing for the homeless. not just us. it can't just b.s. it has to be san mateo, it has to be -- you can't just be us. it has to be all the different counties that haven't been part of that solution. we know it is part of the stuff we need to do with the other counties who aren't as onboard. we'll be taking on those challenges just like we are taking on challenges from housing. but again, thank you so much for the huge amount of team effort,
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all of the city, state, amazing who are here today, and really to give 84 people this new on-ramp to a different life. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much. as the mayor pointed out, it takes a village to open a navigation center, and you can't have a village without the land its built on. this is where caltrain comes in. i would like to invite the district four director to the podium. he will describe in more detail their role in making this navigation center a reality. tony? [applause] >> good morning. thank you assembly member, mayor london breed, and thank you to all the partners who made this navigation come to fruition. i'm so pleased and excited to be here this morning and celebrating the opening of the navigation center, and the partnership with the city of san francisco and the california department of transportation and
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crafting an innovative solution to the challenges of homelessness. for us at caltrain, keeping people safe is what we do. it is at the heart of what we do we come to work every day committed to ensuring the safety of those who drive on the highway system, our maintenance workers who are out diligently caring for that system, and the pedestrians and bicyclists navigate highways that are also city streets. it is incredibly important to me that everyone, whether work or traveller gets home safe at the end of each day. and because safety is so important to me, i worry when i see people trying to create a home on our toughest -- transportation infrastructure. it is not a safe option and it puts people at risk because they are living close to heavy vehicles moving at high speeds, they are living long term in the exhaust of those vehicles, in their living without proper sanitary infrastructure and exposing them to disease. they are also living exposed and vulnerable to crime.
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this is not what we want for our fellow citizens, and yet more and more people feel they have no other option than to take shelter on the transportation infrastructure. this place has been in jeopardy and impacts the communities around them. is a huge and overwhelming problem, and know one nonprofit or government entity can solve it. but such big problems provide us with opportunities to innovate and develop these partnerships, and the navigation center is one of those solutions. with the creative leadership of the city of san francisco and the state legislature, we are able to lend an unexpected hand. this location is not -- is now suitable as a permanent housing site, and it will also provide an entry point to help people on the journey out of homelessness. it will balance the urgency of the issue, the safety of the affected people, and the practical operational requirements on the highway
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system. i'm excited to see the impact of this center, as well as similar partnership opportunities that we are engaging in the bay area. the celebration today highlights what we can accomplish when we work worked together to find compassionate solutions. we are very proud to be part of the effort to address the crisis of homelessness, and i encourage everyone to think outside the box and discover how you too can take part. thank you very much. [applause] >> tony didn't mention what the actual rent is, i think it is one dollar a month. is that rent control? [laughter] >> good news. opening a center like this also requires the participation of committed individuals and companies in the private sector. for that we have many people to thank, but none more so than google. i would like to introduce the chief of public affairs in california, rebecca pros and. [applause]
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>> good morning. google has been a proud member of san francisco for over a decade his. since we first moved to our offices along the embarcadero, we continue to aim higher to be a good corporate citizen and neighbor, build strong and valued relationships with local nonprofits like downtown streets , community groups, and policy members are doing incredibly important work in the city. we have a long history of working with these partners to identify where we can best be of service. where everyone has seen the most need to, and where we can have the most impact, is homelessness their answers provided us with a multitude of opportunities. we provided free munimobile for youth, we helped install free wi-fi and 31 parks across the city, we have loaned city google employees for a civic leadership project to improve user experience and design of affordable housing which earned a government award last year, and we have also given
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$1 million to the mayor touch a fund for homelessness to unify the systems for homeless i -- facing nonprofits and service is called the one system. these projects and more have combined for a total investment of over $63 million in the san francisco community since 2014. nearly a quarter of the funding is addressing the dire need for more resources for more homelessness. it is through ongoing conversations with partners, icu jeff kaczynski, that we first learned about the mayor touch a fund for homelessness and navigation center programs. this is more than worthy of the google grants provided to offset the $4.67 million construction cost. we are so proud and thankful to be here today as the doors are finally open, and more of our neighbors are able to access the resources and services they need we are honored to stand with mayor breed, with assembly member taking, supervisor matt haney, with episcopal community
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services and caltrain, and other city leaders to provide services to other individuals in need. thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you, rebecca, and thank you so much to google for what they have done. our last speaker is ccs's director of programs who will describe some of the interesting details about this navigation center. ,. [applause] >> thank you. episcopal community services focuses on ending homelessness through housing as the brilliant navigation center is an essential component of the city 's homeless response system. as we serve long-term homeless individuals, our focus is on offering rest bite from living on the streets, and giving people an opportunity to change their lives. today, 34 people have moved into this navigation center and we
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continue to accept people from the department of homelessness and supportive housing, and the homeless outreach team as we fill 84 beds. the brilliant navigation center is unique in that there are 20 beds designated for homeless women who have their own separate living and sleeping area, in addition to offering on site meals and showers and property storage, our guests will receive on site medical care, harm reduction therapeutic services, and case management connecting people to income, public benefits, interim housing and assessments for placement and longer-term housing. access to e.c.s.'s workforce development and healthy aging, continual services is also available for all of our navigation center guests. finally, e.c.s. is proud to be partnering with the city as they bring on the brilliant navigation center, and we thank you all. [applause] >> thank you. once again we would like to thank mayor breed, this family
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member, and google and further remarks today and for their amazing supports. we like to thank all of you, a republican private partners, staff, residence, neighbors for attending this. we are committed to continuing to provide pathways to housing with tools such as this navigation center and the programs and services it provides. you are all invited to a short tour of this new facility that will be led by, and by john, our interim director of shelters and that will conclude our presentation today. thank you. [applause] >> growing up in san francisco has been way safer than growing
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do their shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services within our neighborhoods, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> my name is ray behr. i am the owner of chief plus. it's a destination specialty foods store, and it's also a corner grocery store, as well. we call it cheese plus because there's a lot of additions in addition to cheese here. from fresh flowers, to wine, past a, chocolate, our dining area and espresso bar. you can have a casual meeting if you want to. it's a real community gathering
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place. what makes little polk unique, i think, first of all, it's a great pedestrian street. there's people out and about all day, meeting this neighbor and coming out and supporting the businesses. the businesses here are almost all exclusively independent owned small businesses. it harkens back to supporting local. polk street doesn't look like anywhere u.s.a. it has its own businesses and personality. we have clothing stores to gallerys, to personal service stores, where you can get your hsus repaired, luggage repaired. there's a music studio across the street. it's raily a diverse and unique offering on this really great street. i think san franciscans should shop local as much as they can because they can discover things that they may not be familiar with. again, the marketplace is
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changing, and, you know, you look at a screen, and you click a mouse, and you order something, and it shows up, but to have a tangible experience, to be able to come in to taste things, to see things, to smell things, all those things, it's very important that you do so. >> one more statement. we are the one. that is our first single that we made. that is our opinion. >> i can't argue with you. >> you are responsible please do not know his exact. [♪] [♪]
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[♪] >> i had a break when i was on a major label for my musical career. i took a seven year break. and then i came back. i worked in the library for a long time. when i started working the san francisco history centre, i noticed they had the hippie collection. i thought, if they have a hippie collection, they really need to have a punk collection as well. so i talked to the city archivist who is my boss. she was very interested. one of the things that i wanted to get to the library was the avengers collection. this is definitely a valuable poster.
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because it is petty bone. it has that weird look because it was framed. it had something acid on it and something not acid framing it. we had to bring all of this stuff that had been piling up in my life here and make sure that the important parts of it got archived. it wasn't a big stretch for them to start collecting in the area of punk. we have a lot of great photos and flyers from that area and that. that i could donate myself. from they're, i decided, you know, why not pursue other people and other bands and get them to donate as well? the historic moments in san francisco, punk history, is the sex pistols concert which was at winterland. [♪] it brought all of the punks on the web -- west coast to san francisco to see this show. the sex pistols played the east coast and then they play texas and a few places in the south and then they came directly to
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san francisco. they skipped l.a. and they skipped most of the media centres. san francisco was really the biggest show for them pick it was their biggest show ever. their tour manager was interested in managing the adventures, my band. we were asked to open to support the pistols way to that show. and the nuns were also asked to open the show. it was certainly the biggest crowd that we had ever played to. it was kind of terrifying but it did bring people all the way from vancouver, tee seattle, portland, san diego, all up and down the coast, and l.a., obviously. to san francisco to see this show. there are a lot of people who say that after they saw this show they thought they would start their own band. it was a great jumping off point for a lot of west coast punk. it was also, the pistols' last show. in a way, it was the end of one era of punk and the beginning of a new one. the city of san francisco didn't
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necessarily support punk rock. [♪] >> last, but certainly not least is a jell-o be opera. they are the punk rock candidate of the lead singer called the dead kennedys. >> if we are blaming anybody in san francisco, we will just blame the dead kennedys. >> there you go. >> we had situations where concerts were cancelled due to flyers, obscene flyers that the city was thought -- that he thought was obscene that had been put up. the city of san francisco has come around to embrace it's musicians. when they have the centennial for city hall, they brought in all kinds of local musicians and i got to perform at that. that was, at -- in a way, and appreciation from the city of san francisco for the musical legends. i feel like a lot of people in san francisco don't realize what
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resources there are at the library. we had a film series, the s.f. punk film series that i put together. it was nearly sold out every single night. people were so appreciative that someone was bringing this for them. it is free. everything in the library is free. >> it it is also a film producer who has a film coming out. maybe in 2018 about crime. what is the title of it? >> it is called san francisco first and only rock 'n' roll movie. crime, 1978. [laughter] >> when i first went to the art institute before the adventures were formed in 77, i was going to be a painter. i did not know i would turn into a punk singer. i got back into painting and i mostly do portraiture and figurative painting. one of the things about this job here is i discovered some great resources for images for my painting. i was looking through these mug
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shot books that we have here that are from the 1920s. i did a whole series of a mug shot paintings from those books. they are in the san francisco history centre's s.f. police department records. there are so many different things that the library provides for san franciscans that i feel like a lot of people are like, oh, i don't have a library card. i've never been there. they need to come down and check it out and find out what we have. the people who are hiding stuff in their sellers and wondering what to do with these old photos or old junk, whether it is hippie stuff or punk stuff, or stuffestuff from their grandpar, if they bring it here to us, we can preserve it and archive it and make it available to the public in the future.
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>> 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
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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
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$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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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>> this is a reminder to silence all electronic devices. fire commission regular meeting wednesday, january 23rd, 2019 in the time is 5:02. roll call. president stephen nakajo. vice president franc francee