senior consultants, advisors to dianne feinstein when she was mayor, and his commitment to low-income housing, bar none, is one of the best examples of what developers should be doing, could be doing, and we welcome doing more. to the members of the westside tenants association, welcome. everyone is going to be sending you text messages, e-mailing you, calling you. so welcome. i was a tax collector on the state board of equalization. now that i'm your state treasurer, i have money, and i have grants and bonds and loan

programs, and i am just so honored to be here today working with all of you. i have to tell you, our tcac and cdlac, because of folks like bill witte, we are going to revamp those two agencies. we want to be forward looking and oriented and also forward looking. we had a meeting yesterday, and we talked about some of these properties, and how somethingment is not doing their jobs. we're putting together a list of the good actors and bad actors, and those that are bad actors are not going to get anymore tax credits moving forward until they cleanup their act. we also talk about displacement when these applicants come before us at tcac and cdlac, if you are going to rehab these units, where are the tenants going to go? and then also making sure that

we are a one-stop shop. so when developers come to us, and they have projects, we want to help. we want to put together the deals with you instead of thank you very much, you don't qualify, click. we want to say you don't qualify for 9%, but how about 4%? how about if you put housing along with daycare or a co-op or food clinic? we have the money for all of this at the treasurer's office. i just want to say call me any time. we want to be part of the solution. thank you so much. [applause] >> there was of course a lot of work to get this development to the condition that it is today. and there's a bricks and mortar side, and there's a people

side. and the bricks and mortar side, i want to thanks a few people. particularly, lisa grady, our project manager. lisa? [applause] >> and our property management team, one of the good ones, i like to think, our regional director, danny rivera, and site manager, shamika rochelle. [applause] >> and two people that we've worked with a long time on a lot of developments and are going to hopefully continue to work with a lot more. first of all, bob nibi, the president of nibi contractors. bob? [applause] >> they have to work with the community, with some local subcontractors to get to where we are today. and mimi sullivan, the architect who labored with us,

we were talking earlier about making sure we got just the right colors on the new building, and hopefully, the residents will tell us if we need to fix that, so thank you, mimi. [applause] >> but it's not just about bricks and mortar, and early on, working with tabernacle, my friend of 100 years, reverend arnold townsend, and his partner, gary banks, it was about this has to work for the residents. and i say to you today that i hope and expect that five and ten years from now, you'll hold us to this standard. this isn't just about finishing the project, this is starting the project. so gary, arnold, todd, and everybody, thank you for that. to conclude the program now, i

think it is particularly fitting that my friend, reverend arnold townsend, come up and lead us in maybe a little bit of prayer. i mean, i don't know that anybody speaks for the western addition better or longer than arnold. arnold? [applause] >> if you, and it's just wonderful to see everyone, and let me just say a couple of things real quick. i know that you all are sitting, looking at me, and what you're thinking, i've been last on the program before. and when you're last on the program, you know that everybody in the office just wants you to hurry up. so i am going to try to hurry up. let me say but a couple of things. i'm glad you said the staff,

bill, so i don't have to. it was some outstanding work going on. we had to be tough to get it done, but everyone did their job, played their role. big and i -- like i said, we go back a very long ways. he's not quite as old as i am, but he's close. he's close. and really, you know, we knew each other around the times of the feinstein days, and the mon cone -- moscone and agnos days. but whether you know it or not, we used to play basketball, and bill used to have a pretty good point guard game. he played east coast style, you know. they don't do much outside shooting, but they can go to the hoop pretty good. he can go to the hoop pretty good. so he called me and said,

arnold, i'm doing some work in the western addition. i'm coming back to town to do some work, and i need you to come help me. i said bill, i'm flattered, but the days of me coming into the office at 9:00 is over. he said no, no, it's pardon ti -- part-time. you won't have much to do. but he was generous and wrote me in, and i came back, and i'm so glad i did. i finally did something smart after all these years of living. i said bill, i'm older, and i don't do much heavy lifting. i have my friend and association younger brother that i need to have come on the project. he said who is he? i said he's gary banks. he said well, i don't know him, but we talked, and gary came

on, and it was one of the most brilliant things i've ever done. i'm serious. what gary put together here and at pitts plaza, but the people who worked directly with the residents, dealing with problems they had -- and i mean things you wouldn't think of, but everything from child support -- helping people that have child support issues, so people can go to work, help with g.e.d.s, they did it. it wasn't necessarily what they were told to do, but he put together a team, danielle banks, who kind of manages things, and then robin and darlene and now tiana. he put together a team that didn't look at the job description, but when a problem came into the door, they set out to solve it.

and they were absolutely brilliant, and if i keep talking about it, i'm going to get emotional because i love seeing people uplifted. let me say to the residents here, we can talk about all these people that have been in here before you. this development team, we can at some point come in and build you a howuse. we can do that, but it takes the people inside to make it a home. that's your responsibility. but the point i'm making is do what you have to do so that you have a decent home to live in, and dr. mccray was right, your number one priority for you, your children, your grandchildren, your neighbors, is peace. you want peace at home because when i got tired of all the cacophony in the streets, i go

home. so as we -- as we adjourn -- and there's food back there, i assume. i sure hope so -- why don't we do this. whatever your discipline may be, whatever your culture requires, your faith culture, if you're not attached to anything that you believe is greater than you, then i'm going to pray for you to my god. and whatever name you may call god, do it now, and let's just ask blessings upon this event. we thank everyone for this event and blessings upon the food that we are about to receive, that it will nourish us, not only in body, but in mind and spirit, and that that spirit will not rest until it gets the amount of love out of

each of us that it needs, and let everyone say amen. thank you. [applause] >> well, first of all, arnold, thank you for dating me. but where i come from, east coast style is a compliment, so i'll take that. [inaudible] >> but arnold -- you're right about that. arnold, you don't get the final word. todd clader from tabernacle has been involved in the bricks and mortar, and the people side, and everything in between. he's been with us in the beginning and has kept everything together and is going to continue to do that. todd? [applause] >> good afternoon. well, i guess we're still in

the morning, so i'll make this quick so we can get onto the afternoon. first off, thank you all for being here. i want to acknowledge mayor breed, supervisor brown and state treasurer fiona mah for their remarks and participation in this momentous occasion. well, i had a whole thing, you know, mapped out about who i was going to mention and recognize this morning, and i really become so engaged in what everybody else said about the key players in this project that i'm not sure there's a whole lot more that i can add. what i will say is that this

project has been a three-year saga, and it has involved many planning and community and team meetings at various levels that have made it possible for us to celebrate today. i'd like to refer to the history of this property as a world war ii era construction complex. and while the mayor noted that, you know, it takes a village to build a community like this, what i want to add is it takes an army to modernize a world war ii era concrete block set of buildings and grounds. and we had a fantastic team, you know, to execute this task.

first off, i want to invite lisa grady up to the podium. she's been the voice of reason when it comes to the redevelopment of this property. and i have to say through the ups and downs together, we've been able to make the lives of the residents better and expect that this is not just a statement about what we can do today, it's a statement about what we intend to do, it's a statement about the generations

ahead. so what i want to impart to you is that our relationship has grown. you know, not just from work here at robert g. pitt. so i want to embrace lisa for all that she's done. [applause] >> i also want to acknowledge some of the ground troops that have made this project a a success. in particular, with respect to engaging the residents, i want to acknowledge the f.r.h. team, some who have moved on and some who are new to the property. as noted by reverend brown, darlene and arnold were very essential -- reverend townsend,

darlene and arnold were very essential in allowing us to meet the resident where they are and allowing change. because this is a thing change. also, i want to acknowledge alonso torres and the maintenance team. their work is largely unseen until you actually come back to the property after they have made their mark. it's really a statement to their commitment to this property. i want to thank our relocation specialist. that woman has had the -- probably the most arduous task of all, helping residents relocate to temporary quarters and all of the preparations that are necessary to get them out of their old units into temporary units and then back into their original unit.

that's jessica garlett. is she here today? maybe she didn't make it, but kudos to her. [applause] >> yes, she deserves a round of applause. there are a couple of key residents that i want to recognize for prevailing with us. one is the former tenant association president, emma casey. emma was really my voice of the community because she never failed to pull my coattails to beat me down, what i needed to do and what i needed to do more of. emma is a champion for this community, and i appreciate all of her service.

[applause] >> i also want to recognize the work of randy walton, who spoke earlier. he's now the treasurer. he was the vice president and has been the coordinator of the food bank for these past three years that we've been here with this project. and let me tell you, having to move the food bank from one unit to another and coordinate, you know, the deliveries and make sure that folks get food who aren't always able to attend the food bank when it's open. you know, it's -- it's a monumental task, and i have to say he has been steadfast in his commitment to see to it that people have the food that many rely on, you know, for -- for their sustenance, and i'm

looking forward to him and the community room, now that we're looking forward to them moving in and operating there well into the future, so thank you, randy. [applause] >> so there's some design and construction folk that need recognition about this morning, as well. you heard mimi sullivan mentioned earlier, and her crew at her design firm. and i also want to acknowledge the other design team members, including dan morris of merle morris, our landscape architect, who did a great job let's just say breaking up some

of this concrete. you wouldn't believe what a concrete jungle this was, but now, it looks like people live here. so that's a tribute to a lot of the work put in by dan and his team. also, i want to acknowledge the construction engineer. if you've ever dealt with a world war ii era building, you know there's a lot of concrete put in that had to be over come from over the years. and then, boy, nibi contractors is one of the san francisco's -- is a san francisco treat. i just can't tell you how proud

we are of having them be our contractor. they have been responsive -- they not only have been responsive to the developer, they have been responsive to the residents. residents have stopped them in the middle of, you know, a hammer and saw activity to help them overcome whatever little, you know, nuance needed to be addressed, and i appreciate them, and i want to just mention kieran daly. he's a brand-new dad, and so i'm glad he could make it. [applause] >> and then, i also want to recognize the guy, you know, who keeps all the contractors

workers in line, jim galloway. [applause] >> he's the supervisor that worked with us at robert g. pitt. [applause] >> then, there's colby, looking all skate boardish. he didn't go home sometimes at night, making sure everything got done right. then i want to acknowledge dennis denman, the construction staff man with construction associates. she was the person who was looking over the contractor's shoulder over these years, so thank you, devon, and our boss, harvey mendoza. so with that, i just want to

conclude with this is only the beginning, folks. we are continuing to transform lives here at westside courts. we will continue with our commuter literacy courses sponsored by the city's office of digital equity. we have alex hahn here, who's joined us, who heads up that office to provide the -- not only free internet access for our residents but also courses together with c.t.n., the service provider who is provider training to the residents on basic computer literacy, internet access, and

advanced courses in computer training. so we're really excited about that. and we are also going to continue to look to f.r.h. and gary banks and joanne, antoinette hopkins as they continue the work of providing job training and placement for our residents. this is about the holistic evolution about this community and this is the model that tabernacle and related are now carrying forward in our work in this -- in this city and across the state. and, you know, while i've got fiona sitting here, you know, with her rapt attention, yes, we will be calling you because

this very rule of adapting the rules to folks doing the work, that is music to our ears because that has been the impediment. if you've got to check all these boxes that fit into certain protocols, that's going to eliminate a whole lot of others who are really capable and willing to do this work. so any way, i wrap up with that, and amos brown told me that's enough. [applause] >> oh, yes, and let me mention, we are going to be offering tours starting at 12:15? >> 12:40. >> 12:40. so you can grab a drink or a

bite and meet us at this table just over to my left if you care to join us for a tour, 12:40. thank you. >> i moved into my wonderful, beautiful, affordable housing march 7th. i have lived in san francisco since i was two-years-old. i've lived in hunters view for 23 to 24 years now. my name is vlady.

i use titus and i am the resident commissioner for the san francisco housing facility. from the very beginning, this whole transition of public housing and affordable housing was a good idea. but many, many residents didn't think it would ever actually happen. it's been a life changing experience. and i'm truly grateful for the whole initiative and all those that work on the whole sf initiative. they've done a wonderful job accommodating the residents, who for many years have lived in delap tated housing. now they have quality housing. i was on a street where the living room and the kitchen and stairs. it wasn't large enough to

accommodate. the children are grown. i had the accomplish of having a dishwasher in my home. i really like that. [laughter] i really like not having to wash dishes by hand. we still do it from time to time. the mayor's office has been a real friend to us, a partner. we know that our city supports us. i love san francisco. just to be able to stay in my community and continue to help the residents who live here and continue to see my neighborhoods move into new housing, it's been a real joy. it's been a real joy. >> thank you all very much for coming out on this rainy san francisco day to help us

celebrate a landmark project for the people of this city. my name's ed reiskin. i'm the transportation director here in san francisco, and really glad to be able to be here today to celebrate long-planned improvements for one of the most important corrid corridor in our city. it was more than 30 years ago that some folks were looking at our city and thinking about the future of it and back then identified the geary corridor as one of the most important corridors for transit in our city looking forward into the future, and they were right, because fast forward 30 years later, the geary corridor is one of the highest if not the highest bus ridership transit corridor in the western united states. it's -- you have -- it's pretty impressive. it's alone -- if the geary

transit were its own transit, it would be among the largest transit systems in the bay area, so the folks back then had it right when they recognized the importance of the geary transit system to san francisco. so fast forward to today. we at the sfmta have been maded improvements over the years within the constraints of the street as it is to try to add more service, to try to improve the service. but the project that we're breaking ground on today really takes that a quantum step forward in terms of not just making improvements to muni but also upgrading the infrastructure, modernizing the infrastructure and making the street safer, which is really pulling together a number of different city priorities and bundling them into one project here that we're breaking ground on today. that kind of project, hitting that many city policy goals,

doesn't just happen. it takes a lot of work from a lot of leadership, a lot of our community partners. you'll hear some of them speaking today, but it also takes policy and political leadership, so i want to acknowledge the sfmta board of directors, our chair heinicke and director torres, art torres is here. it takes the board of supervisors who sit as the transportation authority board, and vallie brown is here, the supervisor from this district. it takes leadership from the top, and from the time she took office, three priorities of the mayor have been upgrading muni, and making our streets safer.

it wouldn't be the same without here, so please join me welcoming our mayor, mayor breed. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: hello, everyone. exciting day to be here. every time i come to the neighborhood, i think about my childhood, and i actually grew up right down the street. and we used to take certain routes when we were kids. we would hangout -- i mean, i went to rosa parks elementary school, but we would hangout and jump the fence and play on the playgrounds. then, we would walk across geary beforehand, and we would not necessarily walk across the lights. i think the video game frogger was probably designed because we would leapfrog through the streets which were definitely not safe as kids, and that's why this project is so important. we would head over to japantown and hangout at japantown bowl.

and back then, things were a lot different. we had fun as kids, but we got into trouble probably some here and there by crossing the streets where we shouldn't have, and we really want to focus on trying to make san francisco a better, more safe place, and make our public transportation system a lot more reliable than it had been in the past. i think about, you know, just what we've been able to accomplish in this community. you know, a lot of great improvements in our public transportation system. in fact, when i served on the board of supervisors, because there was a geary limited, which is now the geary rapid. i didn't understand why the fulton and the 510 and all these buses that came between the west side and the east side transportation, why we weren't thinking more about our transportation systems and

thinking more about the 510-r. thank you to the sfmta because it's been a great addition to our public transportation system. but i also think about the past. if we had built all of our transportation systems underground, it would be even a more amazing system with not only better transportation but safer transportation. this project today as we break ground on what i think is going to make such a significant impact on this community but also folks who live in the west side of the city, people who rely on the 38 geary, whether it's the rapid or the regular 38 geary, to get to school, to get to work, to shop, and to do the kinds of things that so many people want to do on our public transportation system. providing the geary b.r.t. i think is going to change how people are getting around,

making it a lot more efficient and making our public transportation system much more reliable than it had been in the past, and that's what this project is about. it's also about safety and improving access to our public transportation system for people who are seniors and those with disabilities. i know that this community wanted to save the laguna street stop because we have a lot of seniors who use that stop, and going up and down the hills are not necessarily an easy thing as you get older, and we were able to do that because of this community. we also know the laguna street -- the webster street bridge is something that was important to this community and particularly to the rosa parks elementary community. so we've been able to do things and making sure your voices were heard as we move forward

public transportation here in san francisco for all residents. so i'm excited to be here today because this is a long time coming. yes, when we did the central subway, and we visited the -- there was this big machine called big bertha, and we got a chance during that ground breaking to write, you know, messages on big bertha, the -- what do you call it, the thing -- tunnel what? the tunnel boring machine, the thing that's driving the hole underneath the ground, and i wrote on big bertha, see you on geary boulevard. well, my dream project is to go underground on geary boulevard, but the money is not necessarily this to do that. but we're doing the next best thing. we're providing bus rapid transit service on geary boulevard with the goal of improving public transportation on one of the busiest corridors

of our city. it's going to make an impact, and i'm excited because it's going to be a challenge. congestion is a problem in san francisco. people are frustrated. there's a lot of construction that's happening. and what i want people to know is i gueet that we have challenges, and we're going to be doing some short and long-term fixes to address those challenges. but just imagine before any of us was born, some of our leaders made a decision to go underground then and were inconvenienced at that time how we would be dealing with a better transportation system now. we have to make some tough decisions to improve transportation for future generations. that's what this is about, improving our system for the future so that the future generation of san franciscans are not pointing the finger at us and blaming us for not doing the right thing and making our

system better for all of us. i also want to take this opportunity to talk just a little bit about safety and safety on our streets because we know, sadly, more recently, there have been a number of fatalities that have happened because of collisions. and part of what we need to do, yes, is improve our public transportation system, but more importantly, improve our infrastructure so that people are safe on our streets. and also one of the things that i am pushing for is making sure that our police department, they're issuing more citations for those drivers who are basically creating a bit of a nuisance on our streets, the people who are driving too fast, and that is just really a problem. so i know none of us want to get a ticket, so i want you all to slow down. people are walking, people are riding bikes. seniors are trying to make it

across the street and may not make it across before the light changes. we have to do more as a city to protect residents, and that means making improvements to our infrastructure and holding people accountable who are out there, creating challenges on the road. not an easy thing to do, but a necessary thing to do as we improve our infrastructure. i know congestion is frustrating. i know that people want to get from point a to point b, but i ask you to be patient with us. i ask that you slow down, and i ask that you continue to support these projects that are going to make our city better, make our public transportation, and make our city safer in the long run. with that, i want to introduce someone who has had an important role in helping me who, when i was on the board of supervisors, we were able to secure funding for this project, as i said, we were able to save the webster street bridge, and we were able to

save the laguna street stop. and as someone who has played an important role in this community and all the challenges it's faced in the past and will continue to face in the future is your supervisor, vallie brown. [applause] >> supervisor brown: i just want to thank everyone for being here today. i also would like to thank the rosa park elementary school. mayor breed, you missed their performance, and that would have been your favorite part of this. that was an -- amazing. i usually don't quote famous figures, but i think mark twain has a good quote for this particular day. good things come to those who wait if you don't die in the meantime. and i think a lot of us have a few gray hairs since prop k passed in 2003 for the b.r.t.,

the geary b.r.t., but here we are, and i'm really excited about this, and i'm really excited to look around the room and see so many people that were part of this process. and i know i've talked to a few of you, and you all remember the meetings that we would have year and year, and they were up in the cathedral, and i think someone reminded me, one meeting -- community meeting, someone stole the comment box. so -- yes, yes. so this has been a journey. but i'm very excited about this project. you know, the geary b.r.t. has 54,000 riders a day. so if we're able to save two minutes of every san francisco ride, that's 18,000 hours a week. that is 75 days a year that we save san franciscans. that's pretty amazing.

if -- this is something that mayor breed and i have dealt with for years, the safety of the geary boulevard through vanness through stannion, and i know she had talked about it, but there has been tragedies. people have been hit and killed there, and it's something that we've looked at, everybody has looked at it, how to make it safer. the geary boulevard has eight times as many collisions as anywhere else in the city, and that's disturbing when you think about that. so what is exciting about the geary b.r.t. is it actually will be working on pedestrians safety. and just adjacent here to japantown, it's going to be happening, and that's exciting, and so many of you in this room have been fighting for this for years. and it also is going to bridge

the community back together with japantown and the western addition that was separated by this huge busy freeway and redevelopment, and something that we're going to make good onto bring these communities closer together with this kind of pedestrian safety. so i wanted to thank everyone for coming, and i want to thank sfmta and all their great staff that has put up with all of us through these years. and i say let's get the -- let's get it started. and i think this is the ground breaking. i'm not really sure -- or we're planting something, not really sure. either way, thank you, everyone, and we'll see you soon. [applause] >> good afternoon, everybody.

i'm malcolm heinicke. i'm the chair of the sfmta board. it's very nice to be in this building not yelling at my daughter to dribble more with her left-hand. so thank you all for indulging. it's great to have a school like rosa parks named after our community's history. my fellow director on the board, art torres is here. you may remember him as a state senator, leader of the california democratic party. also went to church with rosa. he has wonderful stories of her. i think it's great that we have our own pioneer from the neighborhood here today as our mayor. mayor breed, it's really a privilege to call you our mayor. [applause] >> so in addition to being nice to the mayor, what qualifies me to be the chair of the sfmta -- she didn't appoint me, but i

really just respect her in her own right, of course, is that i ride the system every day. it is my primary form of transportation. i get to work, i get to the gym, i get to my children's events on muni. and i live in a part of town where i can ride the underground. i ride the metro every day. when it works, most of the time, i have a ten-minute commute free of obstruction, and i feel like a real san franciscan. i'm not polluting the air, i'm not congesting the streets, and i'm taking, quite frankly, is what is the most efficient route for me. i want that experience for all san franciscans, and here, on geary street, as the supervisor mentioned, we have 54,000 customers a day. 54,000 customers who don't have the free, unobstructed ride that i do, at least not now.

mayor breed is exactly right. we could have made choices earlier, but going back in history doesn't help us. making the right choices now does help us. so with mayor breed's leadership and the leadership of my fellow directors, i'm proud to be delivering a product that as i've said many times before will be the above-ground subway for our residents. it will priev efficient service and hopefully, the folks who ride this will have the same feeling i have about my commute. this is the most efficient and attractive way to go. that's how we will reduce congestion, pollution, and accidents. now, this isn't just a transit efficiency project, this is a very significant and broad project that as director reiskin said will increase pedestrian safety, increate cyclist access and of course

make the overall system work much better. so i am very proud to be here as we move around some dirt in planters to signify the opening of this project which is really just going to be fantastic and serve these customers so well. and -- and one of the things i get to do here, i have the privilege of introducing director nuru to you all, this is a partnership. sfmta works not only with the mayor's office but with our partners in other departments, including the department of public works to bring all these projects together, and we're so grateful for that partnership over the years. and i will say personally, i've been doing this now for 12.5 years, i'm grateful for all the support you've shown us over the years. please, come celebrate with us. [applause] >> chair nuru: thank you, director heinicke, thank you, mayor breed, thank you, director reiskin. i want to begin by just taking

this opportunity to reiterate our commitment from san francisco public works to the city's vision zero goal of making the streets safer for all users, whether you're driving, you're biking, or you're in transit. every traffic fatality here in our city is heartbreaking. and when we lose someone, whether it's a neighbor or classmate or someone, these are situations that are frankly unacceptable and preventible. and so i'm excited about the improvements that are coming to geary boulevard. and as the population in our city continues to climb, our city is getting more congests and, we have to double down on our efforts to make our streets much safer and improve the transportation infrastructure.

one of the exciting parts for us is while we are improving the transportation infrastru infrastructure, we are going to be improving many of the sewer and water lines along geary, which will be ensuring the customers and businesses that you will continue to have quality utilities. the geary b.a.r.t. -- b.r.t. is making safer crossings, making greater visibility between traffic and pedestrians, and slowing the traffic down in our city, which is something our city really needs. we will also be repaving a significant part of geary so that people who drive will have a much smoother and safer experience while they're driving on geary -- on geary boulevard. this project is a major

undertaking, and we heard that many agencies are involved, but also, a huge partnership with the community, so -- that have been involved in bringing the project to fruition, and at this time, i would ask tilly chang from the transportation authority who's been a major partner to say a few words. [applause] >> thank you so much, mohamed, mayor breed, and honored guests. i'm so delighted to be here on behalf of the transportation authority to congratulation the sfmta and our partner agencies on this very happy day, and the entire community, really, for this collaborative effort. as mayor breed mentioned, this has been a long time coming, and recognizing that the plans began well over 30 years ago as well as the vision for this area. this muni vision was expressed as early as the 2001 plan,

carried forward in 2003, and then carried forward by voters in the prop k expenditure plan. because we all recognize to bring the community back together and heal the division that had been created through the earlier development of the division section, but also improve the ridability for the 50,000 riders who use this essential corridor every day. so i just wanted to recognize all the hard work on this project, from board members past and present, c.a.c. members past and present, and i see many of them here in the audience today. i'll just recognize a few, ben horn, richard hashimoto from japantown. i'm sorry if i missed a few others. we welcome the community effort

from the members, the merchants, the riders, and you're seeing the fruit of that collaboration in the designs that are kicking off today. of course, this is an essential transit safe reliability and travel time improvements, as supervisor brown mentioned in fantastic fashion with the 75 days a year of travel savings when you add it all up, but it's a significant safety project and a way to knit the community together. i just want to thank all the hard work that my team and many others across the city family have devoted in all the hours and the outreach and the funding phase, and working with groups like the japantown task force and fillmore communities and the merchants such as everything from the cpmc which just very happily opens at the

intersection of vanness and geary to the smaller businesses and the medium sized businesses in the japantown area, the fillmore, all those folks who will be able to be confident that we have safe and accessible routes to essential transit services for the commuters again and everybody who relies on this important line. so i just want to thank everyone for your hard work, your collaboration. mayor breed, thank you. especially when you were on the board of supervisors to challenging us to really work with the community to ensure that we were listening to them, whether it was the laguna stop, whether it was the western street bridge, whether it was making sure that we were maintaining access for everyone and preserving as much parking as we were. i think we were able to maintain 95% of the parking along the corridor. these are really important features that we can ensure a complete project. we were even able to ensure

north-south travel and integrate the masonic project. so i thank all the agencies and p.u.c. now. we're really going to be able to upgrade the p.u.c. infrastructure. we were able to provided about $13 million in local fund along with g.o. funding to collaborate on this project. i want to make sure we gather very soon, i think in 2021 for the ribbon cutting to celebrate this important improvement but also ahead to delivering the full project together in the coming years. thank you so much. five, four, three, two, one. here we go. [cheers and applause]

>> okay. if i could call this meeting of the board of directors to order. ms. bummer, will you call the role. [role called >> mr. chair, you have a quorum. please be advised that the ringing and use of cell phones, and pagers, and other electronic devices are prohibited at the meeting. any personal responsible for one going off in the