recreation and park department, and together, we're going to continue to work with our city's most vulnerable kids and teach them to love the beautiful game. >> i want to tell everybody back home, i hope you all make it over here and join teams like this like street soccer u.s.a., and live your life. get a better life. >> right away, just be patient, and then, everything will be okay. >> good morning. oh, my gosh. this is not only an auspicious

occasion, it is truly joyful. it is my tremendous pleasure and honor to ask you to give a warm welcome to our mayor, london breed. you've got it. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: all righty, huh? we're getting started, but today is really a very happy occasion. i am so really honored to be here to celebrate the opening of 83 new 100% affordable housing units in the city and county of san francisco. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: what's so amazing about this project is not only are these units 83 units for formerly homeless persons but for formerly homeless families, people with children who will

have a safe, affordable place to call home. 50% of the units will go to people who unfortunately were homeless on our streets here in san francisco. that is something that we can absolutely be proud of. but we know we have more work to do. we know that we have a long way to go, but i am hopeful, i'm optimistic because not so long ago, i stood in this very room with a number of nonprofit organizations, a number of leaders in affordable housing and homeless services. we stood in this room, and we talked about an unanticipated amount of money that came to the city and county of san francisco. we did not expect this additional revenue, and i am proud to report that not only has the board of supervisors and i worked out an agreement for those funds, but i signed

that legislation today. the eraf funding will go into effect, and as a result, right next door to 1036 mission, we are going to build 250 new affordable housing units, 100%, for formerly homeless individuals. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: 250 units. and i've got to tell you, it is a great time to be mayor in san francisco, because although we know that our number one challenge is addressing homelessness and trying to make sure that sadly people who are struggling on our streets get a safe and affordable place to call home, folks are hopeful about the future of san francisco. we're out there working every single day with so many amazing

partners, people who are willing to invest in projects just like this. i just want to thank t.u.c. and people like dawn, for your commitment to support and build affordable housing projects all over our city, but your work in rehabilitating some of our affordable housing projects so that those places are also safe and the conditions of those -- that those residents are living in are good and quality conditions, as well. so i am just really excited to be here today, and i am so excited for especially the families, the people who are living here, the people who will be raising their children here and walking their kids to school from this very place. it's an exciting time in our city, as i said, and so many incredible people to thank, including dawn falk and tndc. thank you to the mayor's office of housing and community

development, and the office of homelessness and supportive housing for providing the wraparound services necessary to make sure that these families not only have a safe and affordable place to call home, but they thrive in the city and county of san francisco. and congratulations again to all the families, thank you to all the employees and all the folks that are going to continue to work with us to ensure that we continue in san francisco to build more housing opportunities like this for so many of our families and so many of the folks who need it the most. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you so much, mayor breed. you honor us with your presence. please join me in welcoming our supervisor, matt haney. [applause] >> supervisor haney: thank you, don. thank you for your leadership in making this come to fruition

and for making so many more opportunities for community housing. i am so excited to be here as the district six supervisor. this is actually my very first ribbon cutting as supervisor, and i couldn't imagine a more appropriate place and a more appropriate partner than tndc to be doing this with. this building and what it represents for the future of our community, for the people, for the residents who are going to live here, for our commitment to make sure that no family is homeless in our city, i think, is just such a powerful statement and a joyous occasion. i was a school board member for six years, and one of the most heart -- one of the most painful things that we have in our city is that we have far too many families who are without stable and secure housing, many who are either on and off our streets or in the shelters. some of whom are in studios or doubled up, this is the way we

solve that problem, by building housing, by building housing of different types where we actually have not just one bedrooms, but we have two bedrooms, we have three bedrooms. we know that families need to be able to have secure and stable housing as they grow and commit to place. i'm also very excited to see the open space that's here. i got to go, and if you haven't yet, go up and see the beautiful floor. it's in soma, a place where we're in need of open space. south of market is a place that needs more affordable housing. it's also a place where families are, and this needs to be a safe and clean and affordable place for families to be, and i look forward to working closely with tndc for the residents here. and thank you to all of the people who made this possible, all of the organizations, the investors, the staff of tndc. i know it's a huge operation to make sure that not just that we

have housing, but that the people who live here are supported, and that they know that they have folks to talk to and places to play, and that they're stable and secure over the long-term. so thank you for your leadership. i look forward to being at the next ribbon cutting. this is the first of many with mayor breed and her staff and certainly with tndc and congratulations to the residents. we're here to support you, and we're so proud for you letting us be a part of this today. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor. there can only be one first time. that's us. [laughter]. >> thank you. and now, i'm just so pleased to welcome to the microphone, gabrielle tolina, who lives

here at 1036 mission street. [applause] >> oh, wow. i just want to say thank you for building a place to call ours. and just thank you for having me this morning. sorry. i'm nervous. imagine watching two decades of homelessness and shacking up a number of six people in a two bedroom apartment or a total of 12 people in a four-bedroom apartment. my son and i are tenants here at 1036 mission with the tenderloin development corporation. from being homeless and staying with many members in my family to staying in a shelter, my journey to sustainable housing

has been the most traumatic but humbling experience of my life. i'm a firm believer of the saying wellness starts from home, and how could my son and i have any wellness or a place to focus on his childhood development with no place to call ours? being a single mother, there were so many obstacles that i faced that i couldn't see the light in and i didn't want to put my son through. but i knew if i didn't face these circumstances, i wouldn't be able to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. i am the oldest child of ten children and being polynesian, we put our children first and no family is pushed out, but i didn't want to burden any family -- my family anymore. i did not want to take way from giving my siblings their own space, so i faced my fears and took advantage of every opportunity of finding

sustainable housing. what i mean by taking advantage is utilizing every resource and program i qualified for as a stepping son to get my son and i where i needed to be. the cha willings i faced through my journey with every supportive case manager has brought me strablized housing with the tenderloin housing development corporation. thank you for giving me son and i a place of peace, a place to grow, and a place to call our own. [applause] >> gabriel, you are the person who gives this home meaning. many different institutions helped finance the property that we see here, and we wanted to feature two of them in particular for their leadership.

first, please welcome rich gross from enterprise. [applause] >> thank you, and for those of you that come to these, you know that following the mayor or the resident are the worst two places to be on the list, so i get both of those. enterprise has a long history with tndc. you may be wondering why i'm carrying a mug with me. this is a mug from the ambassador hotel, which is the first project with tndc, since then, we've invested $10 million with five projects. since then, we've given grants to tndc, we've been dumped in a pool on behalf of tndc, and we have a member on the board of

tndc. we know that san francisco is one of the most committed cities in the country for affordable housing. we work throughout the country and we know that the crisis is worse here, but the commitment to affordable housing is the strongest here. we know who does the real work on these projects. the developers, the tndc project managers are the ones that stay up at night, worrying about cost overruns, the ones who have to worry about 40-page check lists for finances, the ones who have to fix things when things go wrong. so i know that the really heros of these projects and affordable housing projects in san francisco are the developers. so tndc, thank you. we are honored to be partners

with you. [applause] >> thank you, rich. please welcome james lesucci from chase bank. >> thank you, don. if you haven't already toured the project, definitely do that today. it's such a beautiful project. i love the unique perspective on the jungle gym on the second floor with the piece of drift wood. kids are going to love that. chase is so proud to be a partner with tndc and proud to be a partner with the mission. this is a great project, not just for allowing the residents to live, but to thrive. i really want to thank tndc, but i also want to thank the project manager, who you're

going to here from next, chris cummings, who made the project come to fruition. i want to thank all the partners, and the california department of housing and community development. lastly, communities like this are so important to chase, so i just wanted to say thank you for having us and allowing us to be here today. [applause] >> so what fun. i get to introduce the project manager for 1036 mission street, chris cummings. [applause] >> hi, everyone. again, it's chris from tndc. i'm very lucky when i joined

tndc in 2013, 1036 mission was the first project assigned to me, and at that time it was still very much a vacant parcel of land. but we are here, five years later, a beautiful community asset, and i am just so proud to be part of a team that put this project together. i only have a few minutes to speak so i figured i'd use this time to share a quick story that embodied what a community process this project really was. i remember well into the design process, one of the questions was how we should design the beautiful courtyard on the second floor of the building to best meet the needs of our residents, and we had a lot of great design ideas on the table but we could not make a decision, and we decided the best way to make a decision is to talk to more people about it. so we did some community outreach. i talked to a dozen people here

at tndc who came up with some really good ideas, and our design team, as well. the idea is 1036 mission is going to how's a lot of family -- house a lot of families, so let's make it interesting for kids, and we did. fast forward to 2018, i remember a very specific day i was on-site for a field assessment. the building wasn't quite done yet, and residents had not moved in yet, but fortunately there was some residents on-site signing their leases, and i happened to be up in the courtyard checking it out, and one of the managers brought them up stairs to show them the property they were moving into. i remember as soon as the family got up there, one of the boys in the family saw the giant log we have, and immediately ran up to it and climbed to the top, and yelled, i love this place.

i promise you, i'm not embellishing it. i would love to standup here for 20 minutes and call out the names of every single person that had a role in this job. but i would encourage people to pull out the list in their fliers and look at the list of everybody that made it such a successful community asset for it. if you have time, go up to the courtyard on the second floor and take a look at it. it's a really special place. thank you so much for joining us here today, and i hope you enjoy your time at 1036 mission. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, chris. words fail me. just -- so one of the great things about being the emcee is i control the microphone, and so before breaking up, i get to share a couple or three

thoughts. one is that i'm really proud, tndc has several properties, including 1036 mission street that are part of the filipino cultural district, so it just is a great honor for us to make the ground floor commercial space here available at a very low rent to want of our long time partners, allies, and sister agencies, somcan. they are planning on moving in here before the end of the year. second thing, i see casey back there. will you raise your hand, so casey -- [applause] >> by the way, mayor breed, casey, you met when you did your first walk along mission street, and you stumbled on 1036 mission street, and there was casey to meet you. so casey tells me 150 children live here, including three who

were born since the property opened. it's a -- and then, i can't quite help -- i won't call it reminiscing, but tndc first eyed this empty parking lot 11 years ago. okay. it's kind of a sad commentary on what it takes to get affordable housing built. it's not as bad these days. we've seen the great recession, and we've seen double digit construction cost increases. there have been a lot of problems along the way and a lot of problems solved along the way. in some cases, there's nothing that i could emphasize more than tndc's gratitude and our feeling that while we're the

ones on the stage and our name is on title, this is truly a community asset, we would never be able to come close in doing this alone. in particular, every project tndc does, virtually every project, our key partner is the mayor's office of housing. there are too many to call out -- many people that are here, you all are contributors. we want to thank you all for it. so i will close. we are doing a ribbon cutting, so this is instructions to people who want to be in the picture. we're going to do that immediately after we close right here in front. we have units available to visit, numbers 207, 506, and 902, so that's second floor, fifth floor, and ninth floor, and of course don't miss the courtyard, don't miss the rooftop garden, and there's food. thank you all for coming. [applause]

>> the goal is simple. it's to raise women's voices. >> learn a little bit about what you should be thinking about in the future.

>> we had own over 300 -- over 300 people who signed up for the one-on-one counseling today. >> i think in the world of leading, people sometimes discount the ability to lead quietly and effectively. the assessor's office is a big one. there are 58 counties in the state of california and every single county has one elected assessor in the county. our job is to look at property taxes and make sure that we are fairly taxing every single property in san francisco. one of the big things that we

do is as a result of our work, we bring in a lot of revenue, about 2.6 billion worth of revenue to the city. often, people will say, what do you do with that money, and i like to share what we do with property taxes. for every dollar we collect in property taxes, about 68 cents of it goes to support public sstss, our police officers, our fire departments, our streets, our cleaning that happens in the city. but i think what most people don't know is 34 cents of the dollar goes to public education. so it goes to the state of california and in turn gets allocated back to our local school districts. so this is an incredibly important part of what we do in this office. it's an interesting place to be, i have to say. my colleagues across the state have been wonderful and have been very welcoming and share their knowledge with me. in my day-to-day life, i don't

think about that role, being the only asian american assessor in the state, i just focus on being the best i can be, representing my city very well, representing the county of san francisco well. by being the only asian american assessor, i think you have a job to try to lift up and bring as many people on board, as well. i hope by doing the best that you can as an individual, people will start to see that your assessor is your elected leaders, the people that are making important decisions can look like you, can be like you, can be from your background. i grew up with a family where most of my relatives, my aunties, my uncles, my parents, were immigrants to the united states. when my parents first came here, they came without any relatives or friends in the united states. they had very little money, and they didn't know how to speak english very well. they came to a place that was completely foreign, a place

where they had absolutely nobody here to help them, and i can't imagine what that must have been like, how brave it was for them to take that step because they were doing this in order to create an opportunity for their family. so my parents had odd jobs, my dad worked in the kitchens, my mom worked as a seamstress sewing. as we grew up, we eventually had a small business. i very much grew up in a family of immigrants, where we helped to translate. we went to the restaurant every weekend helping out, rolling egg rolls, eating egg rolls, and doing whatever we need to do to help the family out. it really was an experience growing up that helped me be the person that i am and viewing public service the way that i do. one of the events that really stuck with me when i was growing up was actually the rodney king riots. we lived in southern california

at the time, and my parents had a restaurant in inglewood, california. i can remember smelling smoke, seeing ashes where we lived. it was incredibly scary because we didn't know if we were going to lose that restaurant, if it was going to be burned down, if it was going to be damaged, and it was our entire livelihood. and i remember there were a lot of conversations at that time around what it was that government to do to create more opportunities or help people be more successful, and that stuck with me. it stuck with me because i remain believe government has a role, government has a responsibility to change the outcomes for communities, to create opportunities, to help people go to school, to help people open businesses and be successful. >> make sure to be safe, and of course to have fun. >> and then, i think as you continue to serve in government, you realize that those convictions and the persons that you are really help to inform you, and so long as you go back to your core, and you remember why you're doing what you're doing, you

know, i think you can't go wrong. it's funny, because, you know, i never had thought i would do this. i became a supervisor first for the city under very unusual circumstances, and i can remember one day, i'm shopping with friends and really not having a care in the world about politics or running for office or being in a public position, and the next day, i'm sworn in and serving on the board of supervisors. for many of us who are going through our public service, it's very interesting, i think, what people view as a leader. sometimes people say, well, maybe the person who is most outspoken, the person who yells the loudest or who speaks the loudest is going to be the best leader. and i think how i was raised, i like to listen first, and i like to try to figure outweighs to work with -- out ways to work with people to get things done. i hope that time goes on, you can see that you can have all

sorts of different leaders whether at the top of city government or leading organizations or leading teams, that there are really different kinds of leadership styles that we should really foster because it makes us stronger as organizations. >> take advantage of all the wonderful information that you have here, at the vendor booth, at our seminars and also the one-on-one counseling. >> i wouldn't be where i was if i didn't have very strong people who believed in me. and even at times when i didn't believe in my own abilities or my own skills, i had a lot of people who trusted and believed i either had the passion or skills to accomplish and do what i did. if there was one thing that i can tell young women, girls, who are thinking about and dreaming about the things they want to be, whether it's being a doctor or being in politics, running an organization, being in business, whatever it is, i think it's really to just trust yourself and believe that who you are is enough, that you are enough to make it work and to make things successful.

[♪] >> i actually knew when i was young, when i was in high school. it was the iconic dancer. [♪] >> the hula that he did was what i'm totally accustom to. the extensions that he did where he left hula flavor of the rest of his dance and performance was almost like stepping into a new sphere. it's not just the physical, the movements and the tempo and the

lyrics, it's that he keeps it, i think, philosophically connected. [♪] >> he was young. he was ready to be molded. he came with a combination of fear and respect and awe many of it's a perfect place for a new student to be because it offers you that opportunity to mold them. >> with patrick, when he came to class, he was like a sponge. like a sponge. and he kept true to it. you know what i'm saying. when it was starting to study, he was so intense. he had to be told to relax. >> patrick is a sweetest, kindest, most loving man i met. >> he is charismatic. he is motivating. he is inspiring. he is brilliant when it comes to

choreography. you've got the whole package. >> i think patrick is a good example within the whole world of being able to have a firm grasp on past traditions while shooting forward. ♪ the first time ♪ ever i kissed your mouth >> with hula songs, they're in hawaiian. not everybody knows hawaiian. when you watch a hula, you don't understand the story being told. he can use ledge songs and put a hula do it and everybody understands what it's about. [♪] when they came out in that black and that one simple hairpiece, less is more. you get to enjoy the dance.

you get to enjoy the faith. those are the things i look for. [♪] >> i think he is one of the best risk takers. and he makes me braver, to try things. i love thinking of an audience going, what the hell. what? [♪] >> i think it's all about variety. he looks for something else that could relate to other cultures,

other people other than just hawaiians, it allows him to explore other cultures. they are so loyal to him. whatever he brings, they know that they will be surprised, entertained. a part of something that is inclusive rather than exclusive. [♪] >> he loves san francisco. san francisco embraced him when he needed it most. and he is on a constant give back. he has built such a nice inga tral working relationship with the community. >> his passion for it is, i think what touched me most. there's a drive there. there's this energy that comes from him that motivates you to

do better. it motivates you to do more. it gave me that encouragement to start my own group. to do what he is doing. i want to replicate that. i have some young hula students that are excited to be a part of that lynn' age where it falls back and goes all the way back. it motivates them to want to keep doing it. >> i'm very proud to be the fly on your wall. to know that you have made me proud and that you will carry the legacy with you. he is so deserving of this legacy and it will carry on. with everything that he has given. >> you do leave a legacy in passing. >> you go. you go catch your legacy. and you continue to teach hula.

you come back and you learn more stuff and you keep teaching me about that kind of stuff. and then, with all of that, laugh. [♪] [♪] >> pilaties. it's a creation,

an old regimen of exercise. really based on core engagement and core structure and core development. we do a lot of exercise in developing that and think about lengthening of the spine and our muscles. if you're a runner, if you're into kayaking, martial arts, cycling pilates are for you. >> programs are variety year around at various locations and to learn more come to the

>> good morning, everyone and thank you also much for being here today. three weeks ago, this city suffered a sudden loss of our public defender when jeff adachi passed away, and last week, we gathered here to celebrate in city hall. it was a moving experience and a great tribute to someone who inspired so many people, and someone who i was very fortunate to call a friend. at the end of my remarks, i said that while we mourn him that day

, that tomorrow we have to get back to work doing what we would have -- what he would have wanted us to do, fighting for a more just and equitable san francisco. that is why we are here today. the san francisco public defender's office is an incredible office. its mission is to make every single person feel that they have a voice and that they are represented no matter who they are aware they come from. there mission is critical to our city and the public defender's office and it feels this mission with passion. and dedicated staff members who work every day for our city to make sure that those in need have the best representation possible. as someone who growing up here watched so many friends and family members rely on the public defender's office, i take the responsibility of filling this position not just professionally, but personally as well.

because the lawyers heading to court today are working with people from communities that i grew up with. they were so many qualified candidates that were interested in leading this department. people who have done great work, people who have fought both as members of the public defender's office and outside of it to protect some of our most vulnerable communities. ultimately, my job is to make a choice, and today, i have chosen to appoint the person who i think will best carry the critical function of this office that is why i am proud to announce that i have chosen to appoint mano raju as the next public defender for the city and county of san francisco.

[applause] they have the experience, the commitment and the just -- to fight for those who need a voice , both in the courtroom and in the community and let's start with his experience. eighteen years as a public defender including 11 at the san francisco public defender's office. he manages felony felony unit and he has basically defended countless individuals during trial. he has been an advocate not only in the courtroom, but also making policy changes, fighting for more african-american representation on juries, going to sacramento to push for policy changes to make our courtrooms more equitable. here in san francisco and throughout our country, we know it is more important, now more than ever, to push for criminal justice reform to make sure that we truly create a more equitable and just society, and i know that mano is committed to

continuing to push and advocate for these policy changes. he has demonstrated a commitment to the community because we know that disrupting the cycle of imprisonment and poverty starts long before any crime is committed. i will look forward to partnering with mano on what i know are going to be some great policies that we are going to produce right here in san francisco and i know that we are never going to be able to replace jeff adachi, but we can build on his legacy, and i am confident that we have someone who is committed to doing just that. ladies and gentlemen, at this time, the next public defender of the city and county of san francisco, mano raju. [cheers and applause]

>> thank you so much, mayor breed. jeff adachi was a leader, a trailblazer, and a friend to me and many others. our office is still in the process of deep morning, and matt gonzalez and other leaders in our office have really done a commendable job in facilitating as through this process. [applause] -- facilitating us through this process. [applause]. >> one day after his passing, about 12 topped out 14 hours later, over 100 staff gathered almost spontaneously in our main conference room in the public defender's office. we shared hugs, we shed tears,

and we told stories. that was done for jeff and his legacy, it was also done for each other, for all of us in the office, and it was done for the work, because we knew beyond all else, jeff and the people in our office bring it with every fiver in our being for our clients, day in and day out. and to that day spoke volumes about the character of our staff , and why we do what we do day in and day out. four days later, a community vigil happened in san francisco, starting right outside of our offices. thousands of san franciscans gathered for that vigil, walked to city hall in a spontaneous

showing of love and solidarity with what we do. that speaks volumes about the community connections that our office has forged with jeff's leadership. being a public defender is a calling for me, and it is a calling rooted in the spirit and resiliency of our clients and their families. it's also rooted in the staff of our office, it's also rooted in the larger communities in the city. so thank you, mayor. i'm honored to accept this appointment to carryforward the visionary advocacy of this office. when the mayor was speaking at jeff's service, she relayed a

situation when she was younger when she saw jeff in the grand mall -- grand hall of an neighbor of hers who is being represented by our office. she talked about how jeff was in that grandmother's home, connecting with the family and deeply understanding that family and the relationships that they had. that encapsulates what we should be about. a deeper connection, a deeper understanding, a deeper connection to this community.

if you haven't been in our shoes , if you haven't done an investigation in the wee hours of the morning to try and find a witness, or gone back to a house to knock on the door for the ninth time, if you haven't done the crucial paralegal, i.t., or clerical work at almost breakneck speed because that's what the attorney is requesting from you, if you haven't stood alone in front of a jury trying to address issues of implicit bias, or trying to explain why your client who suffers from complex trauma and perhaps mental illness did what he did, you haven't done that, then you can't have the deep understanding of what we do day in and day out, and that's why our office is so relieved that the mayor appointed someone in-house to understand our daily struggles, our daily trials, our

daily efforts. i'm different than jeff, so there will be some changes and processes, changes in substance, and i will be reaching out to the rest of our wonderful staff for input, but the core of what we do in mission, that's not going anywhere. we are going to renew and recharge our commitment to excellence for our clients. we going to continue broader reform efforts, we are going to continue to protect the public against overreaching government abuses, we are going to to continue our struggle for racial justice in this city and statewide, and we are going to deepen our empowering engagement with the communities that we serve. those are the core values of the san francisco public defender's office.

jeff embodied those values and his fight will continue to live through us. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. i want to take this opportunity to recognize two trailblazers who are with us today. our former public defender jeff brown is here. thank you so much for joining us [applause] >> as well as peter king. thank you so much for being here with us, commissioner king. thank you to all the members of the elected family who has joined us here today. we all know how difficult the past couple of weeks have been, not only for our city and the people who work with jeff over the years, but also especially for the people who worked directly with him at the public defender's office. matt gonzalez has let this office, has worked with each and every one of us in city hall during this very difficult transition.

he's been a great leader, a great advocate for continuing the work of jeff's legacy, and i wanted to provide him with an opportunity to say a few words about mano at this time. [applause] >> i just want to say that i've never been concerned about this transition. of course, losing jeff was a big loss to our office, it is not one that will ever quite get over, but mayor breed has been a long time friend, not just of jeff adachi personally, but also of our office. she understands the work that we do, she cares about the work that we do, and so i've always been certain that this would be a good transition. mano is just a fantastic choice, and i could not be happier with

this decision. he has a keen intellect, he is an exceptional trial lawyer, and i tell you -- i can tell you, i've seen a lot of trial lawyers he maybe the best i've seen, and i really mean that. he understands that the work of the public defender has to be rooted in the community. i've seen him prepare cases for trial and work in the community, and i know that he will do a terrific job carrying on jeff's legacy. mayor breed to, thank you very much and i mean that genuinely. thank you, congratulations. >> thank you. thank you everyone for being here. this concludes our press conference at this time, and we will take questions on the side.

>> for the first time in nearly two decades fishers have been granted the legal right to sell fish directly to the package right off their boat -- to the public right off their boats in san francisco. it's not only helping local fishers to stay afloat but it's evoking the spirit of the wharf by resurfacing the traditional methods of selling fish. but how is it regulated? and what does it take for a boat to be transported into a floating fish market? find out as we hop on board on this episode of "what's next sf." (♪) we're here with the owner and the captain of the vessel pioneer. it's no coincidence that your boat is called the pioneer because it's doing just that. it's the first boat in san francisco to sell fish directly from the boat. how did you establish your boat into such a floating fish

market? >> well, you know, i always thought that it would be nice to be able to provide fresh fish to the locals because most of the fish markets, you would have to do a large amount of volume in order to bring in enough fish to cover the overhead. when you start selling to the public that volume is much less so it makes it hard to make enough money. so being able to do this is really -- it's a big positive thing i think for the entire community. >> a very positive thing. as a third-generation fisherman joe as his friends call him has been trawling the california waters for sustainably caught seafood since an early age. since obtaining a permit to sell fish directly to the public he is able to serve fish at an affordable price. >> right now we're just selling what a lot of the markets like, flat fish and rock fish and what the public likes. so we have been working for many, many years and putting cameras in them. there's the ability to short fish and we have panels that we

open and close so we target the different species of fish by adjusting the net. and then not only that but then the net sort out the sizes which is really important. >> joe brings in a lot of fish, around 20,000 pounds per fishing trip to be exact. >> we had one day one time that we sold almost 18,000 pounds. >> it's incredible. >> i know, it's hard to imagine. >> but this wasn't always the case for joe. >> the markets that we have left in california, they're few and far between, and they really are restrictive. they'll let you fish for a couple months and shut you down. a lot of times it's rough weather and if you can't make your delivery you will lose your rotation. that's why there's hardly any boats left in california because of the market challenges. my boat was often sitting over here at the dock for years and i couldn't do anything with it because we had no market. the ability to go catch fish is fine, i had the permits, but you couldn't take them off your boat. >> that was until the port commission of san francisco

rallied behind them and voted unanimously to approve a pilot program to allow the fish to be sold directly to consumers right off their boats. >> the purpose of the program is to allow commercial fishers to sell their fish directly from their boats to the end consumer in a safe and orderly manner for the benefit of the overall fishing community at the port of san francisco. we have limited the program to certain types of fish such as salmon, halibut, tuna and rock fish. crab is restricted from this program because we did not want to interfere with the existing crab sales on taylor street and jefferson street. so this is not meant to favor one aspect of the fishing industry more than another. it's to basically to lift up the whole industry together. >> and if joe the program has been doing just that. >> it was almost breathtaking whenever i woke up one morning and i got my federal receiver, my first receivers license in the mail.

and that gave me permission to actually take fish off my boat. once we started to be able to sell, it opened things up a bit. because now that we have that federal permit and i was able to ppetition the city council and getting permission from san francisco to actually use the dock and to sell fish here, it was a big turning point. because we really didn't think or know that we'd get such a positive response from the public. and so we're getting thousands of people coming down here buying fish every week and so that's pretty cool. they like the fish so much that they take pictures of it when they cook it and they send us all of these pictures and then they ask us, you know, constantly for certain types of fish now. and when they come down here the one thing that they say is that they're so amazed that the fish is so fresh they could eat a little bit during the week and it's still fresh all week in the refrigerator. so that's really cool. >> the fish is very fresh and the price is super.

i don't think that you can get it anywhere in the bay area. i can see it, and i can stir fry it, wow, you can do anything you want. i just can say this is a good place to shop and you have a good experience. >> this program supports the strategic plan in terms of engagement, people being connected to the waterfront, and also economic vitality. because it's helping the fishermen to make ends meet. they have no guarantees in their businesses, not like some people, and we want to do everything that we can to help them to have a good and thriving business. >> how does it feel to be able to sell your fish locally kind of in the traditional way, like your grandfather probably did? >> when i was a kid and i used to work in my dad's fish market, a lot of the markets that we sell to now are second and third and fourth generation markets.

so i remember as a kid putting their tags on the boxes of fish that we shipped out of monterey and ship down to l.a. so it's kind of cool that we're still dealing with the same families. and this is probably about the only way that anyone can really survive in california is to sell your own fish. >> one of the advantages of this program is the department people that pull in the fish, they can find out where they caught it and find out more about the fisherman and that adds to their experience. the feedback from the fishers has been very good and the feedback from the customers have very good. and there's a lot of people coming to the wharf now that might not have done so. in fact, there's people that go through the neighboring restaurants that are going to eat fish inside but before they go in they see the action on the dock and they want to kind of look at what's happening on the boat before they go in and they have a meal. so it's generated some conversation down at the wharf and that's a good thing. >> as you can see by the line

forming behind me getting ready to buy fish, the pilot program has been a huge success. for more information visit sfsport.com. (♪) (♪) >> good morning, please welcome san francisco gay men's chorus, performing "singing for our love ." [♪] ♪ we are peaceful loving people ♪ ♪