of the pedestrians, so. >> we wouldn't be able to -- like i said, -- >> they would be cutting a left turn off, as well. >> we wouldn't have that problem anymore. my question is, right hand turns our biggest conflicts when we're talking about vision zero. i would hate to see -- i'm less concerned about the drivers making those mistakes, i'm more concerned about cars moving slow >> i'm not an engineer, i am not an expert, but i would say we're introducing a new potential conflict with cars and pedestrians, i would like us to look at that again. maybe that is a key part of what we will get in the pilot. >> i think it is a slow-moving controlled intersection that is a different context that some of the higher-speed streets in the tenderloin where we are seeing these types of issues.

>> what about the officers? there was a reference to police officers having control of the area. >> we reached out and had a coordination call with the taradale captain in the beat office for west portal, and we walked them through all the proposals and i left that call feeling like they had no major concerns. they said, you shouldn't think about that particular conflict between the right turn and the crossing, but -- i took notes at the meeting, i circulated the new -- the notes and i did not hear anything further directly from them. >> i want to make sure i'm understanding this. to be honest, i'm not quite getting this one. under the current configuration, someone making that cross from the 48 stop right in front of what used to be the drugstore to the inbound platform would have three potential conflicts. they would have somebody who

will make a right turn on west portal, they would have somebody who would go straight, some but he who made a left turn off west portal. under our proposal, it would go down to one conflict, someone making a right turn onto west portal. >> if we go to the screen, i will put this figure back up. today they are crossing this way , and in the future they there crossing this way. >> you did a good job specify all the relevant movement. >> okay. so now, someone doing that cross would be in conflict with the right turn -- >> and someone who is going westbound -- >> back to my original point, which is it would be nice if we could eliminate that, but i understand the rationale. we would go from three conflicts to two conflicts. is that fair?

[indiscernible] >> three lanes, but it would be down to one turn. and the rationale to go back is that if you leave it where it is now, what is the problem with that? >> in its current location, when the bus riders are transferring to the platform, they are crossing train tracks which is contributing to the delays. >> in this way, they would be using the crosswalk and no circumstances of crossing tracks so the rationale, since they

said there was no rational reason provided for this, the rational reason is to keep people coming off that bus from crossing the tracks and putting themselves in harm his way and slowing down the trains. >> yes. >> very good. directors, any other questions? >> i am still kind of confused -- and maybe someone from west portal merchants can talk about this, what is expected if we delayed this 90 days? what do you expect to happen, are you asking for changes specifically, i want to understand what the difference really is. >> thanks again. it doesn't even have to be 90 days. i mean, we would have to flush out a few of these things. like the 48. the biggest concern is -- we

agree, my business is right in front of it, i see it happen every day. the 48 is stopping and it is dangerous for pedestrians, it is dangerous for cars. we agree this needs to move, but we would love to talk to whoever is saying no to putting in a tunnel like it was designed. as it stands, if the 48 was go into -- were to go into the tunnel, and the 57 and 48 can go in there together. and right here, they could release any pedestrians, and they get back on. then it can go right back down without even changing the line. it can continue its existing route. no changes to the other route, no changes do anything. we would like to have that conversation with those who can actually make that decision or see if it is a possibility, but that's not an option. there's a few other things. like they want to put an m.t.a. only lane, and we are saying, does it really need to be one when no left turn, no u-turn is

an m.t.a. only line? you are not going to do anything from that lane at the end, and if you want to do m.t.a. only, let's start it at a good block. those are the certain things we want to talk about. >> do you think it is that big of an impact? >> it is not the 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., it is other programs as soon as they are successful, then it will be -- let's look at 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., because that was so great then. and then six is great, then we will do, you know. >> it is a concern. >> this is us struggling significantly. i don't know if it's because our store burned down, i don't know if they shut down the street for months on end, and then again shut down the street for two months solid, which actually was a way to condense it all, but i know it when i come back on the

street, there is less people than there used to be when i was open a year ago. i talked to the businesses, and consistently everyone is down 20%. these are businesses who cannot whether that. we say, let's make sure that any changes we make our ones that make sense, and maybe that is half the proposal, maybe it is half the proposal plus a few more things. >> i think we're only talking about 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. whether or not he goes further would be a whole other process that we would engage, but i guess i would like to ask, is there a possibility that -- i mean this is really crazy, that for the pilot, the six-month pilot, we try three months inside the tunnel, and the next three months move this spot. is it possible to make an incremental move or incremental change? on terra vale we did some things right away and then we delayed some things. but my point is, is it possible to explore the idea just know

that it doesn't work, you know, and then try that for 90 days, our whatever we decide, and then move it, and if that is not working and it is terrible, then we know, and we can go ahead with the second stage. is there any way to look at that >> i'll start by prefacing that you guys are the boss. anything is possible. it is my strong technical recommendation that adding an additional stop will significantly degrade rather than improve conditions. right now, the problem with the 48 is that it is not two or three people that get off the bus, it is the major destination for people on that lined, so dozens of people get off the bus , they do not neatly use the crosswalk, they en masse, cross three sets of tracks and slow

down our ability to get trains out and to get trains in. adding additional buses to the horseshoe, a, there is not space , and it also further reduces our ability to put pedestrians in a channel, and get them not into that horse shoe free-for-all, but into the crosswalk swear we can safely control for their movements. as mispricing indicated, i actually think that step two should be to find an alternative terminal for the 57. that is pretty tricky. it is more than we were able to take on in this process, but figuring out a way to reduce the dozens of 48 customers from en masse crossing that semi circle, would definitely improve service significantly and bring the train -- bring the bus into that

crosswalk will degrade our ability to manage that location. >> it does sound like we also need to have p.c.o. enforcing people using crosswalks. it sounds like we have two problems. even if we move the bus stop and people are not neatly crossing the street, we will still have the same challenges, so i think that is another thing we definitely need to manage. i understand that i don't want to degrade a service, -- >> with the move, the line for the pedestrians will be in the crosswalk, which is not where it is right now. >> now they would have to cross the inbound platform. under this, they are just going laterally to the inbound platform. >> are there any other comments? first of all, to the merchants from west portal, thank you for coming down here and thank you for being a part of this process i want to be -- first of all, you can't say you weren't hurt. carl, you got more time than

anyone gets, and we appreciate your concise answers, that is what led us to ask more because you were supplying very helpful information, and to your colleagues, congratulations on your rehabilitation of the store , and thank you for the process. i favor this project, and i was asked a specific question of what is the hurry? and the hurry is this. every day, thousands of commuters are delayed at that intersection or because of the intersection in their effort to get downtown, and it is not just those seconds and minutes multiplied by the thousands of people that are in place, it is also the fact that if we don't make this system more attractive to riders, they will drive and do other things that put pedestrians and children in danger. we have to build a better system i'm convinced that this change will at least show us if we can build a better system this way, and to me, that is the hurry, and that is why i will support this today. let me also say this.

this is a pilot project for a reason. you all talked about the interchange that you have had with staff. if after six months we don't think that that's the right place for the bus stop, don't you worry about the board engaging. if you come back and tell us that that is the wrong place for that bus stop, that is why we're doing this as a pilot project. similarly, if we see that that intersection at that crossing is leading to people being in danger, i think it will increase safety myself, but we will address it. we will address it before the six months are up if we need to, because that's a sort of thing we take immediate action on. in response to the question of what is the hurry, i want you to know that is the hurry. we need to make this system better, and we need to make it better now. i think this is a pilot project that will increase safety and increase right or experience, so i am going to favourite today, and would entertain a motion from other directors, or here other comments if there are any. >> i will just say, you know, i

support the chair on that. i asked this question because i wanted to get to the heart of whether there are other alternatives. obviously, the reason that people go to west portal and live in those neighborhoods is because they are driving and commercial corridors and that is important. we want to support your businesses. i know it has been really tough. the last thing we want to do is make things worse. that is why the pilot is centred on really early in the day hours before people are on the corridor, and you have our commitment, we are not changing everything without any sort of further dialogue, because the goal isn't to get people back and forth, but for people to have a sense of place in west portal and participate. that is my priority, too, as a transit rider, as someone who wants to get places quickly, but i want to get there quickly so i can enjoy them. i think we are trying to give that balance. obviously it has not been ideal with all the other work that has gone on, and i can't say enough about how much -- how happy we

are that the stories coming back , and how much we are relieved that the corridor will be better as a consequence of these changes, but you do have our commitment that this is not the end, this is just the beginning. the pilot is meant to work with you all to look at how the streets are working and how we can make further tweaks and improvements. i also do hope that we can pull some we'll save data and look at trends over time, not just from this point, but even throughout the work that has gone on, and i know the mayor's office of workforce and development says some sort of supportive advertising for the corridor, would look at the things we could do to be more supportive to ensure that in the summertime when it is slower in the neighborhood, that maybe with stern growth and the pulling of that, that that we can -- that we can promote west portal after you go to see your shows and likewise. i am not saying that his m.t.a. 's job, but i'm suggesting that we can do more, and we will

be committed to working with you i will make a motion to approve. >> okay. is anything you wanted to add? >> i will simply say that what i hurt in terms of the request for the 90 day delay is just time for more dialogue. i don't see why this can't happen at the same time as a six-month pilot. i want to clearly state that is an assumption and stuff a continue to engage in dialogue with the stakeholders. with that, i will second the motion. >> very good. we have a motion and a second. director taurus is one thing to say. before that -- >> i don't think anyone knows that i have a special relationship with the west portal community since 1966. my roommate lived there. ever since then, it has been a constant reminder to me about how beautiful it is. it is almost like a village of beautiful people, and businesses my son has fallen in love with this community, as well.

i do believe that given my legislative experience, these projects are important. they provide you answers, and they also provide you more questions. i think if we can do that with our priority being that this community has to give back, then i'm willing to support this motion. >> wonderful. thank you very much for that. this is the business that -- the business street that my family uses, too. this is a personal issue for me, but i also have a priority for transit. you have received a lot of comments today and a lot of feedback, and i think the four of us want to be clear that we expect in this pilot project, were there to be an ongoing dialogue, and some of the issues that are most important are the issues of where the bus stop goes, and how do you pick this in the pilot project, the issue of traffic crossing the box, should we continue to have that or not, and the effect as the vice chair said, it is on the businesses. in some meaningful way to track that's we can make sure this is not having an undue effect on those businesses. i urge you, as i know you will, to maintain dialogue with all

the others as this goes forward. i'm getting her nodding for the viewing public. she's committing to that by nodding. we will accept that for now, but it has now been memorialized. we do have a motion and a second on the item. i will call for the vote. all those in favor, please say aye. anyone opposed? that passes unanimously. let me say this. we do a lot on this board, and it is not always fun, and it's not always at the highest level, that to me was the highest level of civic dialogue that we just had. we had transit professionals, we had committed members of the community and business people who really debated out an issue in the highest mind and in the most respectful way. thank you, everybody who participated, and i will say this isn't over. this is an ongoing pilot project i urge you guys to continue to engage because we will listen to you every time you come here. thank you. please move to the next item.

>> item 12 is approving parking transit and modifications associated with the inbound and outbound project. mr. chair, please be advised there are -- someone from -- no one from the public has turned in a speaker card on this item. >> is anyone -- is there anyone who wishes to speak on this item in public comment? pleased to submit a card to ms. uber -- miss boomer. proceed. welcome. >> good afternoon, directors. i am the project manager of the 54 felton project. as john kennedy talked about at the last board meeting, two goals are to make it easier to understand the transit system and to improve safety and this project focuses on those goals.

this map shows the 54 felton as it is today in the excelsior district, and our project focuses on those particular segments of the rear heading inbound and the most travelled north on naples and athens, but heading outbound, a travel south on moscow. these are also known as couplets , or the bus travels one way on one street, and the other way on a different street. there are two on this neighborhood. on a map, it appears that the route provides a lot, but in practice, it provides less coverage. this is because munimobile writer needs to be able to walk both directions of the route to fully access it. we have also received feedback that the couplet can be difficult to understand. this is a picture of the 54 felton bus stuck behind a recology garbage truck on the 200 block of athens street, which is between excelsior and avalon avenue. because this blog of athens is

relatively narrow and winding, we have a conflict like this that does tend to occur, and when this happens, a smaller vehicle must pull out of the lane in order for the bus to continue north, and in the event that a larger vehicle like the garbage truck here or the delivery truck is blocking the 54, the bus operator has no choice but to wait until the obstacle is removed and until the street is no longer blocked. something we heard directly from stakeholders, were concerns of traffic safety at the intersection of moscow street and excelsior avenue. as you can see here in the photo , it is challenging to see oncoming vehicles and pedestrians. whether you are on moscow or excelsior, the visibility of oncoming and cross traffic is affected because the street grades are steeper here. this is also currently an unprotected intersection. the image on the left shows our bus stop postings that we put up in the project area. the flyer shows our original proposal that the 54 felton

travel up and down moscow street between geneva and avalon avenue with no deviation. our community engagement efforts included our survey, which is the bus stop being advertised, and the surveys were conducted on board the 54 felton in the area, at existing community meetings, and also with bus operators. the survey was available online on our project webpage and was translated into spanish, chinese , and filipino. in total, we received 477 survey responses. in addition, we went door-to-door to 136 residences on moscow street to talk about the project, and we also talked with all five nearby schools, as well as coleman advocates there? presented at existing community meetings, including with the excelsior district improvement association and the district 11 council. we also provided regular updates to stakeholders and the supervisor office who you heard from earlier today. our original proposal was to

operate the 54 felton in both directions on moscow street. out of the 477 survey responses, 50 7% supported the proposal and 25% didn't support the proposal. within the subset of supporters, 60% of those who indicated they were munimobile writers did supported, and after talking with neighborhood schools, specifically the june jordan school for equity in city arts and tech high school, we requested we keep the bus stop at prague and persia because those are used by their students similarly, we heard from seniors that accessing munimobile at moscow would be in that exact same segment of the route. cleveland elementary and school of epiphany told us about existing conflicts with the 54, in their school -- in their school pickup and drop-off zones the bus would get stuck between cars queueing to keep pickup and drop off their kids. residents on the 200 block of athens let us know they are happy with the realignment proposal, since this would eliminate those vehicle conflicts that they currently deal with on a daily basis. not everyone supported the project.

many of them moscow residents we spoke to opposed the route to change onto their street, and we heard some opposition to rerouting the bus off of naples street specifically. despite opposition, the overall outreach shows a majority of stakeholder support the project and we have made some changes to our original proposal to address the concerns that we heard. this is the proposal that we are presenting today based on all the feedback we heard and the discussions that we have had. the bus would travel both ways on moscow, but it would still do that existing deviation that it does today via russia, prague, and persia. the 54 would continue to serve the bus stop that the school asked us to keep, and the deviation would help seniors who said they needed to access the route higher up the hill. this realignment would improve route efficiency by removing those two couplets that i mentioned, and the line would operate mostly on 1 street in both directions. the total number of bus stops would decrease, but we are maintaining the same access by locating a stop by each block. the more direct routing is

estimated to save approximately a minute of travel time. by shifting the 54 fulton to moscow, we would reduce the vehicle conflicts that occur on the 200 block of athens that i mentioned, and near the school pickup and drop-off zones. moscow street is wider then the 200 state -- two and a block of athens, and the bus with most likely be travelling heading straight north-south, making a few returns, and operate on a wider street than it does today. in response to additional feedback we heard during the outreach process, we are proposing the installation of a new stop. we don't normally include stops as part of a transit project because they do because transit delay, but it makes sense in this case because the bus would run in both directions on moscow , and writers across the street here, and we didn't want to have the bus stop at an unprotected intersection with steep grades that make it hard for vehicles and pedestrians to see each other. the bus stop would be near side, which would decrease transit delay.

>> is your estimate including accounting for the additional -- the addition of the stop sign. >> yes. this proposal would provide a more reliable ride with less delays, because few returns and a more direct alignment. moscow street is wider then the 200 block of athens, which makes it in a more optimal street to operate, in the project would make the 54 felton easier to understand, reduce vehicle conflicts, improve traffic safety, and improve transit reliability. we are ask you today to approve the following changes. we would remove ten bus stops from naples, russia, and athens, in at eight new stops on moscow. while the total number of bus stops would decrease, we made sure to keep a bus stop at each block, because we recognize the street grades are steeper in this neighborhood. the new stop sign at moscow and excelsior would address concerns related to us during our outreach and approve the intersection -- improve the intersection for writers and drivers, and installation of the stop sign would resend the currently existing no parking anytime parking restrictions

that were put in place at this intersection previously. in order for the bus to make new turning movements from this realignment, we do have new parking restrictions needed at moscow and russia and moscow and persia. overall, the project would result in a net gain of one parking space. >> in terms of next steps, if the project is approved today, we plan to implement the changes in august because you want to time them with the start of a new school year. thank you very much. >> i have been doing this a long time, that was one of the better presentations i've ever seen. congratulations. that was very well thought out. commissioners, any questions or comments? >> is it the stop -- is the same -- is it the same stop sign? >> he is asking about the one at moscow and france. we did look into that request, so the stop sign there did not meet our traffic engineering warrants for installing it, and most of the time we don't expect the best to stop you because

that stop in particular has low ridership, so we don't want to make every bus stop there when it normally wouldn't pull over out of its space. we will continue to monitor, and we can definitely reassess if needed. >> okay. >> so he is not getting his request? >> he is getting the whole big thing except for the one tweet he wanted. to answer your question is yes, but i just raised it differently [laughter] >> who named all of these streets? [laughter] >> someone very international at the u.n., right. [laughter]. >> is there anyone who wishes to provide public comment on this item? seeing non, public comment is closed. i will say that i think it's important that we maintain outreach and show support for schools in children and it is clear this project dead -- -- does that. i appreciate this is -- it is making it safer for children to get to school. single public comment and no

further comments from the board, i will entertain a motion. >> moved to approve. >> is there a second? >> i will second. >> very good. all those in favor, please say aye. anyone opposed? all right. very well done. >> item 13 is a discussion to have a closed session conference >> is there such a motion? >> moved to go in -- go into closed session. is there a >> item 11, disclosing with negotiator, they took no action, they discuss with the city attorney, and the board unanimously voted to settle the disk -- the case and the board discussed an interim director, but took no action. it would be appropriate to disclose or not disclose. >> moved not to disclose. >> second. >> any opposed? >> that close of business before

us today. >> thank you, directors. thank you for your patience.

as many of you know, supervisor ronen has stood side by side, shoulder to shoulder -- [speaking spanish] -- all the way through many -- many times. and so at the many meetings, at the many hearings, it has just been such a breath of fresh air to have such a fighter in the public arena, as a public elected official be there with us. so it's my pleasure to introduce amy, senior legislative aide to supervisor ronen to offer

remarks. >> i'll stay away from the jokes. [laughter] hi, my name is amy, i'm a legislative aide to supervisor ronen. it breaks her heart to not be here today, but i know she is sending her warmest wishes, her fists in the air, go. it's so important. this is an amazing project. this is the fifth ground breaking in the mission in what we look at as a year, i guess. it's pretty amazing and every single one of these reflects an incredible amount of hard-fought struggle to make sure that what is happening in the mission is starting to repair the damage of the devastating amounts of

eviction that have been occurring here. so thank you, meta, thank you, two of the best community based affordable housing developers. i would say the importance of community-based development and bringing that capacity like olga said, it's so critical that the skills and the capacity are developed within the community. obviously, meta is not new to this, but they're growing all the time. i know how stressful this is, so thank you to the project managers who have fought their way through all the tough decisions, all the late nights. on this project, you're really pulling together the essence of the mission. we celebrate, offering high quality education for families who are going to be living in this building. and for their neighbors.

we celebrate having a home for homeys. and we celebrate creating a permanent home. anchor of the latino cultural district. i'm pleased if you haven't yet come, stop by the district 9 office and see their mind-blowing installation in our offices. we're so honored to have them there. so casa is today's victory. know that supervisor ronen is committed to working with all of you here today, all of you community partners, so we continue to keep the pressure on, continue to call the attention to the needs of the mission. and to keep an active pipeline for the many years to come. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, amy.

as we think about building, i think certainly bricks come to mind and as we are breaking the ground today for the building that is going to be this beautiful, beautiful site to behold of nine stories. you're going to hear nine stories several times, because we want to emphasize that. this is also what i call the building hearts. the building hearts that started this. that have been part of laying the heart foundation for where we are right now. and so i want to bring up professor richard baynes and dr. baynes up. [applause] if you don't know them, you'll see why i was saying this. so let me tell you about professor baynes, he's a native

of california, a founding faculty member of csu and current chair of the music and performing arts department. he's a founding director of education for the san francisco symphony and former director of the san francisco symphony youth orchestra. for the past 24 years, he's been active in the local monterey bay area community. recently he received the 2017 arts council of monterey champions of the arts award for professional artist. and very appropriate to this occasion, he served for 18 years as president of the board while here in san francisco. [applause] and, of course, dr. baynes. if you don't know her, you

should. curator, many titles, artist and educator. and mark mcarthur genius fellow award. she has defined latino esthetic in the united states and latin america. many things have been written about our amazing brilliant, but one that i really always liked to read is that her work honors women who have broken social barriers. so dr. baynes, please come on up. [applause]

>> well, i'll try not to cry. we've been only waiting 48 years, so, that's all. i'm very happy to be here and grateful to share this. and to know that in this historic moment we understand as many have said before, starting early this morning in the blessing and the ground, when you actually put our little seeds down, that no place is empty when we reach it. there have been spirits that have gone before. and the spirits of this space, as many have said, are first nations, but they're also the spirits of those who have built all of these community organizations. i would be remiss without acknowledging, of course, the founders, the first group included people like the late peter rodriguez. the founder of the museum, rupert garcia and then the late

renee ines and ralph, who presented and held down that space for so many years. they were joined by other people, including the artist who was the first curator. we moved on people like maria pineta were here to run studio 24. after liz, came catalina and then our own. so i liken it to a very long and bumpy relay run, where we've been passing that baton until we got to this unimaginable moment. this time in which we understand that we are beginning. i call it remembering the future. we are here because someone came before us and someone will come after us. and all of that is but one

fabric of memory, of justice, of commitment, of resiliency and of art. there are so many artists in this room today. so many people. i can't see you all. but i know you're here. there was a moment in the making of the history that was one of serious struggle. there was police harassment. what is ironic, that many of the things we talked about then are present now. i have a favorite writer, walter benjamin and he says to articulate the past historically does not mean to recognize the way it really was. it means to seize hold of a memory as it flashes up in a moment of danger. and that is what we have been experiencing for decades, but most truly in these last years of gentrification. what we see in the national

picture is phobia of anti-latino sentiment. we know that the housing crisis we're experiencing across the country is profound here in san francisco. so all the things that it has stood for, the artists that have performed, the artwork shop, the concert efforts, the building of the regeneration projects so that young people could come. those were all the makings of a common path and the resiliency of a sign of promise for the future. and that promise and their future has arrived. so i say today, we are here, because those who came before us and those who come ahead, they are right here now, young people, out there. they'll be the next. and they'll take that baton and they'll move it forward. and i think it is totally fitting that it should be in a

home place with teen, youth, and with babies and children. because that is the full circle of life. and that is what we are as cultural workers and as artists. so i hope that we will look back on this day when this building is built and the nine stories are there, and the 143 families are there, and our artists are there, and we'll see is that this next generation with all of the complexity of lgbtq, of all of the complexity of global identity, of all the border struggle we've been through, will be a home place for those who dream of the next future, who remember the next future. [speaking spanish] [applause] [cheers and applause]

>> thank you so much. very inspiring and just powerful words to remind us what we're doing here. and one of the organizations that is going to bring the babies into the picture, and the children, is a longstanding community based institute, the felton institute that will be providing the preschool and after-school programs here. and we're very pleased and honored to have the president and c.e.o. of the felton institute, al gilbert. please join us. [applause] >> good afternoon and welcome to this glorious celebration. we had a blessing of the ground earlier today. and it was extraordinarily touching, because it remind me of the deep -- reminded me of my

ancestral relationship. and the other part of my family, you might have guessed, comes from africa. and i had the opportunity to go back to montgomery, alabama, two months ago to visit the lynching memorial. at the memorial i was able to visit the memorial for two of my family members who had been lynched in the 1900s which wasn't that long ago. one of which was lynched in my lifetime. it brings me back to the importance of building a community like this, where we're going to support both our babies, young families, and create safe communities for us to live in. it also reminds me that whenever we think we're working hard, we're not working hard compared to those who have come before us. who have given their blood.

to make it so that we can sit here and make this kind of magic come together. i want to thank the community members who pushed hard to make sure that the politicians recognize the importance of this sacred space. i want to thank the builders as well as the community agencies that participate in this community along with us. i'm reminded about mission creek that runs under this land and keeps this land fertile and it reminds me of my attachment to water. felton celebrates 130 years anniversary this year. previously known as family service agency of san francisco. so that is how you probably recognize our name. [applause] joanne and delores, please stand up, because these are the individuals who work with our babies and work with our

divisions and make our work so successful. thank you for your continued support of this project. anything that we can do to make this a safe and nourishing community, we're committed to doing that, thank you so much. [applause] >> you know, as we went to some of the planning commission meetings advocating, it became such a family affair, particularly having the son of thomas, who testified at the commission. and i think he was the deciding voice. [applause] so, thank you for being part of the struggle. and speaking part of the struggle, i love this -- the acronyms, homeys organizing the mission to empower youth.

how many clearer could that be? [applause] -- how much clearer could that be? homeys have dedicated the mission to work with young adults. they do it by empowering the youth and delivering their programs with hope, with empowerme empowerment, leadership, culture and most importantly with love. i want to turn this over to the director of homey, roberto. turn it over to you, right? [applause] sp

[speaking spanish] we ain't going nowhere. we ain't going nowhere. how many 100% affordable housing developments is this? five. five. against impossible odds. against impossible odds. our community has stood up. people have said it's impossible to build in san francisco, it's too expensive. they said, why your community is being displaced, there is no latinos left in the mission. they said all kinds of things to our community. 143 new units are going up right here. three organizations, 15,000 square feet of community space that are going to be owned, assets to this community. we're not done yet.

we're not done yet. there is still work to do. there is still work to do. we have -- we stopped to build this building and we need everybody here's support to build this up. elected officials, foundations, we need everyone. and i hope, and i pray that in two years' time that we come back and we celebrate the grand opening. felton institute and homeys organizing the mission to empower youth. we ain't going nowhere. when i was a young boy, born and raised in this neighborhood, i used to come to this bakery right here with my dad.

he used to buy it for me in the morning time. i told my dad the other day, i said, pop, we're going to build it. he said, where? i said that place you used to buy me -- and he was excited, excited we're doing this. old time mission. owner paco's tacos. right? back in the day. we're here with the young people. that's our future, man. we've got to fight for them. they're here representing. i hope that you represent for them because there is things to do still. there is more housing to be built. there is homeless people that we know that are part of our families that are suffering right now. and i take that seriously and so should you. there is a lot to do. so i want to take this time,

this opportunity, this moment, to bring up one of our precious elders in our community. she is the former executive director of institute. and she's a precious treasure in our community. she has put in many decades of work and i am most honored to introduce her to have her say some words. she was here this morning blessing the ground, so i've been putting her to work this morning. so sorry. she decided to stay because she wanted to say words. she caught the feeling. right? and i hope all of you do, too. lastly, i want to say, you know, meta, tndc, all our city family,

i want to send you some love and some thanks for doing this. because this is not just for me, this is for our community, it's for our people. and these institutions, creating these buildings, they're going to be the hubs for our community. they're going to be the places where people come and get services and celebrate weddings and have a beautiful time, and all the beautiful things in life. these buildings are go to help us thrive. we don't want our community just to survive, just to get a survival program, we want them to thrive. we want them to be the next leaders, the next tech executives. all the things that we dream for them, they're going to happen in these buildings. so i thank you all for making it possible. i thank the community organizations here that are

struggling hard, fighting hard every day with the people, right? struggling. it's a struggle right now, man. it's a struggle. so we're going to continue. don't let anyone tell you it's impossible to dream, that it's impossible to make it happen, [speaking spanish] -- come on! what was that? [speaking spanish]

>> can you hear me? [speaking spanish] we are one. this hand, these singers, all the different communities together as one. we can move the mountain. we can move many mountains. this morning i was here and remembering that there were many who have walked here. our ancestors, the first nations

people, who were dispossessed by whoever came by. spaniards, mexicans. everybody dispossessed them. so it is good they're involved in this process. and we must not forget them because they are only 1% of san francisco. they are an important 1%. they carry our ancestral history for us. and so it is such a good day. you know, sometimes people say it's a good day to day. i say it's a good day to be alive today. >> hear, hear! >> and i would challenge all of you, as we all struggle to be present at that struggle. you know, there are people that don't want us. that's the truth. we hear it all the time.

go back where you came from. and i said, well, i came from st. mary's hospital, right? [laughter] because they're ignorant. but we have to remain in that struggle. and i want to see all of you there when we need you. because it's powerful. numbers are powerful. politicians want to be elected, so they check out the numbers. they check out who's there. and then they often claim that they've done it themselves. but we know who has done it, we have done it together. and brought them in to join us. that's one way to be fully empowered. now i'm in the health field. and to me health means that you're also healthy not only physically, mentally, spiritually, but also economically.

we must have a roof over our heads. you cannot have a good family life or a quality of life if you don't have a roof over your head, or stability, knowing that you can remain there. so if we want to have a healthy community, this is part of health. it's not separate from health. so let's continue. it's good to see so many young people that i have known. she is young, because i taught her in high school. [laughter] you know, i'm old. >> you were a very young teacher! >> very young teacher. thank you, all. thank you, meta, for moving yourself in a direction that has made this possible. and i'm so happy that we're finding a home.

i remember them on 24th street, now they'll be in a different place. and of course, homeys. i want to mention that homeys also has an ancestor. some of you may remember the real alternatives program, rap. that is the ancestor of homey. so you know, something dies or we think it dies, something else grows. that is what has happened and homey is here. very present. i see all of my homey cohorts. you know, it's a wonderful time for me to be an elder, because everybody looks after me. you know? do you want this, do you need this? i have to say no, i can do it, but it's a wonderful feeling. that's what we want in this community. that the children learn that tradition. that they carry it on so that no elder can ever be homeless again.

right? that's something to -- no homeless children. no homeless elders or anyone in between. and this is a beginning. and we did it. this community did it. i'm sure the struggle will continue. it will continue. so be us in that struggle. and thank you. [applause]

no worry. we have time. [speaking spanish] hi, everyone. i'm the executive director. thank you. it's an honor to be here. and i want to start off by saying happy mother's day. it is mother's day in latin america. [speaking spanish] and what a momentous time to be here honoring and blessing mother earth today and putting our intentions forward for what we see in our future. it's an honor to be working with all of the agencies, meta, tndc, homey, and felton. and today, i really wanted to make sure that elders were heard. this is a project that i said earlier has been happening for almost like 50 years.

it's a continuation of movement that came before us. i want to offer a little bit of the magic that got to happen today here. we showcase exhibitions, the monthly literary events, one of the only bilingual event that happens in the bay area, under the moon, honoring our traditions. and i want to call some of the artists that were nurtured in that corner on 24th and bryant that started their careers there. that gave us their [speaking spanish] to heal. it didn't matter what day of the week it was, when prince passed, when all the major like awful things were happening, it was always a place we got to share magic. i don't know why i just named prince. i guess i was thinking about him. [laughter] i'm thinking purple. i t