>> president yee: good afternoon. welcome to the june 25, 2019 regular meeting of the san francisco board of supervisors. madame clerk, would you please call the roll? >> thank you, mr. president. brown not present. fewer not present. haney not present. mandelman present. m mar present. peskin present.

ronen present. safai present. stefani present. walton present. president yee? present. mr. president, you have to a quorum. >> president yee: thank you. ladies and gentlemen would you please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> president yee: all right. on behalf of the board i would like to acknowledge the staff of sfgovtv, michael, maya and

kaleno, who record the meetings and make the transcript available to those online. >> madame clerk, any communications? >> there are none to report. >> president yee: today we are approving the minutes from the may 21, 2019 board meeting. are there any changes to these meeting minutes? seeing none, can i have a motion to approve the minutes as presented? okay. motion made by supervisor peskin and seconded by supervisor walton. these minutes will be approved after public comment. madame clerk, let's wipe out half the agenda. can you call the consent

calendar, please call items 1 through 31. >> items 1 through 31 are considered to be routine, therefore discussion of item will only occur if the member severs it and considers it separatelily. -- separately. >> president yee: colleagues, would anyone like to sever any items from the consent calendar? i see none, call the roll. >> on items 1 through 31, walton aye. yee aye. brown aye. fewer aye. -- fewer absent. haney aye. mandelman aye. mar aye. peskin aye. ronen aye. safai aye. stefani aye.

there are 10 ayes. >> president yee: these ordinances are passed unanimously. please call 32 through 35 together. >> clerk: item 32 is ordinance to appropriate 28 million of hetch hetchy power. and decreasing the hechy power and water revenue and increasing hetch hetchy and deappropriate capital project appropriations for fiscal year 2019-20. to deappropriate streetlight funding and placing 28 million subject to the controller certification of availability to adopt a ceqa findings for the project. item 33 is ordinance to amend

142-18 to authorize increase of the issuance and sale of tax exempt or taxable power revenue bonds and other forms of indebtedness to aggregate principal amount not to exceed $200 million. item 34 is ordinance to amend to authorize increase of the issuance and sale of tax exempt water revenue bonds and other forms of indebtedness to aggregate principle amount not to exceed 514 million. item 35 ordinance to appropriate revenue bonds for the sfpuc capital improvement program at $26 million and deappropriate and re-appropriate $34 million of the appropriations for first category year 2019-20. placing $25 million of revenue bond proceeds by project on controller's receive subject to

the controller's certification of availability for expenditures for the sfpuc projects and adopt ceqa findings. >> president yee: i see that the house has changed. roll call. >> on items 32-35. walton aye. yee aye. brown aye. fewer absent. haney absent. mandelman aye. mar aye. peskin aye. ronen aye. safai aye. stefani aye. haney aye. there are 10 ayes. >> president yee: without objection, these ordinances are passed unanimously. madame clerk, can you call items 36 and 37 together?

>> item 36 and 37, proposed interim budgets. appropriation ordinance to appropriate all estimated receipts and estimated expenditures for the departments of the city. and item 37 is the proposed interim annual salary ordinance to enumerate positions in the budget for the fiscal years ending june 30, 2020 and 2021. >> president yee: can we take these same house, same call, without objection? these ordinances are finally passed unanimously. please call item 38 and 39. >> two ordinances that adopt and implement the memorandum of understanding between the city and the service employees international union local 1021 and the staff and per diem nurses and item 39 between the city and the teamsters, local 856 supervising registered

nurses. both m.o.u.s to be effective july through june 2022. >> president yee: same house same call? without objection, these are passed unanimously. please call the next item. >> item 40 administrative code displaced tenant preference in affordable housing when it's no longer restricted by affordable housing restriction within five years and market rate rent in such tenant buildings is more than 40% of the tenant's gross household income. >> president yee: same house same call? this ordinance is passed. please call item 41. >> ordinance to call and provide for a session election to be held in the city on tuesday, march 3, 2020, for the purpose of submitting to the san

francisco voters a proposition to incur bonded debt of the city in the amount of $628.5 million to finance the construction, acquisition, improvement, renovation and seismic retrofitting of multiple facilities for earthquake safety and emergency response. >> president yee: same house same call? without objection, this order -- i'm sorry, supervisor mar. >> supervisor mar: thank you. i just wanted to make some brief remarks on this critically important bond measure to finance the earthquake retrofitting of police and fire stations and the department of emergency management on 311 call center. in particular, i just wanted to lift up that this bond will deliver $140 million in crucial investments for protecting the west side of the city in case of future disasters, including earthquake and fire and will allow us to expand the fire

fighting. it is not a question of if the next big earthquake is coming, but when. and i'm proud to sponsor this important debt for insuring that the sunset and other westside neighborhoods are prepared to respond to emergencies. i'd like to add that in addition to this $140 million investment, the san francisco public utilities commission has committed an additional $55 million towards the westside emergency fire-fighting water system bringing the total in new investments to nearly $200 million. our action today will protect the life and property of westside residents and secure our future generations from disaster. i am proud to be a sponsor of this bond and i really want to thank the staff at the puc, the fire department and capital planning for your work and supervisor fewer for her focused

attention, particularly on the fire-fighting water system. thank you. >> president yee: colleagues, same house same call? without objection, this ordinance is passed on first reading unanimously. madame clerk, call the next item. >> item 42 appropriate $12 million in the public utilities commission and deappropriate and reappropriate $2.1 million. >> president yee: same house same call? without objection, this is passed. please call item number 43. >> resolution to accept and expend state transportation development act article 3 pedestrian and bicycle project funding for fiscal year 2019-20 in approximately $972,000 through june 30, 2022. >> president yee: can we take this same house, same call? without objection, this resolution is adopted

unanimously. >> president yee: please call the next item. >> item 44 is ordinance to amend the code to establish the castro lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer cultural district in and around the cat tree neighborhood. >> president yee: same item same call? this ordinance passed on reading. let's skip over to item 51. >> item 51 through 56 considered by the government oversight and were forwarded as committee reports. item 51 is an ordinance to amend the administrative code to establish the cooperative living opportunities for mental health loan fund and the cooperative living opportunities for mental health program to finance the

acquisition of residential properties to be operated as communal housing for people with chronic mental illness and substance use disorders. >> president yee: supervisor ronen. >> supervisor ronen: thank you. colleagues, i'm so excited this was called early in the meeting, because i'm not feeling well and may have to step out before the meeting is over, but happy to have the opportunity to speak on this legislation. the legislation before you today will establish the cooperative living opportunities for mental health loan fund and program to help address the crisis of people with acute mental illness living on the streets of our city. it will enable nonprofit organizations to acquire apartments and single-family homes to create scattered site non-institutional facilitated communal households in which four or five people with chronic illness can share a home.

the legislation establishes a fund under the add minute code which can -- admin code, including the 5 million prioritized by the board and funds allocated from the eraf effort. but also from other sources. they will use the capital funds for loans to non-profits so they can purchase eligible properties. d.p.h. will determine client eligibility and authorize client placement and will then expand current contracts or issue new ones to enable these non-profits to provide services to the residents. much of the service funding will be recouped through medi-cal reimbursement. this is in response to within of the glaring gaps in our mental health crisis on the streets. a lack of affordable housing. d.p.h. reported at a hearing last month that 44% of homeless

clients brought in for acute care leave these short-term programs without a place to go. having people go through residential treatment to then be turned on the street with nowhere to go is inhumane and wasteful. furthermore, we know this model works. several of the respected mental health providers have been operating co-op households for years in neighborhoods throughout san francisco, but until now they're master leasing most of the units from private owners. unsurprisingly our current market has made it impossible to hold onto the housing stock and to grow the program as a much needed and effective housing option. for many people who are dealing with the combination of psychiatric and addiction

issues, the key to stability and success is to be away from hectic surroundings that trigger continued crisis. cooperative living can open the door to stability. over the past several weeks my office worked with several people from d.p.h. and kate and amy who helped re -- to refine the legislation. i want to give a huge thank you to steve, brett, and richard, for sharing your wisdom and experience and shaping this. and of course to amy, who really was the driving force behind this legislation. thank you so much, amy. and finally to supervisor haney -- i believe safai, who also cosponsored the legislation. >> supervisor haney: not yet. not yet. >> sorry. okay. thank you for cosponsoring the legislation.

>> president yee: same house same call? without objection this ordinance is passed on first reading unanimously. item 52. >> resolution to approve the first amendment of the grant agreement between the city and woo yee children services to support the implementation of the city-wide plan for early care and education for a total amount of $11.3 million and to extend the grant term through june 30, 2020. >> president yee: without objection, this resolution is adopted unanimously. >> item 53, resolution to authorize the human services agency to continue its membership in the california welfare information network, cal win with the welfare of client

data to authorize an increase expenditure authority to $88.2 million through january 31, 2023. >> president yee: can we take this same house, same call? without objection, this resolution is adopted unanimously. please call items 54 through 56. >> item 54 through 56, three resolutions that authorize the mayor or her designee to cast an assessment ballot for the property improvement. item 54, the renewal and expansion for the civic center community district with respect to parcels of property owned by the city. item 55, for the proposed renewal and expansion of the property and improvement business district to be named the union square improvement district.

and item 56, the proposed formation of property and business to be named the downtown. community benefit district with certain parcels of real property owned by the city in each aforementioned district that would be subject to the assessment. >> president yee: can we take these items same house same call? these resolutions are adopted unanimously. let's go to roll call for introductions. >> supervisor walton, you're up to introduce new business. >> supervisor walton: thank you, i submit. >> president yee: submit. >> supervisor brown: refer. >> supervisor haney: sure. thank you, madame clerk. today i'm introducing a resolution in support of a.c.a.6, the vote act which will give california voters the

opportunity to allow automatic restoration of voting rights to those on parole, upon completion of a state or federal prison term on the 2020 ballot. it would extend the right to vote a fundamental civil right to those who have paid their debt to society. our resolution is supported by my colleagues. i want to thank supervisors mandelman, walton, brown, mar, fewer. it was introduced by assembly members mccarthy and co-authorizco co-authorico co-authorize by scott wiener. there are 50,000 unable to vote as a result of felony disenfranchisement laws. as we all know, mass incarceration disproportionately impacts communities of color and

even when people serve time and exit incarceration, they face barriers finding employment, stable residence and more. being denied a right to vote is one more barrier to integrating back into the community. this will amend sections 2 and 4 of the constitution to restore voting rights upon the completion of their prison term. by eliminating a barrier to voting, this bill will align california with 14 other states and washington d.c. which have either all restored voting rights upon release from prison or have no disenfranchisement laws at all. there has been a lot of momentum in other states. the state of florida which is notorious passed a similar law at the ballot box. i hope california does the same. i want to thank the many

advocates who have been working on this and the free to vote coalition, initiate justice, aclu of california, anti-recidivism coalition, league of women voters of california and california secretary of state. i hope we can join this coalition as a city of san francisco and help to get this passed in 2020. the rest i submit. >> supervisor mar: thank you, madame clerk. colleagues, today i'm joining with mayor breed to introduce two items, a resolution and ordinance that will affirm and memolize the terms of the plan to fund free city college over the next decade. free city college has been a huge success, breaking down barriers to higher education for diverse san francisco residents and rebuilding enrollment in the years of decline. this ground breaking program was created in 2016 by the free city

coalition of organizations representing faculty, students and communities working closely with supervisor jane kim and other leaders. it has served as an important model nationally for tuition-free higher education. as you know, the program was initially funded by mayor lee as a two-year pilot program and due to greater than expected growth, costs exceeded the initial funding allocation. over the past six months, the mayor's office and i have worked with city college leaders and the free city coalition to develop a plan to ensure that free city college is fully funded over the next decade. and to also update and strengthen program policies and financial oversight and accountability. i'd like to thank mayor breed, her chief of staff and her senior education advisor for commitment to free state college and for all of your work on this plan. the rest i submit.

>> clerk: thank you. supervisor peskin. >> supervisor peskin: thank you. colleagues, a couple of items for introduction today. first, a minor, but significant amendment to the north beach neighborhood commercial district zoning ordinance. that will lengthen the abandonment period for certain vacant store fronts from 18 months to three years. and while it is a very small amendment, the impact is quantifiable and hopefully immediate. my office has determined that it will impact 10 vacant store fronts and make them available for desirable businesses without any need for a conditional use authorization. and this is, i think, precisely the type of edits we should be considering to address the retail issues in each of our neighborhood, commercial district corridors, to specifically tailor it to

address the problems that exist in each and every one of those districts, which vary from district to district. i am going to ask the president to waive the 30-day rule. i understand that staff at the planning department is going to ask the commission to waive their 90-day consideration because it is minor and the second item that i am submitting today is a resolution that hopefully we will all vote for on the adoption without committee reference calendar, urging the department of real estate to enter into a lease for a navigation center in district 3 at a particular site on post street. i hope that will meet with all of your support. the rest i will submit. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor peskin. supervisor ronen. >> supervisor ronen: submit, but i wanted to congratulate supervisor peskin of finally getting a site in district 3 for

the navigation center. i know you've been fighting hard and long for that and i want to congratulate you. >> supervisor peskin: it ain't over till it's over. >> supervisor safai: commit >> supervisor brown: thank you. colleagues, today i'm introducing a resolution in support of california state bill 285. this bill will reduce food insecurity and poverty in san francisco and in the state by increasing participation in the cal fresh program. it will also support the upcoming expansion of cal fresh to s.s.i. recipients for the first time. currently 2 million californians who are eligible for cal fresh, but not receiving benefits and only 19% of eligible seniors participate in this program. we can and must do better. historically cal fresh has failed to enroll eligible

californians because of administrative hurdles that don't take into account many peoples' unstable financial situation. s b285 will allow californians to access cal fresh with ease, regardless of where this elive -- they live or life circumstances. 5,0 5,000s.s.i. recipients will become eligible for the first time. it's time we take a real look at food insecurity and expand this access. the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you. mr. president, that concludes the introduction of new business. >> president yee: okay. i'm going to take my time and speak real slowly -- oh, there it is. 2:30. can you call the 2:30

commendations. >> yes, we have four. supervisor mandelman, peskin, safai and brown. >> president yee: supervisor mandelman, please present your commendations. >> supervisor mandelman: happy pride week, happy pride month. i'm recognizing the owners of jolene's -- [applause] are they here? there is shannon. okay. here's the deal on jolene's. it opened its doors in december of 2018, san francisco's first transand queer women of color owned bar and restaurant. the queer and transspace that they have created is of

city-wide importance to the lgbtq community. at a time when queer-owned and serving businesses are being displaced from our city at an alarming rate, jolene's is creating new space for the community. after a decade of organizing parties for queer women and starting her own events company, jolene started searching -- for a permanent home for u-haul, her party for -- [screaming] -- her party for girls who love girls since 2014. despite san francisco's reputation as a global lgbtq capital, the 2015 closure of the last surviving lesbian bar left queer women without any spaces of their own. with few options available, jolene decided that opening her own space was the only path forward. to bring this vision to life, jolene joined forces with shannon, an experienced restauranteur who opened his

business in 2009. the two found a space in the mission, moving into the former dear mom space at 2700 16th street. but that was only part of the challenge. they faced hurdles navigating the licensing process. my office was happy and able to offer our assistance to jolene and shannon as they worked their way through that ordeal. and in just the last six months they've been opened, jolene's has hosted numerous benefits including transcend, dike march, and trans-march and has become home to a number of >> translato >> translatotran

transparties. they bost an all queer staff, jo-jo who is here somewhere. spaces like jolene's are an essential part of san francisco's cultural fabric and we must do everything we can to ensure their success. when you walk into jolene's you're greeted by pink triangle saying you are safe here. i want to thank them for ensuring that all queer people have a home at jolene's. with their san francisco pride coming up in a few days and jolene's certain to be a major destination, i'm sure they have their hands full, so i appreciate shannon being here today. would you like to say a few words? >> thank you. [laughter] [applause]

>> president yee: the rest of the awards, there is a model for you. [applause] >> president yee: that brings us to supervisor peskin. please present your commendation. >> supervisor peskin: thank you, president yee. colleagues. today, i have the pleasure of celebrating somebody who has been of incredible service to the city and county of san francisco, who i first met quarter of a century ago. it was when she first started working for the planning department. she looks as incredible now as she did then. we're celebrating andrea green on the eve of her retirement. come on up, ms. green. [applause] she has done many things at the department of city planning, but

most recently is known to us as those calling over there and being a pain in their hinds as the executive assistant to the director of city planning john ram. andrea is san francisco. she is born and raised in the bayview neighborhood. and worked in the private sector for a few years before finding the love for public service when she came to the planning department right about when i started to become a neighborhood activist. and so she's worked for director ram for the past 11 years and has really been the anchor for the planning department and has survived waves of staff changes and shifting leadership over the years. and don't worry, you don't have to rat them all out. whether it was zoning administrator bob passmore, dean

and john ram. andrea is the backbone of that office that oversees long range city planning, physical development in san francisco and basically, the future of this town. not only is she the gatekeeper of the complicated schedule, which is why i can never get a meeting with him -- just kidding -- but she has maneuvered every last-minute change when the pesky planners need something. among the staff at the department, andrea is known for exactly what you see, which is her infectious smile, her loving warm heart, her generosity and loyal friendship. we're going miss you, andrea. outside her duties as a civil servant, she served -- this is where i met her -- as secretary

to the landmark preservation advisory board. now our historic preservation commission. and while i am immensely saddened by your departure, i want to wish you the most wondrous time in your retirement on behalf of the board of supervisors. congratulations for weathering the storm, ms. green. the floor is yours. [applause] [laughter] my coworkers, they're so wonderful. thank you, supervisor peskin, who i lovingly call aaron. it's been a pleasure working for the city for almost 24 years. and i have to say the planning department is the best department in the city and county of san francisco. so i appreciate everyone that i've worked with. and i appreciate all of you. i've had dealings with all of you at one point or another. so thank you so much.

it's been a pleasure serving the city and county of san francisco. thank you. >> supervisor peskin: before i give you a certificate of honor and some flowers, director ram, come up here and show us what you and all your staff have brought. [laughter] and then we're going to go out in the hall and take a photograph of all of us. director ram, you want to say a few words. >> yes, thank you. i have been in denial about this retirement for a very long time and now that it's three days away, i'm not sure i know what to do about it. thank you to the board and supervisor for recognizing andrea. she's the hearted on soul of the department. not just the gatekeeper, but the den mother of the department. she has been such a joy to work with. her smile is indeed infectious. we're going to keep these in the office. i want to say, publicly thank her for the extraordinary work and keeping me on the straight narrow -- well, the narrow anyway. [laughter] thank you.

[cheers and applause] >> president yee: okay. that brings us to supervisor safai. >> supervisor safai: great, thank you. thank you, mr. president. i am so honored today, i want to bring up our local teacher, mr. mark rosenberg -- [cheers and applause] -- from monroe elementary. i'm going to give a little background on mr. rosenberg, but i'll just say before that, i had

a wonderful pleasure of meeting him a number of years ago in the community at a local fair. then this year i was invited to be part of his local civics educational opportunity in his class, but i'll get back to that. mr. rosenberg is an incredible, incredible third grade teacher who i've had the privilege of working with and knowing that works at monroe elementary school in the excelsior. he's been there since 2001. he was born in nairobi, kenya. his parents were working in the peace corps. and he lived there for about six months in the early 70s and moved back to the bay area settling here in the late 70s. he attended public school all the way to graduation. as a young child, mr. rosenberg had many career dreams -- this is important because he's incorporated these into all the work he does.

teacher, firefighter, teacher, rock star, writer, teacher, professor, actor, depressing singer-songwriter, and always back to teacher. if any of you know mr. rosenberg or if any of you have visited had is class -- i see parents and friends in the audience -- he incorporates every single one of these into his -- of these professions into his unique style of teaching, which the kids absolutely adore. just as a little footnote, when i visited his class, he has a wall and a microphone where he asks the kids if they have any jokes to do standup comedy and incorporate that into the daily routine. you don't get to leave the class until you tell a joke. we should do that here on the board [laughter]. his first teaching opportunity began in 1997 as a substitute in east san jose. after a strong talking to from his mother, who didn't want

him -- her son drifting and wasting his potential, he jumped in deeply into becoming a credentialed teacher and worked on that at san francisco state. after that he was placed at long fellow elementary school as a 5th grade and then a 1st grade and then finally monroe elementary school. his journey has been one of growth. he will tell you his early years had been a time of failing, trying, having all the creativity in the world, but no systematic management and being too stern and being that room where he begged and screamed every day. but around year three in his teaching, he started to find his groove and his true voice. he blended all of the experience and teaching personality to

bring a strict joyful weird environment. he teaches in costumes, in characters, wearing dresses, overalls, masks, to become book characters, song characters, writing songs to teach curriculum. he teaches about the ongoing fight for civil rights. he combats homophobia in the classroom, but conversations with quality and he works in every way he can toward a more perfect union. he has brought his incredible dog moechy into the classroom as a reading therapy dog. my daughter is in third grade the same time i was visiting his class, the letters i got from his children and seeing them read, i was so impressed by how far ahead they were. every single one of them was fully engaged in the classroom. he has invited members of the

community, lawyers, board of education members, supervisors, artists, doctors, custodians, chefs, parents, musicians, anyone of the like to come to the classroom to come speak to his students and engage in the educational environment. the students have written letters to the obamas, written later to may jamison, phillip glass, among others. authors, song writers. i ask mr. rosenberg, how does he teach kids and instill hope in the current political climate? he told me, we move on, undeterred with passion, music, knowledge and joy. these kids will make a better future of our broken country. mr. rosenberg, thank you for all the hope and love that you instill into the learning environment in your classroom and our children. i am so honored to have you here today and have you been such an important member of the district 11 community and the educational

environment and look forward to you impacting your generation for years to come. thank you for being here today. [cheers and applause] thank you. >> i will try to keep it brief. some of you have been here in my classroom before. one of the messages i wanted to say is come into the rooms. i really mean that. not just to my room. behind me in this room are many teachers who have been teaching longer than i have and have so many things they give and i just want the board. a couple of years ago matt haney came into my room and made a huge impact. i want kids to be able to see they can sit where you sit right now. the place where you're making the decisions you're making.

i'll also plug for my classroom because i have a mayor and vice-mayor elected, a board of education, board of supervisors. among other jobs. and they sometimes now tell me what to do because they become my boss. and it's an honor being in this room. my friends that are here, my family that is here, i just feel very lucky to stand here and kind of overwhelmed. it's kind of a weird experience to have people say so many nice things about you when you're standing sort of nervous. i've been teaching at monroe since 2001 and i want to finish by saying there are so many teachers that have been teaching in the classroom longer than i have and have done so many things and i want to push for a city and an environment where we honor the veteran classroom teachers. that we look at it as a place we

want people to stay in the classroom. that is just what i wanted to say. thank you to everyone. thank you to my wife pat who is here and daughter nina. i love very much. she is a teaching colleague. my daughter comes into my classroom and she teaches as well with me with my students using sign language. and as i say to people, she's stricter than i am. so it's true. thank you from the bottom of my heart. i'm humbled. i don't feel like i deserve this, but thank you very much and i appreciate everyone here. [cheers and applause]

[cheers and applause] >> president yee: okay. supervisor brown, as soon as you're ready to start. you can go ahead and offer your commendation. >> supervisor brown: thank you. it's really rare that i can stand up here and actually honor someone that i've known for over 25 years. and is actually a friend of mine. and i see you saying, has it been 25 years? yeah, it has. today in honor of pride month i would like to commend san francisco's pride parade and this year's grand marshal david

faulk, aka, ms. vera. and anybody that doesn't know ms. vera, can we put the overhead up for ms. vera? yes. miss vera is an inspiring character created in 1994 by david faulk. but there is a reason miss vera was actually created. and i was around when miss vera appeared. and michael and his partner, can you stand next to him? because you two are a pair. he name is michael, but we all call him tina. back in the days, tina and i actually were artists when we were in our 20s, early 30s, living the artist life in

warehouses south of market and having a good time. tina was one of the first people diagnosed with aids in san francisco. and i can't tell you, maybe three times i went to the hospital to say goodbye to you. but through all these years, he survived and he thrived. but one time when michael -- tina was in the hospital, miss vera, david, created miss vera and came to the hospital and actually had him go out in costume to make michael laugh, because michael didn't have much energy to laugh. and what started was that miss vera actually honored the spirit of the many creative people that was lost to the aids crisis and

epidemic. the various articles of his costumes are made with recycled materials. he uses fake finger nails for teeth and paints them. i mean, you cannot believe all the different things he uses for his costumes. and now more than he has over 50 people -- he dresses over 50 people revelers actually, to march in concert what we call vera sphere. every year since 1995, they have marched in the pride parade. and when they first decided to march in the pride parade in 1995, many of you were here, this was a time we were fighting for resources for aids and

crisis that was happening. and i remember a lot of people didn't want to go to pride parade then because they were angry and they were like, what are we celebrating? people are dying, our friends are dying. but michael and david went to the pride parade dressed up, brought a few people and made people laugh. and had fun. and at these public events and workshops throughout the bay area, miss vera and vera-sphere has been encouraging people to experiment by using non-traditional costumes at the pride parade. vera-sphere has marched so many years, i think every time i go there i look for to you to find what you're doing now and what you're dressed up. every year, they actually steal the front page of "the

chronicle". nobody else gets the kind of attention in those costumes like they do. i actually would love and recommend everyone watch this actually beautiful film that kqqed did on them. it's a 20-minute short called vera-sphere, a love story in costume. it's probably one of the most powerful and beautiful shorts i've ever watched. i just want to thank you from your friends for so many years for being here for all of us. and for actually entertaining the crowds and supporting local agencies such as lgbtq center, the spca, san francisco library book mobile. your hard work and creativity will forever impact us, your friends in san francisco and the lgbtq community. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you, supervisor brown. and thank you to san francisco for being a place where doing something that is a little hard to figure out is not only tolerated, it's celebrated. and we have been doing this for a quarter of a century. when we started, we were prepared to go. but we are still here. and the city is still welcoming us. so even though we started out from kind of somber space over the years because it's san francisco it has transformed into a welcoming. it's still hard to figure out experience that people -- they just respond to it. it's a city that people come here looking for certain

acceptance of alternatives and i just try and manifest that. and share it with people. give them an art experience that is not a commercial one, or you know, it's a body of work that people respond to. and as an artist, it's been a thrill to do it. and it's certainly a thrill to be acknowledged and honored for it by the city and the board of supervisors as well. so thank you. thank you for all of that and i'm going to let my partner michael say something. >> thank you, supervisor brown and all of you. i just wanted to highlight the fact that we are in several categories long-term survivors, at risk with our rental situations, lost our art studios. we hang on, but we are a speck of dust compared to the numbers of creatives and long-term survivors that are able to live here. i feel incredibly lucky to be

here. i watch and follow everything that you all do on our behalf. transgender, intergenerational, senior housing, everything, my entire exist. i want to thank you all for your efforts in these overwhelming times. >> yeah. we are really relying on you and you are stepping up, so thank you. the city has done great by me and we're here and we're here. so that's that. thank you. [applause] >> president yee: thank you, david and michael. see you at pride. could i have a motion to excuse

supervisor ronen since she fell ill, she's out of the meeting. motion made by supervisor peskin, seconded by supervisor haney. if there is no objection, then the motion passes. supervisor fewer. would you like to rescind the vote. >> supervisor fewer: i would like to make a motion to rescind item number 41. are we done with commendations? >> president yee: there is a motion to rescind. with no objection, seconded by supervisor stefani, with no objection then, the vote is rescinded. could i have roll call on item

number 41? >> clerk: supervisor walton aye. yee aye. brown absent. fewer aye. haney aye. mandelman aye. mar aye. peskin aye. ronen is excused. safai aye. stefani aye. there are nine ayes. >> president yee: okay, without objection -- then this 41 is what? passed on first reading? ordinance? >> passed on first reading. >> president yee: so okay, this would be ordinance passed on first reading. i will again speak very slowly.

to get to our 3:00 item. [please stand by]

>> this is named the north of

market tenderloin benefit district pursuant to the board resolutions we've adopted on april 23rd. the proposed district is approximately 800 identified parcels located on approximately 41 whole or partial blocks. details of the covered area are in the file. at the conclusion of the public hearing, the department of elections will tabulate the ballots and report to the board of supervisors and members of the public may view the ballot tabotabtatabootab tabulation. the public testimony will be as follows.

we will hear from all speakers in support and each speaker will have two minutes and we will hear from all speakers in opposition and during the hearing, a property owner who has not voted yet or who wishes to change their vote may speak with the department of election's staff. they are a table just outside at the board chamber and provide you with the affidavit and board plot. the ballot will be counted. before we begin, supervisor hainey, would you like to make any opening remarks? >> thank you. i will make brief remarks before i turn it over to chris corgus. but i want to say that this is a community benit