the child care facilities in the city. since this center is going to have a playground, i think she's going to want to check that out, right, simone? >> mm-hmm. >> thanks to the mayor's office of housing and all the great inclusive bidding that we had during this process, and of course, john stewart's wonderful team, including us along every step of the way. had countless meetings. our supervisor, aaron peskin, and the previous supervisor, julie christiansen, who really got the project going for us. again, just really impressed with the outreach from the community stages of the project. the team reacted to community concerns along the way and modified the project to a very mature building which you see on these drawings here today. in particular, we're really

impressed with the ground level uses for the community, the services, retail, etc., that -- that activate the street. this was a great example of how our project should happen. so you think that's good? >> yes. >> so i'll keep it here with introducing one of our barbary coast representatives, bob hauer. >> thank you, bruno. good afternoon, everybody. i know it's hot, so i'll try to be as brief as i possible can. first of all, i want to say on behalf of the barbary coast neighborhood association, i'm very happy to be here today as this project starts to take almost a concrete step forward to bring some badly needed housing to san francisco. and i also want to express my

sincere appreciation to the port and the mayor's office of housing for all the opportunities that they gave to listen to the neighborhood and to work with us and to resolve -- well, not resolve, but to work with us to help design a project that really will work for the neighborhood. i think there were many, many discussions and meetings and a number of outcomes that are very positive. two i'd like to mention in particular. first of all, if we look at the residents, not only will this housing unit have room and units designated for the formerly homeless and low-income, but it will also have units for the middle-income households. and this is a first in san francisco, and it's my understanding that this'll be the first large multifamily

unit for affordable housing that will have units for the middle-income households, and i think everybody should be aware of the shrinking population that we have of the middle-income population in this town. secondly, i think the development of the ground floor is another real positive outcome. rather than having a large parking garage that wouldn't add to the ambiance of the neighborhood, we have a location for child care for the children. all of this will serve to activate the neighborhood further. i think it will create a much more pleasant experience along this area of broadway. and then finally, i want to mention the -- certainly our appreciation to the john stewart company and bridge housing. the design is attractive.

they've gone through a number of extra measures to make sure it's not a boring, institutional structure, and i certainly appreciate all the different opportunities that they have provided to -- for the neighborhood to get some input. so with that, i'll just close by saying i think this project is a tremendous asset, will be a tremendous asset to the neighborhood, and it will make this stretch of broadway even more inviting. and so with that, i am done, and i will let john stewart handle the closing of this ceremony. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. i have to add one codicil to what's been said. we observe neighborhood reactions to the concept of formerly homeless, and they run screaming from the run. there's a lack of opposition.

on this project, there's six entities that reviewed all of -- all of our designs and plans and our sociology. not once did i hear anybody say oh, wow, you're going to have formerly homeless? there'll be 37 formerly homeless? that to me was a first. and also, i think they liked the idea of combining the two. that hybrid between formerly homeless making general assistance 30% of a.m.i. and people making $10,000 a month will be a grant interesting social experiment that we as a company have not tried before, and i'm sure our supervisor will be making many calls to us. in fact, i can hear you now, aaron. his battery has gone dead. i will quickly say there were a few other stars in the community. i just want to give a quick shoutout to ed -- stan hayes.

janet, barbara, janice, and ken. the fabric of this neighborhood's going to change with the additional units. architect, l.m.s. bill letty, aaron thorton were in every one of the public meetings that we had over four years. they'll bore you to death talking about quotes, but they're really nice people at heart. lenders, b of a, and the woman with the money, kate hartley. thank you, and thank you.

the contractor, what can you say? cahill happened to be the contractor 17 years ago at north beach place. actually, i think howard carlson was one of the supervisors then, and he still is, so that's what i call good employee retention. we have alex shafer, don brooks, and of course, chuck pele is one of our stars. he's fantastic. and the port, we've already done that, elaine forbes. mickey tuzanni and michael martin. gail gilman and victor makras are on the commission, and they're here today, and thank you for attending. cindy's staff are what we call our intrepids. thank you, mayor breed, for causing them to be so totally

active. i would start with kate hartley, kudos to you. you were with this thing from the beginning. we appreciate it. you've got a great team. luther from social services, cushman and wakefield are all going to be contributors to this. we do have a cafe and a restaurant going in here, and you're all expected to come and be big tippers when we open up that restaurant. bridge side, and i have to say, i'm looking at cynthia, marie tabor, give her a raise. she paid me to just say that. you owe me, marie, and in our

office, several people have dedicated a large part of their lives to this. lastly, there are some empty chairs who represent back in the day. olson lee, we'll have the cobblestones along with the make america great caps. last, mayor ed lee. he loved this project. i remember talking to him about this the week before he left us, and he loved this. what a fantastic legacy for you to carry on, and don't think we forget about it, supervisor peskin. so with that, i stand between you and a free lunch, and there

is one occasionally, so we are now going to do the ground breaking. somebody needs to get a shovel, and we need some earth. we'll do that, and then, we'll all get a free lunch. thank you very much, everybody, for coming. >> the hon. london breed: five, four, three, two, one. >> all right. get to work! >> i came to san francisco in 1969. i fell in love with this city and and this is where i raised my family at.

my name is bobbie cochran. i've been a holly court resident for 32 years. i wouldn't give up this neighborhood for nothing. i moved into this apartment one year ago. my favorite thing is my kitchen. i love these clean walls. before the remodeling came along, the condition of these apartments had gotten pretty bad, you know, with all the mildew, the repairs. i mean you haven't seen the apartment for the program come along. you wouldn't have believed it. so i appreciate everything they did. i was here at one point. i was. because i didn't know what the

outcome of holly court was going to be. you know, it really got -- was it going to get to the point where we have to be displaced because they would have to demolish this place? if they had, we wouldn't have been brought back. we wouldn't have been able to live in burn. by the program coming along, i welcome it. they had to hire a company and they came in and cleaned up all the walls. they didn't paint the whole apartment, they just cleaned up the mildew part, cleaned up and straighted it and primed it. that is impressive. i was a house painter. i used to go and paint other people's apartments and then come back home to mine and i would say why couldn't i live in a place like that. and now i do.

>> the hon. london breed: good morning, everyone. i'm london breed, and i'm the mayor of san francisco, and i'm so excited to be here with you today to talk about what we are doing to provide more affordable housing to the residents of san francisco. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: when i first became mayor last year, i noticed that in the capital plan for the city and county of san francisco, there were no plans for affordable housing, and that was not okay. we made changes, we made adjustments, and we started off with a $300 million affordable housing bond, and that $300 million has turned into $600 million, the largest affordable

housing bond in the history of this city. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: without raising property taxes. we did this in a collaborative way. we did this with the leadership of the president of the board of supervisors, norman yee. we did this with our community partners, including four amazing people who led the community working group consisting of so many stakeholders. folks from labor were at the table. people from the community were at the table. folks from the housing community, from public housing, from all sectors of the community from this city because when we know we need to do something this big, we need to come together. and yes, it was not easy, but i want to thank everyone because the people at the table were open-minded, provided feedback, fought for what they believe in, and now we are here united

to make sure that the voters pat this bond in november november. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you so much to the folks who led this effort, including myrna melgar, tamika moss, malcolm young, and annie chung. because we knew how much money we had, but we also had to make sure that we provided the resources for the things that we needed the most. and as someone who grew up in public housing in this city, there was no way that i was going to allow an affordable housing bond to happen without providing the kind of support that would help residents of public housing, and i want to thank all of you for being unwaivering in your public support for delivering public

housing in san francisco. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: this affordable housing bond has something for everyone, including our seniors. and president yee was such a true advocate, not because he's a senior himself, but because -- [laughter]. >> the hon. london breed: i thought you were proud of that, president yee? >> president yee: i am. >> the hon. london breed: but let me tell you, no one does salsa like president yee. but he knew it was important, that fact. you knee it was important that we do good investments, and that's what we're doing with this bond. in addition to providing senior support, we'll be providing housing for our teachers, for

down payment assistance, so there's something for everyone. it was a compromise. and again, i want to thank all those on the working group who came together to help make this possible. but you know what? there's also a need to make sure that these affordable housing units that preservation and the rehabilitation of affordable housing are done with our brothers and sisters of labor. and so i want to thank the labor community, including the leadership of larry mazzola, jr. who sat at the table to make sure that labor was an important part of this effort. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: so many amazing people, so much incredible work and time went into this effort. thank you to president yee again and all the members of the board of supervisors who are very supportive of this affordable housing bond. as i said, this is the largest affordable housing bond in the

history of the city without raising property taxes, and so now, the real work begins. once the board passes this bond and places it on the ballot for november, we're going to be looking to all of you and the voters of san francisco to make sure that we pass this ballot measure. we need at least two thirds of the votes of san franciscans, and so we're going to be working out there and stomping and doing everything we can to get it done, and i'm going to be counting on each and every one of you. thank you all so much for being here today, and now i want to turn the mic over to my partner in this amazing effort, president of the board of supervisors, norman yee. [applause] >> president yee: thank you very much, mayor breed. this has truly been a partnership. it's almost like a model where we start with another end, and another end, we talked to everybody we could talk to, we

figured it out. what is the collaboration that we need? what are the elements that we need? how do we serve all the people in san francisco? whether you're a teacher, whether you're a senior, whether you're someone who lives in public housing, whether you just simply can't make it because of the salary that you're living on, well, i think we've done it. we've done it. it's a start. is this going to answer every question? probably not, but this is going to be a big, big achievement for san francisco for us to put $600 million for affordable housing for our residents. [applause] >> president yee: i'll tell you this right now. i won't outline what mayor breed -- what she had already outlined. it was a battle. we had to fight, we had to claw, we had to prove our point. this came from labor, it came from everybody. even the middle-income folks to

came in and say we need help also, we hear you. we will put something in there for the middle-income, as well as low-income. i am so proud of the process that we -- that we took to get to where we are today. today is going to be a historical vote where the board of supervisors will vote on this bond measure, this measure for housing in san francisco. and then, once we get it on the ballot, it's going to be another historical moment in november, because all of us, all of you will fight for this and make sure that we get 17%, right? and i can't thank the staff and the supervisors enough for

their part because the community weighed in early, and we needed to figure out what are the issues that we needed to address. all my supervisors weighed in on the whole process. i want to thank them personally. almost every one of them. thank you supervisors. give them a hand. [applause] >> president yee: and i really want to thank their staff who did a lot of work. please join myself, mayor breed up here, labor, and just say to you -- just talk to 20 people, all your neighbors, and say this is the most important

thing you can do to help our residents in san francisco. we need affordable housing, yes! we need affordable housing, right? thank you very much. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. thank you, president yee. and as he said, this was a collaborative effort, and i just want to recognize, there's so many people here today. i can't start naming names because you guys will get mad at me if i forget somebody. but i do want to say to the nonprofit housing developers here that work in the community, whether it's tndc, mission housing and others, who continue to provide this much-needed affordable housing, ccdc and others, thank you so much for being here today for your advocacy and affordable housing in san francisco. thank you to the yimbys in san francisco. it means a lot. now i want to bring up one of the cochairs of the committee to help bring forth this

amazing $600 million affordable housing bond. tamika moss spear headed the effort. i remember a couple years back when we discovered we had empty public housing units. we worked with then-mayor ed lee to come up with $200 million to rehabilitate those units. and because of those services, we were able to place 179 formerly homeless families in public housing, and so tamika moss, come on up [applause] >> thank you so much, mayor breed. good morning! we are here on this momentous occasion to acknowledge the leadership of our mayor and our president of this board of

supervisors, mayor breed and president yee. i have had the incredible opportunity of leading one of the working groups with my cochairs, malcolm young, annie chung, and myrna melgar to make sure how the community has a voice in this bond? how do we make sure that every single san franciscan has access to permanent, supportive, affordable housing in their communities? and we have been able to come together and bring folks together around this bond, and i am so honored to be a part of it. this bond, as the mayor said, as the president said, is something for everyone. we have to make sure that the residents of public housing are supported. we need to make sure that the seniors in our community have a place to age with respect. we have a responsibility to make sure that we take care of our first responders and our teachers. the mayor and the board of supervisors didn't just talk

about an affordable housing crisis, they did something about it, and i am so excited to stand with them and support this and get this over the finish line in november. guess what, folks? we have a lot more work to do. this is our first attempt to making sure we have affordable housing in san francisco. we have a lot of work to do. let's get to work. thank you so much. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you, tamika. now many of you know this, when we talk about affordable housing, often times when we found in the past in san francisco, you basically make too much for affordable housing but not enough for market rate in san francisco. a couple years -- well, not even a couple years. maybe two years, we worked with a number of folks to change the affordability rates to level the playing field because i wanted to make sure that teachers and people of our

labor community were able to have access to the affordable housing that we build in san francis francisco, to the down payment assistance loans and other things, because that's what makes san francisco a great place is when we have true diversity from various economic levels. so what i'm really excited about in this bond is the amount of support it will provide for affordable housing for middle-income residents. we have here someone who is a beneficiary of the teacher next door program who provides down payment assistance to teachers for the purpose of purchasing housing in san francisco. with us is a seven-year employee of the san francisco unified school district, and she has been working as an educator in our schools with our kids. and now because of this program, she's going to be

within a short walking distance of the school that she works at. and so ladies and gentlemen, please welcome cheryl lu. [applause] >> hello, everyone. thank you for letting me share my story with you today? as mayor breed mentioned, i am an educator, i am a teacher, and i have actually been teaching for 13 years now. eight years of it -- seven, eight years of it was in san francisco, out at star king elementary school, which is out in potrero hill. it's always been my dream to live in the city that i serve and to eventually buy a home. and because of the down payment assistance loan program and the mayor's office of housing and community and development, i am actually living the impossible san francisco dream right now. as of last week, i closed on a property in san francisco,

yeah. [applause] >> pretty exciting, and it all worked out. and as with any buying process, you face a couple of challenges. along the way, we made it happen, and -- there was low inventories when we were looking we were getting out bit. but thank you to the mayor's office of housing and community development and assistance -- down payment assistance loan program, i was able to -- i was able to buy a place, and i'm a teacher, so it's pretty amazing. so i really do thank the support for what the we can do on the low-income,

middle-inco middle-income, teachers, first responders, and the labor industry. if i can do it, and i can live the impossible san francisco dream, many of you can, also. thank you. [applaus [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you, cheryl. and our final speaker is someone who grew up in the bayview-hunters point community. she started as a carpenter and is now working as a plumber. she's in fact working at 1950 mission street on that project, and this is why this program was created to make sure that local residents of our city have access to the trades so they could provide the opportunity to help to build this city and also get good wages in the process. but more importantly, she has a daughter entering college this fall. we are so proud of the work that she's doing to help build the city. and so ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome stacey provost. [applause] >> thank you, mayor london breed, for having me. i am a proud member of the pipe fitters and plumbers union local 38. [applause] >> i was born and raised in hunters point, and i began making my living as a cosmetologist. i owned my own business. i opened a hair salon, which i had to close due to rising rent. being a single mother with a daughter going to college, i needed to find a more stable career. at that point, i had found the city build program. throughout city build, i learned the skills required to be a -- to have a successful construction career. i have benefited from

affordable housing which is how i was able to provide and support my daughter during the city build process. after i graduated, i became a carpenter, working for carpenter's union local 22. before having the opportunity and the blessing of joining local 38, which is the plumbers and pipefitters union of san francisco. living here in san francisco in the 94124 has given me the benefit and a stable career to be in and pay rent in san francisco. that's why we need more affordable housing. we need more affordable housing for all of the reasons stated above. we also need this bond to create union jobs for all unions to build more affordable housing. right now, i'm working for o'brien mechanical in the mission street housing at 1950

mission where we are building 157 100% affordable housing units. [applause] >> so what i'm really trying to say is we need to build this housing so we can support more people like me, more stacey provosts. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, stacey, and thiank you to all the members who came out today. and thank you to all the supervisors who came out today. i know you've got to run back to get back to business. i know we are all looking for a unanimous vote at the board. right, supervisor mandelman? you heard it from supervisor mandelman and president yee first. we're going to get a unanimous vote and we're going to get it on the ballot.

we're going to knock on doors and talk to people so they know how important this is for the future of san francisco. we know we have a number of challenges, and the longer we wait to get this housing built, the more delay it is for so many people we know are struggling in san francisco. yes, sadly, people who are homeless but also people who are living paycheck to paycheck, people who are losing their housing. this is more than just building affordable housing, this is also about preserving our existing affordable housing for the people who are here who are struggling to survive. thank you all so much, and let's get this ballot measure passed! [applause]

>> when i look at an old neon sign that's working or not working, i feel the family business that was in there. >> since 2009, citywide, sf shines, has supported businesses and sites like the ones that receive new neon signs. >> you know, sf shines is doing an amazing job to bring back the lighting and the neon glow of san francisco. >> sf shines is such an amazing program, and i can't think of another program in another city that gives matching gunned funds to store owners, mom and pop owners, and if they've got a neon sign, they've really got

a great way to advertise their business. >> this is a continuation of the sf shines program. >> focusing other neon signs is relatively new to us. of the seven neon signs, we've invested about $145,000. >> a good quality sign costs more, but it lasts infinitily longer. as opposed to lasting five years, a good neon sign will last 15 to 20 years. >> in san francisco, the majority of neon signs are for mom-and-pop businesses. in order to be able to restore these signs, i think it gives back to your community. >> part of the project has to do with prioritizing certain

signs in the neighborhood based on their aesthetics, based on their current signs, and base on the history. in the time that we've been here, we've seen a number of signs restored just on eddy street. >> there are a number of signs in the tenderloin and many more that are waiting or wanting to be restored. i have worked with randall and al, and we've mapped out every single one of them and rated them as to how much work they would need to get restored. that information is passed onto sf shines, and they are going to rank it. so if they have x budget for a year, they can say all right, we're going to pick these five, and they're putting together clusters, so they build on top of what's already there. >> a cluster of neon signs is sort of, i guess, like a cluster of grapes. when you see them on a corner or on a block, it lights up the neighborhood and creates an

ambient glow. if you havy got two of three of them, you've created an atmosphere that's almost like a movie set. >> some of the hotel, we've already invested in to get those neon signs for people to enjoy at night include the elk hotel, jefferson hotel, the verona, not to mention some we've done in chinatown, as well as the city's portal neighborhood. >> we got the fund to restore it. it took five months, and the biggest challenge was it was completely infested with pigeons. once we got it clean, it came out beautiful. >> neon signs are often equated with film noir, and the noir genre as seen through the hollywood lens basically depicted despair and

concentration. >> you would go downtown and see the most recent humphrey bogart film filled with neon in the background. and you'd see that on market street, and as market street got seedier and seedier and fewer people continued to go down, that was what happened to all the neon strips of light. >> the film nori might start with the light filled with neon signs, and end with a scene with a single neon sign blinking and missing a few letters. >> one of my favorite scenes, orson welles is chasing

ririt rita hayworth with neon signs in the background. >> i think what the office of economic and workforce development is very excited with is that we'll be able to see more neon signs in a concentrated way lit up at night for visitors and most especially residents. the first coin laundry, the elm hotel, the western hotel are ones that we want to focus on in the year ahead. >> neon signs are so iconic to certain neighborhoods like the hara, like the nightcap. we want to save as many historic and legacy neon signs in san francisco, and so do they. we bring the expertise, and they bring the means to actually get the job done. >> people in tenderloin get really excited as they see the

signs relit. as you're driving through the tenderloin or the city, it pretty much tells you something exciting is happening here. >> knee an was created to make the night more friendly and advertise businesses. it's a great way of supporting and helping local businesses. >> there's so many ways to improve public safety. the standard way is having more eyes on the street, but there's other culturally significant ways to do that, and one those ways is lighting up the streets. but what better way and special way to do that is by having old, historic neon signs lighting up our streets at night and casting away our shadows. >> when i see things coming back to life, it's like remembering how things were. it's remembering the hotel or the market that went to work seven days a week to raise their money or to provide a service, and it just -- it just -- it just

>> shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses, and challenges residents to do their shopping within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services in our neighborhood, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> i am the owner of this restaurant. we have been here in north beach over 100 years.

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>> this is one place you can always count on to give you what you had before and remind you of what your san francisco history used to be. >> we hear that all the time, people bring their kids here and their grandparents brought them here and down the line. >> even though people move away, whenever they come back to the city, they make it here. and they tell us that. >> you're going to get something made fresh, made by hand and made with quality products and something that's very, very good. ♪ >> the legacy bars and restaurants was something that was begun by san francisco simply to recognize and draw attention to the establishments. it really provides for san

francisco's unique character. ♪ >> and that morphed into a request that we work with the city to develop a legacy business registration. >> i'm michael cirocco and the owner of an area bakery. ♪ the bakery started in 191. my grandfather came over from italy and opened it up then. it is a small operation. it's not big. so everything is kind of quality that way. so i see every piece and cut every piece that comes in and out of that oven. >> i'm leslie cirocco-mitchell, a fourth generation baker here with my family. ♪ so we get up pretty early in

the morning. i usually start baking around 5:00. and then you just start doing rounds of dough. loaves. >> my mom and sister basically handle the front and then i have my nephew james helps and then my two daughters and my wife come in and we actually do the baking. after that, my mom and my sister stay and sell the product, retail it. ♪ you know, i don't really think about it. but then when i -- sometimes when i go places and i look and see places put up, oh this is our 50th anniversary and everything and we've been over 100 and that is when it kind of hits me. you know, that geez, we've been here a long time. [applause] ♪ >> a lot of people might ask why our legacy business is important.

we all have our own stories to tell about our ancestry. our lineage and i'll use one example of tommy's joint. tommy's joint is a place that my husband went to as a child and he's a fourth generation san franciscan. it's a place we can still go to today with our children or grandchildren and share the stories of what was san francisco like back in the 1950s. >> i'm the general manager at tommy's joint. people mostly recognize tommy's joint for its murals on the outside of the building. very bright blue. you drive down and see what it is. they know the building. tommy's is a san francisco hoffa, which is a german-style presenting food. we have five different carved meats and we carve it by hand

at the station. you prefer it to be carved whether you like your brisket fatty or want it lean. you want your pastrami to be very lean. you can say i want that piece of corn beef and want it cut, you know, very thick and i want it with some sauerkraut. tell the guys how you want to prepare it and they will do it right in front of you. san francisco's a place that's changing restaurants, except for tommy's joint. tommy's joint has been the same since it opened and that is important. san francisco in general that we don't lose a grip of what san francisco's came from. tommy's is a place that you'll always recognize whenever you lock in the door. you'll see the same staff, the same bartender and have the same meal and that is great. that's important.

♪ >> the service that san francisco heritage offers to the legacy businesses is to help them with that application process, to make sure that they really recognize about them what it is that makes them so special here in san francisco. ♪ so we'll help them with that application process if, in fact, the board of supervisors does recognize them as a legacy business, then that does entitle them to certain financial benefits from the city of san francisco. but i say really, more importantly, it really brings them public recognition that this is a business in san francisco that has history and

that is unique to san francisco. >> it started in june of 1953. ♪ and we make everything from scratch. everything. we started a you -- we started a off with 12 flavors and mango fruits from the philippines and then started trying them one by one and the family had a whole new clientele. the business really boomed after that. >> i think that the flavors we make reflect the diversity of san francisco. we were really surprised about the legacy project but we were thrilled to be a part of it. businesses come and go in the city.

pretty tough for businesss to stay here because it is so expensive and there's so much competition. so for us who have been here all these years and still be popular and to be recognized by the city has been really a huge honor. >> we got a phone call from a woman who was 91 and she wanted to know if the mitchells still owned it and she was so happy that we were still involved, still the owners. she was our customer in 1953. and she still comes in. but she was just making sure that we were still around and it just makes us feel, you know, very proud that we're carrying on our father's legacy. and that we mean so much to so many people. ♪

>> it provides a perspective. and i think if you only looked at it in the here and now, you're missing the context. for me, legacy businesses, legacy bars and restaurants are really about setting the context for how we come to be where we are today. >> i just think it's part of san francisco. people like to see familiar stuff. at least i know i do. >> in the 1950s, you could see a picture of tommy's joint and looks exactly the same. we haven't change add thing. >> i remember one lady saying, you know, i've been eating this ice cream since before i was born. and i thought, wow! we have, too. ♪ >> working with kids, they keep you young. they keep you on your tones -- on your toes. >> teaching them, at the same

time, us learning from them, everything is fulfilling. >> ready? go. [♪] >> we really wanted to find a way to support women entrepreneurs in particular in san francisco. it was very important for the mayor, as well as the safety support the dreams that people want to realize, and provide them with an opportunity to receive funding to support improvements for their business so they could grow and thrive in their neighborhoods and in their industry. >> three, two, one! >> because i am one of the consultants for two nonprofits here for entrepreneurship, i knew about the grand through the renaissance entrepreneur center, and through the small business development center.

i thought they were going to be perfect candidate because of their strong values in the community. they really give back to the neighborhood. they are from this neighborhood, and they care about the kids in the community here. >> when molly -- molly first told us about the grant because she works with small businesses. she has been a tremendous help for us here. she brought us to the attention of the grand just because a lot of things here were outdated, and need to be up-to-date and redone totally. >> hands in front. recite the creed. >> my oldest is jt, he is seven, and my youngest is ryan, he is almost six. it instills discipline and the boys, but they show a lot of care. we think it is great. the moves are fantastic. the women both are great teachers. >> what is the next one?

>> my son goes to fd k. he has been attending for about two years now. they also have a summer program, and last summer was our first year participating in it. they took the kids everywhere around san francisco. this year, owner talking about placing them in summer camps, all he wanted to do was spend the entire summer with them. >> he has strong women in his life, so he really appreciates it. i think that carries through and i appreciate the fact that there are more strong women in the world like that. >> i met d'andrea 25 years ago, and we met through our interest in karate. our professor started on cortland years ago, so we grew up here at this location, we out -- he outgrew the space and he moved ten years later. he decided to reopen this location after he moved. initially, i came back to say,

hey, because it might have been 15 years since i even put on a uniform. my business partner was here basically by herself, and the person she was supposed to run the studio with said great, you are here, i started new -- nursing school so you can take over. and she said wait, that is not what i am here for i was by myself before -- for a month before she came through. she was technically here as a secretary, but we insisted, just put on the uniform, and help her teach. i was struggling a little bit. and she has been here. one thing led to another and now we are co-owners. you think a lot more about safety after having children and i wanted to not live in fear so much, and so i just took advantage of the opportunity, and i found it very powerful to hit something, to get some relief, but also having the knowledge one you might be in a

situation of how to take care of yourself. >> the self-defence class is a new thing that we are doing. we started with a group of women last year as a trial run to see how it felt. there's a difference between self-defence and doing a karate class. we didn't want them to do an actual karate class. we wanted to learn the fundamentals of how to defend yourself versus, you know, going through all the forms and techniques that we teaching a karate class and how to break that down. then i was approached by my old high school. one -- once a semester, the kids get to pick an extra curricular activity to take outside of the school walls. my old biology teacher is now the principle. she approached us into doing a self-defence class. the girls have been really proactive and really sweet. they step out of of the comfort zone, but they have been willing to step out and that hasn't been any pushback.

it is really great. >> it is respect. you have to learn it. when we first came in, they knew us as those girls. they didn't know who we were. finally, we came enough for them to realize, okay, they are in the business now. it took a while for us to gain that respect from our peers, our male peers. >> since receiving the grant, it has ignited us even more, and put a fire underneath our butts even more. >> we were doing our summer camp and we are in a movie theatre, and we just finished watching a film and she stepped out to receive a phone call. she came in and she screamed, hey, we got the grant. and i said what? >> martial arts is a passion for us. it is passion driven. there are days where we are dead tired and the kids come and they have the biggest smiles on their faces and it is contagious. >> we have been operating this program for a little over a year all women entrepreneurs.

it is an extraordinary benefit for us. we have had the mayor's office investing in our program so we can continue doing this work. it has been so impactful across a diversity of communities throughout the city. >> we hope that we are making some type of impact in these kids' lives outside of just learning karate. having self-confidence, having discipline, learning to know when it's okay to stand up for yourself versus you just being a bully in school. these are the values we want the kids to take away from this. not just, i learned how to kick and i learned how to punch. we want the kids to have more values when they walk outside of these doors. [♪]