necessarily looking at buying an e.v. or don't think they have the means to buy an e.v. for example, we want to create an ombudsman position, a one-stop shop, work with grid alternatives and state agencies that provide grants, rebates and incentives for lower income communities to help them offset the cost. we're going to work with city college like many cities do. there is the apprenticeship program with sfmta where students are trained for e.v. mechanics. we're looking for other criticla. we've been working with other cities around the region where the heavy duty trucks are going back and forth and working with bodies on grants, incentives and other initiatives to switch

heavy-duty vehicles to electric vehicles. with that, i will take any questions that you may have. >> supervisor peskin: so, obviously i'm a cosponsor of this, but i would like to make one, on the record, clarification, which i know my staff talked to the department of environment staff. which is given the phase-in period and given that there is actually thankfully less and less demand for parking, not to say that downtown is not congested, but we did hear from one garage owner who actually may be in the process of changing the use of a garage. and so what i wanted to do is be clear that it's our intent that amongst the considerations made by the director when exercising discretion to waive this requirement, that those kind of thoughts be inculcated in the

thinking and that the consideration on page 7 of the legislation regarding technical feasibility and the third regarding financial viability, be addressed appropriately and the regulations. and to that end, what i wanted to do was add a little bit of language that is not uncommon that would allow this board of supervisors to review the regulations and reject them for modify them by ordinance within a time frame of 60 days from when the director delivers those. and this is actually a template of what i might do in the ordinance. i want to put that on the record. is that your understanding, charles? >> yes, i've seen the proposed amendment and staff is comfortable with the language. >> supervisor peskin: good. the other question i had, was

not just on the commercial side, but the residential side. we're developing and in some cases have developed very large residential complexes that have garages over 100 -- i can think of at least one in my district and there is parkmore and one in supervisor yee's district. is there any movement afoot to expand to residential as well? >> the e.v. readiness would cover some of those properties that you mentioned that are in the planning or entitlement or yet to be built phase. so when they're built, they will be e.v. ready. that will take care of all new buildings going forward. the existing multifamily unit dwellings, that's still a challenge. we started with the e.v. readiness ordinance. we're now working on this initiative for private sector garages. we've done the same for our municipal garages. so that is a bit of the next

frontier. it's something we've been looking at, but it's challenging from a infrastructure and cost perspective, but it's still something we're working on. because the need for charging as we transition the entire fleet is going to continue to grow. we're on step 2 or 3 here and there is a few more after that. >> supervisor peskin: i look forward to having those conversations with you and your office going forward. any questions, supervisor safai? >> supervisor safai: yes, thank you. first of all, i would like to be added as a cosponsor. i think this is an important piece of legislation. i know that we -- i don't know if you said this -- a letter from the building owners and managers appreciating the hard work that was done in support of this piece of legislation. i think it's always great when the affected stakeholders have had the opportunity to weigh in and be part of the process. even if they don't -- and then in the end come to the conclusion that they are

suppor supportive of the legislation as drafted. i just wanted to say that for the record. i know chair peskin and supervisor haney got that letter today. that's good. thank you to the department of environment stakeholders and others that were part of that conversation along with the mayor and supervisor peskin and mandelman. the other question i had, the question i had is, in terms of the pricing. that's one of the things that wasn't discussed today, that encourages or discourages people from using the stations outside of their homes, right? because some people have solar-powered at their house, or access to different rates based on what has been negotiated as part of a larger package. but has there been thought or conversation put into the pricing to encourage people to utilize these charging stations

and parking garages? >> sure. so i believe both -- >> the prices can vary. i reason i know this, i have an electric car. >> right. so for electricity rates, i'll start there. there a couple of costs that go into charging your electric car. for rates, i believe pg&e and clean power sf have demand response rates to take advantage. >> you're couraged to -- when we drafted the ordinance, we wanted to make sure it wasn't one provider, but two providers, e.v. station charging providers. so not only is the parking facility able to compete in the private sector, but also they can make sure that what is

installed is going to be cost effective for the customers that are coming in to use the parking facility. i don't know how much the rates for electricity differ between like e.v. go or charge point. do -- they do have different rates. >> they do. so my question would be, if the city has gotten into the business of delivering energy -- i know they're not a vendor, but has there been conversation about the city having ownership over some of the stations since they have their own rates and structures and that might be a way to keep the cost down and encourage people to utilize the stations. >> i would mostly defer to my colleagues on that issue, but i do have history and experience. i think through 2013, maybe 2015, charging at city-owned garages was free. it was a cost effective way to get things going. i think that has lapsed. but especially with some of the developments that may happen on

grid ownership here in the city. that might open up unique opportunities for not only city-owned grid, but city-owned charging stations and rates for the charging stations. but i'm getting a little farther into the territory -- >> i get it. and again, i'm adding my name. i think this is a good piece of legislation, but sometimes we create policies and then we fall back less on implementation. and if people are not finding that this is cost effective, then only people that can afford that additional cost will take advantage of it on that level. and so i just -- i would like to see more thought put into actually the cost of utilizing it. because we can expand these to as many garages as possible, but if only people with the extra disposable income that can use it. and they will sit there empty or not utilized. >> that makes sense, supervisor,

i'm going to take note of that, on the cost for charging. one of the things, when we think about making sure everyone has access. one of the things in the e.v. road map is the ability to educate and make aware to everyone, even those who don't think they have means, there are rebates and incentives by state agencies and entities for low-income residents, that can significantly reduce the cost of purchase. it's not exactly the charging up paradigm, but we're looking at reducing the cost of purchasing. >> supervisor safai: the other thing i would say as a person with one of these cars and drives it to the stations. they're not always very user friendly. if you're not a member, you have to sit there and call a 1-800 number and you're looking for, this is 327 at this address. they're like, i can't find it.

i don't know how to turn it on. so if you're trying to go into the shopping center and you're sitting there an additional 20 minutes. why do i want to spend 20 minutes trying to get into the charging station when i'll just drive it upstairs? so it's not necessarily user friendly. i appreciate that you're trying to get two vendors, but i think the conversation in terms of the contract when you do provide it in a city-owned lot and you're signing those contracts, it should also be about usability. >> i agree. >> supervisor safai: we should make it more user friendly. easy if you could just run your credit card, boom, it's done fast. but sit there and make a phone call and search for the number, it's not really user friendly. i get it. it's new technology. just beginning. the last few years there has been more of explosion and availability of electric cars,

but i don't want to see us pat ourselves on the back because we have 5,000 charging stations but no one is using them. >> the scenario you just described is what i experienced when i became a new e.v. owner and i went to charge up. >> 20-minute long conversation. >> there were several phone conversations. i was in the rush, panicked. i had no electricity in my new e.v. that's one of the things we're trying to address in the e.v. road map, education and awareness. i think you're exactly right. i know that from personal experience. >> supervisor safai: one last thing. the only one that i know of in -- again this is about garages -- but the only street-charging spot i know of is next the sfpuc. is that discussed in this legislation? thought of? because another way also to expand peoples' opportunity is not just in garages, but you can

add parking spots to the conversation. >> sure, so it's not discussed in the legislation. i know the sfmta is conducting a curbside use assessment and that is going to be due later this year. but that is their jurisdiction. so i defer to them on their study and what they're looking at for charging on the curb and what else they want to do for the curb and they're going to report back later after that assessment is done on that topic. >> supervisor peskin: thank you. i see a number of members of the public. and commissioner here. we will open up for public comment. please come up. >> i believe it is good policy. one key thing i want to hammer

home is question of equity, which supervisor safai talked on all three points. equity in terms of cost, in terms of usage and finally, geography, because the map is beneficial to the northeast section of san francisco. hopefully, we'll be able to build out e.v. infrastructure to support the west side, meaning the richmond district and sunset or low density. and the cars have created a car-driven culture, so hopefully curbside charging can address this. for bright line itself, we've worked in bayview hunters, so seeing the lack of charging infrastructure there is disheartening in us to try to promote electric vehicles. hopefully, we can make it accessible for all. >> supervisor peskin: any other members of the public? seeing none, we'll close public

comment. and colleagues, we have the aforementioned amendment before us which i've introduced and would make a motion to include. can we do that without objection? so that objection we will take that amendment. and send the item as amended with recommendation to the full board of supervisors. and that concludes our meeting. we are adjourned.

>> 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

>> ladies and gentlemen, friends, distinguished stakeholders, welcome to this historic sunnydale classic groundbreaking. [applause] >> we are honored to bring up our most distinguished guest, the leader of the city and county of franchise, please give a warm welcome to mayor london breed. [applause]

>> mayor: good afternoon, sunnydale! are you here? [laughter] >> mayor: all right. i'm excited to be here today. i feel like i spend a lot of time here doing some amazing things. we know this is a long time coming. and, in fact, i keep going back every time we come to any of our public housing locations -- i continue to go back to when i grew up in the western addition in plaza east, and there were 300 units there that were torn down and only 200 built. and all over the city, we brought forth a program, through the federal government, called "hope fix." you remember "hope fix" ran out of money, ran out of resources. and the people who were promised in places like sunnydale and all over the city, there was no support from the federal government to do that. and so at that time, gaff gavin

newsom was governor, and they created "hope s.f.," and they were coming up with creative solutions and saying, you know what, we made a commitment. we need to follow through and we need to get this done for the residents of sunnydale and batrail, and any other public housing that exists in san francisco. today is a day we're breaking ground on 126 units, and we would think that would be easy, but it hasn't been easy. and it took not only the community and the trust from the community to make this happen, it also took the resources, the process -- and don't get me started with the bureaucracy and the drama that exists with city government with trying to get an amazing project like this done. and so i'm really happy to be here today because it definitely took a village. but it is not just about rehabilitating or redoing or rebuilding the homes

that people live in. it is about investing in this community. and looking at the fact that for so many decades, public housing residents have been treated, honestly, like second-class citizens in san francisco, and not been provided with the resources that are necessary to make sure that as families grow in these communities, they thrive. just think about it. thank you, phil ginsburg burg, it looks beautiful over there. a safe, great place for people to swim. and part of this project, and what i am most excited about is boys and girls clubs, working with the developers, related and mercy housing, and they're not going to just help build a new place that will serve this community and serve families in this community with child care, basketball court, tutoring places and other things that are needed, they are

investing their time in raising the dollars necessary to get this job done and do it right for the residents of sunnydale. and so we have come a long way, folks. i know it took almost supervisor cohen's entire term to get here, but we are here, and i'm optimistic about the future. earlier this year, when i held my budget announcement right here, in sunnydale, in this location, i made a commitment to make sure that this community is not forgotten, and that we fulfill the promises that we made to not only redevelop it and provide unit opportunities, but one for one replacement, look at opportunities for people hoorays their kids, and their kids to have access to the affordable housing in their communities. making sure we're providing and bringing the resources, and, in fact, coming up soon in the next month, there will be a job fair and other things that many of the young people

have expressed that they want in this community on a more consistent basis. so we've got a lot of catching up to do. but it starts with so many of the folks that you see here, who have made the commitment to continue to invest and support this amazing community. and, yes, it is hot today. so we're going to try to keep these speeches short so that we can get on with the ceremony and the festivities and get on with breaking ground on what i know will be an amazing, amazing contribution to this community and the best is yet to come. all 775 units that exist in sunnydale, one of the largest developments of public housing in our city, will be a one for wuone replacement. the mistake that happened at plaza east will not happen here. and we will continue to do everything we can to maintain that trust, to

maintain that support, to listen to this community and continue to make the investments so that this is no longer a forgotten community but a thriving community of families, of people who are just growing and loving one another, and really moving our city forward in a positive direction. thank you all so much. with that -- you can clap. [applause] >> mayor: and with that, like i said, the way we get housing built is people who not only care about making the money from what they are making from these projects, but what are they doing to give back? what are they doing to hire from the community? what are they doing to invest in the community so that the impacts of what they do in building these infrastuctures has a sustainable impact for generations to come. i have to say that mercy

housing and related have been invested in raising the dollars necessary so that we can build an amazing facility that this community wants. so at this time, i want to bring up phil witty from related, and doug shumaker from mercy housing to say a few words. [applause] >> we flipped a coin, and i'm going first. so i want to first of all thank the mayor and all of her staff for the incredible work on this. as some of you know, this sunnydale project is an incredibly long process, longer than i think any of us would have wanted it to be. what is incredible about all of it is just elected official after elected official, you see two former supervisors here, current supervisors, past mayors -- just the dedication and commitment to this is unusual, i think, for anything else you see in government. it is wave after wave of people committing

themselves to this. i want to do a few thank yous. we would like to thank our incredible architect, and the general contractors that are doing the work that the mayor described earlier, the commitment to hiring and making sure that folks from this community get good jobs and career paths. i want to thank the staff from related, they've been our partner since the very beginning of this. couldn't ask for better partners on this. i want to thank the staff from o.c.d. i know we are sometimes less than easy to work with. it is a passion that we care about these projects as much as you do, and i think it has been a great partnership over the years. i want to give thanks to all of your hard work and dedication to this alongside our staff. and i want to thank a couple of groups of folks specifically. if the folks who work on the ground here at

sunnydale, whether you're from mercy housing or any other organization, could take a moment to stand up. because this is much harder work than any of the rest of us do. and i just want to acknowledge you. [applause] [applause and cheering] >> i am repeatedly amazed at people's commitment to work here and other locations like this, where it is not esee. easy. we're not giving you the most incredible new offices to work out of. and the conditions and other issues that have come with it are tough. i'm amazed by the commitment i see by the mercy staff, and i know the other staff from the boys and girls clubs and the "y" is equal. i want to just acknowledge that. we also have a great team of folks working on this from our development office, david fernandez, and other folks. i want to single out one person in particular, and

that's rani dare. [applause and cheering] >> she is probably hiding, as usual. she doesn't seek the spotlight. i can tell you mercy housing and related would not be here today celebrating this moment if it were not for her and her persistence. she deserves a tremendous amount of thanksp respect for the work she has done. and i want to bring up our partner, bill witty. people often ask me, what is a for-profit develop percent doing on this project? i think bill secretly wishes he ran a non-profit. bill? [applause and cheering] >> thank you. i won't comment on the last statement. but i will tell you what you just saw, when those

folks stood up, is why we're here today, and why this is going to continue to be successful. because what doug and his team at mercy have done, led by rani, is not just work on land use approvals and design and construction, but being out here with the residents, in the community, letting us know what the problems are, how we can respond, hopefully building some trust and credibility. so i also want to thank the residents for their patience, because it has been a long haul. but i hope you can see we're making progress. i will tell you, i said this at a meeting in clara's point last week, i've been working in and around public housing for 40 years. there is no mayor i've ever seen devote more attention to improving the lives of people in public housing than london breed. [applause and cheering] >> what it tells us --

going through these 10 years, and i was there at the beginning -- we've had the unwavering support of everybody who had an influence here. supervisor calia, currently supervisor walton, and we're blessed, as san francisco is, with the leaders in affordable housing in the state, including scott weiner. maybe there is something in the water here, but it sure helps. i would lend my thanks, as doug mentioned, to the mayor's staff, theo has coordinated this, dan and his staff at mayor's office of housing, and everybody who worked on this. and finally to pick up on something the mayor said, doug and i and our teams are heavily involved in raising the money, with the help of phil ginsburg in the rec and parks department, to build a work class facility that we're calling the hub, that will have all of the services that will make this a community, and not just bricks and mortar.

we're going to get this done. we're going to get the whole development done, and we're going to be with you for the long-term. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much, bill. so briefly, before the pool party after this, we have an incredible list of speakers. and my only job is to keep you on time. it is hot, you're a distinguished group. we have in many ways the most important speaker to come first, a resident, a mom, a leader of this community. i welcome ms. betty hunter. [applause and cheering] >> hello, and good afternoon. good afternoon, everyone. my name is betty hunter. i'm 28 years old, and i'm a san francisco native. i've been living in sunnydale since 2011. growing up in san francisco, east/south districts, has not been easy. my parents were both addicted to drugs, and there was not much normalcy in my life.

but with the help of my family members, they created some, and were very supportive. since i have become a mother, i have tried to instill the same values, support, and structure in my child's life. the affordable housing act will allow me to give my child the opportunity to grow up in a community where he is safe, and with habitable, loving conditions. it is a pleasure to know that fractured communities like these ones have been disenfranchised, and looked at as a waste of space, are now, in the near future, going to be a place we can all call home. being here and being able to speak today is an honor and a pleasure, and with the new development and promise from the mayor's office, as well as the housing office of development and mercy housing, i know that this project will be a great --

i'm sorry -- [applause] >> it will be great for those who have been disenfranchised, and the children that live here. i want to say thank you so much for your time and for allowing me to speak. [applause and cheering] >> let's give it up for betty hunter. amazing. thank you, betty. [applause and cheering] >> next we're going to bring up our field office director from the department of housing and urban development. it gives us -- you can't do this without leaders in b.c., and i'm honored to bring up mor gerard wynn. [applause] >> thank you. first of all, i would like to acknowledge betty. the reason we're here is because of the families in this community. we're so proud of what you've done with your life, what you're

continuing to do, and what you will do. first of all, also, i'd like to thank an unrecognized, unsung hero at hudd, who does a lot of work for san francisco and sunnydale. his name is trevor alser, and he works for me in the local san francisco office. i would just like to acknowledge his contribution. [applause and cheering] >> thank you, trevor. i mentioned those cities across the country that are going through a severe rental challenge. the worst case housing needs study says that they pay half of their income on rent or sub standard housing. one way shud hudd is addressing this is to build housing in the portfolios. the strategies and programs are assisting the san francisco housing authority here at sunnydale. the san francisco housing authority has been a

national leader in repositioning the public housing units. the housing authority has completed many projects in its commitment to preserve and approve public housing. to date, theyv approved more than 4,000 affordable housing units and leveraged millions of dollars to make these critical improvements. hudd looks forward to partner with san francisco and the city to help families living in public housing. and i would like to thank and congratulate joaquin torrez and barbara smith for their leadership and commitment to public housing in san francisco. please join me in congratulating barbara smith on her well-deserved retirement. [applause and cheering] >> i would also like to say thank you to the housing authority and mayor's office of housing staff. a lot of people made this.

i want to thank you for the service that you provided. it is essential to this project. i would also like to thank tanya lake and her staff, the housing authority team, and her commitment to continue to address public housing challenges here in san francisco, and i look forward to working with her and her team in the future. i close by thanking, again, the families living here in sunnydale for their commitment to the community, for your patience during this process to obtain decent and safe housing. thank you again to the sunnydale community. [applause] >> mayor: thank you, and before i bring up the next officials, i also want to just remind everyone that we have a $600 million affordable housing bond on the ballot this november, that not only doesn't raise property taxes and is the largest housing bond in our city's

history, it is the first time ever that we set aside $150 million to provide support and rehabilitation in the infrastructure needs of public housing in san francisco. so this is really exciting. [applause] >> mayor: and so with that, i'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the fact that we are so fortunate to have incredible state officials, people who do amazing work in sacramento, focusing on the kinds of things that are going to help create a better state with san francisco as a beneficiary because of the challenges that we deal with here locally. and two amazing advocates have been absolutely incredible. first of all, assemblyman david chu is joining us, and i want to acknowledge him and thank him for being here today. and at this time, i would like to invite our state

senator, scott weiner, up to say a few words. [applause] >> thank you, madam mayor. having served with the mayor and colleagues on the board of supervisors, and now in a new role, working with our strong state/city partnership, it is just amazing to see her deep commitment to residents of public housing in the city and county of san francisco. for far too long we have -- this city almost forgot about the people who were living in public housing, often in terrible conditions, and that was never acceptable. and this mayor has been playing such a key role in turning that around, and making clear that public housing is critically important for so many families in this city. but it is also part of the future because we need to do more than just rebuild. we need to expand. we need to make sure everyone has a place to live in our great city, and that we are taking care and supporting all of our residents in all parts

of the city. so it's a real honor to represent san francisco and sacramento in the legislature, and working hand in glove every day with assemblyman chu. the two of us chaired the two housing committees, and we're very lucky that san francisco holds both of the housing committee chairs. we worked very hard as a team to make sure that we are moving not just san francisco, but all of california in a positive direction on housing. we've spent a long time in california considering a negative approach to housing, that it sort of has driven the car into the ditch, if you look at the cost of housing in the bay area, and increasingly in other parts of california as well. and a lot of people are suffering as a result. so we are working very, very hard, with the support of the mayor, to try to turn things around and have a more positive approach towards housing, and recognizing that housing of all varieties is a good thing, and

public housing is part of the solution and part of the future. but, of course, we -- whatever we do in sacramento, we don't build housing in sacramento. it is local communities that make sure working as a city, and with the non-profit partners and developers, to make sure that housing gets built. that's what this is about today, that the city, and mercy housing, and everyone working together to get these units built and to make sure people can live in them, and to keep going from there. this is incredibly exciting, and i want to congratulate and thank everyone who has made this possible. thank you. [applause and cheering] >> thank you, senator weiner, and assemblyman chu. this work wouldnit would not hae been possible without the tireless work of alita cohen. it is a great honor to

bring up the board of equalization chair and former supervisor, malia cohen. >> how much time do i have, theo? 60 minutes? all right! this is amazing! you just look around, can you not -- look at the glorious day! blessings are falling upon us! and i'm so excited to be here, to leave hot sacramento to come to only milding hot samildly hot san fr. i feel like this is my victory lap. nine years ago, when i was a candidate running for supervisor, rani sat down and briefed me on just the plan, just the vision of what supereddal sunnydale could. this was nine years ago. i was a candidate, and i wasn't even guaranteed to win. the only person i could depend on was me and my

mother. i was excited, not only did we win, but we continued to move forward and persevere. and it has been real interesting to watch how this community has grown, how it has matured over the years, from the towers coming down -- remember that? you've got the brick homes, and mercy coming in. all the while, there were all of these promises made about rebuilding sunnydale. today i kind of represent the class of folks who are no longer here with us. people who also had a commitment to this project and to ensuring the success of sunnydale. remember sharon hewitt? we must take a moment just to recognize sharon hewitt because her spirit is here with us. you remember the many residents who have lost their lives, one way or the other. the elders who have transitioned, and the young people who have been lost to violence.

we remember them and we celebrate and honor them during this groundbreaking as well. it is with great pride that we also recognize and uplift mayor ed lee. my predecessor, sophie maxwell, also had an unwavering -- was a visionary in laying out the bones of this infrastructure. so we've come a long way. and i want to be honest with you, because today we're here celebrating and it feels really good, but maybe i'm the only one who has ptsd from the meetings, from all of the folks who told me it couldn't be done, that we couldn't rebuild sunnydale and paturo trail. they said we would never be able to raise the money to make this a reality. they said it couldn't be done. it is too expensive.

but here we are today, by the grace of god, standing together shoulder by shoulder. i want to recognize also doug shumaker and bill witty, who have been instrumental in this project. [applause] >> thank you. and kate hartley, who has also recently departed, had an instrumental effect in this project. hope s.f. has been raising leaders and encouraging people to get involved in this community. theo, thank you for taking the helm of that awesome task. i'm here just to run this victory lap with you. my name is melia cohen, and i'm chairman of the board of equalization. the board of equalization is interesting, because it is the board that makes sure that projects like this maintains an extension status, which means it allows this property to remain

affordable. remember the fears of displacement and out-placement and being pushed out -- we need to continue to band together and celebrate and sing these praises because we're thwarting those forces. this san francisco is for folks like betty and her children, who were raised here and live here and want to remain here. thank you forgiving me an opportunity to speak and to the entire residents and the community, talofa, my heart is filled. i love. thank you very much. [applause and cheering] >> thank you, mad madam chair. and last, but not least, bill ginsburg is here. we bring up the supervisor of district 10, mr. shamann walton. [applause and cheering]