park will celebrate its 150th birthday. on april 4, 1870, the california state legislature passed a law creating the framework for this amazing park and san francisco's own park system. for 150 years, san francisco's parks have highlighted the importance of place in san francisco, and golden gate park might just be san francisco's most important place. since the gold rush, it's borne witness to our remarkable history. from the post gold rush years to the 1906 earthquake and fire, from the international exposition to the summer of love, from the aids epidemic to the explosion of technology, business, and jobs, golden gate park has served as the city's pastoral oasis through its joy, sadness, and majestic

restoration. stories wi stories aboutratio race, relig and equity, stories about nature and suffering, stories about art, music, food. stories about large gatherings and solitary strolls. stories about communities, neighborhoods, families, stories about each and every one of us. amidst this park's awe inspiring trails, meadows, lakes and groves, its ball fields and playgrounds, its museums and institutions, its amazing activities, both large and small, and amidst a few hundred of the 25 million people who visit this treasure every year and make it part of their lives, we're here today to officially kick off the 150th anniversary of golden gate park.

[applause] >> over the course of this year, we'll be joined by 150 park partners. we'll undertake park projects both big and small, and on april 4, we'll host 150 activities, including free admission to our cultural specialties and gardens. today, we begin with one of those 150 projects. we'll be planting 150 trees in this beloved park. today, we're joined by our mayor, london breed, our district one supervisor, sandy fewer, or paur park commission tod todd anderson, and we're also

joined by our partner, drew becker from the san francisco parks alliance, and i saw liz farrell, president of the sex alliance board. we're proud to stand with our volunteers in our organizations. it's our volunteers that make our parks beautiful year-round, and today, they will leave a legacy for the next generation by planting 150 trees that will thrive in golden gate park. i want to thank our mayor for asking parks alliance to lead golden gate's 150th anniversary celebration, for remembering what's right and important and for honoring our team of

volunteers who ensure that golden gate park continues to thrive for the next 150 years. i'm very proud to give you our mayor, london breed. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: well, first of all, phil said we're celebrating 150 years of golden gate park, and we have a laundry list of things we should be things about doing to highlight this significant milestone. and let me tell you, of course, what could i say but let's do it. let's do it because phil cares about making sure our parks are thriving in san francisco all over the various neighborhoods, issues around equity that he talked about include making sure that we are investing in communities throughout san francisco. and as we are celebrating such an incredible milestone in golden gate park, we are reminded that so many different people use this park for so

many different things. and i'm so glad that miles is here today from the church of eight wheels because he actually uses regular roller skates. i don't know if any of you have experience with regular roller skates where there's two wheels in the front and two wheels in the back. so some of my fondest memories of golden gate park is when my aunt, who was attending high school, would bring me to golden gate park because that's where she and her friends would roller skate. really, there were hardly any bikes. there was mostly people roller skating.

>> the hon. london breed: so i'm so glad i wasn't alive 150 years ago because i wouldn't be here today to celebrate, but i'm glad that i'm here with so many people to mark this incredible milestone. it is significant. this park has seen so many changes in our city, and as phil talked about, just our history, and how significant that is. and so that is a time we take a moment to reflect and pause to remember how far we've come, and to use this as an opportunity to celebrate, to celebrate with, yes, a large ferris wheel, with -- like it

or not, i'm excited about it. yes, to celebrate with free activities on april 4 to allow people from all over san francisco to come and enjoy the park. but really, i'm excited about the shuttles that will bring people from the various communities from the bayview and hunters point neighborhood who will friday families here throughout the year. i want to thank the 150 organizations who joined this effort. i want to thank all the folks that are planting 150 trees here at golden gate park. but you have to stop at 150. there's opportunities to plant other trees at other locations in san francisco. i want to thank everyone, especially nancy bechtel who's

going to be chairing the committee, the parks alliance, and everybody who's concerned about maintaining these parks, including the golden gate parks, so in 150 years, there's another group of people celebrating 300 years of this incredible milestone. thank you so much for being here today. [applause] >> so we couldn't be luckier to have the supervisor representing golden gate park. she is a fourth generation san franciscan. golden gate park is woven into her own childhood memories. she's an advocate for kids, and knows how important parks are for kids to remain healthy. and 70% of the park is within

her district, and we have walked trails together and the smallest of spaces to learn how to make this park more accessible for people from all communities. it's my pleasure to welcome supervisor sandy fewer fuia. >> supervisor fewer: i'm thrilled that we are going to be kicking off the 150th anniversary of san francisco's golden gate park. i am supervisor of district 1, and as phil said, 70% of the park is in my jurisdiction. we know how important golden gate park is to all san francisco residents and to our city. we are looking forward to the year-long celebration to highlight the beauty of the park and also as its legacy as a san francisco institution

that demonstrates not only our commitment to open space, nature, and our natural environment, but also has this park has remained a free and accessible asset to all who wish to enjoy it. it is true that i have lived out here for over 60 years, and this park is where i grew up. this is where i learned to ride a bicycle. this is where my children were raised, in this park, going to the academy of sciences. and i, like london breed remember field trips out here, family gatherings out here, indeed, many more memories that are soon to be added to our collection of memories as we embark on all these festivities. i'd like to thank the staff for rec and park for all its hard work and all of our organizations and volunteers to help make the park the wonderful place it is for everyone.

thank you. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor. so this celebration wouldn't be possible without the organizations that are joining together to make this a reality. we're so thankful to kaiser permanente, and target, and the more than 150 organizations that are so important to this cause. thank you very much. [applause] >> i want to also recognize -- i see ike kwan here from the academy of sciences, and scott mason, making the academy free here on april 4. thank you very much. [applause] >> and a word about another planet, about last year's outside concert, they worked with paul simon to make a donation to the friends of the

urban forest and san francisco parks department. and because of that donation, part of that is funding the 150 trees that we're planting today, so thank you very much to gregg and allen and other planters. [applause] >> of course, none of this happens without amazing civic leadership, and leading this is some of the most amazing cochairs who have some of the most undying love for san francisco, and are committed to making it a better place to live, work, and play. please welcome to the lectern nanny bechtel and robert fung. >> we're just negotiating who's going to go first. any ways, it is amazing that we're celebrating 150 years of golden gate park. when the mayor talked about roller skating in the park, i roller skates here as a kid,

too. i don't know if anybody remembers this, but it used to have a lot of horses, and this is where you would go to ride horses. anyhow, golden gate park had a rather auspicious start, when they invited olmstead who designed central park. well, he took a look at this terrible place, and he said, it's not going to happen, so that was not going to be the end of the park because the city leaders wanted to have a park here, so they turned to john maclaren who had a friend, john mueller, and he designed this absolutely beautiful park -- oh, here comes the rain. >> liquid fog. >> oh, it's just liquid fog. we as san franciscans know it's liquid fog. i have an umbrella here if

anybody needs one -- everybody needs one. so when maclaren saw the park or this land, he thought this would be an absolutely great place to have a park, but he felt very strongly that it would never be a great park if there was ever a sign saying keep off the grass. so i think you all know there has never been and will never be a sign that says keep off the grass. so any way, it's an honor to be involved with the celebration, the 150-year celebration of golden gate park. and i want to thank our sponsors, our volunteers, the tree planters, everyone who's involved with our park because it is a city treasure. thank you. [applause] >> i'll be very quick here because the rain's starting to come down, but -- but like many people here have grownup in this park, skinned my knee on

that hill bike riding, skinned my other knee over here, skate boarding. like many of us, i love this park. i think phil ginsburg has done an amazing job of transforming and growing this park, and i think he's going to do great things, so i just want to say thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you for supporting our mayor coming out and supporting us. i see ben davis who's made contributions to this park, as well. i want to say go golden gate park, go san francisco 49ers. [applause] >> thank you, nancy, and rodney, representing your other cochairs, charlotte schultz, mayor willie brown, and park and rec president mark buell who couldn't be here today. nancy, you should know that horseback riding exists. and on april 4, we will have

free pony rides. next, i want to introduce another person who understands that parks are a power for social good. he and his organization have become such incredible partners and enable us to, you know, really, really, really enable us to do great things. he's the chair of the parks alliance, and our partner in transforming all of our city parks and infusing our parks in every neighborhood with love and attention and resources that they need. i want to thank him for -- and the organization for their creativity and for always encouraging community. please welcome drew becker. >> thank you, phil. thanks, phil. [applause] >> i always like being introduced by phil. it's better than being introduced by my mother. it's awesome. thank you, mayor breed and everyone who have been involved in making this year-long

celebration a reality. here's to more than 150 partners and community groups who have come together to honor this amazing park we call golden gate park. today, our city has a narrative that is not as positive as it could be. today, we start changing that. i believe the 150th celebration for this iconic piece of land that we call golden gate park is just the piece we need. we need this 150-year celebration of what we do right. golden gate park is san francisco, and we need a model of this in every single neighborhood. [applause] >> i love all of our partners, and we look forward to working with you all year to making this a very special event. we look forward to working with the men and women of the san francisco park department, and thanks, and may the parks be

with you. >> board member laverde-levine: [applaus [applause] >> all right. what makes golden gate park so special is it holds the love and spark of our city. there is truly something for everyone here, from the individuals and families who explore every day, to the many cultural and exploration groups. we've got soccer, and boat enthusiasts, and yes, roller skaters. somebody who embodies this, yes, indeed is david miles, better known as the god father of skate, and an important part of our park and history. roll on up here, david. [applause] >> what about this weather. you love it, right? you love it because you're in the most fantastic place that

you could possibly be. i have been skating in this park for over 40 years. this is my granddaughter here. i'm trying to get her to carry it on the next 150 years in golden gate park. [applause] >> but what i want to say, when you come to san francisco, when you get involved in san francisco, there's a special energy about it that i think that i've tapped into it, and each and every sunday, right down the street here, i met my wife, rose roll, roller skatin years ago. and to this day, we still come out, we still have a fantastic time. the energy is just as strong now as it has always been. so when we do that celebration in april, oh, yes, we will have a skaters showcase in april. you will see skaters showing off their best talents, just an honor of being here, and honor of being in the best place, in

san francisco. [applause] >> actually, you look right across the street there. this is one of two outdoor roller skating areas in the country, but of course, we lead the way, san francisco. you can come here and skate each and every day, but we come out here on sundays from about noon to 6:00, and on saturdays, as well. and if you want to go inside, we lead by example. church of eight wheels, everybody. [applause] >> all right. so you want to join me back up here? before we kick off this amazing celebration with the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon of vines you can find here in this park, we want to thank everybody in making this year-long celebration a reality. i'm going to miss people, but i see stephanie linder from the

san francisco botanical garden. i see steven, i see john cunningham from the aids group, michael lambert from the library who's going to be having an exhibit at the library, and i think our summer reading program involves parks. we're going to have exhibits from the airport, tom campbell deyoung. we're going to have over 150 of them, and our support and leadership have been support so we can come together for golden gate park, and show how much we love it and how much we can invest in it for the next 150 years. our next thanks is for staff. you're the heart of golden gate park. if it weren't for you -- [applause] >> if it weren't for our working men and women who have cared for it for 150 years --

think about that. and for the sweat and tears our volunteers have put into this for 150 years, it wouldn't be the park that it is, so let's cut our garland. thank you all. [cheers and applause] ♪ >> thank you for coming to the talent dance performance and talent show. [ applause ]

>> today's performance and talent show. ♪ >> public recreation has every bit of the talent and every bit of the heart and soul of anything that any families are paying ten times for. >> you were awesome. welcome toe

commission president and if you remember, the public and you want to speak there are speaker forms you can fill out which are at the front table or step to the microphone when i call you to public comment. we ask that everybody turns off their cell phone including commissioner's and staff. i want to thank sfgovtv and media services for sharing this meeting with the public and we'll start with a roll call. [roll call] full house. general public comments and this is for any comment not on the agenda. seeing none. general public comment is closed. the next agenda item is number 2