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tv   Mayors Press Availability  SFGTV  April 15, 2020 8:30am-10:01am PDT

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experiencing symptoms associated with covid-19 and do not need c.d.c. guidance to return to work for health care personnel with suspected covid-19 or if their health care provider has advised them to self-quarantine, and we have narrowed the definition of which health care advisers are able to give this advice. finally, in part c, we've clare identified the definition for part-time workers so they'll be paid for the typical number of hours they work per week. finally, i'd like to thank everyone we worked with on this ordinance, including the san francisco hospital counsel, kaiser permanente, jobs with justice, the california workforce and labor development agency, the san francisco department of public health,
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deputy city attorney lisa powell, sophia kitler in mayor breed's office, and my legislative aide, edward wright. colleagues, i'm open to my questions that you have, and i urge your support for this emergency ordinance today. thank you. >> president yee: thank you. supervisor safai? >> supervisor safai: thank you, mr. president. i just want to say a true great deal of gratitude for supervisor mar's leadership on this issue. we did a similar thing on the city side all in the vein of ensuring that city workers would have access to the appropriate amount of leave during this time of crisis. supervisor mar, i want to thank you for your leadership on taking this to the private sector and thinking about and including those health care workers and other frond line essential workers that have
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been left out of the conversation. we're in a big fight right now with the large property owners in the city and county of san francisco as pertaining to janitors, frontline workers, and there's all kinds of attempts to cut janitors out of their attempts to access their private leave. i think people shouldn't be using this opportunity to let go of staff or forcing staff to work under these conditions. these go hand in hand, and i just wanted to say that this is timely and necessary and i'm happy that this is moving forward in an aggressive m manner, and i'm happy to be a
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cosponsor of this legislation, if that's not already been made clear. thank you. >> president yee: supervisor -- oh, uh-oh. let's see. am i still on? >> supervisor safai: yes, you are. >> clerk: we can hear you. >> president yee: good. so-so supervisor mar made a motion to include amendments. is there a second? >> supervisor safai: second by supervisor safai. >> president yee: okay. madam clerk, could we call roll on the amendments? >> clerk: on the amendments to item 29 -- [roll call]
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>> clerk: there are 11 ayes. >> president yee: thank you. so without objection, the amendment passes. madam clerk, can you please call the roll on the item itself as amended. >> clerk: on item 29 -- [roll call]
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>> clerk: there are 11 ayes. >> president yee: okay. without objection, this ordinance as amended is finally passed unanimously. madam clerk, let's go to roll call for introductions. >> clerk: supervisor ronen, you're first up to introduce new business. >> supervisor ronen: sorry. sorry, sorry, sorry.
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i'm not prepared. could you come back to me? >> clerk: we'll refer. no problem. supervisor safai? >> supervisor safai: thank you, madam clerk, and thank you mr. president and colleagues. i am introducing a resolution today. for those of you that might know, this month, april, is national child abuse prevention month. this is a time for us to come together to raise awareness of every child that might be in danger of abuse and neglect in our community and protect those most vulnerable in san francisco. as we are -- okay. sorry. as we are working through and dealing with shelter in place, many of the children that would
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normally get services and have care and have access to oversight from other adults in their home setting, that has been taken away from them. there is a lot of high stress right now. supervisor stefani referred to that in terms of domestic violence, but people are losing their jobs, they're losing their wages, and all of this is putting tremendous social and mental -- challenging social and mental environments, and resources that we have to cope with this need to be increased, especially for young children that are trapped in environments that are their abusers. so in the last three weeks, child protective services have had a decrease in their calls
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by 300%. with after school and other safe spaces closed, children don't have a refuge to them available right now. i'm introducing an ordinance encouraging san francisco to take strong action and adopt policies to protect children during our covid-19. yesterday, governor newsom announced a $42 million investment to protect our most vulnerable children that are experiencing abuse, and so i'm calling on all of our leaders of this industry, as we have with so many other areas, whether it's undocumented families, whether it's the unemployed, whether it's seniors, whether it's the homeless, to raise the need of young children that are in abusive environments, and we need to do more. so i'm grateful for the
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organizations and agencies like safe and sound who work proactively to create situations of support, but we need to do more in this time in how we help children. i don't want to emerge from this crisis and discover that neglect and abuse rose exponentially, and many children were left, and there was irreparable damage and loss of life. so we're calling for more support and 24-hour hotlines. we're providing on-line support in different languages for caregivers, allocating service during shelter in place and provide respite care for caregivers experiencing severe
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stress and continued funding for family resource centers. i want to thank joan miller from the human resources agency, sonia melara from family visitation services, and jennie miller from safe and sound for your voices and your suggestions on how to best support our children. i also want to thank monica chinchilla on my staff, and happy to see governor newsom making the announcement yesterday before mine today. i know many of you have children, either younger or fully grown, and i know this will touch home. i look forward to working with other members of the community and our city leadership to put this vision into reality as quickly as possible for our children. the next thing i wanted to highlight is, again, we have
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many frontline essential workers in the private sector that don't necessarily have the same level of oversight and support and encouragement that we have. we're working very hard with our janitorial sector and grocery store workers and health care workers. and i want to thank the companies that are continuing to pay their staff, that are continued to keep their staff on kind of measured furloughs, to remember the people on the frontlines that are essential to keeping our buildings, our society, and our businesses open, and to protect them, to encourage them, and continue to pay them. it was announced over the weekend that the walt disney corporation found a way to pay
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for an entire year of health care for 43,000 workers in disney. so as one of the wealthiest cities in the united states, with some of the wealthiest companies and corporations, it really is disheartening to hear stories of companies finding ways to layoff and cut and undermine the efforts of workers. so i just wanted to highlight that today, madam clerk, and the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you so much, supervisor safai. supervisor stefani? >> supervisor stefani: thank you, madam clerk. i would just simply like to cosponsor supervisor safai's resolution to prevent child abuse and to take whatever action is necessary to do so, and the rest i submit. thank you. >> clerk: okay. thank you, supervisor. supervisor walton?
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>> supervisor walton: thank you, madam clerk. today, i have one in memoriam for today and that's miss bessie henry who passed on march 27, 2020, when she succumbed to covid-19. tessie loved her family. her career was a postal service window clerk, and she last worked at the san bruno station, where she made many friends. she loved bowling, cooking, and especially making hoghead cheese and other southern delights for her family. she also loved attending
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services at cornerstone mission baptist church and listening to the sermons by her pastor, kenneth reese. she was a small woman in stature but was a feisty and strong as they come. she never turned down a good battle or a good fight for what was right. tessie will be missed by her family, which includes her daughte
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daughter daughters, sons, grandchildren, and one brother and a host of great grandchildren, friends, and family. her memory and community will never be forgotten. we wish you a restful rest to miss tessie henry of bayview-hunters point. the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor walton. mr. president? >> president yee: thank you, madam clerk. today, i'm introducing a resolution urging congress and the executive branch to act swiftly in enacting the supplemental stimulus package. speaker pelosi and the house democrats have been pushing for a more robust interim package of no less than 250 billion and more in aid to small businesses, specifically targeting and supporting
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smaller businesses, particularly those in rural areas that are owned by women or people of color who have struggled to receive loans through the payment protective program that was previously rolled out. and now, speaker pelosi has excluded asking the republicans to expand p.p.b. for education and higher learning institutions. many smaller rgs organizations are norganizations -- smaller organizations are not able to qualify, so they're asking for more support. we know that such agencies are struggling while the federal business administration rolled out their $349 billion program last friday to provide emergency loans to american
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small businesses devastated by the coronavirus. it has been chaotic and many have not received approvals. we are hearing many small business owners rejected by lenders refusing to participate in the program. as a city, i commend us for stepping up to provide local grants and loans, but we need more federal support so that those impacted are able to receive the relief they need through this crisis. small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and so much of our workforce depend on these often family owned businesses for their
quote
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livelihoods. we are echoing the calls for support. i am hearing from volunteers in the industry asking for help in filling out applications in chinese or spanish because there's no applications available. i want to commend our office of workforce and development, assessor recorder chu, and those trying to advocate for stronger protections and investments. yesterday, the small business commission also voted on a set of comprehensive recommendations which we would like to concur with, particularly in providing more targeted equitable distribution in support for businesses and
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organizations historically and systematically challenged with accessing capital. i also want to , supervisor safai, be a cosponsor around your legislation on the child abuse issue, and the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, mr. president. okay. supervisor fewer? >> supervisor fewer: yes. today, i'm introducing legislation that will require the city to close county jail number four within six months and a deadline for reduction of the jail population in order to safely close the jail while preventing transfers out of county like santa reeta jail. county jail four number is a dilapidated inhumane facility
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jail. its plumbing, sewage, kitchen, and laundry facilities are all in disrepair. if the department of public works, department of real estate, and independent seismic engineers have determined that the hall of justice building needs to be decommissioned due to health and safety concerns, including health and safety concerns at the jail. this will set us on a path to closing county jail number four ahead of hall of justice, developing a plan to reduce the population, and close the jail is absolutely the responsible thing to do for both incarcerated people and the deputy sheriffs and jail health employees that work there.
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thank you to everyone who has worked closely with my office on giving feedback to this legislation, including the close the jail coalition, the deputy sheriff's association, district attorney chesa boudin, and others, and thank you to cosponsors peskin, mar, haney, ronen, and preston. we cannot delay closure of county jail number four. i also would like to be added as a sponsor to supervisor
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ahsha safai's child abuse legislation, and the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor fewer. supervisor haney? >> supervisor haney: thank you, madam clerk. i know we all recognize the incredible hard work that our staff continues to do during this pandemic, and i send a big thanks to all of those who provide services, and those who have been at the forefront of this health crisis. in particular, the nonprofit staff and the homelessness response system serve vulnerable families and individuals on the street and countless other individuals. their work is vital to the safety of our homeless
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neighbors, housed neighbors, and our community. even in the midst of this crisis, they have been asked to continue their work tasks, sometimes with little to no protective equipment, a lack of guarantees free testing or basic testing protocols in their workplace. many are reporting to work sites, knowing that they will not be able to keep social distance due to the nature of their work, putting their own lives at risk. on top of that, some of these workers earn competitive wages. not all of these workers earn competitive wages, and the vast majority earn between $16.50 and $20 an hour, well below the median wage. as we already know, there are 20 cases of shelter staff testing positive for covid-19, and more than 80 cases of homeless guests of shelters and navigation centers. we know how quickly the virus
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can spread in congregate settings, and it's a threat of safety to staff and to all of us. we have not tested every single person who works at or sleeps in a shelter or s.r.o. where we know that there have been positive cases, and for the staff that work in these sites, they have been no reported positives -- who work in sites where they have no reported positives yet, there have been no testing. today, i'm introducing a resolution calling for free testing for all on-site staff in our homelessness response system and testing for all the clients the city is serving. it's absolutely critical, and the resolution also calls for intensive pay for frontline
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staff that provide homeless services but that are not covered by a city contract. we want i want to thank the union representatives, seiu 1021, and the nonprofit workers and staff who have collaborated with us during this resolution. i look forward to having a conversation at the budget committee on how we can fairly compensate our workers. i also want to thank budget chair fewer and her staff and having this go to the budget committee for a full hearing to discuss some of the budget invocations. i'm also introducing an emergency ordinance relating to bathroom access and hand washing station access. we are in the middle of a pandemic, and of course a huge part of how we prevent the spread of the virus is by
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having everybody stay home when they can. but social distancing is only a part of the overall response. experts agree that hand washing and social distancing are critical in battling the virus, but for the homeless, ride share workers, taxi drivers who do not have access to bathrooms, this can be very challenging. the centers for disease control and prevention have found that covid-19 is found in the feces of infected individuals, making access to bathrooms and hand washing facilities on our streets even more critical.
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over the past few weeks, i've been in communication with the director of public works, stressing the needs for more bathrooms, including 24-hour. they've greed to provide ten new bathrooms, and while i appreciate the effort, this is far short of the level needed. with approximately 3,000 people living on our streets, this is bathroom to approximately 325 people. both the american rod cres and fema have cited the more robust
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for one bathroom for 20 people during the public health crisis. i'm introducing an emergency ordinance requiring the department of public works and the department of public health to significantly increase bathroom and hand washing stations to meet the international crisis guidelines of one bathroom per 50 unhoused residents. these are some of our most vulnerable, and we have to make sure that we are providing these facilities, and currently what's out there right now is grossly inadequate. i want to thank honey mahogany in my office, and my cosponsors. i believe i currently have
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supervisors peskin, walton, and mar and the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor haney. supervisor mandelman? >> supervisor mandelman: thank you, colleagues. today, i am asking that we adjourn in memory of phyllis hasskins, who died on april 9. phyllis was born in tulsa, oklahoma in 1924 and soon moved to northern california, graduated from u.c. berkeley in 1946. she then embarked on a career in journalist, which led her to seattle, where she met del, and
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after, they moved to san francisco. in 1955, she and del, along with other gay and lesbian couples, they began publishing the first lesbian publication the ladder, and remained in publication for 16 years, until 1972. that first year, they published lesbian woman. the couple made history as the first open lesbians to join the national organization of women. they were also engaged in local politics and were active members of the city's first gay and lesbian political club. they stayed active as they aged, joining old lesbians
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advocating for change. the clinic that bears their name is currently in financial distress and facing the possibility of imminent closure, which we cannot let happ happen. phyllis and del changes the world of countless lgbtq people for the better. phyllis was a long time resident of district 8, and it was a pleasure to represent her. the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor mandelman. supervisor mar. >> supervisor mar: submit? >> clerk: thank you. supervisor peskin?
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>> supervisor peskin: one moment, madam clerk, and i would like to be added to supervisor mandelman's in memoriam for phyllis lyon. one moment, please. let me just turn my camera on...1 moment. colleagues, today, as i mentioned earlier, i am going to introduce the supplemental appropriation to cover the remaining cost for the approximately 1200 hotel rooms out of the 8200 or so rooms outlined in our emergency legislation to house our most vulnerable people. and while much has been said about the homeless population, less has been said about the population where the virus is spreading in single resident occupancy hotels, which is also
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one of the great needs for hotel rooms in san francisco. as you all know, there are some 19,000 individuals in that typology in some 530 buildings. this supplemental would cover the cost of the additional rooms that have not, thus far, been committed to by h.s.a. and mayor breed's administration, and i am sincerely committed to working with budget chair fewer to identify how we can identify the right sources of funding and mitigate impacts to our general fund reserve.
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by way of full transparency, what i'm introducing today has a source of funds as a general fund reserve, but i fully intend, with chair fewer, and you, colleagues to supplant that with other sources and start making the tough decisions that i think we need to start making now because we're going to have plenty more tough decisions as i lived through 2008 and the economic downturn of 12 years ago in the months ahead. and i want to thank all of you for your support of the emergency ordinance to house not only our homeless but our s.r.o. residents, and as our doctors have said, it is now been over a month, let's step it up. i also referred to earlier my
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consistent desires that i know are shared by many of you and by many members of the public as it relates to increased transparency. and if you look at -- and i was just looking at this a few minutes ago, our s.f. data tracker, it has been improved considerably today, but it still has a long ways to go. and so this is a resolution urging the department of public health, the city administrator's office that has been doing a lot of housework, and other departments, including h.s.a., to continue the data collection that makes this information available not only for the 11 of us but for the public of san francisco and the bay area to see. last week, through the collaboration with those departments that i just mentioned, the city published an on-line data tracker which has now been viewed by a third
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of 1 million times. it's been pushed on for many weeks. when i was in e.o.c., some of that data was made available in the mornings. later on, that data was not even shared with the disaster service workers in that building, and i want to acknowledge, albeit faulting the improvements that have happened in the last week even though i know that we in san francisco have lagged behind several of our neighboring counties in being transparent. since this was published, remember, all we originally showed was the number of confirmed cases and number of deaths, it has, as i said, been updated to include additional data sets, including the number of test positive cases,
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broken-down along race, gender, and age group. it now is including hospital capacity and the number of hospitalizations broken-down by acute care and i.c.u. beds. the resolution i'm introducing today, and any and all of you feel free to cosponsor it urging the inclusion of the following data sets. the neighborhood origin of cases, which we're even seeing in places like cincinnati, ohio, informed by the public health case investigation unit, the number of tests administered to homeless individuals, and the rate of confirmed cases among that population as well as, i said before, the number of confirmed cases in s.r.o.s. and i know that we've had something of a transparency double standard. the city, by and through the department of public health and the human services agency and the department of homelessness
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and supportive housing has not hesitated to say publicly that we have, in the first case, one case at division place, and it's now getting, as supervisor haney said, to 100 cases, but they've been very circumexpesp to the number of cases in places like s.r.o.s. it's time to end that double standard and try to hide behind hipaa. it's time for the department of public health to release that data. similar to our hospital capacity, disclosure of hotel
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room capacity and who is occupying those hotel rooms should be made transparent, whether it's first responders, people experiencing homelessness, people from s.r.o.s, and others in need of shelter proximate to their workplace, whether it be nurses, deputy sheriffs, doctors, police officers, firefighters, all of that should be transparent on-line. i also want to make public the date of specimens, and lastly, as we look forward to the next year or more of recovery, i want any contact tracing policy to ensure that they're
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considering the city safety first policy that this board and the voters passed last year. i want to thank data s.f. and the digital services officer operating under our city administrator, naomi kelly, and look forward to collaborating to ensuring the rest of these data sets are public and respect people's right to privacy. finally, as i said, supervisor fewer today, if you're told enough, and i think i'm getting there, you know too many people who pass away. i'd like to adjourn today's meeting in the memory of three beloved individuals. marie brooks, old timers will remember, was the pioneering woman who actually ran ellis
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brook chevrolet on vanness avenue for many, many years. she served on the airport commission under two mayors. she passed away peacefully at home on saturday, april 4, at the age of 94. she is survived by her son, ellis brooks, jr., her daughter, hallie brooks, her grandsons, her stepdaughters, ann and kathy, her half brother, bob, as well as a number of stepchildren and great grandchildren, to whom she was known as grandmother marie or simply gigi. mark schwartz was a complicated accomplished poet, and to his
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family at the cafe triest, i want to offer my deepest condolences. and to marisa saladetti, and hr husband, i offer my condolences. the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor peskin. supervisor preston? >> supervisor preston: thank you, madam clerk. colleagues, last week, i announced my intention to pursue the strongest possible protections for tenants both during and after the covid-19 state of emergency and i've spent the last week working with city attorney's office to hammer out the details of legislation. today, with the support of supervisors ronen and haney, the supervisor tenants union, the housing rights committee of san francisco, and chinatown community development center, i'm very proud to be
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introducing what i believe is the strongest possible legislation to prevent evictions in san francisco among those who are unable to pay rent due to the current health crisis. our initial focus during the crisis was to make sure that people didn't immediately lose their home, and we have basically shutdown the eviction machine for now. today, we're taking the next step to make sure that tenants, especially low-income, vulnerable tenants who are terrified of losing their homes once the state of emergency ends, today, they have the comfort of knowing that rent during this covid-19 crisis will not someday become grounds for evictions. the legislation that i'm introducing today specifically will permanently ban eviction for nonpayment of rent that accrued during the -- due to covid-19 and state of
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emergency. it will prohibit late fees, penalties, interest or other charges to tenants related to delayed payments from rent due during this time. it will also modify habitual late payment of rent eviction rules to make sure that delayed rent during this time cannot be used as grounds for evictions. to be clear, colleagues, without this legislation, tens of thousands of san franciscans will be at severe risk of being displaced once the current moratorium is lifted. this gives protections that renters desperately need. we also know this is just one part of a major undertaking to ensure that san franciscans are not left out in the cold in the after math of this crisis, and that's why i've supported the continued efforts of some of my colleagues on this board and tireless advocates across the state and the nation who are pushing our federal leaders to
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implement a plan to cancel rent debt while also making sure that small landlords get relief, too, through policies like mortgage relief. but we are not going to wait for state and federal action even as we push for it. so not only are we introducing the permanent eviction protections that i've outlined, and we are introducing that today, but i also want to announce that we are also taking the next step in this process. my office will be convening city leaders, including landlord and tenant advocates to get creative and figure out on you to address the mounting -- figure out how to address the mounting rental debt that is mounting by the month. we look forward to discussing that with all stakeholders. as we move as quickly as possible to make sure the most vulnerable tenants don't face a
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wave of displacement, we also need to take care to make sure that everyone lands on their feet. i want to close by thanking the many tenant advocates who helped shape this legislation and who have also been on the frontlines to help tenants navigate what has been a very rapidly changing legal landscape. i also want to thank mayor breed, with whom my office has been in communication in the last couple days, and has indicated her initial support for this measure. and authorize those who are looking for areas where all of us are coming together and trying to protect residents, i'd urge you to take a look at the very strong work that all of us at the board of supervisors and as well as the mayor's office have done both in creating the shorter term protections to prevent against immediate eviction but also, i hope, we will all come together on this measure, as well, to provide permanent stability and comfort to tenants who are
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struggling right now. i look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this ordinance as quickly as possible. thank you. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor preston. and supervisor ronen, you asked to be rerefered? >> supervisor ronen: yes, thank you so much. colleagues, today, i am cl introducing a resolution to help the city -- [inaudible] >> supervisor ronen: -- that will fall on the shoulders of loved ones or people who pass away during this public health emergency. while the san francisco bay area has been fortunate to see early signs of progress in flattening the curve and keeping our infection rates low relative to other parts of the country, we still have had our share of casualties. as of today, the department of public health has reported at least 987 confirmed cases in san francisco that have
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resulted in 15 deaths. even under normal circumstances, the death of a loved one is extremely difficult and emotionaly stressful event, but the ongoing covid-19 public health crisis has placed greater emotional and financial stress on the families of the deceased. to be dealing with the loss of a loved one during these scary and uncertain times seems unimaginable but it will be a hard reality for some of our residence dentd residence -- residences. i've reached out to constituents upon hearing the passing of some of our low-income residents of san
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francisco. the resolution urges the city administrator in consultation with the office of the chief medical examiner to explore ways to minimize post death body handling costs and to develop clear options for assisting families who have been financially impacted by the covid-19 crisis including waiving the basic bodily fluid handling fees during the emergency. and madam clerk, if i could also be added to supervisor mandelman's memoriam for phyllis, and the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you. mr. president, seeing no other names on the roster, that
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includes the introduction of new business. >> president yee: thank you, madam clerk. let's go right into public comments. >> clerk: at this time, the public may now contribute their live comments for up to two minutes. if you've dialled in early, and you're already listening in the system, you should now hit one and then zero, and the system will prompt you to speak after i finish my comments. for those of you who need to dial in, the telephone number is displayed on the television or on the computer. the telephone number is 888-204-5984, and when prompted, enter the access code 3501008. press pound, and then pound again to join the meeting, and once you've joined, you will hear the meeting in progress. dial one, and then zero, to be added to the speaker line. please wait, and you will be prompted to speak. once your two minutes have
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concluded, you'll be moved out of the speaker line and back into listening mode. please make sure that you are not in a place where we can hear background noises, and mr. qu, we are ready for the first caller. >> caller: madam clerk, we currently have nine callers who wish to speak. >> yes. good afternoon, board of supervisors. it's my pleasure to have a moment of your time. my name is william, and i am a resident here in the bayview community, and i've been in touch with many families here, and you've had a lot of talk today about the covid-19 and the many steps that you're
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taking. many familiar hes here are concerned about the order to shelter in place. the event that took place on 266 shafter avenue was a total disrespect to the orders, a total disrespect to the board of supervisors, a total disrespect to the mayor, and a total disrespect to the citizens of san francisco. once that venue was discovered, they were allowed to leave without even being tested. we -- i'm not one for martial law, but they should have been on lockdown immediately and they all should have been tested. and if they did have it, they should have forced them to stay there for 14 days.
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it doesn't matter who or what club it was, be it legal or an illegal club, they must be penalized for putting the lives of all san franciscans in jeopardy. if you stopped it the first time, you let them know there is no room for this in this city. but now, you've opened the door, and who's to say how many people of those hundreds had it and are spreading it around, and the city did nothing. the police didn't do anything, the health department wasn't brought out. it's a total disgrace, and folks are upset about it. and you did n-- >> clerk: thank you, sir. >> caller: you have eight questions remaining.
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>> mark ross, 94103. first of all, i want to thank the board of supervisors for unanimously passing the emergency ordinance or emergency legislation regarding the homeless in hotels. as next steps, i'm sure that the mayor won't veto this, and if she does, you have the power to override it. i think it's important that you declare a mission statement that this was done in a matter of emergency. and that you include a few bullet points, the most important things that workers, while they're serving the homeless people, guidelines that they can follow, as well as people that are receiving the services to be aware of those points is really important as we move forward to this, that civil rights and the human rights of people involved in this action don't get diminished or taken away. so it's time to police the police and police the people
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that are watching over these people, and we knees to said clear guidelines in this health and mental health crisis. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. >> caller: thank you for your questions. you have eight questions remaining. >> okay. so i finally got through. so i want to say, madam mayor, essentially, i want you to take a moment and rethink your comments about people on the streets, and people on the streets that don't want help.
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i volunteer and, i work four days a week, and i'm still in a tent. even though i work, i cannot find a place. and there's so many amazing people on the street. you have to understand. this is a moment in time with the coronavirus situation for us to become what we really should be, and that is just like gene roddenberry's vision in star trek. we should help those who need the help because when we have a society that everyone's taking care of each other, and everyone's off the street, and everyone has an opportunity to thrive, then we as a city and as a state and as a nation become better, we become what we're supposed to be. right now, you have the people off the stree off -- on the street and that
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means that coronavirus is still on the street. you have people peeing and pooping on the streets because they have nowhere to go. think about how many people that are out there that are so talented, so smart, we cthey c help everyone, and we can help them. we need to help everyone, if we don't, we do have a future -- >> clerk: thank you. thank you for your comments. thank you. >> caller: you have six questions remaining. >> clerk: welcome, speaker. >> hi. this is peter warfield from library users situation.
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first of all, thank you to the supervisors for dealing with many of these issues, many of which are life and death. speaking as a resident of san francisco, i am really concerned to see the bus overcrowding. there's no opportunity for physical distancing when there's people sitting all throughout, like i saw yesterday, within 3 feet of each other, and then somebody gets on without a mask on. that's something that needs to be considered with respect to the m.t.a. with respect to libraries, a lot of people have always considered the libraries a place for information and entertainment, and important information. do i have coronavirus? where can i get information about such and such? we'd like the supervisors to
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look into encouraging efforts to provide more library services, especially services especially valuable to those without internet access. they recently put in a tip line that runs from 10:00 to 5:00 monday through friday. it's very useful. it could and should be expanded to typical library hours. there should be consideration of mails materials like books, magazines, c.d.s, and d.v.d.s, or curb pick up, and there could be consideration for other things like story line and stuff for kids. there is another issue, and that is the assumption, very widespread, that everybody has access to the internet based on information from the tip line, the latest census information is that 14% of san franciscans
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do not have access to the internet, and i think that the supervisors should really keep an eye on insisting that any information provided by the city -- >> clerk: thank you, mr. war field. [inaudible] >> -- i'm so proud of you for the work you're doing for us, the public of san francisco. this is district 8 tenant and tenant advocate anastas anastasia ianopolous. we don't want to support a resolution that might preempt the work that members of this board are engaging in locally
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to help tenants, mortgage holders, and businesses. i had i'd like to thank supervisor mandelman for his willingness to work with tenants and he will pull his resolution. thank you to dean preston for your work with tenants. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. >> caller: you have five questions remaining. >> thank you, supervisors. my name is guy ramemberg. i'm a nurse, and i have 36 years experience in hiv and infectious disease. i'm eager to get back to work and volunteer. i'm proud of our city, and
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proud of what you're doing today. having said that, i agree with supervisor ronen. you didn't have to be here. the situation at -- [inaudible] >> -- was both preventible and predictable. [inaudible] >> but those california state health care volunteer and new york city department of public health got back to me earlier, and they are ready to mobilize me. i would prefer to stay in the city and volunteer. i'll gladly volunteer in the jail or hotels or encampments, but i need to be mobilized, so please try to figure out what the holdups are. thank you for your work. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. mr. qu, another speaker,
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please. >> you have four questions remaining. >> yeah. my name is francisco decosta, and what i -- i'm listening to all of y'all, and i see that we don't have sufficient incident commanders, and we need about at least 100 in this city. we all know about the hot spots, but how can we talk about dividing san francisco and not paying attention to the most vulnerable? now one or two of you i see are concerned, but the rest of you are talking from both sides of
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your mouth. we need to wake up. i was here in 1989 when the earthquake took place, and i got a commander's award for what i did. we are in 2020, and we are still in a mess. dr. grant colfax, our mayor, thomas aragon, all of these that are in charge of everything, none of them can call themselves an experienced incident commander who can do a needs assessment, none of them. so when will we wake up? while small businesses are
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hurting, our buses are crowded, you heard it. you've heard the concerns of san franciscans, but it's time that you do something about it. thank you very much. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. mr. qu, another speaker? >> caller: you have four
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questions remaining. >> my concern -- i called penny kelly about our letter today, you know, supporting that motion about the hotels. three of us -- of the three of us coordinating letters, two of us don't have computer access anymore. it is a real problem. your system prevents people who don't have a computer, who don't have the internet essentially from communicating.
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i haven't been able to see an agenda, for example, you know, unless my niece in tacoma can read it to me. these things should be at least published in the examiner. when i needed to phone in, i didn't have the instructions because they're on the internet. i couldn't call in at all, and usually, the people running the phone system could tell me there was a meeting running or not. now, i filed an peappeal -- >> clerk: mrs. chapman, your time is up. >> hello. give me a moment to start my timer on my cell phone. hi. this is michael petrellis calling, and i have several issues to deal with. the first is i want to remind all citizens if you can afford to have food delivered or you're picking it up at a restaurant to go, tip
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generously. my second item is i'd like for the supervisors to consider a resolution calling upon our congressional representative nancy pelosi to reconvene the house of representatives. we are in the risk of an unprecedented pandemic emergency, and mrs. pelosi needs to bring the house back so that congress can conduct its business without traveling to airplanes to get to d.c. my third item is i would like the supervisors to author a resolution calling for opening the streets to people. we are seeing this is done in oakland, and right now, we do not know the end of this quarantine. we need to safely be able to go into the streets to exercise and get fresh air and practice
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social distancing. my fourth item is i continually ask you to put the public comment first. we have waited 4.5 hours for public comment. i think the middle of an epidemic is for you guys to change the rules and put the public comment at the beginning of your agenda. the fifth item i have is i would like a time limit for the supervisors, when you are rambling on and on during roll call introductions, you need to time yourselves only to two minutes. and finally, where are the tests? we need testing. thank you. >> clerk: thank you, mr. petrellis. >> caller: you have three questions remaining. >> clerk: welcome, caller. >> hello. my name is john mccormick.
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i am a sunset resident, tenderloin activist. i am calling because i want to make some points. i want to say thank you to the supervisors for passing ordinance number 22. thank you so much for that. i want to call an advocate for a couple of things. the first is testing. we need to get test, equitable testing, like what's happening in the bayview and tenderloin. we need to get people in testing facilities so they can get tested. the second is shelters. people at shelters, people in s.r.o.s, people in shelters -- or people in s.r.o.s need to be tested.
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can we please get folks who are staying in s.r.o.s tested because i think there's a reason we're not testing them. we don't want to see people not coming out there. so can we please get people tested in s.r.o.s. and the third is what you did today, moving people in hotel rooms, thank you very much for passing that ordinance. thank you very much, supervisors. i appreciate you all, but let's get folks tested in the tenderloin. appreciate it very much. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. >> caller: you have two questions remaining. >> clerk: welcome, caller. >> caller: hi. my name is melissa gonzales, and i am a member of the aclu san francisco chapter. i just wanted to let everyone on the board of supervisors know that we are proud to support supervisor fewer's legislation to finally close san francisco jail floor, which
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is located at 850 bryant. county jail four is famously seismically unsafe and has been slated for demolition for over 20 years. we believe san francisco should work together to close it for good, especially in the midst of this historic crisis, as some others have alluded to. [inaudible] >> in addition, closing this dilapidated jail will allow our city to instead invest in what our community really needs in order to thrive, such as affordable housing, living wages, accessible fresh and healthy food and nonjudgmental rehabilitative services, quality health care, and investment in meaningful
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spaces, and families to be reunited with their incarcerated loved ones as soon as possible. we would like all supervisors who have not signed onto this legislation to support it, and we thank supervisor fewer and the others who have done so forth. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments, caller. >> caller: you have one question remaining. >> clerk: welcome, caller. >> hi. can you hear me? >> clerk: yes. welcome. >> hi. my name is jennifer, and i'm a tenderloin resident and case manager. thank you for your advocacy on 22, to secure 8,000 hotel rooms. [inaudible] >> -- where people can get tested for free, people who are
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unhoused. potential workers. if you look out in the tenderloin, people are still congregating out on the streets because they have no where else to go. i'm also in support of increasing resources for frontline staff, mainly p.p.e. for the purpose of enhancing safety for our communities. and the last one is i am in support of supervisor fewer's legislation to close 850 bryant. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. mr. qu, are there any other speakers in the queue? >> caller: you have zero questions remaining. >> clerk: okay. thank you, and mr. president, that concludes our speakers. >> president yee: okay. so in that case, public comment is now closed. madam clerk, let's call the for adoption, the committee reference agenda, items 32 through 37.
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>> clerk: items 32 through 37 were introduced without reference to committee. a unanimous vote is required for resolution today. in the alternative, any member can ask for any items to go to committee. >> president yee: okay. any members wish to sever any items? supervisor mandelman? >> supervisor mandelman: yes, i would like to sever items 33 and 34. >> president yee: commissioner haney? >> supervisor haney: i'd like to sever items 32. >> president yee: supervisor peskin? >> supervisor peskin: item 37, please. >> president yee: okay. thank you.
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madam clerk -- >> supervisor safai: mr. president? >> president yee: who's speaking? >> supervisor safai: supervisor safai. >> president yee: okay. supervisor safai? >> supervisor safai: yes, mr. president. i'd like to sever item 35. >> clerk: mr. president, supervisor ronen has been disconnected from the meeting. john c., you're trying to get her back in? >> caller: i'm going to try to get her back in. >> president yee: okay. for the remaining balance of items, that's item 37 -- >> supervisor peskin: can we wait until supervisor ronen gets back on? >> clerk: yes. >> president yee: okay. >> supervisor peskin: madam
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clerk, mr. president, this meeting has gone quite well, and hats off to arthur qu and john c. and the clerk's team. it has been remarkable. >> president yee: i agree, and whoever's facilitating this meeting is good, too. >> supervisor peskin: well, they're fantastic. i'm just buying time. >> clerk: thank you, mr. president. i think it's gone well. >> president yee: i'd actually like to thank that all those that made this meeting happen
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today. so we will take a little pause until we get supervisor ronen back on. >> caller: it looks like supervisor ronen is back. >> president yee: welcome back, supervisor ronen. >> supervisor ronen: thank you. did i miss any votes? >> president yee: no problem. so we're on adoption without committee reference, and everything's been severed except for 37, so we will just take roll call on item number 37. >> clerk: on item 37 -- [roll call]
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>> clerk: there are 11 ayes. >> president yee: okay. without any objection, then, the motion is approved unanimously. madam clerk, can you please call item number 32. >> clerk: item 32, resolution to urge state and federal emergency funding for the san
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francisco bay area rapid transit district and the san francisco municipal transportation agency to remain operational in light of operational and budget declines due to covid-19 and to affirm the role that b.a.r.t. and the m.t.a. play in transporting people to essential activities. >> president yee: supervisor haney? >> supervisor haney: thank you, press ye president yee. supervisor preston and i originally introduced this because of the huge hits that b.a.r.t. and muni were taking during this crisis. the federal c.a.r.e.s. acts allocated $1.3 billion for federal transit agencies. this does not mean that we're out of the clear, but it does mean that the immediate needs that were referenced in this resolution were taken care of, so i'm introducing a set of amendments today that better reflect the current needs,
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including a clause referencing the new federal funding, remain removing the call for emergency funding, and instead calling for long-term funding that can restore and maintain services. you all should have a copy that was e-mailed to you, and i would appreciate your support for this new version, and i would like to move the amendments. >> president yee: is there a second? >> supervisor peskin: second, peskin. >> president yee: okay. it's been moved and seconded, so -- >> supervisor peskin: i do have a comment, mr. president. >> president yee: okay. go ahead. >> supervisor peskin: so i appreciate the fact that all of these transit properties -- regional, state, local -- need federal largesse, and i am delighted by the efforts of each and every one of these
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agencies, but i am concerned as chair of the public transportation authority need to express what i've said privately, which is that b.a.r.t. really needs to work much more collaboratively with agencies that deliver a lot more vulnerable people to their place of work, and i need to say that for the record. it's something that if i had time, i would share it with miss simon and mr. lee. but i would say that because they are receiving a large amount of money, they need to work more collaboratively with other transportation entities in the region. i'm not saying it in a disparaging way, but i just had
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to say that for the record. >> president yee: okay. so there's a -- madam clerk, can you take a roll on the amendment? >> clerk: on the amendment -- >> supervisor preston: president yee, i'm on the roster, as well. >> president yee: supervisor preston? >> supervisor preston: thank you, president yee. i'd just like to thank those who have been diligently staying on stop of the various significantly moving parts here as to what relief is available, funding's available, so just wanted to thank them for their work in this resolution. >> president yee: okay. did we take the vote on the amendment yet? >> clerk: not yet.
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>> president yee: okay. let's have a vote. >> clerk: on the vote for the amendment on item 32 -- [roll call] >> clerk: there are 11 ayes. >> president yee: okay. so this resolution is adopted unanimously. madam clerk, let's go to -- please call item 33. >> clerk: mr. president, i believe that was just the amendment. >> president yee: okay.
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can you call the roll on the item -- >> clerk: on itself as amended. [roll call] >> clerk: there are 11 ayes. >> president yee: okay. so this item is adopted unanimously as amended. madam clerk, now item number 33. >> clerk: item 33 is a resolution to urge the state legislature to immediately pass
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state assembly bill number 828 as proposed to be amended, authored by assembly member phil ting and senate bill number 939, authored by california state senator scott wiener and lina gonzales to prohibit foreclosures and the eviction of residential and commercial tenants related to the covid-19 pandemic. >> president yee: supervisor mandelman? >> supervisor mandelman: thank you, president yee. i want to thank my colleagues for continuing this item from last week, and i had the opportunity -- little background music -- had the opportunity to have some good conversation with the tenants union and other leaders, supervisor preston, and i believe at this point, the best path forward would be to refer this item to the land use and transportation committee, and so i will make that motion. >> supervisor stefani:
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stephanie will second. >> president yee: okay. it's been raised and seconded. >> clerk: mr. president, i'll say a single member of the board has the ability to refer to the committee without a second on this part of the agenda. >> supervisor stefani: even once it's been continued? >> clerk: on first appearance. >> supervisor stefani: this is the second appearance. >> clerk: okay. we will make note of your second. >> supervisor stefani: thank you, madam clerk. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor. >> president yee: okay. so without objection, then, i will just -- the motion passes to continue -- or to be referred to which committee? >> supervisor mandelman: i think land use and transportation commission. >> president yee: so motion
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carries. >> clerk: om. >> president yee: madam clerk,
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