>> mayor breed is joined by the director of public health, grant colfax. the director of the department of human services, trent noor. today's numbers for the number of people who are infected by covid-19 here in san francisco are at 1,340. sadly, we have had 22 people who lost their lives to the virus. as a reminder, you can find the full dashboard of information at datasf.org/covid-19. there is a lot of great information on the number of people who have been infected by zip code, race, and other information that members of the public expressed interest in. as a city, we have mobilized to

combat this public health crisis. we've been focusing on our frontline responders, our healthcare workers, and our essential employees and what they need to protect themselves. these are the people who are of course our healthcare professionals, our first responders, and people who are actually our essential city workforce. the folks who are driving the muni buses, the people who are managing traffic. the people who are providing -- the grocery store clerks and others who continue to support the city as we deal with these real challenges. i want to be clear that from the very beginning we knew that it was important to ensure that we were protecting the people that

we expected to show up to work in their various capacities. the sad reality is what we've had to deal with around a lack of coordination on the federal level around p.p.e. has made it really very challenging. today i want to talk just a little bit about those challenges and what we've faced as we continue to provide the resources necessary to try and protect our workforce, but i want to start by -- and i want to start by thanking the city administrator naomi kelly and her team and the office of contract administration. because of their efforts, we have been able to purchase 15 million pieces of p.p.e. that's the n95 masks, general masks, the gowns, and the other personal protective equipment necessary to keep people safe as

they work and as they support our population of people who sadly may be hospitalized due to covid-19. the gloves, the gowns, the surgical masks, and those -- the face shields. and we've received donations from our give to s.f. program and we truly appreciate the contributions. our governor, the state, has provided us with 1 million pieces of p.p.e. so we have really been very diligent about getting access to p.p.e. to make sure, as i said, our frontline workers are protected and people have what they need to provide essential services to the city. you hear the conversations that

take place not only here in san francisco but all over the state. the fact that we have declared a state of emergency even in san francisco as of february 25 of this year, the fact that we have been struggling to get access to p.p.e. even before then and this has been at the forefront of every conversation that every city has had, expressing a strong need for this personal protective equipment. yet again, and this is no excuse, but the challenges we continue to face as a result of a coordinated response from our federal government has really put us all at a disadvantage. in fact, i want to talk a little bit about some of the challenges that we've had. we've had issues of our orders being relocated by suppliers in china. for example, we had isolation gowns that were on their way to

san francisco and they were diverted to france. we've had situations when things that we've ordered that have gone through customs were compensated by fema to be diverted to other locations. because again we know that everyone is dealing with a very serious challenge. even when we've been fortunate enough in some cases to see p.p.e. get through customs, we've had situations where those items have been taken and put out on the market for the highest bidder, putting cities against cities and states against states. it has been really, i've got to tell you, one of the most frustrating things to deal with. the fact that during the height of this pandemic we're still having a conversation about p.p.e. is -- it really does blow my mind and it is nothing that has been more frustrating.

because when we talk about the need to get back to opening up our cities and our country, one of the most important things we need is to make sure that people have what they need to protect themselves. that we have p.p.e. and that we have swabs and testing kits so that we're able to test more people. so we are -- i want you to know that we are working tirelessly on this. we are pushing for creative solutions to get what we need. in fact, ucsf through their generosity in providing san francisco general some additional equipment has been amazing. and dignity health and having access to their suppliers. we've all locally here in the hospital community have been working together to get everything that we need because we know how critical all of this

is now as we go through this and as we have this shelter-in-place order. but what happens when we start to look at ways and solutions to get our cities back on track and to get our cities open, it's going to be necessary even then because it's going to take us a while before we get a vaccine, which means testing and p.p.e. and having not only sufficient supply, but access to get sufficient supply will be critical to the future of this city. we won't give up. we will continue to do what we can to access the equipment and supplies that we need. dr. colfax talked about our efforts to expand testing, which is something that we will continue to ramp up. as he mentioned on wednesday, the bottleneck we face right now is often due to the lack of the basic swabs and not necessarily

the testing capacity. so we just wanted to make sure that as you hear about some of these challenges that you're aware of why they are challenges. i know it seems as though it should be a lot simpler. we have the money to purchase the p.p.e. why can't we purchase the p.p.e.? the fact is it is clearly complicated. you hear mayors and governors talk about this on a regular basis. we are getting as creative as we can to get what we need to support our city. in many instances, we have been fortunate beneficiary of the generosity of flex port and facebook and sell force and others who continue to be incredible partners in helping to advocate for and get access to p.p.e. to help our cities move forward. so i want to thank them.

i want to just talk a bit -- dr. colfax will get into the testing and the p.p.e. and some of the things we need to do that are critical to public health. also in addition to the public health crisis that we are in the midst of, there is another crisis that has emerged and that is the economic crisis. the fact is this has been a long time for people who have no other means of access to money. this is a long time to be out of work and to figure out what we're going to do. it's one of the reasons we felt it was important, despite what's happening with access to unemployment, to have resources available so that people can get food through give to sf and to provide support for our small business community. in fact, we've been able to add another $1 million to the flexible grant program that we

started a couple of months ago to provide some initial assistance to our small businesses. and we will continue to raise private dollars and look for other resources to help support our small business community. as we think about the future and what this means, we set up a recovery task force a couple of weeks ago. they are going to be convening today to talk specifically about where do we go once we reopen. even as we look at what's happening with other states that are opening now. as far as i'm concerned, we don't want to move that quickly. we want to make sure that we have systems in place to protect people. this is going to require an approach where we are working hand in hand with our public health professionals. when we look at various

industries and we analyze what could be done in order to protect people to allow those industries to move forward, we want to make sure that we are thoughtful in our recommendations, but we are also getting the support and the clearance from our public health experts to move in that direction. we know that this weekend is coming up. today is a beautiful day in san francisco. this weekend is going to be a beautiful weekend in san francisco. and i want to really take this opportunity to caution people about wanting to get back to things that are more familiar. i know your kids want to play with their friends. i know you want to see your friends. i know so many of you want to have interactions with one another in person rather than over the phone or online. i want to just say that we hear about san francisco and how

great san francisco is doing all over the world and we're being used as an example of how to manage this situation right. but i want to just remind you, we have 1,340 people who have tested positive with the virus. it is estimated that about 12% of the people we've tested overall have the virus, which means that there's a possibility clearly that there are others who are asymptomatic in our community that have the virus and have the ability to infect other people. what we don't want to see on nice days, on days like this, out in the communities and infecting other people. they don't have a mask and not social distancing and going back to the habits that are familiar and engaging with one another

and not socially distancing and getting comfortable and complacent. and then a week from now we wonder why our numbers from shot up from 1,340 to 2,000 or more with even more deaths. this is what is at stake. as good as it might seem, the situation we're in now, the numbers are still going up. the number in i.c.u. have gone up. the number of people who are -- who have passed away continues to rise. that means that now more than ever we can't give us and we have to move forward. i know -- as i say, i know i say every time we have a press conference i know it's hard. i know it's hard, which is why it's important that as we are talking and convening in our economic recovery task force, we

are developing ways to make recommendations to the department of public health of things that we could potentially make available to the public. so next week we'll have some more announcements about that, but the goal is we definitely want to work with our public health experts and our various industries to figure out are there things we can do. because the reality is and people are asking about this, will the public health order get extended. the likelihood that that will happen is very likely. what that means is another few weeks or even a month of asking you all to comply and to remain at home as you continue to follow the social distancing orders that we put forth. but what it also means is an opportunity for us with our economic recovery task force to

start to explore ways in which we can make some things available that are currently unavailable to all of us. so it is a process. because how we reopen is going to be important to ensuring that we do it responsibly so we don't go backwards. we also have to make sure that we have enough of the p.p.e. and the testing necessary so that if we do decide to allow a particular industry or something to become available that we're able to deal with that, that we put the appropriate requirements into place of social distancing and we also have the appropriate p.p.e. so that they're able to protect themselves. and, more importantly, we have the testing and we have the capacity in our hospitals necessary to deal with a surge

at any time. it's a process. it's a process that requires patience. it's a process that requires resources. so i want to thank the people in san francisco especially for just supporting the process and being responsible and helping us through this pandemic because it is important that as many of us as we possibly can, that we comply with this order and that we continue to do our very best to stay at home, go out and get fresh air if we need it, and keep our distance from people when we're outside. the mask does not mean that you can come closer to people. it means we're asking you to wear a mask to protect yourself and to protect other people, but we're still asking you to keep a distance of 6'. the mask does not take the place

of social distancing. i also just want to say i also heard of a number of situations where people have been walking and they're not wearing a mask and they're just outside walking and they've had people make comments and threatening comments in some particular instances. i want to be clear. we are not asking or requires that people wear masks when they're out walking their dogs or taking a walk or they're doing their jogging or maybe riding their bike. we're asking when you are at the grocery store or in line at the grocery store or at the gas station or in line at the gas station, at the pharmacy or in line at the pharmacy. any facility where you are in contact for the most part in line with other people, that's when we're asking you to wear a

mask. i also want you to reiterate if you're not a police officer, please don't ask like you are a police officer. we have police officers to police our streets. what we don't want to have happen is the continued animosity towards someone who appears to not be following the directive and an altercation occurs and tension occurs and it goes worse. more than ever, we need people to be understanding and nicer to one another. we need goodness and we need kindness. we need you to focus on you. we need people to focus on the fact that they and their family should be complying with wearing a mask or keeping their distance. we don't need people to police other people because that could turn into an even worse situati situation. we understand it might be frustrating to see someone

violating the rules, but again i guarantee you if you are following the rules and doing everything that you can, you are setting the example. others will follow and we'll be better off for it. i appreciate if we all continue to do our very best, we all continue to put some goodness and positive energy out there in the universe. this is challenging for all of us. it is difficult for all of us. none of us is immune from the physical and emotional impacts that this is taking on our city. i want us to remember that and do the very best we can as we weather this storm. thank you for your cooperation and understanding. if there is any information you're looking for, please feel free to check out our website,

sfgov.org. or call 311 if you have any concerns or need help or support or food. please call us. we really are in this together. what impacts one person in our community impacts all of us. that's why it's so critical. we have been in this situation for some time now. now is not the time to give up. now is the time to roll-up our sleeves and just keep it moving and do the very best we can because what we want to do is look back on this pandemic and be proud of what we've been able to do here in san francisco to protect and to save lives. thank you again for your cooperation. at this time, i would like to introduce our director of the department of public health, dr. grant colfax.

>> thank you, mayor breed. good afternoon. i'm dr. grant colfax, director of public health for san francisco. i would like to express my gratitude and thanks to the mayor for her leadership and the work she's done with regard to to ensuring that our frontline

workers, our teams throughout the health department, and the patients who we care for has had access always to the necessary personal protective equipment, the p.p.e., according to c.dc. guidelines for them to be safe and for our patients and their families to be as safe as possible. the p.p.e. continues to be an issue. our supplies have sometimes gotten quite low, given the challenges across the city, across the region, across the nation. it's taken tremendous amount of work. i just want to express gratitude again for ensuring that people have consistently and had and always have had the p.p.e. that they need that is necessary and in accordance with the science, the data, and the facts.

today i want to provide you with the facts and the effects of the coronavirus in our community. even as we continue to make progress as we flatten the curve, we continue to see impacts on our most vulnerable population. the story here in san francisco, the data and facts condition to tell the story here in san francisco and will always guide our response. today there are 1,340 san francisco residents with confirmed cases of coronavirus. of these, 134, or about 10%, are people experiencing homelessness or living in s.r.o.s. that is, unfortunately, a large proportion.

we also know, as we have said from the beginning, that older people and people with underlying health conditions are more vulnerable to covid-19 and are at greater risks for bad outcomes, including unfortunately, death. of the people who have died of the coronavirus, 21 of them were over 60 years old and all 22 had underlying health conditions. this is consistent for what we know about who is most at risk. so even as we expand testing, add capacity to our healthcare system, and watch the number of hospitalized patients closely, we know that many members of our community remain at risk of significant harm from the coronavirus. and as we move forward in our response and look at the next

steps in terms of reopening, we will continue to protect those most vulnerable populations. we simply must do so. one of my chief concerns and a top priority for the health department is mitigating the outbreaks that are occurring in the homeless population, long-term care facilities, and other congregate living settings. this is a challenge not only within san francisco, but across the region and indeed across the nation. in san francisco, we will continue to work diligently on these settings where the virus presents the greatest threat. in the last few weeks, we have responded to several outbreaks. these are unfortunately, but also unfortunately not surprising. outbreaks are part of the

pattern of this pandemic and they are happening in every place where the coronavirus is spreading in the country and again here in our community. the virus looks for opportunities where people are gathered together. for example, across california there are 258 skilled nursing facilities that have reported one or more coronavirus cases among residents or staff. here in san francisco, the department of health staff called every skilled nursing facility in the city several times a week to check on the covid status of residents and staff. we hold weekly calls with them to provide education on infection control, prevention, and outbreak preparedness. from the start we have published

guidelines for long-term and residential facilities that are up-to-date with c.d.c.'s and the state's latest information. we want to support these institutions to be as prepared as possible. when there are outbreaks in congregate settings, we take immediate action based on evidence and c.d.c. and state guidelines. in san francisco there have been outbreaks at laguna hospital as well as other facilities. we have responded in each situation based on the evidence. we have supported the organizations with contact investigations, testing, and screening. we have provided masks and other personal protective equipment as required. we have imposed quarantines and, in some cases, temporarily closed facilities for deep

cleaning and evaluation. we have moved residents to hotels or medical care settings dependant on their needs. all of this work has been done in collaboration with local, state, and federal partners. and in particular, our partnership with the state is highly relevant with the long-term care facilities in the city because the state has overnight on their licensing and responsibility for inspecting them to ensure that they are complying with state guidelines. and i would like to point out that we have outbreaks that have been minimized due to advance planning and quick responses. at laguna honda hospital we asked for experts from the disease control center and the state to come in early to support our response. the c.d.c. remains on site and

continues to help and advise our efforts. to date we have had 19 positive cases at laguna honda hospital, 15 among staff and four among residents. and laguna honda hospital is one of the largest, if not the largest, skilled nursing facility in the nation with over 750 residents. is -- of the four residents who tested positive for covid-19, all are in good condition. we have not had a new resident case since april 7, which is an indication that our aggressive efforts undertaken with c.d.c. guidance, to isolate, quarantine, test, and screen for now have been effective. the c.d.c. recommendations we recommended at laguna honda are now being and will continue to be applied to protect staff and residents at other nursing home

facilities across the city. in our jail system we took aggressive steps to protect inmates and staff. we expanded jail health services to include testing and quarantine of all new bookings that are housed in jails. this allowed us to identify two asymptomatic and related cases of coronavirus to date. this practice combined with enforcing social distancing protocols and masking of all staff has likely prevented an outbreak so far. the two confirmed cases will be released and there are no known cases of covid-19 at this time in the county jail. now, of course this could change and the situation in laguna honda could change rapidly as well, but my point is that we are establishing very specific

protocols and taking very specific action and being flexible in our response based on responding to the very specific circumstances under which these outbreaks in vulnerable populations occur. we will continue in partnership with other city departments, community members, and other stakeholders that oversee and in some cases run these institutions. most recently, on wednesday this week, we confirmed a second case of coronavirus at the division circle navigation center. three weeks after the first case was reported there. we are currently conducting a contact investigation, as we do for cases we discover. at this point, it is unlikely that the two cases are linked,

given what we know about the virus. testing of the 59 remaining guests and staff is underway. at division circle we moved swiftly and after the first case, in partnership with h.s.a. and h.s.h. to relocate vulnerable people out of the center and to isolation and quarantine and shelter in place, hotels. so the population there has been reducing lowering the risks. these examples reflect why it is so important to prioritize vulnerable populations in these settings from the start, people over the age of 60, people with co-morbid conditions. here are some of the steps that we have taken to protect vulnerable populations. you know about the efforts to mitigate the spread of the

virus, to slow the spread of the virus in the community. canceling large gatherings, requiring face coverings, and issuing the stay-at-home order. these actions are about protecting vulnerable populations as well as of course our entire community. we have also issued health orde orders restricting people from visiting long-term care facilities and residential facilities. we have required cleaning of s.r.o.s. we have worked in partnership with the human services agency and the department of homelessness and supportive housing to increase social distancing and other precautions and shelters and to move people into hotels. outreach teams continue to go out every day to communicate with people who are living on the streets and to provide them with resources and information.

for people experiencing homelessness, living in s.r.o.s, or in crowded conditions, we are fortunate to have options like isolation quarantine hotels to relocate people safely. as of today, thanks to the partnerships with the other department, 864 people who are over 60 or who have chronic illnesses or underlying health conditions have been moved to hotels. and it is very important to realize that in all of these settings we have been able to test everyone who has shown symptoms, all close contacts of confirmed cases. and when mask testing was warranted, we have been able to carry that out. i am proud of this work and grateful to the staff of truly, compassionate, world-class

experts who have been working around the clock since january to accomplish these efforts. and yet, i know and we know that outbreaks are likely to continue as long as the virus is here in our community. i want to ensure you that we are doing everything we can to reduce the spread of the virus, protect vulnerable populations, and healthcare workers and first responders. we need all san franciscans to keep doing everything you can to protect them as well. that means, again, stay home, cover your face, practice physical distancing. you are not just protecting yourself. you are contributing to the overall health of the community in making it a safer place for people who are most vulnerable

to the virus. you are literally saving lives. and i want to reassure you that we are planning for the future. our ability as a community to return to a new normal will rely on everyone continuing to do their part. it will rely on a system to respond to outbreaks, increase testing, have adequate personal protective equipment, and have contact tracing to slow the spread of the virus. in san francisco, i know we can do this and we must do this together. i thank you all for your ongoing hard work and effort to keep san francisco safe and to slow the spread of the coronavirus. thank you.

director abigail stewart-khan of the department of homelessness and housing will now make some remarks. >> hello. providing safe places for people experienci experiencing homelessness to isolate, quarantine, or shelter in place is a top priority for the department of homeless and supportive housing, the department of public health, and the entire city.

additionally, the city is working to expand testing city-wide with a focus on vulnerable communities, as dr. colfax just shared in detail, including people experiencing homelessness. as we expand testing capacity, we know that we will need more places for people experiencing homelessness who test positive for covid-19 to go to isolate, receive care, and to recover. so that end, h.s.h., in connection with our partners, are opening new facilities. you've heard about this. to date we've opened five shelter-in-place hotels as well as multiple quarantine hotels with more planned rapidly. this has been incredibly hard and incredibly a critical

expansion. i want to share a story of a voicemail i received from a colleague of someone who moved from the streets to the inside and said he hadn't been near a bed in over many years and that he was going to sleep for 24 hours to try to recover and not get sick with covid. he offered thanks to my colleague and all of san francisco for this place to be safe. additionally, we're expanding congregate capacity to meet this need. we opened s.m.c. south as post-covid congregate shelters for people experiencing homelessness who have tested positive for covid-19 and no longer need medical attention and have cleared their isolation period. this week as dr. colfax reminded us, a second case of covid-19 was confirmed at the division circle center. we had already completed shelter

equilibrium, meaning the vulnerable individuals had been moved into our shelter in place sites. through thorough and immediate contact investigation has led us to test all remaining guests and staff and all guests of the center are being transferred to isolation and quarantine hotels. given that this shelter will very soon be empty, it will be reopened as a shelter for people experiencing homelessness who have tested positive for covid-19, but who do not require hospitalization. as we expand testing, we anticipate we will have more people who are asymptomatic and living with covid and who will need a resource like this one. in its revised capacity, division circle will function similarly to existing isolation and quarantine sites, with on-site department of public health support, 24-hour staffing

and security, meals, and social services. the shelters and hotels do not increase risks for the surrounding community and neighbors, both because we know that many are positive in all of san francisco and because guests are educated and supported on how to best care for themselves and will remain in isolation in care for the course of their illness. the mayor, the department of public health, the police department, and all of the city have and continue to implore every san franciscan to practice precautions, such as staying at home, physical distancing, covering your face and nose, and washing your hands. these are important for all of us. thank you to the partners that have made these expansions possible to open hotels and congregate facilities, including the department of public health, human services agency, the emergency operations center, and

all of the exceptional non-profits who are stepping up to provide that support. thank you. we will now have remarks from chief william scott of the san francisco police department. >> thank you, director stewart-khan.

good afternoon, everyone. as always, i will start my remarks by thanking our mayor london breed for her leadership and dr. grant colfax. their leadership has been instrumental in getting us through this challenging time. i want to again thank the people of san francisco as well. it was for gratifying for this 4/20 people stayed home and did not come to the parks to celebrate 4/20. i want to thank everyone for working with us on that and your efforts are actually making a difference and saving lives. we are seeing that the vast majority of the public is committed to stopping the spread of covid-19. we have had people and businesses who have been warned continuing to flout the order.

to date we have 17 citations that have been issued by san francisco police officers. that breakdown is eight businesses and nine individuals. we've admonished 73 people where incident reports have been taken and, as i have stated previously, there have been hundreds upon hundreds of informal warnings. for the most part, i want to thank the people of san francisco for complying by and large when officers interact with them. from the outset of the original public health order in mid-march, the san francisco police department has made it clear that our focus is voluntary compliance. enforcement has been an option of last resort and that has been ultimately largely successful in those times when we have had to do that to get compliance. we will continue to use a progressive compliance pathway which starts with education, asking for voluntary compliance,

warning, and citations if and when necessary. you can use the covid-19 website on our web page to learn about our enforcement protocols, our department policies and notices are posted on our website. the purpose of the public health order is not to arrest or cite, but it's about promoting the health and welfare of our communities and our cities by preventing the spread of the virus. as i've said before, we are here to help. we want to get through this situation in a way that does not make this situation worse for the people of our city. as the mayor said and i will reiterate it, we all have a personal responsibility to help stop the spread of this virus. the people we are working with is human rights commission under the leadership of executive director sheryl davis. the h.r.c. is providing

community stakeholders with face coverings thanks to the mayor's gift to s.f. campaign. we are out with commissioner davis and community stakeholders issuing face coverings today as we speak. we were out in the bayview community yesterday. we want people to know we understand how difficult this is and there are people in our city who are having a very difficult time -- most people are having a difficult time through this. there are people who don't have access to face coverings. we want to do everything we can as a city to help those who need help. that's why we're out helping, to make sure people have what they need to stay safe and healthy. this is enabling the city to help those vulnerable populations and will go a long way towards preventing the spread of covid-19. we see today is a beautiful day

and the weather is nice and we expect that to continue into the weekend. we know there are people who want to exercise and get fresh air and enjoy the nice weather. if you are going to leave your homes, please follow the advice of the public health officials. maintain a distance of at least 6'. wear face coverings when you're waiting in line or shopping as the mayor has emphasized and dr. colfax and his colleagues have emphasized. as the weekend progressing, you're probably going to see a large group of people out. be respectful and mindful and do the rest for the people you love. our volunteers are working with our work program. we will be out in the parks promoting the educational information and reminding people to keep the distance of 6' and

wear your face coverings. again, our goal is to help and gain voluntary compliance. now i want to shift to crime. no update from our wednesday press briefing. we've had an increase in 18% by violent crimes. we've had a 31% decrease in property crimes over last week. that was a decrease of 154 fewer property crimes. we've had a 25% decrease in our total part 1 crimes, which is a decrease of 142 total part 1 crimes. we've had some burglaries and vandalisms as i have reported, and we want the public to be sure we are still out there. we have made several arrests on burglaries in our city.

we want to thank the attorney's office to add the charges of burglary and vandalism during this time of a state of emergency. despite our drop in overall part 1 crimes, i want to highlight that we are taking this issue very seriously. and i also want to highlight and remind people about driving. the california highway patrol has reported that they've seen an 87% jump in violations of people driving more than 100 mph. that is completely unacceptable. we want to remind people that this pandemic does not give anyone the license to drive in a reckless and dangerous manner. please slow down. we know that the streets are easier, but please slow down.

we have not had any focus on the deaths since this pandemic started and we want to keep it that way. personal responsibility, as the mayor stated, we all have a personal responsibility to do what is needed, that means driving at lower speeds. those folks who are conducting their travel in a safe way, we thank you and hope everyone else does the same. the slow streets program has also been rolled out. please done down. you have to share the roads with pedestrians, bicyclists, and people who are going to be out enjoying the weather and trying to get fresh air and exercise. so please again slow down. as a reminder, we also want to encourage everyone to report

crimes. if you see a violent crime in progress, please call 911. if the crime has already been committed or it's a property crime or a crime you don't need an immediate response you can call 415-553-0123 or you can also call 311 or utilize our sfpd website to make a police report. also, i want to reemphasize the message about scams and not having the public falling for scams. unfortunately during this very difficult time there are people who will take advantage of the situation and take advantage of you. normally they focus on vulnerable populations such as our elderly. we know that the federal trade commission says they have

received four times the complaints about identity fraud this past mant than the three months prior. the f.b.i. has seen scams online selling things that don't exist. this can take the form of robo calls and people coming to your door. people claiming to be with the centers for disease control and our own department of public health. nobody will be coming to your house from our department or the centers for disease control and asking to get into your house. please don't let them in. if you get an individual like that knocking at your door or ringing your doorbell and you

think that is suspicious, please call 911. we will respond. we've heard of this before and we don't want people victimized. people that you know and love, know that the scammers are out there. please beware. if you believe you have been a victim or are experiencing an online scam, you can call or e-mail the federal train station commission. their number is 877-382-4357. i want, i want to wish everyone a great weekend. as a reminder, please social distance, stay 6' away, wear your masks, and let's stay the course. thank you.

>> thank you, chief scott. we will begin the q-and-a portion with questions february dr. grant colfax. >> question: our first question is from christian captain. can the san francisco department of public health provide more details about the four deaths at central garden? >> answer: so the state is leading that investigation. as i had mentioned earlier, we are working very closely with central gardens and the similar institutions across the city,

ensuring that they have the most up-to-date information, that they have their resources, including p.p.e., the training materials. i can't comment specifically on those four deaths. >> question: we understand the california department of public health is spearheading the issue, but is san francisco launching an investigation? and are other long-term care facilities facing similar risks? >> answer: so long-term care facilities across the country, including here in san francisco, are facing risks. as we have said from the beginning of our response, this population is particularly vulnerable. we saw that in the outbreak in the nursing home in washington state, in kirkland. i think the important piece here is we need to ensure we're following the best guidance possible with regard to c.d.c. and the state. in terms of how we protect residents and staff, we have

infectious disease experts consulting with us and with other nursing homes with regard to doing the best we can to prevent and slow the spread of the virus in these nursing homes. there are vulnerabilities here. we are taking lessons learned from the outbreak at laguna honda and the input and expertise from the c.d.c. to apply those lessons to ensure the nurses have every opportunity and the resources they need to apply those guidelines to protect their institutions. >> question: are all residents at casa casada being tested and how many will be moved into hotels? >> answer: so as of -- everyone there has been moved to or has been offered an alternative place to stay, and that includes

isolation and quarantine at various sites, depending on their conditions and needs. as of april 23rd, 71 residents and staff were tested. 22 residents and two staff had tested positive. so the bottom line is we have offered testing to everyone. we have offered alternative sites to everyone. people who have tested positive have been offered isolation and quarantine sites if they have not been able to find alternatives to isolation and quarantine. >> question: how quickly does d.p.h. notify s.r.o.s of cases? >> answer: so we notify the person as quickly as possible in a way that maintains the privacy of that individual. we notify the s.r.o. owners or managers that there is a case.

we obviously have to be very thoughtful as how that's done to protect the confidentiality of the case. but we are in constant contact with s.r.o.s. we have a task force making sure that they have the information they need, that they're applying cleaning policies to their hotels. if people who need testing and have access to timely testing. and if they need isolation and quarantine rooms are not able to do it in their current living situations, that they are offered hotel rooms. >> question: the numbers for laguna honda have not risen for some time. is it safe to say that laguna honda is out of the woods? >> answer: i would not say that. i thought this was good news

that we haven't had a detective error for some time. but this is the largest if not one of the largest nursing facilities in the united states with over 750 residents. we have staff there working to take the best care of our san francisco residents who need the best care. we are being vigilant and have extra staff to assist us. we are ting we can and hope -- not only hope, but taking the actions necessary to slow the spread of covid-19 in laguna honda as in elsewhere. i don't think we can say conclusively that we are out of the woods.

>> question: have any of the residents been moved out facility? >> answer: of those diagnosed with covid-19, there are several residents that have been moved out. i'm pleased to say they have returned to laguna honda and are in good condition. >> question: are deaths at long-term care facilities, such as at central gardens, included in san francisco's overall covid-19 death count? >>yes, they are. >> how many total people have died in long-term care facilities? >> answer: we have 113 cases in long-term care facilities. i don't have the number of at the times specific to those areas at this time. i also want to correct one pace

is the resident has an address near the facility. >> question: casa casada is criticizing the city for moving slowly on testing cases at their s.r.o.s. is the government now testing everyone in these environments and making more measures? >> answer: we are testing people with any symptom or if they are a close contact of a covid case, articles regardless of their symptoms. we're not at universal testing

yet, but we're increasing our ability to test more people. i understand people are very concerned, as i am, and people are fearful and scared. it's a scary time. basically, the data are that on april 13 the health department confirmed the first case of covid-19 at a -- in a residence of casa casada. on april 15, after a case investigation, a second resident tested positive. based on that and further investigations, we performed testing on site of all residents on april 19. we moved all residents and have closed the facility for cleaning. so we were responsive. we were following the investigation as we do across the city when there are outbr k

outbreaks like this and we were as responsive as we could be. >> thank you. our next questions are for director stewart-khan. >> question: regarding plans for the city's unsheltered homeless

population and possible safe places for them to go, two weeks ago today we were told that details on those plans would be provided in the coming days. what happened to that planning and those forthcoming details? >> answer: thanks for the opportunity to revisit again all of the steps taken around the unsheltered population and to speak to the potential for safe sleeping sites in san francisco. so as i shared on wednesday and so i will be briefed today, immediately as this outbreak became evident, the healthy streets outreach center caused the removal of any tents and pivoted immediately to providing education, access to care and services, and resources for people living unsheltered in our community. we are aware that many of the policies that have been taking to help people living in congregate settings have made things even more challenging for

people living unsheltered. that is a difficult reality that we are facing. those of us out and about in the community see there are many highly vulnerable individuals. we continue to take those steps he here. we are working on all of the steps for very specific and impacted neighborhoods, such as the tenderloin, the bayview, and the mission communities, where we see more density of people living unsheltered. we need to care and balance people living unsheltered and the basic needs for everyone living unsheltered in those communities. safe sleeping is still absolutely part of the conversation. i'm not sure what the timeline was that you're talking about, but i know it's under deep

discussion by many. the issue here is one of resources, and not necessarily financial resources, but rather that the very people who can help support safe sleeping sites are the same people who can open hotels. it doesn't happen one and then the other or one faster than the other. we need to look at all options for people experiencing homelessness. right now we are focused on moving people unsheltered directly into hotel rooms, which is the safest place for them to be when they are vulnerable to covid. and we are simultaneously evaluating safe sleeping sites across the. r -- city. >> thank you, director. that concludes our questions for today's press conference.

[♪]

>> we have private and public gardens throughout the garden tour. all of the gardens are volunteers. the only requirement is you're willing to show your garden for a day. so we have gardens that vary from all stages of development and all gardens, family gardens, private gardens, some of them as small as postage stamps and others pretty expansive. it's a variety -- all of the world is represented in our gardens here in the portola.

>> i have been coming to the portola garden tour for the past seven or eight years ever since i learned about it because it is the most important event of the neighborhood, and the reason it is so important is because it links this neighborhood back to its history. in the early 1800s the portola was farmland. the region's flowers were grown in this neighborhood. if you wanted flowers anywhere future bay area, you would come to this area to get them. in the past decade, the area has tried to reclaim its roots as the garden district. one of the ways it has done that is through the portola garden tour, where neighbors open their gardens open their gardens to

people of san francisco so they can share that history. >> when i started meeting with the neighbors and seeing their gardens, i came up with this idea that it would be a great idea to fundraise. we started doing this as a fund-raiser. since we established it, we awarded 23 scholarships and six work projects for the students. >> the scholarship programs that we have developed in association with the portola is just a win-win-win situation all around. >> the scholarship program is important because it helps people to be able to tin in their situation and afford to take classes. >> i was not sure how i would stay in san francisco. it is so expensive here. i prayed so i would receive enough so i could stay in san francisco and finish my school,

which is fantastic, because i don't know where else i would have gone to finish. >> the scholarships make the difference between students being able to stay here in the city and take classes and having to go somewhere else. [♪] [♪] >> you come into someone's home and it's they're private and personal space. it's all about them and really their garden and in the city and urban environment, the garden is the extension of their indoor environment, their outdoor living room. >> why are you here at this garden core? it's amazing and i volunteer here every year. this is fantastic. it's a beautiful day. you walk around and look at gardens. you meet people that love gardens. it's fantastic. >> the portola garden tour is

the last saturday in september every year. mark your calendars every year. you can see us on the website

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

business registration. >> i'm michael cirocco and the owner of an area bakery. ♪ the bakery started in 191. my grandfather came over from italy and opened it up then. it is a small operation. it's not big. so everything is kind of quality that way. so i see every piece and cut every piece that comes in and out of that oven. >> i'm leslie cirocco-mitchell, a fourth generation baker here with my family. ♪ so we get up pretty early in the morning. i usually start baking around 5:00. and then you just start doing rounds of dough. loaves. >> my mom and sister basically

handle the front and then i have my nephew james helps and then my two daughters and my wife come in and we actually do the baking. after that, my mom and my sister stay and sell the product, retail it. ♪ you know, i don't really think about it. but then when i -- sometimes when i go places and i look and see places put up, oh this is our 50th anniversary and everything and we've been over 100 and that is when it kind of hits me. you know, that geez, we've been here a long time. [applause] ♪ >> a lot of people might ask why our legacy business is important. we all have our own stories to tell about our ancestry. our lineage and i'll use one example of tommy's joint. tommy's joint is a place that my husband went to as a child

and he's a fourth generation san franciscan. it's a place we can still go to today with our children or grandchildren and share the stories of what was san francisco like back in the 1950s. >> i'm the general manager at tommy's joint. people mostly recognize tommy's joint for its murals on the outside of the building. very bright blue. you drive down and see what it is. they know the building. tommy's is a san francisco hoffa, which is a german-style presenting food. we have five different carved meats and we carve it by hand at the station. you prefer it to be carved whether you like your brisket fatty or want it lean. you want your pastrami to be

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

>> the service that san francisco heritage offers to the legacy businesses is to help them with that application process, to make sure that they really recognize about them what it is that makes them so special here in san francisco. ♪ so we'll help them with that application process if, in fact, the board of supervisors does recognize them as a legacy business, then that does entitle them to certain financial benefits from the city of san francisco. but i say really, more importantly, it really brings them public recognition that this is a business in san francisco that has history and that is unique to san francisco. >> it started in june of 1953. ♪

and we make everything from scratch. everything. we started a you -- we started a off with 12 flavors and mango fruits from the philippines and then started trying them one by one and the family had a whole new clientele. the business really boomed after that. >> i think that the flavors we make reflect the diversity of san francisco. we were really surprised about the legacy project but we were thrilled to be a part of it. businesses come and go in the city. pretty tough for businesss to stay here because it is so expensive and there's so much competition. so for us who have been here all these years and still be popular and to be recognized by the city has been really a huge

honor. >> we got a phone call from a woman who was 91 and she wanted to know if the mitchells still owned it and she was so happy that we were still involved, still the owners. she was our customer in 1953. and she still comes in. but she was just making sure that we were still around and it just makes us feel, you know, very proud that we're carrying on our father's legacy. and that we mean so much to so many people. ♪ >> it provides a perspective. and i think if you only looked at it in the here and now, you're missing the context. for me, legacy businesses, legacy bars and restaurants are really about setting the context for how we come to be where we are today. >> i just think it's part of

san francisco. people like to see familiar stuff. at least i know i do. >> in the 1950s, you could see a picture of tommy's joint and looks exactly the same. we haven't change add thing. >> i remember one lady saying, you know, i've been eating this ice cream since before i was born. and i thought, wow! we have, too. ♪ >> after my fire in my apartment and losing everything, the red cross gave us a list of agencies in the city to reach out to and i signed up for the below-market rate program. i got my certificate and started applying and won the housing lottery. [♪]

>> the current lottery program began in 2016. but there have been lot rows that have happened for affordable housing in the city for much longer than that. it was -- there was no standard practice. for non-profit organizations that were providing affordable housing with low in the city, they all did their lotteries on their own. private developers that include in their buildings affordable units, those are the city we've been monitoring for some time since 1992. we did it with something like this. where people were given circus tickets. we game into 291st century in 2016 and started doing electronic lotteries. at the same time, we started electronic applications systems. called dalia. the lottery is completely free.

you can apply two ways. you can submit a paper application, which you can download from the listing itself. if you a plo apply online, it wl take five minutes. you can make it easier creating an account. to get to dalia, you log on to housing.sfgov.org. >> i have lived in san francisco for almost 42 years. i was born here in the hayes valley. >> i applied for the san francisco affordable housing lottery three times. >> since 2016, we've had about 265 electronic lotteries and almost 2,000 people have got their home through the lottery system. if you go into the listing, you can actually just press lottery

results and you put in your lottery number and it will tell you exactly how you ranked. >> for some people, signing up for it was going to be a challenge. there is a digital divide here and especially when you are trying to help low and very low income people. so we began providing digital assistance for folks to go in and get help. >> along with the income and the residency requirements, we also required someone who is trying to buy the home to be a first time home buyer and there's also an educational component that consists of an orientation that they need to attend, a first-time home buyer workshop and a one-on-one counseling session with the housing councilor. >> sometimes we have to go through 10 applicants before

they shouldn't be discouraged if they have a low lottery number. they still might get a value for an available, affordable housing unit. >> we have a variety of lottery programs. the four that you will most often see are what we call c.o.p., the certificate of preference program, the dthp which is the displaced penance housing preference program. the neighborhood resident housing program and the live worth preference. >> i moved in my new home february 25th and 2019. the neighborhood preference program really helped me achieve that goal and that dream was with eventually wind up staying in san francisco. >> the next steps, after finding out how well you did in the lottery and especially if you ranked really well you will be contacted by the leasing agent. you have to submit those

document and income and asset qualify and you have to pass the credit and rental screening and the background and when you qualify for the unit, you can chose the unit and hopefully sign that lease. all city sponsored affordable housing comes through the system and has an electronic lottery. every week there's a listing on dalia. something that people can apply for. >> it's a bit hard to predict how long it will take for someone to be able to move into a unit. let's say the lottery has happened. several factors go into that and mainly how many units are in the project, right. and how well you ranked and what preference bucket you were in. >> this particular building was brand new and really this is the one that i wanted out of everything i applied for. in my mind, i was like how am i going to win this?

i did and when you get that notice that you won, it's like at first, it's surreal and you don't believe it and it sinks in, yeah, it happened. >> some of our buildings are pretty spectacular. they have key less entry now. they have a court yard where they play movies during the weekends, they have another master kitchen and space where people can throw parties. >> mayor breed has a plan for over 10,000 new units between now and 2025. we will start construction on about 2,000 new units just in 2020. >> we also have a very big portfolio like over 25,000 units across the city. and life happens to people. people move. so we have a very large number of rerentals and resales of

units every year. >> best thing about working for the affordable housing program is that we know that we're making a difference and we actually see that difference on a day-to-day basis. >> being back in the neighborhood i grew up in, it's a wonderful experience. >> it's a long process to get through. well worth it when you get to the other side. i could not be happier. i could not be happier.

>> good afternoon. welcome to the land use and transport community. this is april 20, 2020. >> madam clerk,co, could you ple call the role. to(role call). >> you have a co quorum. >> any announcment? >> due to the covid-19 and to protect bored members, the

legislative chamber and committee room are closed. however, members will be participating remotely as if they were physically present. public comment will be available for each item and both channel 26 an26 and each person will be allowed two minutes to speak. you can all (888)204-5984. access code 350-1008. press pound and pound again. when you're connected dial 1 and then 0 to speak. you'll be lined up in the order you dial 1 and 0. while you're waiting the system will be silent. the system will notify you when you're in line and waiting. all callers will remain on mute until their line is open and

best practises to call are from a quiet location, speak clearly and slowly and turn down your television and radio. you may submit public comment. oif you submit comment via elizabeth mayelizabethemailit w. >> thank you, and let's be clear, that is erica with a c k and not witand not with a k. i would like to thank john cee, arthur coo to bringing this virtual meeting to the public

and with that, could you please read the first item. >> an emergency ordinance to temporarily prohibit what would be permitted under the code due to the covid-19 pandemic. >> thank you, madam clerk is i would like to thank my cosponsors supervisors preston, ronan, fewer and hainy. robert collins is on hand if colleagues, you have any questions. as the clerk stated this is a pretty straightforward emergency ordinance and it lasts about 60 days and prohibit any lords imposing a rent resident rent iy tenant and that would apply to

as of increases that are set forth under chapter 37 the administrative code, as well as utility and capital improvement pass-throughs and i want to thank the san francisco apartment association that has been cooperative and supportive of this legislation. indeed, if you look on their website, this is the advice they have been giving to landlords, including small landlords like myself and i want to thank the tenant advocacy community and many, many people will be terribly -- are already terribly impacted by this crisis and i want to say to all of them that whether it is supervisor preston or the mayor, we are not only dealing with the current situation but we're very focused on our recovery.

with that, colleagues, do you have any questions for myself or mr. collins? >> maybe i should look at my little chat button. there's nothing on the chat button. >> supervisor preston. >> i have no questions on this. i wanted to thank you, chair peskin for bringing this forward. i think this is a straightforward but absolutely essential item right now and, you know, i get asked by some why we need a law like this and just to be clear, it's not to deal with the many responsible and landlords out there who wouldn't think of imposing rent

on their tenants at a time like this, but to deal wi with the landlords who are charging rent increases that folks cannot afford at this time. i look forward to moving it through the board as quick as possible. >> if it is forwarded, it would be a full board of supervisors tomorrow and retroactive to the date of introduction on the seventh day of april. supervisor searc safayi, any co. >> no, questions. i wanted to say that i appreciate this. it's unfortunate that we actually have to go through this right now. i think most people are asking

for some sort of rent relief, vacation not paying at this time and we're all going through difficult times and so we really appreciate you sending this forward and putting it out there. and i'm happy that this is moving forward in an aggressive manner to help people that might otherwise somehow or another have a rent increase. and i would like to be added as a sponsor, as well. >> thank you, and i'm sure miss major will add you as a cosponsor. and i want to concur with the comments of supervisor preston, which is that the vast majority of property owners who have residential tenants have been behaving exactly the way everybody else in society has been behaving. i brought this forward because i know that there are a handful of

players, including, unfortunately, some that own thousands of units that are not similarly disposed. soy thought we should get ahead of this. i want to thank supervisor fewer and her staff because they have entered the forefront of addressing issues about inappropriate pass-throughs. they were the office that terminated the pass-through on mortgage interest and so i wanted to thank supervisor fewer for her cosponsorship. i would like to open it up for public comment with that. miss major, say your magic words, please. >> mr. chair, staff is checking if there are any callers. >> mr. chair, please allow me a second to check the cue.

>> there are no callers wishing to speak. >> wow! thanobody can figure out how toe our appropriate technology. seeing no members of the public for public comment, public comment is closed. i knock my knuckles on my table and with that, colleagues, i would like to make a motion to send this item, item number 1, to the full board of supervisors as a committee report with positive recommendations. on that motion, madam clerk, a role call, please point. >> on a motion to recommend as the committee reports, supervisor preston. >> aye. >> supervisor safai. >> aye. >> supervisor peskin. >> aye. >> you have three ayes. >> madam clar clerk, the next i.

>> approving the list of projects t fiscal year '21. the road accountability act of 2017. members of the public who wish to provide public comment should call the number on the screen and press 1 and then 0 to line up. >> thank you, miss major. colleagues this is something that we have done on a number of occasions since the passage of senate bill one. it's $24.5 million tor paving and curb ramps. we have a presentation from the department of public works. mr. kinania, the floor is yours.

>> i'm with public works and the resolution for you to today is to adopt a project that would receive fiscal '20 and '21 for the roads fund. it requires adoption.

attached is a project list including blocks that have been identified and all of the projects are currently this design and would be advertised for construction in the second half of this year or the first half of 2021. also attached is a map of the owed blocks to be repaved using armory funds. this concludes my remarks and i'm joined by ramon for our paving program. >> hello, this is aaron peskin here and so as long i've been on the board of supervisors, all of our street resurfacing projects as opposed to curb ramps have been have been a function of the

pavement condition projects? and can you please explain that system to the committee? >> yes, all of these blocks, 269 blocks have been gone through the condition survey and just brief description of what the pci in a pavement condition index.

one of the criteria is the pci score. and there are motor routes, 20 bicycle routes and also, we are looking for the project readiness and the companies. that's very crucial and we try fine a synergy on combined projects and look into combining all of that and minimize to the public during construction. >> thank you, mr. collins, for that high level overview.

many, many years ago, as our street paving scorer, if you were, was living, we tried to find -- this is in an era when state and federal funding for street repaving was dropping. we tried to set ambitious goals and in those day, supervisor el elsburn and i have found sources of money and there's been one issue and i think the last time we had this conversation a couple of years ago, you guys were shooting for a pci of 74. how is that going city-wide? >> thank you. yes, we're on track thanks to the funding we've been receiving

for the last, i would say, seven to eight years. there were cops and the go was passed and with the supplements of the general fun money, we've been able to consistently maintain the level of funding for the last seven or eight years and we're on track. when we started with the go bond, the pci score, i believe, was 69 and right now we are 74. the last six years we increased the score to 74 and if we continue to receive the same amount of funding, we'll get to 75 in the next two years. >> well, god willing, the gas would drop and we'll continue to have funds for this effort.

>> that's broadly a question for oscar. did you have any indication of the funding for gas tax? >> mr. kinania, do you want to look into your crystal ball? >> we've been advised to wait for the california department of finance to issue a revise revisl sometime in may. an important factor that was included in bill 1 was that the gas tax is based on the volume and not on the price of gas. so this will happen stabilize revenues for local jurisdictions and also makes it less elastic to impact. while we don't know at this point, we anticipate an impact and hopefully it's not as significant because of the changes that were adopted in bill 1. >> but diesel gas is plum plumm,

is that correct, by volume and by price? >> there's likely been an impact this month for sure. we're going to have to wait and see how fast it picks up and what levels it maintains in the next few months. >> well, thank you for that presentation and just to reiterate what i think i heard mr. kahn say, is that you use the pci, but you also use other indicators including whether there are bicycle lanes and what i was taught fundamentally 15 years ago is that if the pavement condition index drops below a certain point, the cost of dealing wi dealing with the b structure of the streets rises exponentially. can you tell us how you score

those other things separate and apart from the pci? >> yes, basically, the pci score cost an entire block and as surveyors, the consultants that we have, they go out to the field every year and they look at the entire block from curb to curb and they look the the condition of the street and they are looking to the rattling, the ratability of the street. so you're right, depending on the pci score, we have different treatments. a newly paved, i want to say five or six years and we try to maintain a little bit longer and try to extend the life of it. so in those cases, we apply microsurfacing and basically it's a layer of oil.

>> you mean like slurry? >> that's right it's a term similar to the microsurfacing. the beauty of the microsurfacing is that it dries out in three to five hours and the slurry takes 12 hours to 18 hours to dry out and that causes some disruptions for residents getting to their entrances. so in the city, we use microsurfacing. >> understood, thank you for ed edifying me. small potholes, we resurface both streets. the average cost is roughly 50

to 100,000 of block. i need to go between $150,000 to 400 to $500,000 depending on the condition of the street. we're treating right now residential streets. and we also are trying to treat a lot of the collector collectoh older agencies.

>> why are the number of curb ramps to be determined as compared to 51-52? >> it has been evaluated in a high level and, basically, once we get to the design phase, once it goes to the fill, and does an appropriate evaluation, whether or not it needs to be replaced. it may not need to be replaced. they comply with the ada requirements and it's hard to determine whether or not they need to be replaced. the own way i only way is to goe field, decide whether they have the right grade and decide whether to replace it. >> the $24.5 million is still

sufficient for the number of occur ramps? >> yes, it will be sufficient because this is kind of like an older estimate. at s will have to sharpen their pencils and do a cost of the project. but this is actually a good estimate, you know, with $24.5 million. >> thank you both. supervisors, any questions or comments? >> yes, chair. >> i wanted to say the resurfacing has been done in my district over the last three years. it has been tremendous and the citizens have been waiting, in many cases, in the streets for decks for thidecades for this we done. short-term convenience and

long-term appreciation for all of the hard work. so keep up the hard work and keep repaving my district and we'll continue to have smooth surfaces for our pedestrians, our cars and bicyclists. thank you. >> and i do note that there are a few blue lines on the 2021 rmra funding map in i. any questions or comments? >> no comments, thank you. >> are there any members of the public who would like to testify on this item number two? >> mr. chair, checking to see if there are any callers in cue. >> thank you, miss major. >> no callers wishing to speak.

>> can we have a motion to send this to full board with recommendation in the normal course of business. >> so moved. >> moved by supervisor preston and so far, there's own thre one of us. madam clerk, please call the role. >> on the motion to recommend, supervisor preston. >> aye. >> supervisor safayi. >> aye. >> supervisor peskin. >> aye. >> you have three ayes. >> thank you, madam clerk and could you please read the third and final item. >> a resolution to declare the intention effort board of supervisors to change the street name of wil willow street to eal gauge junior street to honor his impact on the san francisco firefighting community. >> thank you, miss major. this was sponsored by supervisor

preston and cosponsored by myself and supervisors ronen, walton and ye ane. supervisor walton, the floor is yours. >> thank you, chair peskin. my office has been work wig the san francisco black firefighter's association to commemorate the late earl gauge, jr. by renaming a city street in his honor and i want to thank the black firefighter's association president, sherman tillman for his leadership on this, for bringing this to our attention and i'm proud to be able to stand with black firefighter's association and president tillman in this long-standing effort to get a street named in honor of earl gauge, jr.

briefly, mr. earl, jr. moved to sanfrancisco in 1985. he was a life-long lover of the 69ers. in 1955, when hired by the san francisco fire department, he became the first black firefighter in san francisco. for over a decade, he remained the only black firefighter and served for 30 years. through his historic career, earl gauge, jr. worked diligently for the san francisco fire recruitment. prior to his retirement from the department in 1983, he served as the department's director the community services and enacted a

series of progressive hiring policies that increased racial diversity within the department and in turn, in our city government. he passed away on july 30th of 2017, at the age of 90. his legacy of staunch dedication of the defense of civil rights and the people of san francisco continues to shape san francisco fire department policy and empower advocatcy across our city. the resolution before us seeks to memorialize this icon by changing the name of willow street between bucannon and la goo thalaguna to earl gauge, jr. street. my office performed an initial outreach along this one block street section in question and found a great deal of enthusiasm for this proposal. our outreach was prior to the legally prior outreach, just

something we wanted to do early on to make sure all voices were heard in the community before we commenced in process. we had a strong support from nearby places, as well as rosa parks and the plaza east. so i'm honored to be able to advancing this, moving this forward and i hope you'll join me in honoring the member of this civil right's hero by supporting the resolution to rename wil willow street. >> i want to remind members of the public to press 1 and 0 to line up to speak. >> thank you, miss job. major. let me associate myself with the words of supervisor preston, first by commending captain sherman philman who i have known

for many years in station 13, the downtown high pressure station, where i'm going to get him in trouble. he lead the effort to prevent a cell phone tower from being put on top of that station. he is now the captain of the alley cats, station number two and that serves chinatown and north beach and i want to commend captain tillman for bringing supervisor preston and the board and i also want to remark that it is really amazing that this one individual, mr. gauge, was the ownly african-american firefighter for 12 years and that is long before the consent decree that judge conte imposed upon san francisco to integrate another only our fire department but police department.

he was a pioneer and i am delighted to be a cosponsor of this and supervisor safayi, anything to add. >> i would like to associate myself to supervisor's preston's comments and congratulate mr. tillman for all of his hard work and on behalf of the black firefighters, i know for many years they struggled and many years they fought and tried to have their voices heard and now, it is with great pride that the head of local 798, shawn buford leads them with pride. i wanted to be added as a cosponsor and thank you to supervisor preston for his hard work on this. >> any members of the public who would like to testify?

>> staff is checking to see if there are any callers in coo. cue. >> madam chair, i just got a note from mr. shawn buford and said it's not working but wanted to convey his strong support. he was trying to call in and this is an important measure and wanted to thank supervisor preston for his hard work on this. do you want to reiterate how people can call in again? >> i'll read the 800 number. the number is (888)204-5984. the access code is 350-1008. press pound and then pound again. you'll hear a prompt to be added

to the cue. press 1 and 0 and you will be added and then it will prompt you when public comment is open. again, that's (888)204-5984. access code 350-1008 and the number is streaming on the screen. >> and madam clerk, i have just received a message from captain tillman who like the president of local 798, the firefighter's union is also having trouble getting in and i am happy to wait until they are able to access this system. and it does raise concerns for me that there may be members of the public who are having trouble participating in democracy and despite all of our incredible best efforts, so let's wait until they get spot

system. >> he's saying he can hear but can't get on the line. >> captain tillman said, can't get in. so miss major reiterated the instructions, so let's just stand by and see if they can get in. and i will check my emails. >> he might be in now. >> it should be open now. i have it confirming that the number is working and available. checking with operations for callers in cue. >> mr. chair, there are currently six callers in line in the cue waiting to speak. i will cue the first cardiovascular. caller. >> hello, caller. >> operator: you have six questions remaining.

>> question: hi, i'm here. can you hear me? >> yes, you have two minutes to speak. >> question: my name is firefighter chief siracca. firefighter gauge was an extraordinary citizen and patriot who withstood a tremendous amount of racism and harassment to make a path for current firefighters such as myself and it is for this reason is many others i urge members of this community to support the resolution. that is all. >> thank you, caller, for your comments. >> operator: you have five questions remaining.

>> question: thank you, i'm lawrence thomas and i'm the first african-american hired as an h1-10, marine engineer in the san francisco fire department. mr. gauge is a huge situation to me. i was an army veteran and his exploits in the fire department of being the first african-american firefighters of over 12 years. so i whole heartedly agree to -- i'm with the measure on board to change the name to the street of earl gauge, jr. and i really support that and that's it. >> thank you, sir. >> operations, another caller? >> operator: you have four questions remaining.

>> question: this is gloria barry. can you hear me in. >> yes, we can. you have two minutes to speak. >> question: thank you very much. i'm calling in support of the resolution to change the name of willow street to earl gauge, jr. street. i'm a native. i have lived in the phimore for 8 years. i'll be a future colleague of keith b ararraca and this is important to be able to rise in the ranks of the firefighters is quite an achievement and that's all for my comments.

>> operator: you have three questions remaining. >> question: can you hear me? >> yes, we can. >> great. this is captain fillman, president of the san francisco black firefighters, thank you for having me. he was san francisco's firefighter jackie robinson. unlike jackie robinson, he was the own black firefighter for 12 years. firefighting is a team effort and to feel all alone in this profession for days or weeks would be a tremendous toll to any one person with mental health but for 12 years, this man was all alone. turning back, being alone all around to make this into a positive and being instrumental in helping not only black americans get into the fire department, but all colors and

races to get this is nothing short amazing. san francisco black firefighters whole heartedly engages this. all of san francisco should be proud of this legacy, of this moment, for this man's courage and the history that myself, all of the black firefighters in san francisco represent. i want to thank you for having me. i want to thank supervisor preston, supervisor peskin, and all of the other supervisors who will help to bring this street to fruition. thank you. >> thank you. >> stay safe and we'll see you in the neighborhood some time soon. next speaker. >> operator: you have two

questions remaining. >> hello, caller. >> question: good afternoon, supervisors. this is shawn buford. can you hear me? >> yes. >> please proceed. >> question: good afternoon. this is the president of the san francisco firefighter's local 798. i want to thank sherman for bringing this to the supervisors. i thank you for moving it forward, for all of the cosponsor, supervisor peskin, i would like to thank you guys for bringing this forward. i'm calling to show my support. i did get a chance to meet earl gauge, jr. before his passing. he was an inspiration to know that he was a person to help set

the stage that allow myself to become a member of the fire department. with that said, i wanted to call in and make sure that was on record, to support this resolution and to thank you all personally for moving this forward. so again, thank you. >> thank you, mr. buford. next speaker, please. >> operator: you have one question remaining. >> i'm dustin wynn. i'm a proud member of local 798 and the black firefighter association, as well, and a proud member of the san francisco fire department is i whole heartedly wanted to push this forward because like so many other of us who have been able to see trailblazers is what this mr. gauge, jr. was, in the san francisco fire department, who paved the way to

allow people like myself to come up the ranks, it would be a privilege and an honor to see his name on one of out city streets. i live a few blocks away from willow street now. i'm a native of san francisco and it would an honor to see his name put up on a street, and important to acknowledge with the number of african-americans in the san francisco community which seems to drop a quarter of a percent or so each year to recognize those who have come before us, not only to acknowledge what he had to go through, but to acknowledge it was those types of individuals that allowed us to be where we're at today. and so i would like to thank all of the supervisors and thank the president of the black firefighter's association, as well as our president shawn buford for cosigning on this, as well, and supporting it. it won't be a true honor and privilege to see this everyday

as i drive by my open neighborhood. thank you to all of you for doing what you do. >> thank you, sir. are there any other members of the public who would like to testify on this item? >> mr. chair, that concludes all of the speaks. >> public comment is closed and supervisor preston, thank you so much for bringing this. it may be the highlight of our week. with that, sou supervisor prest, would you like to make a motion or any additional comments? >> i wanted to thank everyone who called in and in particular, mr. buford and mr. tillman, mr. barr arc ca, foaca.

thank you to all. i wanted to thank the public to use this opportunity of the renaming expect process of moving toward it as an opportunity to educate the public, educate folks at nearby rosa park's elementary school and others in the community and across the city about the incredible legacy of earl gauge, jr. if you're interested, please contact us, preston staff@sfgov.org. it's not a part of this resolution, but we are also working to see what other street improvements, potentially art along the street and other things that could be added in addition to the renaming and, again, would love to have folks who have an interest in earl gauge, jr.'s legacy to join in those efforts. with that, i would like to move this with recommendation.

>> pardon the interruption, it looks liklooks like they're tryt another set of comments in. do we an additional caller? >> no, we do not. >> ok, public comment is closed again. thank you, miss major. we always want to error on the side of public participation. to supervisor preston, to local 798, to the black firefighter's, i look forward to an appropriate socially distanced sign in the weeks to come and i know that jeremy spitz will ensure that that sign is fabricated and ready for installation and i

look forward to a healthy celebration ahead. with that, a motion has been made by supervisor preston and madam clerk, please call the role. on the motion to recommend by supervisor preston, supervisor preston. >> aye. >> supervisor safayi. >> as >> aye. >> supervisor peskin. >> aye. >> you have three ayes. the item is approved and that concludes our meeting. we are adjourned. >> thank you. >> thank you.

[♪]

>> i am the supervisor of district one. i am sandra lee fewer. [♪] >> i moved to the richmond district in 1950 mine. i was two years old. i moved from chinatown and we were one of the first asian families to move out here. [♪] >> when my mother decided to buy that house, nobody knew where it was. it seems so far away. for a long time, we were the only chinese family there but we started to see the areas of growth to serve a larger chinese population. the stress was storage of the birthplace of that. my father would have to go to chinatown for dim sum and i remember one day he came home and said, there is one here now. it just started to grow very organically. it is the same thing with the russian population, which is

another very large ethnic group in the richmond district. as russia started to move in, we saw more russian stores. so parts of the richmond is very concentrated with the russian community and immigrant russian community, and also a chinese immigrant community. [♪] >> i think as living here in the richmond, we really appreciate the fact that we are surrounded three natural barriers. they are beautiful barriers. the presidio which gives us so many trails to walk through, ocean beach, for families to just go to the beach and be in the pacific ocean. we also also have a national park service. we boarded the golden gate national recreation area so there is a lot of activity to do in the summer time you see people with bonfires.

but really families enjoying the beach and the pacific ocean during the rest of the time of year. [♪] >> and golden gate park where we have so many of our treasures here. we have the tea garden, the museum and the academy of sciences. not to mention the wonderful playgrounds that we have here in richmond. this is why i say the richmond is a great place for families. the theatre is a treasure in our neighborhood. it has been around for a very long time. is one of our two neighborhood theatres that we have here. i moved here when i was 1959 when i was two years old. we would always go here. i love these neighborhood theatres. it is one of the places that has not only a landmark in the richmond district, but also in san francisco. small theatres showing one or two films. a unique -- they are unique also

to the neighborhood and san francisco. >> where we are today is the heart of the richmond district. with what is unique is that it is also small businesses. there is a different retail here it is mom and pop opening up businesses. and providing for the neighborhood. this is what we love about the streets. the cora door starts on clement street and goes all the way down to the end of clement where you will see small businesses even towards 32nd. at the core of it is right here between here and 20 -- tenth avenue. when we see this variety of stores offered here, it is very unique then of the -- any other part of san francisco. there is traditional irish music which you don't get hardly anywhere in san francisco. some places have this long legacy of serving ice cream and

being a hangout for families to have a sunday afternoon ice cream. and then also, we see grocery stores. and also these restaurants that are just new here, but also thriving. [♪] >> we are seeing restaurants being switched over by hand, new owners, but what we are seeing is a vibrancy of clement street still being recaptured within new businesses that are coming in. that is a really great thing to see. i don't know when i started to shop here, but it was probably a very, very long time ago. i like to cook a lot but i like to cook chinese food. the market is the place i like to come to once a year. once i like about the market as it is very affordable. it has fresh produce and fresh meat. also, seafood. but they also offer a large selection of condiments and sauces and noodles.

a variety of rice that they have is tremendous. i don't thank you can find a variety like that anywhere else. >> hi. i am kevin wong. i am the manager. in 1989 we move from chinatown to richmond district. we have opened for a bit, over 29 years. we carry products from thailand, japan, indonesia, vietnam, singapore and india. we try to keep everything fresh daily. so a customer can get the best out a bit. >> normally during crab season in november, this is the first place i hit. because they have really just really fresh crab. this is something my family really likes for me to make. also, from my traditional chinese food, i love to make a kale soup. they cut it to the size they

really want. i am probably here once a week. i'm very familiar with the aisles and they know everyone who is a cashier -- cashier here i know when people come into a market such as this, it looks like an asian supermarkets, which it is and sometimes it can be intimidating. we don't speak the language and many of the labels are in chinese, you may not know what to buy or if it is the proper ingredients for the recipe are trying to make. i do see a lot of people here with a recipe card or sometimes with a magazine and they are looking for specific items. the staff here is very helpful. i speak very little chinese here myself. thinks that i'm not sure about, i asked the clerk his and i say is this what i need? is this what i should be making? and they actually really helped me. they will bring me to the aisle and say this is battery. they are very knowledgeable. very friendly. i think they are here to serve not only the asian community but to serve all communities in the richmond district and in san francisco.

[♪] >> what is wonderful about living here is that even though our july is a very foggy and overcast, best neighborhood, the sleepy part outside on the west side is so rich with history, but also with all the amenities that are offered. [♪] >> announcer: you're watching "coping with covid-19." today's special guest is lindsey holmes. >> hi, i'm chris manus and you're watching "coping with covid-19." today my guest is founder and c.e.o. of dispatch goods and former clinical profusionist at ucsf. she start add new initiative called project clean to provide

alcohol-based cleaning products and hand sanitizers to at-risk bay area communities. lindsey, welcome to the show. >> thank you so much for having me. it's lovely to see you. tell us a little about your background and how dispatched goods of san francisco's restaurant community. >> sure. we launched, in october, we've been working on this for a little over a year. and we partnered with restaurants to provide them with a free reusable container system that could replace single-use products. we partnered with yelp! headquarters in downtown san francisco and 10 restaurant partners as of february before covid-19 hit and employees at our corporate partners could request the reusable containers when they were getting their lunch for takeout or if they were getting it delivered to their office. we then handled the pickup and dish washing. >> so, obviously the virus

pandemic has hit and now you've had to pivot your company and i understand you lunched a new initiative called "project clean." can you let us know what the program is all about? >> sure. so we basically -- when this hit, we asked ok, what we do we have and how can we help? we also noticed there was a gap in the supply for hand sanitizers to certain community members and individuals and we talked to a distillery about making hand sanitizer and, in true form to our mission, we decided i bet we could collect enough containers from the community that we wouldn't have to supply more single-use plastic containers and we launched project clean and with that, we collected over 200 containers. they're spray squeeze bottles and working on supplying the cleaning products. >> what has the response been

from the community at-large and how have peopled help? >> we're donation-based and self-funded right now. we are buying basically the products at cost and is not charging us much for that. they're also just trying to cover our expenses and we had a little bit of donations coming in. but if you go to our website, you can either donate containers that you have, we'll come do pickup. we're doing it twice a week now. or if you yourself need any of the cleaning products, you can fill out the form and request those as well. and then there is also a place to make a donation. >> so, where are you handing out the hand sanitizer right now? >> we're doing it in the same route as the drop-off route. so, the hand sanitizer will be finished today. so, tomorrow we'll be doing our first round of drop-offs and

we've been contacted by health care professionals who after they come home have nothing on their hands there. we have been contacted by retirement communities and contacted by physicians in their offices that they don't have anything and a individuals that just weren't able to get the supplies because they were sold out so quickly. basically during our normal pickup routes now, we will be doing the drop-off as well. >> that is fantastic. you know, i think that is a wonderful service you are providing, lindsey. thank you so much for coming on the show and keep up the good work. >> thank you so much, chris! i really appreciate it. >> and that is it for this episode. we'll be back with more stories shortly. you've been watching "coping with covid-19." i'm chris manus, thank you for watching.

>> this is the san francisco board of appeals. president and lazarus will be joined by honda, and santacana. also present is