>> clerk: september 9, 2020 meeting of the treasure island board of directors must be adjourned due to lack of quorum. director tsen, do you have any comments? >> can you hear me now? we have two vacancies on our commission, which makes meeting a quorum difficult. with the difficult air that we're having, keep well, mark, and i hope that we kn-- that y

all will keep safe and well. are there any callers on the line that would like to make any comments? >> clerk: director tsen, i don't see any callers on the line. >> and then, are there any commissioners that would like to make any comments? >> yes, this is linda fadeke richardson. i apologize to anyone watching right now, and with everything going on out there, we all need to take extra precautions.

so we will reconvene, and we will get the ball rolling another time. >> all right. so hearing no public comment, we can now adjourn. >> director tsen, i did just want to mention for people that will be on the listening that we will have an infrastructure committee next week, so look for that agenda, and informational items that were on today's agenda will be moved to that committee. >> okay. thank you. that will be tuesday -- next tuesday will be that meeting, yeah. okay. >> it's early in the morning, so just know that it's very early in the morning. i think it's 9:00 a.m. >> yeah. >> okay. all right. >> well, thank you all, and we'll see you soon. >> thank you. >> bye-bye. >> bye.

>> he is a real leader that listens and knows how to bring people together. brought this department together like never before. i am so excited to be swearing in the next chief of the san francisco fire department, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome, jeanine nicholson. (applause). >> i grew up total tomboy, athlete. i loved a good crisis, a good challenge. i grew up across the street from the fire station. my dad used to take me there to vote. i never saw any female

firefighters because there weren't any in the 1970s. i didn't know i could be a fire fighter. when i moved to san francisco in 1990, some things opened up. i saw women doing things they hadn't been doing when i was growing up. one thing was firefighting. a woman recruited me at the gay-pride parade in 1991. it was a perfect fit. i liked using my brain, body, working as a team, figuring things out, troubleshooting and coming up with different ways to solve a problem. in terms of coming in after another female chief, i don't think anybody says that about men. you are coming in after another man, chief, what is that like. i understand why it is asked. it is unusual to have a woman in this position.

i think san francisco is a trailblazer in that way in terms of showing the world what can happen and what other people who may not look like what you think the fire chief should look like how they can be successful. be asked me about being the first lbgq i have an understands because there are little queer kids that see me. i worked my way up. i came in january of 1994. i built relationships over the years, and i spent 24 years in the field, as we call it. working out of firehouses. the fire department is a family. we live together, eat together, sleep in the same dorm together, go to crazy calls together, dangerous calls and we have to look out for one another. when i was burned in a fire years ago and i felt

responsible, i felt awful. i didn't want to talk to any of my civilian friends. they couldn't understand what i was going through. the firefighters knew, they understood. they had been there. it is a different relationship. we have to rely on one another. in terms of me being the chief of the department, i am really trying to maintain an open relationship with all of our members in the field so myself and my deputy chiefs, one of the priorities i had was for each of us to go around to different fire stations to make sure we hit all within the first three or four months to start a conversation. that hasn't been there for a while. part of the reason that i am getting along well with the field now is because i was there. i worked there. people know me and because i know what we need. i know what they need to be

successful. >> i have known jeanine nicholson since we worked together at station 15. i have always held her in the highest regard. since she is the chief she has infused the department with optimism. she is easy to approach and is concerned with the firefighters and paramedics. i appreciate that she is concerned with the issues relevant to the fire department today. >> there is a retired captain who started the cancer prevention foundation 10 years ago because he had cancer and he noticed fellow firefighters were getting cancer. he started looking into it. in 2012 i was diagnosed with breast canner, and some of my fellow firefighters noticed

there are a lot of women in the san francisco fire department, premenopausal in their 40s getting breast cancer. it was a higher rate than the general population. we were working with workers comp to make it flow more easily for our members so they didn't have to worry about the paper work when they go through chemo. the turnout gear was covered with suit. it was a badge to have that all over your coat and face and helmet. the dirtier you were the harder you worked. that is a cancer causeser. it -- casser. it is not -- cancer causer. there islassic everywhere. we had to reduce our exposure.

we washed our gear more often, we didn't take gear where we were eating or sleeping. we started decontaminating ourselves at the fire scene after the fire was out. going back to the fire station and then taking a shower. i have taught, worked on the decontamination policy to be sure that gets through. it is not if or when. it is who is the next person. it is like a cancer sniper out there. who is going to get it next. one of the things i love about the fire department. it is always a team effort. you are my family. i love the city and department and i love being of service. i vow to work hard -- to work hard to carry out the vision of

the san francisco fire department and to move us forward in a positive way. if i were to give a little advice to women and queer kids, find people to support you. keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trying. you never know what door is going to open next. you really don't. [cheers and

>> i went through a lot of struggles in my life, and i am blessed to be part of this. i am familiar with what people are going through to relate and empathy and compassion to their struggle so they can see i came out of the struggle, it gives them hope to come up and do something positive. ♪ ♪ i am a community ambassador.

we work a lot with homeless, visitors, a lot of people in the area. >> what i like doing is posting up at hotspots to let people see visibility. they ask you questions, ask you directions, they might have a question about what services are available. checking in, you guys. >> wellness check. we walk by to see any individual, you know may be sitting on the sidewalk, we make

sure they are okay, alive. you never know. somebody might walk by and they are laying there for hours. you never know if they are alive. we let them know we are in the area and we are here to promote safety, and if they have somebody that is, you know, hanging around that they don't want to call the police on, they don't have to call the police. they can call us. we can direct them to the services they might need. >> we do the three one one to keep the city neighborhoods clean. there are people dumping, waste on the ground and needles on the ground. it is unsafe for children and adults to commute through the streets. when we see them we take a picture dispatch to 311. they give us a tracking number and they come later on to pick

it up. we take pride. when we come back later in the day and we see the loose trash or debris is picked up it makes you feel good about what you are doing. >> it makes you feel did about escorting kids and having them feel safe walking to the play area and back. the stuff we do as ambassadors makes us feel proud to help keep the city clean, helping the residents. >> you can see the community ambassadors. i used to be on the streets. i didn't think i could become a community ambassador. it was too far out there for me to grab, you know. doing this job makes me feel good. because i came from where a lot of them are, homeless and on the street, i feel like i can give

them hope because i was once there. i am not afraid to tell them i used to be here. i used to be like this, you know. i have compassion for people that are on the streets like the homeless and people that are caught up with their addiction because now, i feel like i can give them hope. it reminds you every day of where i used to be and where i am at now. >> as a woman of color who grew up in san francisco i understand how institutions can have an impact on communities of color. i think having my voice was important. that is where my passion lies when the opportunity to lead an office in such a new space came up. i couldn't turn it down.

i was with the district attorney's office for a little over nine years, if you include the time as an intern as well as volunteer da, all most 13 years. during the time with the da's office i had an opportunity to serve the community not only as the assistant district attorney but as director of community relations. that afforded the opportunity to have impact on the community in an immediate way. it is one thing to work to serve the rights of those without rights, victims. it is really rewarding to work to to further the goals of our office and the commitment we have as city employees and advocates for people who don't

have a voice. i don't know of anyone surprised to see me in this role. maybe people have an impression what the director of the office of cannabis should be like, what their beliefs should be. i smash all of that. you grew up in the inner city of san francisco. my career path is not traditional. i don't think a person should limit themselves to reach full potential. i say that to young women and girls. that is important. you want to see leadership that looks diverse because your path is not predetermined. i didn't wake up thinking i was going to be a prosecutor in my life. the city administrator reached out and wanted to have a conversation and gave me interest in the new role. i thought you must not know what i do for a living. it was the opposite. she had foresight in realizing it would be helpful for somebody not only a former prosecutor but interested in shaping criminal

justice reform for the city would be the right person for the space. i appreciate the foresight of the mayor to be open how we can be leaders in san francisco. i was able to transition to the policy space. here i was able to work on legislation, community relations, communication and start to shape the ways our office was going to reform the criminal justice system. it is fulfilling for me. i could create programs and see those impact people's lives. i am the change. it took truants youth to meet with civil rights movement leaders who fought to have access to education. being a young person to understand that helped the young people realize this was an important thing to give up. what we find is that young people who are truanted have a really high homicide rate in our

city, which is a sad statistic. we want to change that. >> coming from a community we are black and brown. i don't reach out to other people. i don't think they feel the same way. >> i had the great opportunity to work on prison reform issues and criminal justice reform issues. we created a program at san quentin where we brought district opportunities t to lifs and talk about how we are all impacted by the criminal justice system. we brought over 40 elected das to san quentin for the situation. now we are inviting the police department. our formerly incarcerated group born out of this programming asked for the opportunity to work on a project where we could bring the men in blue on the outside to come speak to the men on blue inside to start the

healing dialogue around how the criminal justice system specifically in san francisco impacts the community. i was attracted to the role. there was a component of equity that was part of this process. the equity community here in san francisco is a community that i had already worked with. before i took steps to visit cannabis businesses i thought it was important my team have a chance to go inside and speak to men who ha had been impacted. that conversation needed to happen so we know how we are making an impact with the work that we are doing. the da's office as we were leading up to the legalization of marijuana in the state we started having conversations on the policy team what that could look like. the district attorney was really focused on the right side of history for this. we realized it would be quite a

heavy lift for individuals who have been negatively impacted by the war on drugs to expunge the record. it was important to figure out the framework to make it seamless and easy. they put their minds to it after some time and many conversations the data analysts and other policy walk throughs on the team came up with the idea to engage the tech community in this process. code for america helped us developed the rhythm to be used for any jurisdiction across the state that was important to create a solution to be used to assist all jurisdictions dealing with this matter. the office of cannabis is the first office to have a completely digital application process. we worked with the digital team to develop the online application. there are going to be hiccups. we are first to do it. it is one of the most rewarding

parts to offer a seamless -- to offer a seamless approach. that is how they can find solutions to solve many of the community challenges. the best way to respond to prop 64 was to retroactively expunge 9,000 cannabis related records for san francisco. it feels like justice full circle for my personal experience. in the past i was furthering the war on drugs just as my directive. really coming from a place of public safety. that was the mandate and understanding. it is nice to see that pass a society we are able to look at some of our laws and say, you know what? we got it wrong. let's get this right. i had the privilege of being in the existing framework. my predecessor nicole elliott

did an incredible job bringing together the individuals super-passionate about cannabis. >> the office was created in july of 2017. i came in early 2018. i have been able to see the office's development over time which is nice. it is exciting to be in the space, stickily in thinking about her leadership. >> looking for the office it is always we might be before my time when i was working for the board oforboard of supervisors. i learn new things every day it is challenging and rewarding for me. >> we get the privilege to work in an office tha that is innova. we get to spearhead the robust exprogram. >> i am excited she came on board to leverage experience as a prosecutor 10 years as we

contemplate enforcements but approaching it without replicating the war on drugs. >> i was hired by cam laharris. i haven't seen a district attorney that looked kind of like me. that could be a path in my life. i might not have considered it. it is important that women and certainly women of color and spaces of leadership really do their part to bring on and mentor as many young people as they can. it is superimportant to take advantage of as many opportunities a as they can when they can intern because the doors are wide open. plans change and that is okay. the way this was shaped because i took a risk to try something new and explore something and show that i was capable. you are capable, right? it was about leaning in and being at the table to say my

voice matters. you find your passion, the sky

>> hi everyone, thank you for joining us today for the panel discussion on the covid recovery. i am your moderator today, megan, the policy share for the san francisco women's political committee. i would like to welcome our panelists carmen chu, joey jackson morgan, and veronica shepherd. thank you for being here today. i would like to open up the discussion with a question. please introduce yourself and tell our audience what you are

currently working on the covid issues in your field. we can start with carmen. >> so good afternoon everybody, so glad to join all of you today for this great panel. i want to thank you megan for helping to host this and making sure this important conversation comes forward. i serve as san francisco elected assessor. like many of you, we had to quickly change to a remote work scenario with our office when we had the shelter place be put in place in march. we were able to do that relatively quickly and 98% of our operations is happening off site and not in person. we've been working hard to make sure we try to continue to do our work, primarily because we know that the revenue impact of our work has been very, very

large and disperse impact to the city, from the types of programs we're able to support people with us specially during covid-19. we're continuing to do that. i think on another note, i think i also serve as the economic recovery task force's co-chair, so very much excited to speak to you about the work of the task force coming up in our additional conversations and the last thing i'll say in terms of introduction is that i'm a brand new mother of a 14-year-old -- i mean 14-month-old, not year old, but she is growing very quickly and i think more than anything i really am truly seeing and appreciating what it means to be part of a working family, especially during covid-19 because there are so many different challenges associated with work-life balance among other things. i want to recognize that i consider myself in a very fortunate place because i have my health, i have a job, and i think that is so much more than

a lot of people are facing at this moment. i think we always have to count our blessings in terms of things we do have and recognize that there are many people who need much more in terms of help than where we are. i'm happy to be part of this conversation and i look forward to hearing from the co speakers today as well. thank you. >> thank you carmen. let's go to joy next. >> good morning everyone, my name is joy jackson morgan. i'm the executive director. i'm a unicorn in the city, a san francisco native. during this time third street has really focused on our young people in addressing the needs that youth have been coming up with, primarily with housing. that has been a huge issue for our young people and food has

also been an issue. we've gone from having our food pantry to having food delivery for our youth and their families. we're currently serving about 50 youth and families per week. we're also trying to keep our young people engaged. this has been a hard time for them adjusting to distance learning and not having the certain outlets that they're accustomed to. so we continued our youth development program. we have been keeping our young people engaged, and active, and connected to their peer groups. this is not the norm for any of us. we are use to be being able to go outside and going where we want and now we're confined to zoom or many of the platforms we come to be recognized with. it's been difficult for young people, i think, because this is

their time in development where they're suppose to be social and not having these normal things has really taken a toll. so we've been trying to make sure that our behavioral health services is available to them, our clinic has been closed since march, and we're in the process of trying to get our clinic reopened in the next few weeks so we can start delivering some of our medical services as well. so really trying to stabilize our young people the best way we can and help them through this difficult time, both economically, food, sheltering, heal health. >> definitely, thank you joy. last but not least, veronica. >> good morning everyone. good morning to my panelists. my name is veronica shepherd. i'm with the san francisco department of public health. my primary work is around food security and racial equity.

i support primarily the african american faith-based coalition. it's a coalition of 21 plus churches across the city of san francisco with primarily african american congregants. covid-19 through the population of people were put into a whirlwind. shelter-in-place hit and there were not a lot of city plans on how people would be sustained. the coalition i work with, because of its infrastructure, we developed a partnership and was able to provide meals immediately across the city. as of today's date, they have delivered over 110,000 meals across the city. they're feeding almost 1,000 households each week. it's been quite a challenge. for those of you listening that

don't know, the african american community, joy kind of spoke to it. we have been suffering pre-covid and there's been huge disparity issues between racial inequities. so the shelter-in-place and the coronavirus had just added another additional issues on top of what was already going on, on top of the heightened racial climate. it's like this stew of a lot of issues that people are facing. we have seniors who this isolation is impacting them mentally and emotionally. we have hunger, issues that hit immediately but we're addressing that. we have children in households that can't go out as joy was talking about. i have families where there are ten people in a household and only one person is working. i mean there are so many issues that are spiraling all at the same time so part of my work and

role is to support people, help them to stay safe, provide resources and information, and continue to just be that light as a beacon for people who were living complex lives pre-covid and continue to live complex lives in this pandemic. >> thank you veronica. thank you everyone for those good introductions. i also wanted to quickly note that anyone watching from home, you can feel free to leave a question in the chat box or if you're watching on facebook, leave a question there for our panelists and we'll get to those at the end. so i wanted to shift it over to carmen. if you can talk more about how was the economic recovery task force created and what is the purpose of this task force? >> sure, absolutely. so the -- i think maybe folks may have heard that the task force is a convening of the

mayor, as well as the president of the board of supervisors normen yee. i think as we started to learn more about the pandemic, learn more about the disease and how it was spreading, i think the picture has become that much more complicated and i think you see that with the most recent resurgence with covid-19 and the health indicators coming back to a negative when it comes to hospitalizations, as well as the number of people who are contracting it. so, it is going to be a big challenge in terms of how it is that we deal with it as a city. i think in general, san francisco has been really trying to take a measured approach on how it is we have been thinking about economic recovery and making sure we're grounding how it is that we are approaching both where we're directing or

services, house we're making sure that we're providing different support, based on information on the ground. so actual data, statistics, information that helps us understand what's happening from a health perspective. i think as veronica and joy mentioned also, i think there is a really strong recognition that covid-19 really is, is even though the disease does not discriminate, what we're seeing is some of the underlying inequities that exist are being exacerbated by the disease. we are seeing instances where people who have the least income security, the people who are at least able to take a break from their job, people who are not able to tell commute, people who don't have savings or have poor chronic health conditions who are the ones that are the most impacted by covid-19. so we see this from the latinx community, where they are 15% of san francisco's population, but they make up half of the people

who are testing positive in terms of covid-19. we seen a disproportionate amount of deaths being asian, pacific american, and the impacts to the african american community and we're also seeing in the asian community, a rise in terms of xenophobia, a lot of people being blamed for the creation of covid-19 and the spread of it, even when we all know that that's untrue. so i think we see some of these disparities. i think one of the partners we have going forward in our w challenge and recognizing women is the department. i'm not sure if folks have seen but they put out a report that was telling which spoke to how covid-19 is exacerbating inequities amongst women. so again, women tend to be concentrated in lower wage jobs and jobs that may not have as much ability to do telecommuting

or some of these other options that people currently have. we are also typically people who will be primary caretakers for young children, and our seniors, and our children, and there is a disproportionate impact among women. we're concentrating on what kind of policy decisions can we be pursuing as a city to enable recovery and think of equity while we're at it. if we will have scarce resources, we need two different programs to support our workers, families, and san franciscans as a whole, where should we put that understanding there is a disproportionate impact on how covid is miimpacting our city. s there -- this is such a significant challenge to us. a lot of the work in terms of spre

spreading and food securities are some of the other things. we still have to think of intermediate term. that's what the economic recovery task force is trying to do, putting the on the ground experiences together, coming up with a coherent plan and strategy on how the city may want to approach reopening going into the future. >> definitely, very impactful. i want to bring it to veronica and knowing that health disparities are tied to systemic racism and this is a public health issue that disproportionately effects people of color and black and brown bodies, what can our leaders do and those in power do to change this tide? >> i don't think we have enough time. [laughter] >> i'll give it my best shot, okay. it's a loaded question. for our community and i'm specifically talking about african americans, we as leaders

in this city, particularly at the higher level has to be honest about the structural racism and violence that's been perpetuated by our people ever since slavery. we have to be honest on how it looks and how it shows up in each of our systems. we have enough data on the black experience to build cities about, but we don't seem to shift on how the racism and its structure is continuing to keep these barriers and these hurdles high so our communities can't thrive unless we change the program project mentality. we're not really pulling out the roots of the racism. we're just doing check boxes. they're always like a band aid. they never really resolve the problem because we're not going deep enough and we're not being honest enough to say we're putting systems in place that

perpetuate the inequity. until we as leaders all come together at the highest level and have honest conversations that will be very uncomfortable, because t going to reveal how our own biases stand in the game, to be honest. we have to own up to the fact that a lot of the systems in place, we're protecting them at the highest level. people who make up 5% of a population, but have the highest health disparities, the worse education outcomes, the highest rates of mass incarceration, i mean i can go on and on. something is intentionally wrong there. half of the homeless population is black and there isn't even that many of us. what structures continue to perpetuate this and how are we protecting it that it keeps

going? we got to be honest, otherwise we are going to continue to fund programs that are not sustainable because they're not designed to be. they're not going to dig out the deep root of the problem. the entire country has been functioning in systemic structural racism and violence against black people. now we just got to own that. so it comes back to checking ourselves with our own bias i can't say -- biases, and you can't tell your community we're here to help you and you need a heart transplant, but you give me a band aid. how does that help my community? yet we continue to do this. so somehow until we as leaders at the highest level can sit down and be honest about what we're actually doing to black people and particularly right

now with the racial climate that we're living in, it's been unleashed and against us and yet we're fighting to get basic needs, food, housing, struggling to get testing out here in our community and yet as karmen spoke, the need is huge. we're not being honest. i think we've been so conditioned to operate in our different slices of the pie, we don't see the whole picture. we don't see how the ingredients are combined to create the recipe we want to build. we need to have conversations that dismantle the racism and make sure that everything we're doing is connected to some policy or some ordinance that

dismantles the barriers against african american. >> absolutely, thank you. joyce speaking on that, i know that you spoke a little bit in your intro about how this effected your organization right now. how has covid affected your ability to provide behavioral services to youth? >> both carmen and veronica, i don't know how i get to come after both of you. you spoke so well about this. i think health starts in community. it is a community response, a neighborhood response, right? when you start to take away some of the things that we're accustomed to, to have this sort of response, on top of the social determinants of health we already had, it definitely puts

us at a disadvantage. we need to acknowledge the roles and how that relates to the disbursement of resources and the response from the city. as veronica eluded to before, we are scrapping for resources, for testing. we had to do all telehealth for our behavioral health services. that's not a community model, right? we depend on relationships. we depend on each other for our needs. we build a rapport with you and then that gets taken away. they trust us. it's like we're a boutique clinic. it was designed and created by

the community and youth to be the beacon for their needs. so i think when we talk about policy, i think we need to look at how there is racism in the decision making and that we need to look at who's at the table and who has the power at the table to make these decisions and to help bring community to the table so they're at the forefront of the decision making, the solution and the progress. how do we hold the city accountable for try to address our needs without the community there? so when we look at these things moving forward, as veronica said and carmen said, we have to put our leadership and the community leadership to help with some of these policies and decision

making going forward. that's the only way we're going to crawl ourselves out of this hole we're in. >> yep, definitely. i hear that and agree. speaking about policy and good policy, but just often the foundation of good policy. i want to open this question up for all three of you. how have you seen this city or your organization's budget effected by this pandemic? >> can i just start by saying i want to appreciate what veronica and joyce said. i truly think that when we talk about economic recovery, i agree with joy in terms of the community based approach. it's really important there are community leaders, network, and existing relationships that can only strengthen and either make that work or not work. i think that is really important to acknowledge. i think to veronica's point as

well, i really appreciate the comment she said about how we need to be willing to confront those difficult conversations because i really feel whenever it comes to the conversation around race, it's really, it is very hard to talk about. it's very hard to be vulnerable and talk about what you don't know or to be fearful of saying the wrong thing and then that makes the conversation around race hard. when we start to see the outcomes that we talked about, whether it's economic outcomes, health outcomes, so on. they're tied to race. so how do you say that it's not connected? so i do think that it's important for us to begin taking those steps. it's hard to do, but i'm hopeful that we're going to start to have more conversations and the more conversations we have and sustain conversations, not just for this month or next month, that we can actually see progress. i hope that's going to be the case. i know that it's going to be -- the leadership of the city, but

also in our community and how we all interact and what kind of personal responsibility we can all take with dismantling the system we have. in terms of budget, you know, budget is incredibly tough for the city right now. you know, i think what we're seeing is a $1.7 billion deficit because a lot of the revenue has been drying up, all these things tied to economic activity has pretty much stopped. so i think that's been a big challenge for us from our organization's point of view. we're trying to figure out the best way possible to continue our work because for folks who don't know, the assessor's office is responsible for property taxes and our operation brings in about $3 billion of funding to the city year after year. that helps to fund our social services. it's the largest source of general fund revenue for the and public school and education,

which is also important. we want to make sure to continue those operations, but it's not going to be easy because if we're going to defeat this budget deficit, it looks like potentially cuts. i think all of us are looking for areas where we can cut to help make balance and won't impact people and services, but for an organization like mine where 80% of my expenses are people, that's hard to do. i think that you're going to see that to be really true, especially with so many of our non-profit partners, where it was already hard to begin with in terms of being able to run the operation to recruit, and to keep talent and people in your organization, to pay them something that will help them survive in a high expense city and now that we're in this situation, it's even harder. so i just want to acknowledge that it's true. it's true for the city and it's even more true for a non-profit partner. i will imagine that we're going to have a really challenging

time. with that being said, in my point of view, we're committed to doing everything we can to continue to bring in the revenue that is fairly due to the city and we will see a lot of challenges to that. we are already seeing a lot of commercial properties and others saying covid had an impact. it certainly has an impact, but from a property value point of view. we don't think it has an impact for the fiscal year upcoming. so that is just in my mind understanding where we're going to have challenges coming forward as a city. it's going to be tough. thank you. >> i'm going to jump in. for me the answer is twofold because i work for the health department and lot of the budgets were redistributed because of covid. then i work for community and people on the ground, and their budgets were just pretty much destroyed by a lot of this work. so from the city's lens, from

the health department's lens, the new guidelines, the mental health money has been drastically reduced, which impacts our commune huge because there wasn't enough resources for black people and their mental health needs before covid. with the reductions i saw from gavin newsom's office, it's going to have even a harder hit for our community because as i stated earlier, all of this impacts our mental and emotional health and well-being. we have people who are seniors that are isolated and are just not doing well because of this intersection of us being around people has impacted us all. so from the community lens, it's a huge struggle because you're trying -- you got funded to do

certain programs and certain projects that are going to sub support people and yet people are sheltered in and can't come out. our community also doesn't have access to technology like a lot of other communities. those resources aren't always available. as black people, many of us live multigenerational. our programs are for the seniors or for the kids or for the working poor. we aren't looking at household level responses. we're all impacted. if grandma is getting the grocery bag, all the eight people that live in that house are going to live out of that gross bag, which is probably going to be gone the same day they get it. so the programs have been impacted by the pandemic so the

resources aren't as great as they want them to be. it has changed the last few months, but it's been a huge impact on trying to connect resources. as joy said earlier, we as community people know each other and try to build upon what we know we all have, but we're all still fighting for the same bread crumb. it's not like joy's program got an abundance of stuff. our wonderful baby y here, a great resource to our community yet they're trying to engage our community, families, seniors, all the people they serve from an extended reach. the question about the budget has to do with the people on the ground compared to the health department who are trying to take resources and redistribute them in an equitable way, but the need is so great. they're trying to figure it out

each new day. things keep changing. we have federal guidelines that impacted our budget. there are layers upon layers of things that people have to think about daily. thank you. >> all right, i'm going to answer this question wearing two hats. i'm going to start with the first hat as being cochair. so this is my third year. every year we put out these recommendations, trying to be as equitable and community focused as possible. as a co-chair, i am worried about this plan shrinkage in the city. when i say that, when we think historically when these things come up, black and brown people are always at the tail end of this. this is who is going to get hit the hardest.

it will come out of the police department or fire department, wherever it is, it's in our neighborhood. trying to make sure in every decision being made around this planned shrinkage that we're taking an equitable lens or equitable approach. the director put out a covid response -- not work book, but i can't think of the word. she put out a great report about how we should approach our recovery as a city. i recommend people should read that. also my other hat as a leader of a non-profit, i'm terrified because by this point in the process, non-profit leaders will know what we're working with. this delay is adding another

layer of stress. you're trying to keep your staff calm and make sure you have money to pay for the things you planned for. now we're waiting for your city counterparts to know if this is going to happen. you're trying to keep your population to conserve calm. it's a whole level of stress for non-profit leaders because we don't know what's going to happen and all the things that we grown to trust and depend on are all at jeopardy. i just want to say that health is involved in all policies, whether it's education, transportation, whatever, intentional or unintentional. so like we really need to focus on how all of these policies and event the way these budget cuts

come down and what impact it's going to have on communities of color. >> yes, definitely. that is so true. speaking on that, in today's debate, the public health recovery and the economic recovery are often times pinned against one another. so, how do each of you envision a community where these two could be integrated to create prosperity? let's go to carmen. >> i was going to let someone else take the lead. in terms of tracking this, when you look at the reproduction rate of covid-19, in march it was something above 3. that meant for anyone with

covid-19, they were basically spreading it to 3 other individuals. san francisco in the bay area took decisive action to do shelter-in-place in mid-march. they were faster than many other places and it helped slow the spread pretty quickly. when you look at the trajectory of reproduction rate, it dropped dramatically after shelter-in-place went into order. for a long time it was under 1. that's a good thing. you want the number to be under 1. around the beginning of june or so that started to inch up and now we're likely above 1. that's where we are in terms of the reinfection rate. we want to bring the number down or we will see spread in our communities. i tell you that because what happened that drove that number

down was two things. we closed a lot of businesses, reck -- recreation was also shut down. the second thing, i know for myself, psychologically we were seeing what was happening across the country and around the world and new york. we thought we better take precaution because we don't want to see that happen here. we don't want to see lines of ambulances going into the hospital with us having to make decisions on who to treat and who not to treat. many of us took a lot of precautions and then that flattened the curve when we reopened the economy in mid-may or so, i think a few things happened. i think you know, number one more economic activity was happening, so more people were coming in contact with one another. i think a lot of people let

their guard down. we've been cooped up and people thought it wouldn't hurt if i just saw so and so. overtime as you start to be social, you forget you shouldn't have give someone a hug. i think it's hard is see what of the resurgence is related to economic activity and what is he rated to our social behaviors. i think the one thing i'll say is that i'm still hopeful that we can open up more of the economy so we can get our budgets back online and our support back online and to help people too.

there is a cost to shelter-in-place. we heard a lot about the cost to business, the cost to losing jobs, which is not small. those are big things when people lose their incomes. there is social and emotional challenges, mental health challenges. veronica spoke about social isolation amongst our seniors. we are seeing more food insecurity. there is also the typical ability for us to be able to detect things like abuse. we're not seeing kids go back to school. we're not seeing more avenues for some of these things to be daylighted for example. so it is not without other costs associated with it. i just wanted to say that because part of reopening the economy and getting back to as normal as possible is because there are other impacts we have to see. i do think that we can continue to do it, but we really have to double down in terms of our own social behaviors. that's hard to do because we're

use to being the social people we are and seeing your own family. i do think that's what needs to happen in terms of the city and other actions that need to occur to make this a not a here or there or win or lose situation. we have to take more personal responsibility. all of us do. we have to remember to buckle back down again right and not try to get back together and do as mump as we can to social distance and wear masks. those are things we can take on ourselves to do. as a city we need to think harder about how do we support people during this time? so if we want people to not spread, it means we need to support people who get sick, to make sure they have a replacement income, and they are not going to lose their jobs when they do that. i think there are a lot of policies that need to happen that support economic activity

so people can have good health behavi behaviors. i just want to say we all have work to do on the policy side to help people who get sick and making sure our public health has the resources they need to help with mental health, with contact tracing, and testing. the last thing i have to say is that we need to think more regional. i think we started off really well in terms of coming together as a region to slow and close things down. when we started to open back up, counties did it all different ways. so there was a lot of confusion on what is open here and what is open there. when things are open in another county, people from our county and rightly so were saying oh, i'll meet you over there to have dinner or whatever it was. you know, it just shows you that spread isn't contained within our county, right? people go, they work in other counties.

people come here to work. so i think our lack of having a regional approach when it comes to opening really hurt us. i hope we can get back on track with some of these things so we can come together and be more coherent and cohesive on how we're moving together. i could talk for hours about this stuff. >> so for me megan and thanks carmen. that was wonderful. the question has a different turn for me. when i think of economic recovery or public health recovery, i have to ask for who? our health was terrible before covid. our economic life was very poor precovid. so, when we're talking about the recovery of these things, if we're talking about black people, we have to have a whole different conversation. the median income for white

people was $101,000 and for black people it was $29,000. our health disparities are the worse across the city for every group. it's a different discussion. again, everything -- all the racism that black people and people of color just in general experience is connected to economics, period. so it's not just about the pandemic but for my community, it heightened everything that was already in place and occurring. so when we talk about recovery for people who are already oppressed, already impacted by the social determinants of health, the conversation has to take a different nuance. we need honest conversations on what does recovery look like and for what population are we talking about? if you're already two-thirds of the food chain and the issue for you is this pandemic, but you

still have food, housing, your bills are still being paid, that recovery will have a different outcome for those at the bottom of the barrel. right now what we see and i know carmen and joy have seen it, it's the despair in everyone we're seeing. how long will this go on? i have people that i know that don't have jobs and are so afraid because they're going to end up losing the place they're renting because they can't pay. i think of recovery for those who are marginalized already and it's a different conversation. i agree with carmen. it has to have a regional approach so we're not all doing our own thing based on the communities we live in. we do have to think about that. i learned last week because of

my exposure to data in the health department. i currently live in the census track, in the bay view. i'm a native here, born and raised here, that has the highest cases of covid. oh god, i'm scared to leave my house even for a basic need. there are people that are walking around and they're not thinking about public health recovery. they're not thinking about economic recovery. a lot of these people don't even wear masks and they're not just the black people. it has a different layer added to it in our community. that recovery requires the voices from our community to be leading those conversations. what recovery looks like is not the same as in the bay view. thank you.

>> i -- very quickly. >> go ahead. >> and i think that was a perfect segue into one of my points about the community aspect. i was thinking since young people are now one of the fast ers populations to be contracting covid, i have this crazy idea, why not hire them to be our contact tracers? they know who are around and who is going to be somewhere and all this other stuff. have them help us track this for us. it's their population that is now entering into this. we didn't do a great job with our young people in messaging. they have all kinds of messages going on, does the mask really help, i thought we can go here, is this real, all these different things. so now getting them involved, getting them educated on what's really happening and helping them be a part of the solution is going to engage them, is going to help them in economic

recovery. it's going to give them experience that hopefully later on you now have your new public health team. even hiring young people to be community ambassadors or captains to help with the data collection in specific neighborhoods. i think about what's happening in sunny dale. hire young people to help with that. even in the shelter-in-place hotels, how can young people be part of the stat? i think there are ways that we can include community and i'm using my youth lens because i run a youth organization but community in general. these are ways we can incorporate the community in a way that doesn't make them feel tokenized and you understand what you're going to do and you're going to sit here and this is on the checklist. this is having them feel a part

of the solution and helping their community that is also uplifting them economically. >> can i add to that too? we have a seniors group called network for elders out here. i know the president and she says they're trying to communicate because so many of them live alone and they don't even have laptops to do that. they used to meet monthly before covid. i asked how many laptops do you need? she said eight. they don't have the money to get it but it's a way to stay connected and to be able to engage and feel like they are also part of what they can do to shift the narrative. it could be small but it's so

critically needed. >> yeah, i love what joy had to say about engaging the youth that way. the city has a huge need for contact tracers and we'll have a huge need for a while. i think that's an idea we should be exploring as a city and to veronica's point. the digital divide is terrible. you're seeing that's playing out in terms of education. if you have parents or kids that don't have access to technology or the connection, or don't know how to use it, you're seeing they're falling further behind. that's a huge challenge. >> yeah, so really quickly, i guess a follow up to this is what are some of the red tapes that can be addressed. you're shaking your head veronica, there's too much red

tape. that's something to think about and maybe there's community building down the road. a question we have from an audience member, denise asks how has the covid crisis effected or complicated the housing prices? >> hi denise, thanks for your question. we saw an uptick in young people trying to escape family violence just in a week's time. before the city was allowing them to use emergency hotel vouchers we said we're going to use them and ask or forgiveness

later. so we tried to get our young people somewhere where they could get safe. it started as a week, then growing into a month's time and we thankfully were able to sustain them during this whole shelter-in-place time. it ended up being 12 young people we had to do this for outside of trying to house -- i think during this time we were rapidly trying to house all the youths on our list. in addition to the emergency housing youth, we housed close to 20 young people during this time. it looks like rent is going down but there is still a huge need. there are a ton of young people still in the queue and we had to slow down because of resources. it's been strapped because all the money that had to go into hotels, food, just making sure that everyone has the electronic

stuff like laptops, hotspot, all of that. it just put a huge strange on our resources -- strain on our resources and there are still a lot more people in the kuwaiting to be housed although rent is dropping. this is -- like we went into this crisis with homelessness being one of our huge issues at the city and we've done a better job of trying to address it, but it's only going to -- like it's a deep hole. we need -- if i can advocate for anything right now the two things would be housing, food, and mental health. i can say that as a homeless response system in general, everyone not just youth, everywhere faces this crisis during shelter-in-place and even now. >> definitely.

does anyone else want to answer that question briefly? >> i guess just quickly for me, it's just -- thanks denise for asking that question. it's so complex. our housing, our homelessness shot up. i mean we got hundred times more homeless people here in the bay view than we had before because resources shifted. things that use to be available in certain parts of the city weren't anymore. we even have people that are in sheltered environments without food and going to the homeless services to eat. so it's just very complex and i ditto everything that joy said. all these of these intersections have to be addressed because they're all happening at the same time. >> definitely. so i want to open it up to our closing remarks and last questions here as we're coming to time. how has each of your personal

experiences guided your strategy to recovery and what are some resources that you can provide to our audience and try to keep this under 2 minutes. i think we'll be good. >> i'll go very fast, which is you know my parents were immigrants here so my parents -- i grew up most of my life where my parents think racism because they couldn't speak english well and they worked in low income jobs. my mom was a seamstress and my dad worked in a kitchen. it always colored my perspective because when i think of policy and how we respond to economic recovery, i think of the people who can't make it to the table. i think of the people that can't come out and advocate because they have to work or i think of the people that can't -- or don't feel they can speak up. so, i think that is something that will always be with me. it's always keeping that perspective on who can't come here to say what they need to

say and we need to be thinking about them too. i think in terms of this pandemic, it's even more clear about how it is that we need to be protecting, especially our most vulnerable communities. >> joy, if you want to go. >> yeah, i'll go. i don't think you come out of hunter's point without being an activist. one of the most overused but appropriate words to describe our neighborhood is resilient. so i think we've learned how to, you know, make something out of nothing. i think again as i talked about earlier the village model of really making sure that we all were helping each other no matter what, even if we had something little. let me help you get this. i think that's been sort of the beauty of all this, seeing how san francisco has come together to make sure that we are at least trying to address our most

marginalized. i seen people come out to help our seniors like veronica was talking about with the faith-based community and serving all those meals. that came from just conversations, very organic conversations. seeing that and seeing how the networking has -- i have really been amazed at how everyone has come together in all different fronts. in terms of resources for the audience, i just really want people to get out here and advocate, right? we've talked about all the things that need to happen. get engaged. look at the next budget meeting. look at the next police commissioner meeting. look at all these different meetings where we need folks to come out and advocate for the things we're talking about. we're going to need your voices to make this happen.

this is where the community is at the table. this is where we shift the power in the decision making. we need you all to show up and advocate for these things. i'll leave you with that. >> and i'm going to end with very little. the resources i bring is food. people know me as you need food, call veronica. i pretty much know where all the food is and how to get it to people. more than that, i bring grace. i bring dignity. i bring values and humanity to people's lives who are suffering in multiple ways and spaces and places, whether they speak english or not. i think that hope and joy said, the resilience we have helps keep people -- helps people know that somebody cares and somebody really shows that they care about how we're experiencing life each day. i don't care whether you're

giving a person a napkin or referral. do it with dignity. do it with hope. do it with grace and remind people that they're not alone. to me that's the most important. if we don't stand for the values that we say we represent, it doesn't matter what we have to offer. you can treat people very badly for something they really need and they'll walk away from you because you disrespected them. so i think that is critical of how to engage people, specifically in this pandemic. thank you. >> thank you veronica, carmen, and joy. your comments are much appreciated and i hope the three of you collaborate down the line. i just want to plug for summer in the city is their next event, august 6th. this is a big event for all women to celebrate and i know that carmen also has the w

challenge coming up celebrating the 100 year anniversary of woman suffrage, both are tied to women's suffrage, keeping it in line with women's rights and of course what that means for women of color especially black women and brown women. thank you again for everyone that is watching from your homes. a remind to make sure that you are socially distant, wear your mask, and stay informed. thank you.

>> as a friendyou can submit u

questions by chat only. please submit your questions as clearly as possible and include your name and outlet. we will do our best to receive questions up until the q&a begins. remaining questions can be sent to des@sfgov.org. and here is the mayor, london breed. >> >> the hon. london breed: good afternoon, everyone. today, i'm joined by community organizations that have always been amazing partners with the city and have really stepped up during covid-19 for our community. i was out with the latino task force earlier this week to distribute p.p.e. for all businesses, and they are doing amazing work organizing and

fighting for resources for the community. the sisters for perpetual indulgence are always at the forefront for keeping the sister of lgbtq healthy, always while having a little -- okay, a lot of fun. and the african american arts and cultural district has been working hard to make sure the community members know where they can go for support, from sharing information about testing, business grants and loans, and working to empower youth in the bayview, and opportunities for all has helped distribute books, activity kits, and technology that students need to be successful this school year, and their terms and fellows have repaired with community

engagement and outreach throughout the city. so since the start of this global pandemic, we have always heard and received advice about how we can protect ourselves and others and slow the spread of the virus. overtime, as our understanding of the virus has evolved, some of that guidance has changed, like face coverings, while other guidance shall stayed consistent, like frequent hand washing. you can't walk down the street, go to the grocery store, listen to music our browse social media without someone telling you to stay 6 feet apart, wear your mask, and wash your hands. since january, our city has launched multilingual campaigns on t.v., radio, social media, newspapers, bus shelters, and bill boards. a team of disaster service

workers han been on the streets daily, blanketing our city with posters, multilingual posters and flyers. since january, this team has distributed more than 3 million flyers. posters, and fact sheets across the city. you can't turn anywhere in the city of without seeing our blue and yellow signs. this provides good information, and many people are listening. however, as we've stretched into our seventh month of this pandemix, we are looking for new ways to capture people's attention to sustain the good work of our residents and communities. we want to be bold and strategic how we reach out to people who aren't wearing masks. we wanted to find out why people might not be wearing face coverings and see if we

can change their behavior because we're all safer when we cover our faces when we go out, and regularly wearing face coverings will help us keep san francisco on a path of reopening that we so desperately need. i asked our team, our city team to start working with people and organizations in our neighborhood to did he vel community led education campaigns and outreach efforts specifically around mask wearing, and many answered the call. our nonprofits arts and faith organizations are on the frontlines impacting communities. because of their relationships, they are often the most trusts and the most influential than the government. i'm proud to say, today, we are launching our first series of community-led campaigns ahead of labor day weekend, and you are going to hear from some of our partners shortly.

but first, i want to address why we are launching this ahead of this current weekend. historically, labor day is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of american workers. because of the pandemic, this labor day has a special significance. it is a chance to honor the special workers in our community. we know this virus has disproportionately impacted our frontline workforce, many of them who have to reuse their medical equipment every sipping wisipping -- single day.

labor day marks the end of summer, and most years, we have barbecues and cookouts with our families, and i personally wish i could attend one of those gatherings. as we set at the beginning of the pandemic, the safest thing is to do is for people to stay home, but let's be real. people miss each other, and they're going to decide to get together. so if you do, we ask if you're going to be other with others, keep it outside, make sure everyone is wearing a face covering, and avoid sharing food and drink. we know that oftentimes, when people come together, especially when they start drinking throughout the day, behavior changes. in addition to keeping our friends and our family safe, wearing a mask is one of the most effective things we can do

to keep reopening san francisco. let's be mindful what we are doing and how we are impacting the spread of this share. let's share the love, not the virus. and at this time, i'd like each of our community partners to talk about their campaign and why it's important to protect our communities this labor day weekend and beyond. first, we have dr. scott sampson from the california academy of sciences, which lent their creative and innovative design experts to help our city. >> thank you very much, mayor breed, and thank you for your strong leadership during this challenging time, including in relation to this coronavirus. and warm thanks to all of our partners. i'm scott sanchez, director of the california academy of sciences. the academy has been part of san francisco since 1853, just

three years after california became a state. we care deeply about our city, and we are here to putting all of our cutting edge science to keep our community safe. when we heard that san francisco is so close to hitting an important mask wearing milestone, our organization jumped at the chance to help get the word out. the science is crystal clear, wearing a mask makes a big difference, and we need everyone, especially young people, to mask up. we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that wearing a mask, watching your distance, and washing your hands will help crush the covid-19 curve. this campaign, available in four different languages all over san francisco, is asking young people to take one small step that can make a giant difference helping to keep our

entire community safe. whether you're missing outside lands or dinner at your favorite restaurant, a giants game or inspirational evening of night life at the academy, we are all in this together. we are excited to keep the city's reopening on track so that we can all return to enjoying the many amazing benefits san francisco has to offer. i wear a mask so that we ask safely open the academy and welcome you back for more awe and wonder in golden gate park. thank you, and stay safe. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, dr. sampson. now next, we have up annie chung from self-help for the elderly who will talk about efforts to conduct outreach and education with our asian and

pacific islander community. annie? >> thank you so much, mayor breed, and good afternoon, everyone. i'm annie chung with self-help for the elderly, and as mayor said, we've been on the frontline, providing essential meals and other elder care services to all of our seniors in san francisco. and we're honored today, mayor, to partner with you and to support you in your relentless fight against the covid-19 pandemic, and to educate the chinese speaking seniors and families how to protect themselves once they step outside their homes. mayor breed, i think the seniors are doing their part to abide by the health order. i urge all the seniors and families to remember what dr. sampson just said and practice

the three w's: one, wear masks, two, wash your hands, and three, watch your social distancing. i know the labor day weekend is coming up, and we may be tempted to invite friends and family over for barbecues and gatherings. only invite people that are in your immediate household, and if possible, try to meet outdoors, which will be much safer for you and your family. remember, prevent everyone from sharing drinks or using the same utensils or chop sticks with each other. be aware at all times. protect yourselves and others, and think positive.

[speaking cantonese language] >> thank you, everyone, and thank you, mayor. >> the hon. london breed: thank you so much, annie, for all the work that you continue to do. next, we have director glen from the african american arts and cultural district. i understand the district worked with local rappers to produce a music video that we'll see at the end of this press conference. evan? >> thank you, mayor breed. we really appreciate the continued support that the city of san francisco has shown the african american community. it's been a lot of unprecedented work over the last several years, and we deeply appreciate that. my name is evan glen. i am the executive director for the african american arts and

cultural district located in the bayview and third street corridor. so it was a process working with fran says zamora, the -- frances zamora, the department of emergency management, making sure the message put forth in our campaign was representative of the people in our community: our culture, the way we look, and it just resonated with our spirits and our soul, and so that's what you're going to see in bill boards across the city. we also thought it would be a good idea to put a rap together to resonate with the young people. after talking with my codirector, erica scott, she says hey, you know, my daughter's going to parties, and the young people need a message, as well. so we got together with a rap

group out of the fillmore, 16-year-old girls called the poppin' twins, and they wrote the rap that we're going to share for everybody today. with that being said, i just want to send a message out to the community to remain safe because statistically, the bayview has been hit the hardest with covid-19 out of any other area in san francisco. we need to be aware of that. we need to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart from each other, and remain safe. and think about your grandparents. think about the elderly in your neighborhood because their immune system obviously isn't as strong, and so we have to start thinking about each other. but again, i just want to thank the city of san francisco for the work that they've been doing to support the african american community. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, evan, for your remarks and

for joining us here today, and we're looking forward to seeing that video. now we also know that the latino community has really been the hardest hit in our city. in fact, over 50% of the cases that have been diagnosed were people of latino descent, and we have not been able to do -- we would not have been able to do the incredible work that we are doing to support this community and to address this disparity if it weren't for the latino task force. they've been an amazing resource in not only mask wearing but keeping people safe. they're here to discuss the latino awareness campaign in san francisco. so thank you, susanna.

>> thank you, mayor breed. my name is susanna rojas, and i am the director of the latino task force. thank you so much for allowing me to speak and to collaborate dpsh-for allowing the latino task force to collaborate with the city so that our city can feel empowered to take action. the virus is just one more challenge to conquer, to stop the spread of covid-19 and to protect our latino families ahead of labor day weekend and beyond, i'm here to showcase the latino community. [speaking spanish language] [end of translation]. >> our actions speak leader than words.

we can show love by masking up. we can stay 6 feet apart, and most importantly, by not sharing food and drink. now we in the latino community know that food is central to our interaction. it is the backbone to our community, and gathering with large families is how we show our love. love during the coronavirus looks like wearing our masks, washing our hands, staying 6 feet apart, and protecting our seniors and our young people. hugging in our families and physical contact is something we do on a daily basis, but right now, we have to demonstrate our love by hugging virtually by wearing a mask. and last but not least, we have

sacrificed -- [speaking spanish language] >> thank you. >> the hon. london breed: thank you again, susanna, for joining us and for all the work that you do. i'm so excited for our next speakers. sister, you are one of my favorite speakers, and i am so glad to have you here with us today. the sisters of perpetual indulgence along with supervisor mandelman launched an outreach campaign, focusing

on the lgbtq community. the poster that you created was just amazing. thank you, and join me, everyone, in welcoming sister roma. >> hello, mayor breed. i can't wait to see that video, and of course i'm hungry for some great latin food. i want to thank you for unprecedented leadership during these very hard times. your team is amazing. since the beginning of the pandemic, it's been hard for people in my community to not compare it to hiv/aids, which we all know ravaged the lgbtq community very badly in the early 80s. and the sisters stepped up at that time and were actually leading the fight against hiv/aids with providing

information and education. so when this got here, we thought oh, this sounds familiar. when tom temprano approached me, i went back to my sisters, and we were all on board, and we went back to our methods of harm reduction and reminded our community that it's best to stay safe and stay away from each other. this weekend, people are just itching to get out and dance and see each other. it's difficult, and it'll be trying, and i want people to know that there'll be a time that we can get together with each other and hug and hold each other, like we used to. but the sisters want to let you know that wearing masks can be fabulous. look for us in dolores park on

friday, where we're going to be handing out 1500 masks, and then we're going to be heading to the castro for our first friday event, which will be at 5:00 p.m. in the castro. so thank you for including me, and it's been my honor and privilege. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, sister roma. i almost didn't recognize you without your makeup on. maybe i'll join you on friday. that would be amazing. >> oh, thank you so much. >> the hon. london breed: okay. finally, i want to introduce a leader who has a bright future ahead of her. athena matthews.

>> it is so important to demonstrate proper covid-19 behavior, and masks are just one tool to prevent the spread of covid. bypassi -- covid by catching droplets when you sneeze or cough, protecting those around you. indifferent while understandable is not sustainable. it is imperative that this generation feel empowered to take care of ourselves and take care of each other because we need to be more active and take on an active role in fixing our nation's challenges, even beyond covid-19, so to my fellow general fellow gen-z'ers, let this be a warning not to just be aware of

covid-19, but be aware of those around you. tag us on social media at #60s. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. at this time, i wanted to play the video that evan mentioned, so let's get to it.

[♪] >> the hon. london breed: very nice. thank you so much. that concludes our press conference. i guess now we'll be opening it up to a few questions. i want to take a moment to thank everyone for joining us and really express my appreciation to all the

organizations for the work that you are doing to make sure that we are staying healthy, and we are staying safe. i love the amazing posters, the graphics, the videos, and all the cool things that we are using to really get people actively engaged in this need to finding creative solutions to get folk to see comply with the mask -- folks to comply with the mask wearing compliance. i think about when i was a kid, and talking about wearing your seat belt and the work that had to go into getting folks to wear your seat belt, and today, it's just natural to get in your seat belt when you get in a car. and i remember when i was little, people used to smoke in buildings and on planes, and now, it's completely different.

even wearing a condom and the push for safe sex, the conversation about mask wearing, we have to get creative in what we say in the culture and the fabric of this country. the work that you do in getting the community to trust you to know that twhat they do is important and it saves lives. so we're thankful for your work, and at this time, we're happy to open it up for questions. >> thank you, mayor, and thank you to all everyone who joined us here today. we'll jump right into the same questions. mayor breed, we received multiple questions on this, and this is one question that'll cover it. what do you think about speaker pelosi's decision to get a

blowout in san francisco on monday? does she owe the service industry an apology? is ignorance of the health orders an excuse? >> the hon. london breed: well, let me start by saying that it's really unfortunate that with everything happening in this country, with the fact that we basically have a dictator in charge of running this country, and we have our speaker, nancy pelosi, working day and night to try and fight, again, the challenges we have with the white house. she has spent her entire career working for this city and working for this country. it's unfortunate this conversation has blown up the way that it has and distracted us from the real issue. the fact is we don't have good, solid federal leadership that is helping to facilitate this covid-19, and over 180,000

americans have died as a result of this virus. and had we had what we needed from day one from this federal administration, then we would probably not be in as bad of a situation as we are. our focus should be on making sure that we as a city are providing also good information. i know that there's been a lot of confusion with our small businesses and operations and whether or not they can operate indoors or outdoors, and so we as a city, and the confusion between the local information and the state information, we have to do a better responsibility of doing a better job around communication. so we can either focus and blaming and saying who should do what, but we have bigger issues as it relates to this country, and i have a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for the hard work that nanny pelosi does every single day to take care of this city and this country. and that's what we should be focused on because we are

dealing with very challenging times, and leadership does matter. i do understand that the industry is suffering, not only the hair industry, but the masseuses and the salons. i understand the frustration, and some businesses may not ever open again. i understand this is hard for everyone. the decisions that we're making around public health have everything to do with keeping people safe, and unfortunately, the economy and people's li livelihoods have suffered. so i understand that, but i think it's important to get back to the main part of wearing masks, and staying apart, and staying heath healthy, and the city will do a better job of communicating with our small businesses in

san francisco as we begin or reopening efforts. >> thank you, madam mayor. the next question comes from cristian captain with ktvu. with the weekend almost here and warm weather for the forecast, what city parks and impeaches are open -- beaches are open, and what distancing steps are you asking for people to observe? >> look, we know that parks and beaches are open, and it's important for people to socialize and pick up a date or two, but what we also need you to do is comply. there are more parks that are dolores park or chrissy fields. there's other places you can enjoy, as well. so what we're asking people to do is to just make sure that

you're using good judgment. if you go to dolores park, and you see that it's crowded and there's no place for you to go with your people and maintain your distance with your mask and so forth, why even step foot in that park? we will be out doing enforcement more so than we have in the past, but we want people to use common sense because we tend to see spikes in our numbers as a result of the holidays, and labor day, i'm sure, is not going to be any different. i've had people reach out to be to invite me to barbecues, people who want today do a jumpy with the kids, and i'm saying, why are you calling me? i'm going to say no way. it's not that i'm not only going to go, it's just that these are places where the virus could transmit. i'm just asking people to

remember, be a part of the solution, and we will do our very best to be out there, to do enforcement. we don't want to have to do enforcement. we don't want people out there, creating more attention than already exists because of people not being good citizens by wearing masks. we just want people to do their part. we're going to do our part. we hope we don't have to shutdown parks and parking lots and make it difficult for people to get out and enjoy things. we have so many parks where there's no reason why people have to crowd in one or two or three park in san francisco. the beaches have been a lot more manageable because we've opened up more space there. again, just use common sense not only to protect you but the people around you. >> thank you so much, madam

mayor, and everyone else for your time. there are no further questions at this time, and this concludes today's press conference. thank you, and stay safe. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. >> 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. [♪]

>> shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses, and challenges residents to do their shopping within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services in

our neighborhood, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> i am the owner of this restaurant. we have been here in north beach over 100 years. [speaking foreign language] [♪] [speaking foreign language] [♪]

[speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language] [♪]

>> first it's always the hardest and when they look back they really won't see you, but it's the path that you're paving forward for the next one behind you that counts. (♪) hi, my name is jajaida durden and i'm the acting superintendent for the bureau of forestry and i work for public works operations. and i'm over the landscaping, the shop and also the arborist crew. and some tree inspectors as well. i have been with the city and county of san francisco for 17 years. and i was a cement mason, that

was my first job. when i got here i thought that it was too easy. so i said one day i'll be a supervisor. and when i run this place it will be ran different. and i i didn't think that it wod happen as fast as it did, but it did. and i came in 2002 and became a supervisor in 2006. and six months later i became the permanent supervisor over the shop. >> with all of those responsibilities and the staff you're also dealing with different attitudes and you have to take off one hat and put on another hat and put on another hat. and she's able -- she's displayed that she can carry the weight with all of these different hats and still maintain the respect of the director, the deputy director and all of the other people that she has to come in contact with. >> she's a natural leader. i mean with her staff, her staff thinks highly of her. and the most important thing is when we have things that happen, a lot of emergencies, she's right by me and helps me out

every time that i have asked. >> my inspiration is when i was a young adult was to become a fire woman. well, i made some wrong decisions and i ended up being incarcerated, starting young and all the way up to an adult. when i was in jail they had a little program called suppers program and i -- supers program, and i met strong women in there and they introduced me to construction. i thought that the fire department would turn me down because i had a criminal history. so i looked into options of what kind of construction i could do. while i was in jail. and the program that i was in, they re-trained us on living and how to make the right decisions and i chose construction. and cement mason didn't require a high school diploma at that time so i figured i could do that. when i got out of jail they had

a program in the philmore area and i went there. my first day out i signed up and four days later i started to work and i never looked back. i was an apprentice pouring concrete. and my first job was mount zion emergency hospital which is now ucsf. and every day that i drive by ucsf and i look at the old mount zion emergency, i have a sense of pride knowing that i had a part of building that place. yeah, i did. i graduated as an apprentice and worked on a retrofit for city hall. i loved looking at that building and i take big pride in knowing that i was a part of that retrofit. my first for formen job was a 40

story building from the ground up. and it's a predominantly male industry and most of the times people underestimate women. i'm used to it though, it's a challenge for me. >> as a female you're working with a lot of guys. so when they see a woman, first they don't think that the woman is in charge and to know that she's a person that is in charge with operations, i think that it's great, because it's different. it's not something -- i mean, not only a female but the only female of color. >> i was the first female finisher in the cement shop and i was the first crew supervisor, in the shop as a woman. when i became a two, the supervisors would not help me. in the middle, they'd call me a rookie, an apprentice and a female trying to get somewhere that she don't belong. oh, it was terrible. it was terrible. i didn't have any support from the shop. the ones who said they supported me, they didn't, they talked

about me behind my back. sometimes i had some crying, a lot of crying behind doors, not in public. but i had a lot of mentors. my mentor i will call and would pick up the phone and just talk, talk, talk, please help me. what am a i going to do? hang in there. it was frustrating and disheartening, it really was. but what they didn't understand is that because they didn't help me i had to learn it. and then probably about a year later, that's when i started to lay down the rules because i had studied them and i learned them and it made me a good supervisor and i started to run the ship the way that i wanted to. it was scary. but the more i saw women coming through the shop, i saw change coming. i knew that it was going to come, but i didn't know how long it would take. it was coming.

in the beginning when i first came here and i was the first woman here as a finisher, to see the change as it progressed and for me to become a permanent assistant superintendent over the cement shop right now, that's my highlight. i can look down at my staff and see the diversity from the women to the different coaches in here and know that no one has to ever go through what i went through coming up. and i foster and help everyone instead of pushing them away. i'll talk to women and tell them they can make it and if they need any help, come talk to me. and they com knock on my door ad ask how i move up and how i get training. i'm always encouraging to go to school and encourage them to take up some of the training with d.p.w. and i would tell them to hold strong and understand that things that we go through today that are tough makes you

stronger for tomorrow. although we don't like hearing it at the time that we're going through all of this stuff, it helps you in the long run to become a better woman and a person [♪]son >> 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.

[♪] >> ♪ ♪ we are definitely pioneers in

airport concession world a world of nationally if not entirely or internationally >> everybody is cop us right now. >> the people that were in charge of the retail this is where that began. >> i didn't think we would have a location at the airport. >> we've set the bar higher with the customer commerce. >> telling me about the operator and how you go about finding them and they get from being in the city to being in the airport. >> so first, we actually find a table and once we know what we want a sit-down we go to the neighborhoods in san francisco and other people seminary of the retail let us know about the rain water and are excited to

have the local operators in the airport. >> we have to go going through the conceive selective process and they award a lease to the restaurant. >> they are planning on extending. >> we that you could out the china and the length evens and the travel serve and fourth your minds and it's all good. >> how long for a vendor to move through the process. >> i would say it could take 80 up to a year from the time we go out to bid until they actually open a restaurant. >> i don't know what we signed up for but the airport is happy to have us here. and, you know, even taking out the track simple things there's a learning curve

>> with once we're here they are helpful. >> it's an award-winning program. >> we're prude of your awards we have won 11 awards the latest for the best overall food address beverage program and . >> like the oscars (laughter). >> the professional world. >> tell me about the future food. >> all the sb national leases are xooirz and we're hoping to bring newer concepts out in san francisco and what your passengers want. >> well, i look forward to the future (laughter) air are we look fofofofofofofofo

>> as a friendyou can submit u

questions by chat only. please submit your questions as clearly as possible and include your name and outlet. we will do our best to receive questions up until the q&a begins. remaining questions can be sent to des@sfgov.org. and here is the mayor, london breed. >> >> the hon. london breed: good afternoon, everyone. today, i'm joined by community organizations that have always been amazing partners with the city and have really stepped up during covid-19 for our community. i was out with the latino task force earlier this week to

distribute p.p.e. for all businesses, and they are doing amazing work organizing and fighting for resources for the community. the sisters for perpetual indulgence are always at the forefront for keeping the sister of lgbtq healthy, always while having a little -- okay, a lot of fun. and the african american arts and cultural district has been working hard to make sure the community members know where they can go for support, from sharing information about testing, business grants and loans, and working to empower youth in the bayview, and opportunities for all has helped distribute books, activity kits, and technology that students need to be successful this school year,

and their terms and fellows have repaired with community engagement and outreach throughout the city. so since the start of this global pandemic, we have always heard and received advice about how we can protect ourselves and others and slow the spread of the virus. overtime, as our understanding of the virus has evolved, some of that guidance has changed, like face coverings, while other guidance shall stayed consistent, like frequent hand washing. you can't walk down the street, go to the grocery store, listen to music our browse social media without someone telling you to stay 6 feet apart, wear your mask, and wash your hands. since january, our city has launched multilingual campaigns on t.v., radio, social media, newspapers, bus shelters, and

bill boards. a team of disaster service workers han been on the streets daily, blanketing our city with posters, multilingual posters and flyers. since january, this team has distributed more than 3 million flyers. posters, and fact sheets across the city. you can't turn anywhere in the city of without seeing our blue and yellow signs. this provides good information, and many people are listening. however, as we've stretched into our seventh month of this pandemix, we are looking for new ways to capture people's attention to sustain the good work of our residents and communities. we want to be bold and strategic how we reach out to people who aren't wearing masks. we wanted to find out why

people might not be wearing face coverings and see if we can change their behavior because we're all safer when we cover our faces when we go out, and regularly wearing face coverings will help us keep san francisco on a path of reopening that we so desperately need. i asked our team, our city team to start working with people and organizations in our neighborhood to did he vel community led education campaigns and outreach efforts specifically around mask wearing, and many answered the call. our nonprofits arts and faith organizations are on the frontlines impacting communities. because of their relationships, they are often the most trusts and the most influential than the government. i'm proud to say, today, we are launching our first series of community-led campaigns ahead

of labor day weekend, and you are going to hear from some of our partners shortly. but first, i want to address why we are launching this ahead of this current weekend. historically, labor day is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of american workers. because of the pandemic, this labor day has a special significance. it is a chance to honor the special workers in our community. we know this virus has disproportionately impacted our frontline workforce, many of them who have to reuse their

medical equipment every sipping wisipping -- single day. labor day marks the end of summer, and most years, we have barbecues and cookouts with our families, and i personally wish i could attend one of those gatherings. as we set at the beginning of the pandemic, the safest thing is to do is for people to stay home, but let's be real. people miss each other, and they're going to decide to get together. so if you do, we ask if you're going to be other with others, keep it outside, make sure everyone is wearing a face covering, and avoid sharing food and drink. we know that oftentimes, when people come together, especially when they start drinking throughout the day, behavior changes. in addition to keeping our friends and our family safe,

wearing a mask is one of the most effective things we can do to keep reopening san francisco. let's be mindful what we are doing and how we are impacting the spread of this share. let's share the love, not the virus. and at this time, i'd like each of our community partners to talk about their campaign and why it's important to protect our communities this labor day weekend and beyond. first, we have dr. scott sampson from the california academy of sciences, which lent their creative and innovative design experts to help our city. >> thank you very much, mayor breed, and thank you for your strong leadership during this challenging time, including in relation to this coronavirus. and warm thanks to all of our partners. i'm scott sanchez, director of the california academy of sciences. the academy has been part of

san francisco since 1853, just three years after california became a state. we care deeply about our city, and we are here to putting all of our cutting edge science to keep our community safe. when we heard that san francisco is so close to hitting an important mask wearing milestone, our organization jumped at the chance to help get the word out. the science is crystal clear, wearing a mask makes a big difference, and we need everyone, especially young people, to mask up. we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that wearing a mask, watching your distance, and washing your hands will help crush the covid-19 curve. this campaign, available in four different languages all over san francisco, is asking young people to take one small

step that can make a giant difference helping to keep our entire community safe. whether you're missing outside lands or dinner at your favorite restaurant, a giants game or inspirational evening of night life at the academy, we are all in this together. we are excited to keep the city's reopening on track so that we can all return to enjoying the many amazing benefits san francisco has to offer. i wear a mask so that we ask safely open the academy and welcome you back for more awe and wonder in golden gate park. thank you, and stay safe. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, dr. sampson. now next, we have up annie chung from self-help for the elderly who will talk about

efforts to conduct outreach and education with our asian and pacific islander community. annie? >> thank you so much, mayor breed, and good afternoon, everyone. i'm annie chung with self-help for the elderly, and as mayor said, we've been on the frontline, providing essential meals and other elder care services to all of our seniors in san francisco. and we're honored today, mayor, to partner with you and to support you in your relentless fight against the covid-19 pandemic, and to educate the chinese speaking seniors and families how to protect themselves once they step outside their homes. mayor breed, i think the seniors are doing their part to abide by the health order. i urge all the seniors and families to remember what dr. sampson just said and practice

the three w's: one, wear masks, two, wash your hands, and three, watch your social distancing. i know the labor day weekend is coming up, and we may be tempted to invite friends and family over for barbecues and gatherings. only invite people that are in your immediate household, and if possible, try to meet outdoors, which will be much safer for you and your family. remember, prevent everyone from sharing drinks or using the same utensils or chop sticks with each other. be aware at all times. protect yourselves and others,

and think positive. [speaking cantonese language] >> thank you, everyone, and thank you, mayor. >> the hon. london breed: thank you so much, annie, for all the work that you continue to do. next, we have director glen from the african american arts and cultural district. i understand the district worked with local rappers to produce a music video that we'll see at the end of this press conference. evan? >> thank you, mayor breed. we really appreciate the continued support that the city of san francisco has shown the african american community. it's been a lot of unprecedented work over the last several years, and we deeply appreciate that. my name is evan glen.

i am the executive director for the african american arts and cultural district located in the bayview and third street corridor. so it was a process working with fran says zamora, the -- frances zamora, the department of emergency management, making sure the message put forth in our campaign was representative of the people in our community: our culture, the way we look, and it just resonated with our spirits and our soul, and so that's what you're going to see in bill boards across the city. we also thought it would be a good idea to put a rap together to resonate with the young people. after talking with my codirector, erica scott, she says hey, you know, my daughter's going to parties,

and the young people need a message, as well. so we got together with a rap group out of the fillmore, 16-year-old girls called the poppin' twins, and they wrote the rap that we're going to share for everybody today. with that being said, i just want to send a message out to the community to remain safe because statistically, the bayview has been hit the hardest with covid-19 out of any other area in san francisco. we need to be aware of that. we need to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart from each other, and remain safe. and think about your grandparents. think about the elderly in your neighborhood because their immune system obviously isn't as strong, and so we have to start thinking about each other. but again, i just want to thank the city of san francisco for the work that they've been doing to support the african

american community. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, evan, for your remarks and for joining us here today, and we're looking forward to seeing that video. now we also know that the latino community has really been the hardest hit in our city. in fact, over 50% of the cases that have been diagnosed were people of latino descent, and we have not been able to do -- we would not have been able to do the incredible work that we are doing to support this community and to address this disparity if it weren't for the latino task force. they've been an amazing resource in not only mask wearing but keeping people safe. they're here to discuss the latino awareness campaign in

san francisco. so thank you, susanna. >> thank you, mayor breed. my name is susanna rojas, and i am the director of the latino task force. thank you so much for allowing me to speak and to collaborate dpsh-for allowing the latino task force to collaborate with the city so that our city can feel empowered to take action. the virus is just one more challenge to conquer, to stop the spread of covid-19 and to protect our latino families ahead of labor day weekend and beyond, i'm here to showcase the latino community. [speaking spanish language]

[end of translation]. >> our actions speak leader than words. we can show love by masking up. we can stay 6 feet apart, and most importantly, by not sharing food and drink. now we in the latino community know that food is central to our interaction. it is the backbone to our community, and gathering with large families is how we show our love. love during the coronavirus looks like wearing our masks, washing our hands, staying 6 feet apart, and protecting our seniors and our young people. hugging in our families and physical contact is something we do on a daily basis, but right now, we have to demonstrate our love by hugging virtually by wearing a mask.

and last but not least, we have sacrificed -- [speaking spanish language] >> thank you. >> the hon. london breed: thank you again, susanna, for joining us and for all the work that you do. i'm so excited for our next speakers. sister, you are one of my favorite speakers, and i am so glad to have you here with us today. the sisters of perpetual indulgence along with supervisor mandelman launched an outreach campaign, focusing

on the lgbtq community. the poster that you created was just amazing. thank you, and join me, everyone, in welcoming sister roma. >> hello, mayor breed. i can't wait to see that video, and of course i'm hungry for some great latin food. i want to thank you for unprecedented leadership during these very hard times. your team is amazing. since the beginning of the pandemic, it's been hard for people in my community to not compare it to hiv/aids, which we all know ravaged the lgbtq community very badly in the early 80s. and the sisters stepped up at that time and were actually

leading the fight against hiv/aids with providing information and education. so when this got here, we thought oh, this sounds familiar. when tom temprano approached me, i went back to my sisters, and we were all on board, and we went back to our methods of harm reduction and reminded our community that it's best to stay safe and stay away from each other. this weekend, people are just itching to get out and dance and see each other. it's difficult, and it'll be trying, and i want people to know that there'll be a time that we can get together with each other and hug and hold each other, like we used to. but the sisters want to let you know that wearing masks can be

fabulous. look for us in dolores park on friday, where we're going to be handing out 1500 masks, and then we're going to be heading to the castro for our first friday event, which will be at 5:00 p.m. in the castro. so thank you for including me, and it's been my honor and privilege. >> the hon. london breed: thank you, sister roma. i almost didn't recognize you without your makeup on. maybe i'll join you on friday. that would be amazing. >> oh, thank you so much. >> the hon. london breed: okay. finally, i want to introduce a leader who has a bright future ahead of her. athena matthews.

>> it is so important to demonstrate proper covid-19 behavior, and masks are just one tool to prevent the spread of covid. bypassi -- covid by catching droplets when you sneeze or cough, protecting those around you. indifferent while understandable is not sustainable. it is imperative that this generation feel empowered to take care of ourselves and take care of each other because we need to be more active and take on an active role in fixing our nation's challenges, even beyond covid-19, so to my fellow general fellow gen-z'ers, let this be a

warning not to just be aware of covid-19, but be aware of those around you. tag us on social media at #60s. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. at this time, i wanted to play the video that evan mentioned, so let's get to it.

[♪] >> the hon. london breed: very nice. thank you so much. that concludes our press conference. i guess now we'll be opening it up to a few questions. i want to take a moment to thank everyone for joining us

and really express my appreciation to all the organizations for the work that you are doing to make sure that we are staying healthy, and we are staying safe. i love the amazing posters, the graphics, the videos, and all the cool things that we are using to really get people actively engaged in this need to finding creative solutions to get folk to see comply with the mask -- folks to comply with the mask wearing compliance. i think about when i was a kid, and talking about wearing your seat belt and the work that had to go into getting folks to wear your seat belt, and today, it's just natural to get in your seat belt when you get in a car. and i remember when i was little, people used to smoke in buildings and on planes, and

now, it's completely different. even wearing a condom and the push for safe sex, the conversation about mask wearing, we have to get creative in what we say in the culture and the fabric of this country. the work that you do in getting the community to trust you to know that twhat they do is important and it saves lives. so we're thankful for your work, and at this time, we're happy to open it up for questions. >> thank you, mayor, and thank you to all everyone who joined us here today. we'll jump right into the same questions. mayor breed, we received multiple questions on this, and this is one question that'll

cover it. what do you think about speaker pelosi's decision to get a blowout in san francisco on monday? does she owe the service industry an apology? is ignorance of the health orders an excuse? >> the hon. london breed: well, let me start by saying that it's really unfortunate that with everything happening in this country, with the fact that we basically have a dictator in charge of running this country, and we have our speaker, nancy pelosi, working day and night to try and fight, again, the challenges we have with the white house. she has spent her entire career working for this city and working for this country. it's unfortunate this conversation has blown up the way that it has and distracted us from the real issue. the fact is we don't have good, solid federal leadership that is helping to facilitate this

covid-19, and over 180,000 americans have died as a result of this virus. and had we had what we needed from day one from this federal administration, then we would probably not be in as bad of a situation as we are. our focus should be on making sure that we as a city are providing also good information. i know that there's been a lot of confusion with our small businesses and operations and whether or not they can operate indoors or outdoors, and so we as a city, and the confusion between the local information and the state information, we have to do a better responsibility of doing a better job around communication. so we can either focus and blaming and saying who should do what, but we have bigger issues as it relates to this country, and i have a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for the hard work that nanny pelosi does every single day to take care of this city and this country.

and that's what we should be focused on because we are dealing with very challenging times, and leadership does matter. i do understand that the industry is suffering, not only the hair industry, but the masseuses and the salons. i understand the frustration, and some businesses may not ever open again. i understand this is hard for everyone. the decisions that we're making around public health have everything to do with keeping people safe, and unfortunately, the economy and people's li livelihoods have suffered. so i understand that, but i think it's important to get back to the main part of wearing masks, and staying apart, and staying heath healthy, and the city will do a

better job of communicating with our small businesses in san francisco as we begin or reopening efforts. >> thank you, madam mayor. the next question comes from cristian captain with ktvu. with the weekend almost here and warm weather for the forecast, what city parks and impeaches are open -- beaches are open, and what distancing steps are you asking for people to observe? >> look, we know that parks and beaches are open, and it's important for people to socialize and pick up a date or two, but what we also need you to do is comply. there are more parks that are dolores park or chrissy fields. there's other places you can enjoy, as well. so what we're asking people to

do is to just make sure that you're using good judgment. if you go to dolores park, and you see that it's crowded and there's no place for you to go with your people and maintain your distance with your mask and so forth, why even step foot in that park? we will be out doing enforcement more so than we have in the past, but we want people to use common sense because we tend to see spikes in our numbers as a result of the holidays, and labor day, i'm sure, is not going to be any different. i've had people reach out to be to invite me to barbecues, people who want today do a jumpy with the kids, and i'm saying, why are you calling me? i'm going to say no way. it's not that i'm not only going to go, it's just that these are places where the

virus could transmit. i'm just asking people to remember, be a part of the solution, and we will do our very best to be out there, to do enforcement. we don't want to have to do enforcement. we don't want people out there, creating more attention than already exists because of people not being good citizens by wearing masks. we just want people to do their part. we're going to do our part. we hope we don't have to shutdown parks and parking lots and make it difficult for people to get out and enjoy things. we have so many parks where there's no reason why people have to crowd in one or two or three park in san francisco. the beaches have been a lot more manageable because we've opened up more space there. again, just use common sense not only to protect you but the

people around you. >> thank you so much, madam mayor, and everyone else for your time. there are no further questions at this time, and this concludes today's press conference. thank you, and stay safe. >> the hon. london breed: thank you.

>> vice president taylor: welcome to what is going to be the continued meeting from august 19 as well as concurrently the september 2 meeting of the san francisco police commission. as some of you may be aware, we lost quorum at the last police commission meeting due to technical difficulties beyond our control. so at that time, we had completed the chief's report, the d.p.a. director's report, and line item 1 before we had to adjourn. we're going to pick up tonight where we left off, so it's going to be the presidential report, commission report, and public comment. we want to make sure the public has an opportunity to comment on items from the august 19 agenda. so that's how we're going to proceed, and then after that, we will continue the remaining items on