rights commission and he went onto the public utilities commission, where he not just oversaw water and all those types of things, he purchased power. then he went to the city where he oversaw not just purchasing, but our mill works. he was in the peace corps. he's an attorney, and he started his career working on local hire issues not with the city but as a -- i can't remember -- private entity, where he was working on hud section 3 hiring programs, so i would like to introduce you all to aleric degrafinried.

>> thank you. it's my pleasure to be here, and i just want you to know that i'll be here to support you in each and every neighborhood, in each of the districts, in each of the schools. so while i'm here, doing everything i can do to make the

city better. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much, aleric. it will be a great pleasure, working with you in our streets and our communities. so now, in celebration of our communities, we want to welcome to the stage our come back neighborhood and community challenge grant winners. the come back neighborhood award is given to the neighborhood that has really turn things around for its residence through collective problem solving and leadership, and this year's winner is bayview hill-candlestick point. the bayview neighborhood association has -- their

negotiations with lennar and five point have led to cleaner air and reduced traffic congestion in the neighborhood. and joining us today is their board of directors. all right. fantastic. i wanted to ask you just one question. what is the biggest positive change you have seen in the bayview hill-candlestick point neighborhood that you've seen in the last year? what is the biggest positive thing that has happened for you this year. >> we can breathe the air a lot better. [applause] >> we can take deep breaths now because we do have the pollution that we used to have, we don't have the congestion from all the cars from candlestick park, and we definitely are trying to make sure that we don't breathe anything else nasty that's coming from the shipyards. [applause] >> yes, please, a round of

applause. [applause] >> now, the community challenge grant has been supporting many community design and implemented projects in san francisco for years, and they played a vital role in hoping build more liveable, more sustainable, and more vibrant neighborhoods. it turned a building in the center of fillmore into a vibrant mural representing history. so the award is being given tonight to tomorrow walker. come on over, josh. don't be shy. [applause] >> and i just wanted to ask you, which part of the mural is most important to you and the community and why. >> the most important part of this mural, to me, was

community telling the history of this mural. this mural was created with community workshops, focus groups, and we could not have done this without the community, and also the group who drew london breed's part of this mural. it was a collaborative, and that's why it was so successful. >> fantastic. thank you so much. [applause] >> all right. oh, one photo, please.

>> the spirit of the fillmore mural. >> mayor breed, can we do one more photo over here? >> fantastic. thank you, mayor breed. [applause] >> and thank you supervisor shamann walton for joining us tonight. thank you. i want to recognize a few more of our elected officials that are here tonight. i see supervisor catherine

stefani here tonight, supervisor hillary ronen, president of the board of supervisors, norman yee. head of the department of health, grant colfax. our city librarian, members of the police department command staff are here tonight. if you can raise your hand. i know some of you, not all of you, are in uniform tonight. supervisor gordon mar. good to see you tonight. thank you for joining us. [applause] >> and of course, there are countless commissioners here tonight. i want to thank you for coming tonight to celebrate with us. a and now, if i could, i'd like to invite president yee up to the stage for a few remarks. [♪] . >> president yee: thank you,

joaquin. i'm norman yee, the president of the board of supervisors. you know, this celebration will not be complete unless the board of supervisors comes up here and really gives this group a big welcome. hello there! and by the way, happy lunar new year. [speaking chinese language] >> president yee: i want to say this is a real important celebration. i've been to every one of them. this is now my eighth one. why is it so important here? because we know in our districts that without the volunteers, the neighborhood groups, the business people, and everybody who cleans up the street in partnership with the city, that we continue to make our city great.

is that right? yeah. and i want to say that we will continue this effort because without the people in the community, this city is not a city. it's empty. but with the people in the community, we are really blessed that we all live in san francisco, the best city in the world! thank you very much. thank you very much. [applause]

>> thank you so much, president yee, representing the board of supervisors. we're going to do a little bit of stage crafting right now as it moves to the right. so now, we welcome to the stage, winners of extraordinary neighborhood block party, the extraordinary neighborhood block party and best merchant association-community benefit district. now block parties are more than just parties. they're an opportunity for people to come together, become family, to celebrate what makes living in san francisco great. we welcome this community building activity with the extraordinary neighborhood block party award. for the past seven years, the residents of connecticut street between 20 and 22, also known as the connecticut street dead enders have been riding stuffed animal scooters, highlighting local musicians, and generally

make living in the neighborhood a cakewalk. so miss lisa ryers, would you come up. i want to ask you about the importance of this for your community. so i've heard a lot about these block parties that the connecticut street dead enders have been hosting, and i'm still waiting for my invitation. i wanted to know what makes this event special to you and what makes the work special to you? >> well, obviously, it's the people that make our block parties work, make our block parties so special. we have people who were born in their homes, they moved in there in 1953, and they're now

in their 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, 40s, 30s, 20s, and the children and babies, and they make living in the neighborhood so wonderful. >> so merchant associations bring businesses and residents together. whenever i visit the taraval corridor, i'm amazed how many businesses there are. [inaudible] >> -- local talent fairs, street fairs, and a delicious

and local array of restaurants and shops. i'd like to welcome up to the stage albert chops. it's good to see you, albert. >> good to see you, too. >> i'd like to hear from you about what impact the people of parkside sunset has had on you, your life, and the people of san francisco and your business? >> well, you know, i am so glad. i want to say a wow that we're here. we have started out as a small group, and now, it's grown to the size that it has, and it is the community. it has come together. taraval was a sleepy neighborhood before, but now, it's really coming into its own. i'm just so proud of my officers, my neighborhood that's really come up to bat and take care of moving our neighborhood and our merchant association forward. i also want to say that we

couldn't be there without oewd, and we couldn't be there without our supervisors supporting us, and our mayor supporting us. thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you, albert. if you could hold right here, the photographer is ready to get you right now. [♪] >> all right. thank you so much. thank you so much. i would say come on this way. thank you so much. let's have a round of applause as they make their exit,

everybody. [applause] >> our next awards elevate those who have responded and volunteered as first responders. the san francisco police department auxiliary law enforcement response team, a.k.a. a.l. e.e.r.t., or the f department's neighborhood response team, or n.e.r.t., have played a signature roific in our neighborhoods. whether leading teams in drills or supporting local events alongside the san francisco

police department, henry exemplifies what it means to be a community leader, so congratulations, henry. [applause] >> so henry, may i just ask you a question? >> sure. >> what made you believe it was so important to dedicate your life to service in this way? >> well, service is the highest form of human endeavor, and the training that i've received, and the skills are going to serve me well and the members of my community. but i would be remiss if i didn't take this opportunity to recognize and thank the work of sergeant mark hernandez, who has shepherded and led this program with such excellence and grace and has been such a

mentor to my time personally. he's leaving the program soon, and i wanted to make that known. >> fantastic, henry. congratulations, and thank you so much. [applause] so, of course, we never know when an emergency will occur. that's why it's important to prepare as soon as possible beforehand. so known for his ability to coach and train n.e.r.t. volunteers, pete mccaffrey is this year's winner of the leadership award. unfortunately, peter is no longer with us, but his spirit of community service and dedication to training the next generation of n.e.r.t.

volunteers live on. tonight, his wife, patricia, and their son, daniel, are here to receive the award on his behalf. [applause] >> come on up, please. >> all right. first of all, thank you, mayor breed, and the san francisco fire department, and thank you, all of you who nominated my husband for this honor. [applause] >> you all know, the ones that know him, he would be very humble. i want you to know that he knew

about this award before he passed away. we were sitting in our office back to back, and he told me he had been nominated for this award, and he said why me? he just didn't kind of believe it, wondering why. and i remember, i told him, well, it's because -- and i, you know, i kind of reminded him. and i think he was very pleased, and he was humble, and we're very proud of him, and we thank you very much. [applause] >> hi. a few years back, i asked my

dad what the past pete would want for the future pete in his life, and he said to do good. this award verifies how -- such a great person he was, and we're so proud of him. so thank you. thank you, everyone. [applause] >> if i could just ask, just for a quick moment of silence so we could hold this space for a moment. we get to recognize people and families who come together who know the value of true, deep commitment and service to a civic identity, to a city. [♪] >> thank you. commander fong, i'd like to invite you up to say a few words to talk about service at

a different level in terms of those who have committed so much of their lives in san francisco. >> thank you. first, i'd like to thank henry for his award, his contribution and leadership and dedication to this program, who helped make the n.e.r.t. program what it is today. retired sergeant mark hernandez, after 35 years of service to the san francisco police department, took over the a.l.e.r.t. program and built it into what it is today, 172 volunteers dedicated to serving the police department

and neighborhoods at community events. mark hernandez is retiring this year after 40 years of dedicated service to the city and county of san francisco. i'd just like to thank mark hernandez for his continued service and wish him all the best in his retirement. [applause] >> thank y [♪] >> thank you so much, commander. our next group of winners includes the most inspiring public works volunteer, youth neighborhood leadership, and outstanding neighborhood watch group. the most inspiring public works volunteer award includes san francisco volunteers who have consistently worked to improve our neighborhoods as they build a cleaner, greener, and safer community. vicky rideout was selected because of her extraordinary

work in creating a beautiful and vibrant street park in bernal heights. so congratulations, vickie. [applause] >> so we know that you were especially dedicated to the thompson gardens stairway project and helped their volunteers toward beautifying the area. so what drew you to this area and inspired you to make a drew? >> well, if i'm honest, i was disgusted by how the property had become. it was a stinky mess, full of trash and weeds. we had to walk-through it every day to get to the library, to get to the elementary school. so when we handed out fliers, these people came out, and we

learned one really important lesson, i think, from this, which we'd love to share with the policy makers here tonight, which is there's this category in the city called unaccepted properties that are public leoned b ly owned but not maintained according to the city. i think neighborhoods might take a look at them and consider caring for these properties with the personnel and resources to do so. >> fantastic. congratulations. [applause] >> now, the youth neighborhood leadership award is presented to a young san franciscan who has put in invaluable work to strengthen our community. that's right. let's hear it. [applause] >> yeah!

tonight, we award tyneta jones who speaks to young woman across the united states with the young women's freedom center. so what everyone wants to know is, what powerful project are you working on now and what are you most excited about? >> well, the project i'm working on now is shutting down juvenile hall, y.g.c. out here, so just connect -- y.j.c. out here, so connecting with other young women around the world, and also showing a good role model for my nieces and also younger girls. [applause] >> thank you so much for your leadership. [applause] >> now we all know that neighborhood watch groups are a

grassroots issue in communities -- and i want to thank supervisor raphael mandelman for doing this. the san francisco neighborhood watch was formed in response to violence in the castro but has become so much more. c. ccop works with the stop the violence program and works with the castro community benefits district and the castro neighborhood community. how have you seen the streets in the castro change since you began castro community on patrol in 2006? >> when we began, we were responding to some very violent activity, very violent robbery. once we hit the streets in

2006, that dissipated. so we're spending more time on teaching the public how to take care of their safety and being more self-aware, so we've seen a reduction in crime, but we also want to make sure that we maintain that. >> fantastic. thank you, and thank you all for your service. [applause] >> we'll just do a couple of -- yeah, three photos right here.

>> yeah, fantastic. thank you all. thank you all. some more fantastic applause, everybody. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor. so next, we welcome to the stage winners of the outstanding park volunteer group and most empowering city employ employee awards. [applause] >> the outstanding volunteer group award represents volunteer groups that are instrumental to the success of the city in providing clean, safe, and fun parks to the public. the friends of lafayette park, or folp, boast hundreds of members who have been working to better the city park for the

last 15 years. the members efforts to transform the park into a community gathering place with children's areas, picnic areas, off-leash dog park, and a shaded area is more than enough to recognize them with this award. we can have some applause here, folks. [applause] >> so tell us what this award means to you and to the community. >> it means everything. i think as a neighborhood group, you don't do this for rewards, you do it to better your environment. this group here with me, we've spent a lot of time bettering our environment, and we're humbled by this award. i think it really speaks to the membership, it speaks to the people that are part of our group, and we'd like to thank

our supervisor -- our past supervisor, mayor farrell, as well, but supervisor stefani, and the parks alliance, who we couldn't have done it without. we want to just say thanks. >> thank you so much, and congratulations. [applause] >> we've got one more, we've got one more. the most empowering city employee award highlights a member of the city family who has consistently gone above and beyond as they work to build cleaner, greener, and stronger communities. this year, the community judges panel is excited to recognize dylan j. hayes from the recreation and parks department for empowering residents in the natural resources program. dylan was a clear choice because of the countless testimonials that we received,

as we are hearing tonight, of dylan's work ethic, his compassion of creating green spaces for all san franciscans. of more than 32,000 employees, tonight, it is our pleasure to award dylan the most empowering city employee award. [applause] >> so we are still looking forward to having you as a member of the city employee family, dylan. what do you think is the most exciting park of your job? >> well, i'd have to say it's connecting people to nature. when we do have a restoration together, not only do we heal the earth, but we heal ourselves. we create something greater than ourselves, and to me, that means the world. as a lifelong san franciscan

and city employee or public servant, i've worked with some people for 20 years. and i couldn't be more thankful for all of the community. thank you to all of the friends groups here tonight, and the thousands of volunteers, especially the schoolteachers, as well. citywide, all of the people that i've worked with. we try to turn it around for people at our parks and try to get them connected. i also have to thank my rec and park colleagues, but not just the friends groups, but my rec and park colleagues, and especially the natural resource division. they work tirelessly to protect 1200 acres. i don't know how we balance biodiversity, but by golly, we do it. we couldn't do it especially without all the friends groups and the thousands of volunteers that show up. and i have my little fourth generation san franciscan here, and she has a little something that she'd like to say, too.

you ready? oh, i've got to hold that, too? great. >> well, speaking of san franciscans here at the new -- n.e.n. awards, empowering one another, i truly believe us san franciscans should have our own day. there is a day for just about everything, surprisingly, however, there is no official dedicated day to our city. we propose san francisco day, a day that would allow us to show our pride by getting out to local events with our neighbors to serve and celebrate what we love about san francisco. we're hoping there may be a few

people or supervisors around here who can make it happen. [applause] >> no pressure, supervisor stefani, no pressure. >> so thank you, empowering people, and happy san francisco day. [♪] >> thank you. >> a round of applause, please. a round of applause. congratulations. congratulations.

>> congratulations, everyone. >> throughout history, san francisco has welcomes innumerable leaders over the years. we honor those who are no longer with us, but those whose efforts continue to impact us on a daily basis, whether we recognize it or not. carlos gutierrez was born and raised in the mission. carlos turned his life around

while earning his bachelor's, and creating homies. tonight, we honor carlos gutierrez with the neighborhood empowerment hall of fame award. [applause] >> receiving the award tonight on behalf of him are his children, cassandra and elias, and we are so happy to have you with us here tonight. >> so i was in class earlier, and i knew i was about to speak, so i wrote a little poem. i didn't title it, but it's not that long. here goes. late nights, a lot of late nights.

some of the simplest joys a kid has is coming home from school and enjoying that little sliver of time before your parents come home. for me, that sliver was always a chunk. late nights. my dad never was a normal father. there was a lot of late nights. nights i stayed up, nights that my dad came home late. i remember our brown rectangular dining room table that took up a considerable amount of our one-bedroom apartment. what i remember most of that table was not having family dinners on it. you know, i held a lot against him. how could someone come home so tired? why the hell was he coming home, giving me crap about not doing the damn dishes? they're not my mess, you know? you know, at the time, i was going to high school every day and feeling alone. i was doing all this hard work,

and this dude comes home, and he impedes on my alone time, my sanctuary, and starts barking orders. he goes to a job, a community organization, and that's not hard. you're sitting at a desk all day, doing nothing, while i'm slaving away at this homework. i told him his work was easy, and he'd always reply, i provide for you, and i do all of this, and i always thought he was full of it. you know, waiting to grow up, i had to -- like, looking back on it, you know, i really should have been more careful for what i wished for, but i never knew how much my dad did, the people he knew, the ones he helped. i travelled to berkeley and, you know, i met people who knew him even there. i -- you know, i'm a student at

u.s.f., down the street, and some guy stopped me and i had a sweater with his picture on it and said he knew my dad. at his funeral, i knew family and close friends, but there was a couple hundred people coming up to me, saying my dad was there for them at certain times. i look back, holding these things against him, oh, you don't do work. i study hard. it was almost like he lived a second life, going to work and

doing all these great things, and i held it against him, not coming home for dinner or going to parent events like other parents. if there's one thing i could say, usually, when someone dies, they're remembered for a time, and they're usually just forgotten, but this award and this ceremony, thank you all for remembering him, and, you know, remembering him when i felt like i was the only one that did. [applause] >> move this down a little bit. good evening. i do want to thank you and honoring my father, carlos. his presence is still and always will be deeply missed.

it's going to be two years in july. it's kind of crazy to think about because one minute, you're here, and the next, you're gone. but beyond the achievement of this physical award is the lasting effects of his actions towards the betterment and communications of humanity. he did it every single day working with incarcerated youth or just people on the street that he knew growing up, and he wanted them to be cleaner from drugs or off the street from violence, you know, breaking cycles. he did everything he could to not really be a statistic, even though he was at the beginning, being 16, having me. of course he may have started off the bad, little difficult, he did well as a parent. although he primarily worked in san francisco, he demonstrated

and localized the importance of being of assistance towards everything. but one of the things he really emphasized was that until deeds are put into actions, your words are useless. what are you doing to contribute? it's more than just saying i work for homie, more than i'd like to help volunteer. it's do you do it? and so although his passing is still, for myself and those who knew him, it's still painful. but i think out of the grief, knowing that he's gone -- i still think he's ascended to somewhere else -- it's about continuing his legacy and for everyone else who strives to make this crazy world better. and that's what i'm trying to

do not just for my brother, but he engrained that. he was really diligent and proud that he was doing something. he didn't care about the recognition. he didn't want to make sure you knew he was doing something. he was kind of funny that way. i guess the last thing i'd say is, god, i miss him a lot, but i use his life, his short 38 years of life to remind myself that you can do a lot in a short amount of time, and you live day-to-day, trying to make the world better through actions, through -- you know, compassion and understanding, patience. not just politically, but through the kindness of -- 'cause you want to.

so thanks, pops. hope that we win the super bowl this sunday. he was a big niners fan, so carlos vicente! thank you. [applause] [♪] >> it's extraordinary to have the voices of the next generation here with us tonight and speaking of legacy, integrity, and the future, and knowing that your father would be very proud to here your voices standing in front of a

room, a network of community leaders who believe in who you will bring to us, for that future that you will bring to your children and for generations to come, so thank you for being with us tonight. [applause] >> our neighborhoods are teeming with resident leaders who have been making differences in the lives around them for decades. this year, we have delores vinson, recipient of the neighborhood lifetime achievement award. born in georgia, she learned to care for the people of her family. to this day, she offers a roof to those who can't find housing, food to those who can't afford a meal, and guidance to numerous boards and associations, and san francisco will reach out to her for help.

so congratulations. [applause] >> hello, everybody. this is very humbling. i'm just a fourth generation of doing what i do. my great grandmother did it, my grandmother did it, my father did it, and i'm doing it. [applause] >> and i really do believe -- [applause] >> i'm going to do a little

preaching. but i do believe that our creator created us, and in that creation, he gave us a responsibility to shepherd his creation. we are to make sure the environment is safe. we have to make sure that the homeless have housing. we are to make sure that the seniors is taken care of. we're supposed to make sure that young people who lose their parents is nurtured and taken care of. and when we pray, he uses us to answer those prayers. we're his voice, we're his ears, we're his eyes, we're his hands, we're his feet. and i suspect each one of you in here today deserves this award, so i'm going to receive it in your behalf because i'm pretty sure that you've done

some of the things that have been requested of you to do. when you wake up in the morning, you ask him to give you the list that you're supposed to accomplish for that day. trust me, i will do that. sometimes you think you've missed the bus, and you get a little bit upset, but you'll meet somebody on the next bus, that you have information that they'll need. that's god's way of doing things. so thank those who felt that i deserve this, and i wish mayor breed was in here because she's one of my daughters -- i don't think she knows that. i watched her, very young woman on the commission. she did a lot for

bayview-hunters point. she would make suggestions, the boards followed it and made it happen. so we deeply appreciate it. and where's my supervisor? we appreciate him, also. we appreciate all of those, that we don't do it all by ourselves. it takes a community to make anything happen, and i really do appreciate, there are a lot of people -- i would ask them all to standup, but that would be crazy. i'm going to ask them to raise their hand. these are people -- raise your hand, those of you that are here for me. raise your hands. [applause] >> these are people that have really did work in our neighborhood, and they do deserve this award. [applause]

>> congratulations, miss vinson. thank you for your words of wisdom tonight. that was a beautiful way to close out tonight's ceremony. before we close and move on into the celebration room where the real party gets started and everybody gets to talk with each other in celebration and communion, i wanted to make sure we recognize a gentleman behind the scenes who wasn't up here tonight with me tonight, mr. daniel homsey. i wanted to shoutout and invite everyone up here, daniel and everyone with the mayor's office of community services to come on up, to come on up like you do every single day and every single night when you're working in communities. and here to tell us a little

bit about mons and community and the work we do collectively in our neighborhoods is emma. >> hello. thank you, everybody. i'm so excited to be here tonight to represent all of the volunteers and all of the mons staff, mayor's office of neighborhood services. we work every day here in city hall to exemplify the values that you represent in your communities. raise your hand if you're in mons. [applause] we have a liaison for every single neighborhood, for every single street, and for every single person in this city. do you want to come and find us? you know right where we are in city hall. i want to thank the volunteers who practiced and practiced and practiced to make tonight a

success, and i want to thank all of the sponsors and vendors who helped us tonight, including sfgovtv, tate's catering, pure ecstasy, a band you're about to see at the reception, j.d. harris photography, abbie rentals, and of course our beloved community challenge grant -- and the mayor's office of disability. [applause] >> thank you all for coming, and thank you all for the work you do every single day in our neighborhoods, and please join us for a reception in the north light court for some food and some drink and some neighbors. >> tonight's -- tonight's about voices, and if someone didn't feel who got an award, that they didn't have enough time -- come on up.

come on up. >> -- to respond. this is a community of neighborhood empowerment. >> thank you all for coming out. i just wanted to say on behalf of the bayview neighborhood association, and on behalf of in particular the

>> >> president caen: i'm the president of the san francisco public utilities commission. at this time i would like to call to order the regular meeting of the san francisco public utilities commission. today's date is tuesday, september 8, 2020. roll call, please. >> president caen? here. >> vice president vietor: here. >> commissioner moran: here. >> commissioner maxwell: here. >> commissioner paulson: here. and we have a quorum. >> president caen: good. will you please read the announcement? >> during the covid-19 health emergency and given the public health recommendations issued by the san francisco department of public health and mayor breed, haveif