that. biblio bistro is a food education program. it brings such joy to people. it teaches them life skills that they can apply anywhere and it encourages them to take care of themselves. my name is leaf hillman and i'm a librarian and biblio bistro is my creation. i'm a former chef and i have been incubating this idea for many years. we are challenged to come up with an idea that will move the library into the future. this inspired me to think, what can we do around cooking? what can i do around cooking? we were able to get a cart. the charlie cart is designed to bring cooking to students in

elementary students that has enough gear on it to teach 30 students cooking. so when i saw that i thought bingo, that's what we're missing. you can do cooking classes in the library, but without a kitchen, it's difficult. to have everything contained on wheels that's it. i do cooking demonstrations out at the market every third wednesday. i feature a seafood, vegetable, and i show people how to cook the vegetable. >> a lot of our residents live in s.r.o.s single resident occupancies and they don't have access to full kitchens. you know, a lot of them just have a hot plate, a microwave, and the thing that biblio bistro does really well is cook food accessible in season and make it available that day. >> we handout brochures with

the featured recipe on the back. this recipe features mushrooms, and this brochure will bring our public back to the library. >> libraries are about a good time. >> i hired a former chef. she's the tickle queen at the ramen shop in rockwood. we get all ages. we get adults and grandparents and babies and, you know school-age kids and it's just been super terrific. >> i was a bit reluctant because i train teachers and adults. i don't train children. i don't work with children, and i find it very interesting and a bit scary, but working here

really taught me a lot you know how easily you can influence by just showing them what we have and it's not threatening, and it's tasty and fun. i make it really fun with kids because i don't look like a teacher. >> in the mix, which is our team center, we have programs for our kids who are age 13 to 18 and those are very hands on. the kids often design the menu. all of our programs are very interactive. >> today, we made pasta and garlic bread and some sauce. usually, i don't like bell pepper in my sauce, but i used bell pepper in my sauce, and it complemented the sauce really well.

i also grated the garlic on my bread. i never thought about that technique before but i did it and it was so delicious. >> we try to teach them techniques where they can go home and tell their families i made this thing today, and it was so delicious. >> they're kind of addicted to these foods, these processed foods, like many people are. i feel like we have to do what we can to educate people about that. the reality is we have to live in a world that has a lot of choices that aren't necessarily good for you all the time. >> this is interesting, but it's a reaction to how children are brought up. it is fast-food, and the apple is a fast-food, and so that sort of changes the way they think about convenience, how eating apple is convenient.

>> one of the things that i love about my program out at the market is the surprise and delight on people's faces when they finally taste the vegetable. it's been transformative for some people. they had never eaten those vegetables before but now they eat them on a regular basis. >> all they require is a hot plate and a saute pan, and they realize that they're able to cook really healthy, and it's also tasty. >> they also understand the importance of the connection that we're making. these are our small business owners that are growing our food and bringing it fresh to the market for them to consume, and then, i'm helping them consume it by teaching them how to cook. >> it connects people to the food that they're buying. >> the magic of the classes in the children's center and the team center is that the participants are cooking the food themselves and once they

do that they understand their connection to the food to the tools, and it empowers them. >> we're brokering new experiences for them so that is very much what's happening in the biblio bistro program. >> we are introducing kids many times to new vocabulary. names of seasonings, names of vegetables names of what you call procedures. >> i had my little cooking experience. all i cooked back then was grilled cheese and scrambled eggs. now, i can actually cook curry and a few different thing zblz and . >> and the parents are amazed that what we're showing them to cook is simple and inexpensive. i didn't know this was so easy to make. i've only bought it in the

market. those comments have been amazing and yeah, it's been really wonderful. >> we try to approach everything here with a well just try it. just try it once, and then, before you know it, it's gone. >> a lot of people aren't sure how to cook cauliflower or kale or fennel or whatever it is, and leah is really helpful at doing that. >> i think having someone actually teaching you here is a great experience. and it's the art of making a meal for your family members and hope that they like it. >> i think they should come and have some good food good produce that is healthy and

actually very delicious. >> cooking is one of my biggest passions, to be able to share, like my passion with others, and skills to h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h welcome, city attorney herrera.

>> good morning. thank you to mayor breed chief scott supervisors peskin and haney for joining me this morning to highlight our collective commitment to combating an all too familiar problem. open air drug dealing in the tenderloin. we're all created to solutions to make sure we combat this epidemic that is taking control of the tenderloin neighborhood. this morning my office sued 28 known drug dealers file. they do not live in the tenderloin, but sell deadly drugs there. the drugs that are fueling the drug crisis in our streets. this is to stop the brazen drug-dealing that has plagued this neighborhood. last year alone 441 people died

from drug overdoses in the city and the tenderloin had the highest overdose mortality rate of any neighborhood in the city. enough is enough. these injunctions are carefully crafted to simultaneously safeguard a defendant's due process while targeting with precision, the problem of drug dealers coming from outside the area to prey on tenderloin residents housed and unhoused. this prevents the 28 named defendants from entering the tenderloin and part of the adjacent south of market neighborhood. roughly from van ness to ellis and geary to mission. the tenderloin would become a protected zone and these defendants none of whom live in the tenderloin, would be allowed to go there unless they had a lawful legitimate reason to be there. we're focused on the predatory repeat dealers selling the most

dangerous drugs, including those leading to the most deaths. we have rigorous criteria. he or she was arrested at least twice for drug sales or possession of drugs for the purpose of sales in the tenderloin in the past year and a half. one of those arrests must have been in the last nine months. both of the arrests must have led to either criminal charges by the district attorney or a motion to revoke probation. the drugs involved were fentanyl, heroin cocaine or methamphetamine. and the defendant is not a tenderloin resident. has been given the opportunity to present their defense in court at a hearing and the court finds there is sufficient evidence to warrant the injunction. in other words, an injunction is issued if the need for it is proven in a court of law.

demographics or group affiliations were not considered when putting together these lawsuits. violations of the injunctions will have civil and criminal consequences. violations carry civil penalties of up to $6,000 per violation. perhaps just as important, violations can also be pursued as misdemeanor crimes and subject to the defendant's immediate arrest. an arrest leads to the search and confiscation of drugs or contraband a person has in his or her possession. these actions are aimed slowly at criminals coming to prey on the people of the tenderloin. we know who the predators are and we will not allow them to victimize tenderloin residents. our message to these dealers is simple. if you come to the tenderloin you'll be arrested and your drugs will be confiscated. this is not a silver bullet.

more needs to be done including drug treatment options, expanded mental health and a focus on major narcotics suppliers, but this gives one more tool to the law enforcement to help keep the tenderloin residents safe. we need to stop this neighborhood from being used as the open air drug market. our goal is to keep the dealers out of the tenderloin. the kids, the parents, the seniors the workers the business owners of this neighborhood have suffered enough and deserve nothing less. the tenderloin has the highest concentration of children in the city. it also has the highest number of overdose deaths and that is not acceptable. once the pandemic improves the kids of the pandemic deserve to be able to go to the school, playground, go see a friend without being caught in the

middle of a drug deal or a person overdosing on the sidewalk. this won't solve the problem but it's a step work taking. i hadn't to thank the hard-working men and women in the san francisco police department. their diligence laid the ground work to put together this creative approach to public safety. i want to thank the team in my office that worked hard to come up with a way that will deal with a longstanding problem. i also want to thank our mayor for her tremendous support and leadership during this incredibly challenging time for our city, as well as supervisors peskin and haney, for their commitment to combating this problem. with that i would like to introduce our mayor london breed. >> mayor breed: good morning everyone.

thank you, all, so much for being here today. i want to begin by thanking dennis has rare kwaerrera and the city's attorney office to deal with one of the biggest challenges in the tenderloin community. not so long ago we set down a path to address what we saw as a significant increase in homelessness and tent encampments in the t.l. and we made a lot of progress. over 400 tents removed with over 600 people. we're now down to less than 30 tents. and we drive around the tenderloin, we walk around the tenderloin, and you would think that nothing has ever happened there. that no progress has been made. you see hundreds of people on blocks throughout the t.l. who are dealing drugs openly in broad daylight.

you see people pushing strollers mothers, who have to go out on the streets to go around the drug dealing and the drug using and the challenges that exist there. i grew up in this city. i grew up not too far from the tenderloin in the western edition. and the tenderloin has always had its challenges but it has never been worse. it has never been worse. and we can't do this work alone. we need to make sure that, yes, we address the challenges that exist with people who struggle with addiction. this is why i'm fighting so hard to get safe injection sites open. why i'm fighting to get expanded mental health support, because those of you who have family members who suffer with addiction addiction, you know how challenging it is to get them on the right path.

we have to do more as a city to provide alternatives. and then we know the challenges that exist. the people who are being trafficked to sell drugs on our streets from other countries. the folks who are coming from other bay area cities because they know san francisco is a place where they can make a lot of money. san francisco has become the place to go to sell drugs. it is known widely. and that has got to stop because there has to be consequences. look i understand there might be financial challenges but the fact is we can't tolerate what we see happening in the tenderloin or any other neighborhood in our city. people have got to be held accountable for the destruction they are causing to these communities. and when we talk about destruction we're talking about the people who are dying in record numbers from drug overdoses right in the

tenderloin. this is a commonsense solution to a very very complex problem. and i really want to again express my appreciation to our city attorney dennis herrera for not only putting together a unique plan but for caring about this issue in the first place. and i want to thank him for working with the san francisco police department to actually use data to inform this decision. we know that there is a lot of work to do. and we can't continue to let the tenderloin be the breeding ground for all that is problematic and challenging in our city. it's going to take helping with homelessness. it's going to take drug treatment. it's going to take supporting

low-income families and people who live in that community. and, yes, it's going to take holding the people who are holding this community hostage with the rampant drug-dealing that is completely devastated this neighborhood. we have to do better and we will do better. this is a step in the right direction. and i'm looking forward to seeing the results of this work. and i want to thank all those who have been involved and supportive of this issue. and we have got to get the job done and that's what this is about. with that, i want to introduce the police chief of san francisco, chief scott. >> good morning. thank you, mayor breed. first i want to start off by thanking our mayor london breed for her relentless leadership when it comes to this issue.

as the mayor stated this problem is pervasive and i also want to thank our city attorney dennis herrera for an innovative strategy that really gives us a much better opportunity to turn the corner on the drug dealing in the tenderloin. i would like to thank supervisors peskin and haney for their support and leadership on this issue. you'll hear from them as well in a second. the men and women of the san francisco police department and those say sign -- assigned to the tenderloin have been working very, very hard to address the rampant drug-dealing in the tenderloin. during a recent three-month operation to focus on narcotics dealers the tenderloin officers and the narcotics detail officers arrested over 267 individuals for drug sales.

267. and although that number may sound high, it's just a drop in the bucket. our officers seized over $144,000 in u.s. currency and a combination of over 7,000 grams of cocaine methamphetamine heroin, fentanyl and other drugs. 210 of those arrests had prior arrests in san francisco and 55 of the 267 arrests were in violation of court-issued stay away orders where they were prohibited from the area where they were selling drugs. 58 of those arrested live outside of the city of san francisco. now our efforts to combine or combat narc sales in the tenderloin are ongoing as of today.

and today's announcement of injunctions filed by our city attorney will help us address the concerns and complaints of tenderloin residents and merchants. and those complaints come pouring in daily. these dealers prey on a vulnerable population and contribute to the drug degradation of the quality of life who work and live in the tenderloin. these injunctions give law enforcement officers another tool in our tool kit. violators face up to a $6,000 fine, misdemeanor arrest and officers can potentially seize money and drugs along with other contraband. with the combined efforts in the drug treatment and other public health strategies, we hope to have a positive effect on the quality of life in the tenderloin area. as was stated by the mayor -- i

can't emphasize this enough -- we have to do more we have do better and we will do better. we cannot and will not further tolerate drug dealers coming into the tenderloin from wherever they're coming from throughout the bay area to ruin our community. the injunctions will make coming back to the tenderloin have more serious consequences. and, drug dealers if you're out there watching this news conference, know that your actions will not and cannot be tolerated any longer in the city and county of san francisco. with that i'd like to turn the mic over to supervisor aaron peskin. thank you. >> supervisor peskin: chief, thank you city attorney herrera, mayor breed, for what is truly a creative solution. this is not a silver bullet.

it must be coupled with mental health services, with drug treatment, with the addition of sorely needed affordable housing in and around the tenderloin. a year ago supervisor haney and i went to a meeting together just up the street in the tenderloin wherein we witnessed an individual who was literally dying of a fentanyl overdose. we were able to locate some narcan and that individual is alive today, but that should not be happening on our streets. this is not only a creative solution, but it is one where city attorney herrera has crafted it very carefully in conjunction with my office. has done so in a way that honors the civil rights of individuals in our community. it is structured fairly and will be supported by the board of supervisors. i want to thank the city attorney. we're going to make a difference in the tenderloin. and if this works this is a

model that be exported to other parts of san francisco because when you look at those 441 deaths, it is true a disproportionate number of them are in the tenderloin but those individuals who are preying on weak individuals in our community are not just operating in the tenderloin. and if this is a success i look forward to working with the city attorney office the chief of police and mayor to export this model to the rest of the city and county of san francisco. we are available for questions and comments. thank you, supervisor peskin. we'll begin with the q&a portion with city attorney herrera.

the first set of questions are from kate wolf. the aclu and other community groups have said injunctions like gang injunctions used in the past don't address root problems and violate people's civil liberties. can you address how these injunctions will be different from those? >> one thing you heard uniformly both from the mayor, from supervisor peskin and from the chief of police, this is part of a -- has to be part of a comprehensive approach that focuses on drug rehab, mental health and the like. so there is no doubt that we need to also get the root causes which are contributing to our problem. however this is different from gang injunctions. this is not based on affiliation or status it is based on going after individuals who have been known to engage in criminal

conduct that has been charged by the district attorney and arrests by the police department for known activity that has occurred in the tenderloin. the fact of the matter is we carefully crafted this to make sure it was based on conduct not on status or affiliation. and there is also the opportunity for if people have a legitimate reason to be in the 50-square block area, the protected zone courts, city hall, have all been exempted from the limitation of movement. so this is very different from gang injunctions. i think it is something people need to be aware of. this is based on conduct not status. and demonstrable conduct from individuals who don't even live in the tenderloin and 27 of the 28 don't even live in the city and county of san francisco. >> thank you, city attorney. the next question is from joe with bay city news. why would civil injunctions be

used instead of criminal actions if the city knows who the dealers are? >> it's another tool in the tool kit. certainly there are criminal penalties that can accrue, but the fact of the matter is if someone is going to suffer a financial penalty of a significant dollar amount that is something that dissuades individuals from engaging. with respect to these injunctions you have two tools, a criminal sanction as well as a civil sanction which did not occur previously. this encompasses the whole tenderloin where something that the chief referred to earlier the stay-away orders in other criminal cases were designed to be with respect to one particular corner or block. it was not nearly as comprehensive as what we're seeking here today. >> thank you, city attorney.

that concludes today's press conference. thank you, everyone, for joining us.

>> my name is ben bleiman and i'm the commissioner president. to protect entertainment commission members city employees and the public the city hall meeting rooms are closed however members and it is taken pursuant to the local state and federal orders, decorations and directives and commissioner members and employees will a continued through video conference and participate to the same extent if they were physically present. public comment will be available on channel 26 and sfgovtv are streaming the number across the screen. each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. opportunities to speak during public comment are available via th