stupid brown act. well, actually -- no. director, like can we talk about future agenda items if it's actually in a public open meeting? >> director: you can mention it as an informational item, but not have a discussion on it. >> president laguana: okay. got it. so several small business leaders including myself put out a petition this morning. we are supporting -- you know what, i think i'm going to save this. i'll let you guys google it or find it. i don't want to say anything that's going to get me in trouble with anybody down the line because i'm realizing if i'm talking about this stuff, now i just said i'm supporting it. maybe i'm not being informational. you know, it's tricky gray

zone. so i'm just going to shut my mouth before i get myself in trouble. so that's my news. is there any other commissioners with news? i don't see any. so do we have any public comment? >> clerk: mr. president, there are no callers in on the line for this item. >> president laguana: great. so seeing none. public comment is closed. next item, please. >> director: sfgov tv, please show the office of small business slide. >> president laguana: we will end with a reminder that the small business commission is the official public forum to voice your opinions and concerns about policies that affect the economic vitality of small businesses in san francisco and that the office of small business is the best place to get answers about doing business in san francisco

during the local emergency. if you need assistance with small business matters, continue to reach out to the office of small business. >> director: item number 9, adjournment. this is an action item. do we have a motion. >> commissioner: so moved. >> director: motioned by commissioner ortiz-cartagena. second? >> president laguana: i second. >> director: seconded by commissioner laguana. roll call. [roll call] that motion passes 7-0. the meeting is adjourned at 7:27. >> president laguana: thank you all. >> director: thank you, commissioners. and thank you for putting up

with a meeting that had a lot of hick ups. >> president laguana: we appreciate you, director. >> director: thank you.

>> the hon. london breed: we are here today to sign legislation which will provide an additional $10.9 million in grant resources for small businesses throughout san francisco. and let me tell you why that is so significant. when we first closed down over a year ago, people who had businesses like hair salons, nail salons, night life venues, places like a lot of these

locations here in japantown, they basically had to close and figure out how they were going to close and figure out how they were going to pay their rent, they had to figure out how they were going to support and feed their families. it took us a while to get it together to make sure that we are in a where people were -- people were okay financially. we had to save lives in the decisions we made -- in the decisions we made, but more importantly, we had to think about other ways in which we were going to support our businesses. so the city stepped in, and, of course, deferred fees, tried to provide some immediate relief at first, starting with chinatown, which was hardest hit because of the discrimination and xenophobia that hit even before the

emergency. we helped with a number of loans. mission district and the latino community, a revolving loan fund, places that we knew under no circumstances that could open because of covid. now, the reason why the $10.9 million that we're announcing today is so significant is because it would be provided as grants for many of these businesses, anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 per grant, and these are for businesses that in the last year couldn't open up for at least six months. businesses like the hair salons, barber shops, night life venues, and a number of other places that continue to struggle, and restaurants that didn't have the capacity to set up an outdoor shared space or didn't have the support and resources to do the whole

delivery systems that some people were able to do. we know that getting access to the p.p.p. loans from the federal government was challenging. we know that here in san francisco we had to make adjustments. we already saw that -- we have already seen that so many businesses have closed their doors for good. many of you know that i grew up in this neighborhood, i grew up hanging up around here, japantown bowl, right across the street, and i know this is an active community. it's not just an active community for people who live here, it's an active community for people who visit one of the largest japantowns anywhere in the country, and so they suffered a lot. many of the places in here were not open, and we wanted to make

sure that when we provided relief, it wasn't just relief that was going to serve businesses that also had access to other resources, it was going to serve those mom-and-pop businesses that we need to make sure as we recover as a city, that they are also able to join us in that recovery, as well. many of those are family-owned businesses. they also hire people in san francisco. i love walking around san francisco and popping my head around japantown or any other commercial corridors where the people who work there are the people who have probably worked there for generations, and that's why this is so important. we have to make it easy for people to have resources to stay in business in this city. and so today, signing this legislation will ensure that it goes into effect right away;

that instead of taking all day to get money to small businesses, we're able to get them a check as soon as possible. we're not here to micromanage how they use it. we know they have employees, we know they have expenses, we know they have back rent, and we need to be here to support them. in san francisco, we provided loans to small businesses up to $1 million. that doesn't include the state and federal resources. that includes fees that we have not just deferred, but fees that we paid off that businesses owed to the city because they weren't making money to pay the city in the first place. so we have to make sure that we're thinking about that because we sacrificed so much. we sacrificed so much because in san francisco, when we closed down this city, we all did our part. we wore our masks, we socially

distanced, we stayed away from our family and friends for the most part, and now, san francisco has much to celebrate. we're one of the densest cities in the country with one of the lowest rates of infection and the lowest death rates in this country, and over 50% of san franciscans have been vaccinated. that's more than the state and national average. san francisco, we should be proud of how far we've come, and we did that because all played our part. now, it's time for us to come back. we're a strong, resilient city, and when we come back, we're going to come back stronger and more resilient than ever before, and this is $10.9 million is just a start. it's what we need to do along with so many other things that are going to bring our businesses back, that are going to bring our economy back.

the city will do its very best to invest resources, but we also need the customers and the people to start to shop local and to return to the businesses that we all know and love. so before we sign this legislation, i want to ask ray who's with the community business district in j-town, i want to invite him up to say a few words about the efforts that we're doing to revitalize this community. i was here just a couple of weeks ago. there were lines of people supporting these businesses, so after this legislation is signed, i'm hoping you'll go in here, have lunch, and start shopping. so grace? [applause] >> thank you, mayor. thank you to japantown, and mayor breed, welcome back to

j-town. we are so honored today to stand behind the mayor as she signs the legislation for the small business recovery act, something that's so important for our small businesses, especially our retailers who have had the hardest time during this pandemic. who would have thought that when shelter in place went into effect last march, that one year would have to pass, yet our community is resilient. as the mayor said, san francisco is resilient, as well, and we'll come out of this. the japantown community benefit district has worked closely with people like steve nakajo and sandy mori from the japantown task force really putting our forces together to help our small businesses

because without them, j-town would not be j-town. mayor breed, if times were normal, you would be here to do the kickoff for the cherry blossom festival. we're going to have a hamani, which is a cherry blossom viewing. we also have to give huge appreciation to the mayor's office, the office of economic workforce development, the san francisco department of health, sfmta, and many others who really helped us get the tools we need to keep our small businesses alive and thriving. so with that, thank you very much, and thank you, mayor. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you so much, grace. and you know, sometimes i get a little comfortable when i come back to japantown because it's

like home. i was a supervisor, as well, in this district, and so, so many great people, so many familiar faces, and so i'm so glad to be here. i was just at kasura two weeks ago because from covid, i went from having zero plants to 31. it's a better habit to have than most, and they have some great stuff in there, and so the owner's here with us today, so a business like hers will also have benefit from legislation like this. sandy mori, steve nakajo, who's also on the fire commission,

they work so hard so we can be here today, so with that, let's sign this legislation. [applause] >> i'll take my check now. [laughter] [cheers and applause] >> there's a new holiday shopping tradition, and shop

and dine in the 49 is inviting everyone to join and buy black friday. now more than ever, ever dollar that you spend locally supports small businesses and helps entrepreneurs and the community to thrive. this holiday season and year-round, make your dollar matter and buy black.