maintenance and thinking how to collect the money in a way that is fair to customers and sincentives for water conservation or installing stormwater management on their property. >> i nominated erin for the many accomplishments she has provided especially for the financial sustain ability. the reality required a lot of work retooling policies, financial planning as well as many rating and charges. er ron served in the projects including update to water and sewer rates, update to 10 year financial plan as well as setting the budget for fiscal 2019 higher 2020. >> i am pleased with working here. i feel like we have tons of work to do.

it is important work. it has a direct impact on people's lives. >> she has a unique ability to get to the root cause of the issue and help develop consensus around a solution. not only is it troubleshooting what the questions are, but also coming up with what are the alternatives. >> i think a lot of the satisfaction from the job is looking back over the past few years and seeing cereal concrete change we have been -- real concrete change and that gives me pride. >> the team very much appreciates her hair color and the world of finance and accounting tends to foster conformity and boring guys like myself. i very much admire the fact that she walks her own walk and creates her own path, and i

think we all can learn a little bit from her. >> i and a principal revenue and rates analyst in the financial planninininininininininininininn san francisco anymore.ininininn [applause] >> the hon. london breed: oh, hello. oh, my goodness. sorry to keep everybody waiting. i'm not used to going places in san francisco anymore. i sit at a computer all day, and i'm on zoom calls. i'm, like, wait a minute, this is in person? i want to thank you all for joining us. i'm mayor london breed, and i'm joined by several supervisors.

i see supervisor catherine stefani and supervisor myrna melgar, as well. we have many folks that are part of the fabric of san francisco, and the reason why we're here with so many amazing women is because we know that since this pandemic began, women have really had a serious challenge. it's not bad enough that women in fact make about 80% to the dollar that men make, and african women more in the 60%, and latino women more about 50% on the dollar. it's not bad enough that we're not paid as much, but because there were challenges with child care, challenges to school, access to transitions and new and rewarding opportunities in the work industry, women have suffered

really during this pandemic, and so it is so important to me that when looking at our economic recovery as san francisco began to reopen, that we can look at ways of supporting and invest in san francisco. now today, we have some really big announcements. now it's been hard, but two thirds of san franciscans have been vaccinated. as we begin to reopen, we want to keep people safe, and we are hopeful, jennie lam, that we are going to get the schools open this fall because i don't know about you, but i'm sure that many of the parents are ready to see their children go back to school. now what we're announcing today is going to be really incredible, and it has a lot to do with so many women expressing concerns about leaving one industry to go work in the other. if they were working in the hospitality industry, it's, like, this is the sector that i'm working in, but the

hospitality industry was devastated during the pandemic, so how do we provide ways for people to shift? so part of the announcement today is focusing on getting people prepared to shift from various industries in san francisco. so we're announcing 300 opportunities that will help women in the hospitality sector, in the construction sector, in the tech sector, and a number of industries where whatever we choose to do, because we know we are women and we are fierce, we can jump on those opportunities. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: but it's not just about an opportunity, it's about what do you do with your children when you're trying to work? and so child care plays an important role, but here's the challenge we've had in san francisco. we have resources sometimes for the very low-income women, although we may not have a sufficient number of slots. and then, there's those women

that just are right over the threshold where they don't necessarily qualify, but they face challenges in child care. so we are announcing today that not only are we offering more slots for our very low-income women that need help with their child care, but the moderate income, as well. 800 new slots for child care because you know mothers, they work hard, but they need a break. i don't know if you remember when you were a kid and how many problems you gave to your parents, but i was a handful to my grandmother. so i understand when she was, like, go ahead. she can go. take her. i need a break. well, it's not just about a break. it's about the learning loss, it's about having an opportunity to play with other children, it's about having a well rounded childhood and making sure that our child care centers are funded, our educators are funded in a

specific way that we're able to provide some sense of normalcy after having such a tough year, so today is really about making sure that women are uplifted and supported; that we continue to breakdown these barriers as we head down the road of recovery. yes, san francisco is a major city, a dense city, with many, many challenges, but you know what? this is a challenge that we have to consistently work on. it should not be an issue for women, but it is an issue for women in san francisco and in the country. with that, the person that is going to lead this effort, a mom herself -- as a matter of fact, i was on meetings with her as she was dealing with distance learning with her child. we are so excited to have as our new executive director of the office of economic and workforce development, kay solfus

[applause] >> good morning. so as i stand here, day seven -- day six in this new job for the city i love, i am very aware that i stand here on the shoulders of generations of women in my family, mostly single mothers in my family. and as i raise my children, my s.f. born children, my two daughters, one of woman is intellectual -- one of whom is intellectually and physically disabled, i realize i wouldn't be standing here being able to contribute to our city were it not for the incredible schools that have supported my kids and the child care, especially for my younger daughter, especially in the early years when many child care facilities didn't know how to handle someone with intellectual disabilities. rec and park stepped in, ggrc

stepped in, and i'm able to do what i do as a direct by-product of being a woman and being supported in this life. i grew up as the daughter of another single mom in buffalo, new york, and she was not supported in the same way. she was always struggling to make ends meet, out of work, trying to figure out how to borrow neighbors to help care for my brother and i, and so i'm also aware of the unnecessary struggles women are put through trying to balance all that they do. so as i stand here today, thank you, mayor breed, thank you, my team at oewd, thank you, everyone standing behind me. i can't be more proud to have this be one of the first initiatives launched under my helm, and i commit to you and to this city that this is the first and it will not be the last, and that women and their

children and their families are a key part of our economic recovery plan, a key part of equity in this city, and a key part of our future, and you have my commitment to lead the way. thank you. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you, kate. and now, we have serina marie, who is a health care academy graduate with home bridge. [applause] >> good morning. i would like to thank mayor breed and health care academy -- thank you -- health care academy and all those who put this wonderful event together. i would like to share with you my story. my name is serina maria, and i am a care supervisor at home bridge. several years ago, i knew i

wantsed -- wanted to be in the health care field, and home bridge gave me the opportunity in hiring me as a health care provider. during my time at home bridge, i wanted to grow in the field, so i decided to participate in their career advancement program, which is a collaboration of the health care academy and home bridge. through this training, i was able to gain the skill and opportunities needed for advancement in home bridge. in the training program, not only did i learn the technical skills of the job, but i also learned the interpersonal skills that have helped me not only support my clients and home care providers but also helped me in my every day personal life. shortly after completing the program, i was able to advance into a mentorship role supporting new providers coming into our organization. eventually, i was promoted to

care supervisor, which is my current position. these advancement opportunities helped me to support my family, especially during the pandemic. this experience has also contributed to my ability to support home care providers i supervise who provide critical care for some of our most vulnerable members of our community, contributing to the safe reopening of our city, as well. once again, i would like to thank the health care academy and home bridge for creating advancement opportunities through effective training programs. my hope is that more woen will be able to benefit from collaborative programs like these through the mayor's initiative. thank you so much. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: and at this time, i want to introduce members of the board

of supervisors myrna melgar and catherine stefani. >> supervisor melgar: thank you, mayor breed. i am so grateful for your position in centering economic recovery on women's needs. i, along with supervisor stefani, worked on a resolution earlier this year asking our city to do just that, and i'm so grateful that the mayor has responded. thank you, mayor. for women, we cannot go back to the way it was before the pandemic. we need to make progress, and to make progress on social and economic issues, we need to make sure that women have the tools that they need to succeed and that children have their needs met, and so i think that this is a great step, and i look forward to more in the future. supervisor? >> supervisor stefani: thank you, supervisor, and thank you to mayor breed for gathering all of these incredible women today and for basically walking

the walk. she knows exactly how to respond when there's a need that's unmet, and to do what she's doing for mothers that need child care, to lift mothers up, to lift working mothers up is exactly what we need in response to this pandemic. i am so proud to be a part of the board of supervisors and women that actually show up for women. i am so excited that we have kate sophis leading the office of workforce development. there's a saying, if you're not at the table, you're on the menu, and we are at the table. so thank you, mayor breed, and thank you to all the women here today. >> the hon. london breed: well, women in this city are definitely at the table, and we're running things. yes to women everywhere. you know, i just really appreciate these two amazing women on the board of supervisors. sadly, many of you heard about the tragedy that occurred in

san jose, and our hearts go out to the families of the people who lost their lives in the tragedy, and the mayor, sam liccardo, who i already reached out to. i want to thank supervisor stefani for her role in gun legislation in this city. i want to thank myrna, who's considered basically a freshman supervisor but who already has hit the ground running and made her mark around children and support. we made some announcements as we began to wind down this budget process, these women have been advocating for processes that will benefit the people of san francisco, and i really appreciate their partnership in this effort. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: all right. next up, we have tracey liss, who is the executive director of frandaya. am i saying that right?

>> you were close. >> the hon. london breed: tell me how to say it. >> frandaja. >> the hon. london breed: oh, frandaja. >> thank you. this initiative is the perfect extension and next step for what's needed. every year, we get families who call who do not qualify. they don't make little enough money -- like anyone wants to make less money, right? especially our moms, our single moms. they don't make enough to qualify, and so we don't have anything to help them. we did fight for some scholarship programs so they could come to our center, and it still wasn't enough. i don't know if you know, the fee for a single-family with several kids, it's one fee.

so even if they're paying the highest cost, it's still $600 a month for three kids, and then, they don't qualify anymore. they go on the track, they get the promotion for career advancement, and then, they don't qualify. now you're looking at about $2,000 per month per child. who can jump from $600 to $6,000 a month out of their pocket for care? it's been an impossible task. we saw in the pandemic how important child care, schools, and meeting the needs for children was for working families, and this initiative is prime to help us recover in a way that we haven't seen before. 800 slots for moderate to middle-income families is an amazing thing, and we're so honored to be a part of it. it's a natural next step for us, and we're looking forward to working with those families, to working with the city and all of the leaders of san francisco, including mayor breed, to make this happen. we're committed with the office

of early care and education, the mayor's office to have successful opportunities, quality care for kids, and to help families achieve both economic and educational success as we move forward. this is a good day. it is a beautiful day in san francisco, and it's an amazing day for women. thank you so much. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: and yes, it's an amazing day for women, and i can't necessarily call out all of the women here, but all of the people here who are almost faceless are women who are leaders in various capacity in the city. they make this work happen. ingrid mesquita with the office of early childhood education. thank you for all of your advocacy. we have women from the human rights commission. i see sharon lai from m.t.a. i know other women from the

commission on the status of women are here with us, as well as the a. philip randolph institute. jackie, thank you so much for all of you do. this represents an amazing coalition of leaders in san francisco who are doing the hard work on the ground, women from all parts of san francisco. the way we address the challenges around equity, and we bring our city back stronger than ever is when we come together and we make sure that resources are not a barrier to the success and opportunities that we all deserve in life, and so that's what this is about. today is just one step further in that direction. i'm looking forward to seeing the city come alive again, and i'm looking forward to seeing this city continue and finally lift up those who too often have been left behind. this is another great opportunity, so thank you all so much for joining us here today. [applause]

>> 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.[music] >> san francisco city clinic provides a broad range of sexual health services from stephanie tran medical director at san francisco city clinic. we are here to provide easy access to conference of low-cost culturally sensitive sexual health services and to everyone who walks through our door. so we providestd

checkups, diagnosis and treatment. we also provide hiv screening we provide hiv treatment for people living with hiv and are uninsured and then we hope them health benefits and rage into conference of primary care. we also provide both pre-nd post exposure prophylactics for hiv prevention we also provide a range of women's reproductive health services including contraception, emergency contraception. sometimes known as plan b. pap smears and [inaudible]. we are was entirely [inaudible]people will come as soon as were open even a little before opening. weight buries a lip it could be the first person here at your in and out within a few minutes. there are some days we do have a pretty considerable weight. in general, people can just walk right in and register with her front desk seen that day. >> my name is yvonne piper on the nurse practitioner here at sf city clinic. he was the first time i came to city

clinic was a little intimidated. the first time i got treated for [inaudible]. i walked up to the redline and was greeted with a warm welcome i'm chad redden and anna client of city clinic >> even has had an std clinic since all the way back to 1911. at that time, the clinic was founded to provide std diagnosis treatment for sex workers. there's been a big increase in std rates after the earthquake and the fire a lot of people were homeless and there were more sex work and were homeless sex workers. there were some public health experts who are pretty progressive for their time thought that by providing std diagnosis and treatmentsex workers that we might be able to get a handle on std rates in san francisco. >> when you're at the clinic you're going to wait with whoever else is able to register at the front desk first. after you register your seat in the waiting room and wait to be seen. after you are called you come to the back and meet with a healthcare provider can we determine what kind of testing to do, what samples to

collect what medication somebody might need. plus prophylactics is an hiv prevention method highly effective it involves folks taking a daily pill to prevent hiv. recommended both by the cdc, center for disease control and prevention, as well as fight sf dph, two individuals clients were elevated risk for hiv. >> i actually was in the project here when i first started here it was in trials. i'm currently on prep. i do prep through city clinic. you know i get my tests read here regularly and i highly recommend prep >> a lot of patients inclined to think that there's no way they could afford to pay for prep. we really encourage people to come in and talk to one of our prep navigators. we find that we can help almost everyone find a way to access prep so it's affordable for them. >> if you times we do have opponents would be on thursday

morning. we have two different clinics going on at that time. when is women's health services. people can make an appointment either by calling them a dropping in or emailing us for that. we also have an hiv care clinic that happens on that morning as well also by appointment only. he was city clinic has been like home to me. i been coming here since 2011. my name iskim troy, client of city clinic. when i first learned i was hiv positive i do not know what it was. i felt my life would be just ending there but all the support they gave me and all the information i need to know was very helpful. so i [inaudible] hiv care with their health >> about a quarter of our patients are women. the rest, 75% are men and about half of

the men who come here are gay men or other men who have sex with men. a small percent about 1% of our clients, identify as transgender. >> we ask at the front for $25 fee for services but we don't turn anyone away for funds. we also work with outside it's going out so any amount people can pay we will be happy to accept. >> i get casted for a pap smear and i also informed the contraceptive method. accessibility to the clinic was very easy. you can just walk in and talk to a registration staff. i feel i'm taken care of and i'm been supportive. >> all the information were collecting here is kept confidential. so this means we can't release your information without your explicit permission get a lot of folks are concerned especially come to a sexual health clinic unless you have signed a document that told us exactly who can receive your information, we can give it to anybody outside of our clinic.

>> trance men and women face really significant levels of discrimination and stigma in their daily lives. and in healthcare. hiv and std rates in san francisco are particularly and strikingly high were trans women. so we really try to make city clinic a place that strands-friendly trance competent and trans-welcoming >> everyone from the front desk to behind our amazement there are completely knowledgeable. they are friendly good for me being a sex worker, i've gone through a lot of difficult different different medical practice and sometimes they weren't competent and were not friendly good they kind of made me feel like they slapped me on the hands but living the sex life that i do. i have been coming here for seven years. when i come here i know they my services are going to be met. to be confidential but i don't have to worry about anyone looking at me or making me feel

less >> a visit with a clinician come take anywhere from 10 minutes if you have a straightforward concern, to over an hour if something goes on that needs a little bit more help. we have some testing with you on site. so all of our samples we collect here. including blood draws. we sent to the lab from here so people will need to go elsewhere to get their specimens collect. then we have a few test we do run on site. so those would be pregnancy test, hiv rapid test, and hepatitis b rapid test. people get those results the same day of their visit. >> i think it's important for transgender, gender neutral people to understand this is the most confidence, the most comfortable and the most knowledgeable place that you can come to. >> on-site we have condoms as well as depo-provera which is also known as [inaudible] shot. we can prescribe other forms of contraception. pills, a patch and rain. we provide pap smears

to women who are uninsured in san francisco residents or, to women who are enrolled in a state-funded program called family pack. pap smears are the recommendation-recommended screening test for monitoring for early signs of cervical cancer. we do have a fair amount of our own stuff the day of his we can try to get answers for folks while they are here. whenever we have that as an option we like to do that obviously to get some diagnosed and treated on the same day as we can. >> in terms of how many people were able to see in a day, we say roughly 100 people.if people are very brief and straightforward visits, we can sternly see 100, maybe a little more. we might be understaffed that they would have a little complicated visits we might not see as many folks. so if we reach our target number of 100 patients early in the day we may close our doors early for droppings. to my best advice to be senior is get here early.we

do have a website but it's sf city clinic.working there's a wealth of information on the website but our hours and our location. as well as a kind of kind of information about stds, hiv,there's a lot of information for providers on our list as well. >> patients are always welcome to call the clinic for there's a lot of information for providers on our list as well. >> patients are always welcome to call the clinic for 15, 40 75500. the phones answered during hours for clients to questions. >> >> >> my name is alan schumer.

i am a fourth generation san franciscan. in december, this building will be 103 years of age. it is an incredibly rich, rich history. [♪♪♪] >> my core responsibility as city hall historian is to keep the history of this building alive. i am also the tour program manager, and i chair the city advisory commission. i have two ways of looking at my life. i want it to be -- i wanted to be a fashion designer for the movies, and the other one, a

political figure because i had some force from family members, so it was a constant battle between both. i ended up, for many years, doing the fashion, not for the movies, but for for san franciscan his and then in turn, big changes, and now i am here. the work that i do at city hall makes my life a broader, a richer, more fulfilling than if i was doing something in the garment industry. i had the opportunity to develop relationships with my docents. it is almost like an extended family. i have formed incredible relationships with them, and also some of the people that come to take a tour.

she was a dressmaker of the first order. i would go visit her, and it was a special treat. i was a tiny little girl. i would go with my wool coat on and my special little dress because at that period in time, girls did not wear pants. the garment industry had the -- at the time that i was in it and i was a retailer, as well as the designer, was not particularly favourable to women. you will see the predominant designers, owners of huge complexes are huge stores were all male. women were sort of relegated to a lesser position, so that, you reached a point where it was a difficult to survive and survive

financially. there was a woman by the name of diana. she was editor of the bazaar, and evoke, and went on and she was a miraculous individual, but she had something that was a very unique. she classified it as a third i. will lewis brown junior, who was mayor of san francisco, and was the champion of reopening this building on january 5th of 1999. i believe he has not a third eye , but some kind of antenna attached to his head because he had the ability to go through this building almost on a daily basis during the restoration and corrects everything so that it would appear as it was when it

opened in december of 1915. >> the board of supervisors approved that, i signed it into law. jeffrey heller, the city and county of san francisco oh, and and your band of architects a great thing, just a great thing. >> to impart to the history of this building is remarkable. to see a person who comes in with a gloomy look on their face , and all of a sudden you start talking about this building, the gloomy look disappears and a smile registers across their face. with children, and i do mainly all of the children's tours, that is a totally different feeling because you are imparting knowledge that they have no idea where it came from, how it was developed, and you can start talking about how

things were before we had computer screens, cell phones, lake in 1915, the mayor of san francisco used to answer the telephone and he would say, good morning, this is the mayor. >> at times, my clothes make me feel powerful. powerful in a different sense. i am not the biggest person in the world, so therefore, i have to have something that would draw your eye to me. usually i do that through color, or just the simplicity of the look, or sometimes the complication of the look. i have had people say, do those shoes really match that outfit?

retirement to me is a very strange words. i don't really ever want to retire because i would like to be able to impart the knowledge that i have, the knowledge that i have learned and the ongoing honor of working in the people's palace. you want a long-term career, and you truly want to give something to do whatever you do, so long as you know that you are giving to someone or something you're then yourself. follow your passion and learn how to enrich the feelings along the way.

>> well, good morning, everybody, and welcome to union square. hello, san francisco. it's a beautiful sunny day here, and the fog has lifted, perhaps like the collective proverbial covid fog that we've all been stuck in the last year. my name is karen flood, and i'm the executive director of the union square business district, and we're so pleased to see you today, and so many visitors. we have missed you all. we have missed the visitors and the workers in union square who come here to dine in our fine restaurants and stay in our beautiful hotels and dine in our shops. but we know they will be back, and we know that mayor breed has been focused in this last year on keeping us safe and healthy, and we appreciate that. she's been laser focused on

making sure that everybody is healthy and distancing and we are getting vaccinated, so excellent job, mayor breed. [applause] >> but now it is time to turn to recovery and renewal. we know here in san francisco, we are resilient and strong. we have survived fires and earthquakes, and we have survived this, and we will come back. workers have also worked alongside the retired sfpd ambassadors, which has become an incredible plan and was the idea of mayor london breed to add an additional layer of

safety in union square. we know there are additional resources on the way, which we will talk about in a moment. we convened an economic task force for union square. let's liven up these spaces, starting with union square. people come here to protest, hopefully peacefully. people come to people watch in our cafes, which are open, so hopefully they will do that again. and now if we could just get our beloved cable car and back and running before september. how about june, when the tourists are here? that would really be a signal that san francisco is back open and ready for business. but without further adieu, i would like to introduce someone that needs no further

introduction, mayor london breed. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you, karen. i'm not only excited to be in union square, but i'm excited to be anywhere in san francisco as we start the process to reopen and imagine what the city can be as we come out of this pandemic. it's been a tough year. it's been a tough, tough year because our focus has been on public health and saving lives. it's been a tough year for business, it's been a tough year for tourism, it's been a tough year for employees in san francisco. we keep talking about this light at the end of the tunnel. well, today, it's bright in union square, and i'm excited about the future of union square and our city. i just wanted to take the opportunity to name a few people that are here today, a few of which you will hear from. the new director of the arts

commission in san francisco, ralph remington, and ralph, you're going to have to take your mask off in the street so we recognize you. she's the new director for the grants for the arts, but she's been advocating for so many arts businesses in san francisco. we have vallie brown, the director of grants for the arts, and our new director of the office of economic and workforce development. you'll hear from the other two speakers that are joining us, and i'll introduce them, and i want to recognize deputy chief of the san francisco police department. thank you, chief lozar. i want to say captain, but you went from a captain, and you've moved on up in the ranks, and we appreciate you and the san francisco police department and everything you do to keep our citizens safe. we also have -- thank you,

karen, and the union street bid for your work because i know that your work and your advocacy is why we're here today. it is a great day in san francisco, and when you think about where we are now and how far we've come, just sit in that moment. the giants are first place in the league. they're not first place anymore? okay. all right. well, we hope that the giants will become first place in the league. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: but they're playing, and you can go to a game. unfortunately, the warriors didn't make it through, but that's okay. at least we got a few games in before they were x'ed out of the playoffs. and what's also happening is the san francisco symphony is open. you can watch a performance

there. stern grove is coming back, and it's going to be amazing. the hilton hotel just announced that it's going to be open. john's grill, i know john, jr. is here. thank you for joining us here. performances on sundays, and so many activities, so many great events. the city is coming alive again, and as we begin to recover and think about what happens in union square, downtown is about where 40% of the jobs that exist in san francisco, they're here in the downtown area. when we think about the economy and coming back, the retail and the business and the activities, this is the bread and butter of san francisco. this is why we are able to pay for programs and resources and all the things that help out so many of our vulnerable communities. the tourists, the 20 million tourists who visit san francisco every year that pay the hotel tax, that shop at

macy's and a number of our businesses. it's important that as we reopen, we reimagine what downtown can be. we have to make it a safe place for people who live and work here. now i'm a regular visitor to the downtown area, and i do hear from so many of the people who work here, many in particular women who work in retail, who catch the 31 balboa and the 5 fulton from the western addition, people who i grew up with who have expressed to me about their concerns for their safety and they've never felt that way in san francisco before. what that means is we have to do more. we have to do more to keep people safe. we have to make sure that we do more to make sure that people have a rewarding experience because when people visit san francisco and they come here, we want them to want to come

back. now it's been about, i think, two years, when i announced the ambassador program. karen, you remember when i had that event, and i said we're going to bring retired police officers out of retirement and have an ambassador program solely focused on this particular area in union square. after a few years of bureaucracy, it finally happened, so right now, that ambassador program is really an important part of our recovery. the goal is to have the eyes and the ears on the streets. the goal is to make sure that when people are in crisis, we're able to address those challenges, and a perfect example is one time, when i was down here near crate and barrel, a man didn't have shoes on, needed some support, and some ambassadors tried to help him, but what's next?

what's next? how do we get him off the streets so he can get the support he needs, and part of our recent announcements have been the street crisis response teams, our street wellness teams to check on people to deal with folks in crisis. i get so many calls from so many people in this community concerned about not just their business and how this is impacting the quality of life in this community but how are we going to do more to help these people off the streets? and so a combination of my investments in this upcoming budget have everything to do with trying to reimagine, beautify, provide the level necessary to bring this area back stronger than ever, to make it a vibrant, a more welcoming place and make sure that people have great experiences. so what do some of those investments look like? well, some of you remember i used to be the executive

director of the african american art and culture complex, and the thing i loved about that space is artists make communities come alive. people would paint on the walls. i'm not advising that to happen here in downtown. people would dance in the parking lot and in the streets. i'm not suggesting that we do that and stop traffic, but we are going to bring our artists to this area. we are going to start to activate the community with local artists, providing resources to pay them because i believe in paying artists and they deserve to be paid their worth, but to really bring them to this area and to create an environment at holiday plaza that will really activate the area. so we're going to be making some improvements and some investments, and yes, i'd like the cable cars to come back sooner rather than later, but i can't make that promise today, karen. but the fact is we're going to activate holiday plaza, we're

going to bring in some new businesses, so when you're getting off b.a.r.t. and coming to san francisco, the first thing you can do is grab a coffee or a san francisco coffee mug and have this great holiday plaza experience. it will be activated, our ambassadors will be in the location, it will be safe, and our goal is to have great and rewarding experiences. so part of the goals will be not just to increase the experiences with the retired police officers but the ambassadors and the people that walk around this community and try to provide eyes and ears on the streets to address many of those challenges. so our ambassadors in the red coats are joining us here today, so thank you for your success and your continued support in this community. they may not recognize me in disguise, but i've seen them

out on the streets, offering people bottled water. we'll be concentrating our street crisis response teams in this area so when we see anyone in crisis, we can focus on this area so all of you can focus on your businesses. that is our goal. the other thing that we are doing as we head down this road to recovery is we're really trying to focus on how do we make it easier to do business in san francisco. i'm not even going to name the stores that i love that closed because i'm heartbroken that they're no longer in san francisco. i've reached out to a number of them, and they said they may come back, but they told me, look, doing business in san francisco is hard. i put out a business recovery plan that's supposed to be working its way through the board of supervisors. i put out a plan to make our

shared spaces program permanent that's supposed to be making its way through the board of supervisors. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: but the board has messed with the wrong mayor. when they tried to butcher my legislation and water it down and make it even more difficult and complicated so businesses continued to struggle and had difficulty doing business in san francisco, that's when i take a different sort of action. so if they want to continue down that path, my plan is to bring it to the voters, to put it on the ballot, and to make sure you all have a real voice and that the voters support these efforts. overwhelmingly, the people of this city, people who grow up and want to start their own small business, they shouldn't need $250,000 to give to the water department or some angel investor just because they want to sell their clothing or their masks or their artwork. it should not be so difficult. and as i said time and time

again, my focus is to cut the bureaucratic red tape that makes it impossible for people to do business in san francisco. because it's not just about creating an economic opportunity for the people starting these businesses, it's about creating jobs, it's about creating an increased tax base to support all these services that we all want to support communities in san francisco. it goes hand in hand, so i am making that clear today that if the board continues down this path, my plan is to bring it to the voters, and i know that you all will be with me when i do it at that time. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: so here's a couple of official announcements that i think i might have forgotten about. that's why i had to write them down. community ambassadors in union

square in downtown. s.f. wednesdays, a local artist will be performing in july from 12:00 to 6:00. a series of performing -- performances at the former temporary transbay terminal, so activating that area downtown, and we're going to start ramping up in july throughout the summer months because we know that we need to change this area, we need to make sure it comes alive, and i am so excited to the activation and the people eating at the various restaurants, shopping at the various stores, or just sitting right here in union square and people watching just because we miss seeing faces. eventually, these masks, they're going to hopefully go away, but in the meantime, continue to shine, san francisco. we are open for business. thank you all so much for being here today, and i want to

introduce peter from sam's grill. [applause] >> thank you. as you know -- well, first of all, i want to thank the mayor and her team because it's a well thought out plan. i mean, it's necessary. we need to revitalize downtown san francisco, and as a small business owner, we spend a great deal of time here. we're here morning, noon, and night. sam's grill has been a part of this community since 1867. we've seen it all. if our walls could talk, which is a whole different story, so we'll leave that for another time, but we've seen it all, and we've recovered from it and look forward to the future. after clocking in for 150 years, i feel as if downtown san francisco is still a bit of a secret, and we're primed and

ready for it to be rediscovered. i'm very pleased that small business is a component of this plan. downtown, as the mayor said, is the economic engine of the city, and at this time, any support we have is greatly appreciated. we have the infrastructure in place. we have beautiful architecture, we have transportation hubs, we have parking, we have gathering spots, and now, we're starting to improve, and we have a vibrant history, and let's keep that all alive and well. i'm excited about the effort to regain our commitment to helping people revisit downtown with new eyes, and there's no better way to do this than to be kind and inclusive. we really want to create an environment where people feel vibrant, where people feel comfortable, and they want to return to. at the end of the day, we're all human beings, and that's the bottom line, so the next

time i see you, i hope it's in a booth at sam's or in the dining room or in sam's tavern. i invite you all to revisit san francisco, to revisit downtown, to enjoy it because we're made for this. thank you. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you, peter, and i want to recognize laurie thomas from the golden gate restaurant association. thank you so much for being here, and i also want to say thank you to the downtown fisherman's wharf, yerba buena, and east court benefit district, the san francisco chamber of commerce, kevin carroll's joining us, s.f. travel, the bar owners association. i think that's you behind that mask. thank you, ben. the directors of all the city departments i mentioned before. also, separately from the city departments i mentioned before,

i want to mention the city administrator carmen chiu and the department of public works. i've been wearing a lot of masks during this pandemic. i would say the majority of masks that i wear look like they are very artistic and beautiful, and they usually match my outfits. not as nice as nancy pelosi and the matching of her outfits, but pretty darn close, and the person that makes these masks is an incredible local artist who's really been a fierce advocate for a lot of the programs and the investments that we're making. as a result of her advocacy, what we're doing in her budget is backfilling some of the grants for the artists in the grants for the arts program, and we'll continue to provide first-ever guaranteed income for artists here in san francisco, a program that was recently launched. so many great things for

artists, because let's face it, artists really make magic happen. they make things come alive through performance and the visual arts, and it's time to talk about the arts related components for our downtown is deborah walker. [applause] >> good morning. i want to, first off, thank our mayor for the work she's done to have our city recover as it has for all of us, but especially for our arts community very early on in the process of dealing with the issue of covid here in the city, the mayor stepped up and protected the funding for our arts organizations and our artists citywide so that after school programs and education pods and the creative corps which actually brought artists in to deliver food, vaccines,

testing, all of the things associated with recovery, and the mayor actually stepped forward and made that happen. the arts contribute over $1.7 million a year into our economy every year. san francisco is an arts city. it's also important to know that for every dollar invested in the arts with grant programs, etc., you get a 17-fold return, so it's smart, efficient, and it also, as the mayor pointed out, it's where the spirit of our city comes from. every community of our community -- you see the paint the void has managed the mural projects on all of the shuttered -- the businesses that put wood on the front of their businesses. we brought artists to paint murals all across town. when allowed, we brought in

small performance and art into the shared spaces program, which now is going to be made permanent. this is also important because this is really sort of where these ideas come from. when the mayor put together her economic task force to make recommendations on how to help sectors recover, she appointed over a dozen arts professionals not just to talk about the arts but to engage in with all of the different sectors to imagine how arts can be used as the catalyst it is. it's the magic the mayor talked about. we've all experienced it, and certainly, we've all felt the absence of it until we started doing all these programs, so the mayor deserves a whole lot of credit for all of these ideas. this is part of what we talked about in the task force is activating around the city's open spaces where it makes

sense and as appropriate and as allowed by the regulations to actually create, bring artists that are local together. i'm sure we'll also have some big name san francisco artists that are a part of this process. downtown is devastated, and the last group to open are the offices and the restaurants, the inside bars, night time entertainment. the artists community has been devastated. one of the sectors with the highest unemployment rate, so this is the opportunity to really open up our city again. my hope is that this infrastructure that creates these performance opportunities can then be spread out into all of our neighborhoods where we have these shared spaces. the hope is that we have these events downtown and folks from the sunset and richmond and marina will come down and remember what it's like to be

here. so the arts -- the arts are a catalyst, you know? it is the magic that we need. there's a reason why the w.p.a. included so many murals that we see today. this is history. you know, going through what we went through is history. i'm excited about our new leadership. directors remington and brown and our new director of economic activity in the city, kate sophis. all of these folks know our city, know our arts, and are going to be doing more of these different type of projects, so i'm just grateful, mayor, and thank you so much, and thank you all. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: when i was in high school in san francisco at galileo high school, nothing made me more excited than out of nowhere,

when we were out in the courtyard, the music would blast in the p.a., and then, there was this whole pep rally for home coming. those kinds of things would happen all the time, and part of what gets a community alive and rooting for san francisco has to do with things all of a sudden out of nowhere wherein a plaza like this, you see artists dancing and performing. everyone stops in their tracks to look, and it puts a smile on people's faces. holiday plaza, out of nowhere, people were dancing and performing as people were waiting in line to get their coffee. just imagine if people are expanding and providing entertainment in a way that really puts a smile on people's face as they are waiting for the cable car. activation has everything to do with making people feel good and feel alive and feel happy about their experience in san

francisco. so i'm taking my high school experience, my experience as a former arts director and trying to make sure that everyone has a very similar experience all over san francisco. yes, i love the symphony. i used to play french horn. i was okay. that was in junior high, but you shouldn't have to only be able to go to the symphony to have that experience. just imagine the symphony playing here outdoors, where everyone gets that experience. that's what opera in the park is all about, that's what these great activities are about, and that's how we're going to get life back. making the right investments, keeping people safe, cleaning up our city, and umm canning together just -- and coming together just like we did to fight this pandemic. we're coming together from a very challenging time, and we're going to do so with a smile on our face. thank you all so much for

joining us here today. [applause] >> shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do their business in the 49 square files of san francisco. we help san francisco remain unique, successful and right vi. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> i'm one of three owners here in san francisco and we provide mostly live music entertainment and we have food, the type of food that we have a mexican food and it's not a big menu, but we did it with love. like ribeye tacos and quesadillas and fries. for latinos, it brings families

together and if we can bring that family to your business, you're gold. tonight we have russelling for e community. >> we have a ten-person limb elimination match. we have a full-size ring with barside food and drink. we ended up getting wrestling here with puoillo del mar. we're hope og get families to join us. we've done a drag queen bingo and we're trying to be a diverse kind of club, trying different things. this is a great part of town and there's a bunch of shops, a variety of stores and ethnic restaurants. there's a popular little shop that all of the kids like to hang out at. we have a great breakfast spot

call brick fast at tiffanies. some of the older businesses are refurbished and newer businesses are coming in and it's exciting. >> we even have our own brewery for fdr, ferment, drink repeat. it's in the san francisco garden district and four beautiful murals. >> it's important to shop local because it's kind of like a circle of life, if you will. we hire local people. local people spend their money at our businesses and those local people will spend their money as well. i hope people shop locally. [ ♪♪♪ ]

>> roughly five years, i was working as a high school teacher, and i decided to take my students on a surfing field trip. the light bulb went off in my

head, and i realized i could do much more for my students taking them surfing than i could as their classroom teacher, and that is when the idea for the city surf project was born. >> working with kids in the ocean that aren't familiar with this space is really special because you're dealing with a lot of fear and apprehension but at the same time, a lot of excitement. >> when i first did it, i was, like, really scared, but then, i did it again, and i liked it. >> we'll get a group of kids who have just never been to the beach, are terrified of the idea, who don't like the beach.

it's too cold out, and it's those kid that are impossible to get back out of the water at the end of the day. >> over the last few years, i think we've had at least 40 of our students participate in the city surf project. >> surfing helped me with, like, how to swim. >> we've start off with about two to four sessions in the pool before actually going out and surfing. >> swimming at the pool just helps us with, like, being, like, comfortable in the water and being calm and not being all -- not being anxious. >> so when we started the city surf project, one of the things we did was to say hey, this is the way to earn your p.e. credits. just getting kids to go try it was one of our initial challenges for the first year or two.

but now that we've been doing it three or four years, we have a group of kids that's consistent, and the word has spread, that it's super fun, that you learn about the ocean. >> starting in the morning, you know, i get the vehicles ready, and then, i get all the gear together, and then, i drive and go get the kids, and we take them to a local beach. >> we usually go to linda mar, and then occasionally ocean beach. we once did a special trip. we were in capitola last year, and it was really fun. >> we get in a circle and group stretch, and we talk about specific safety for the day, and then, we go down to the water. >> once we go to the beach, i don't want to go home. i can't change my circumstances at home, but i can change the way i approach them. >> our program has definitely been a way for our students to

find community and build friends. >> i don't really talk to friends, so i guess when i started doing city surf, i started to, like, get to know people more than i did before, and people that i didn't think i'd like, like, ended up being my best friends. >> it's a group sport the way we do it, and with, like, close camaraderie, but everybody's doing it for themselves. >> it's great, surfing around, finding new people and making new friendships with people throughout surfing. >> it can be highly developmental for students to have this time where they can learn a lot about themselves while negotiating the waves. >> i feel significantly, like, calmer. it definitely helps if i'm, like, feeling really stressed or, like, feeling really anxious about surfing, and i go surfing, and then, i just feel, like, i'm going to be okay.

>> it gives them resiliency skills and helps them build self-confidence. and with that, they can use that in other parts of their lives. >> i went to bring my family to the beach and tell them what i did. >> i saw kids open up in the ocean, and i got to see them connect with other students, and i got to see them fail, you know, and get up and get back on the board and experience success, and really enjoy themselves and make a connection to nature at the same time. >> for some kids that are, like, resistant to, like, being in a mentorship program like this, it's they want to surf, and then later, they'll find out that they've, like, made this community connection. >> i think they provided level

playing fields for kids to be themselves in an open environment. >> for kids to feel like i can go for it and take a chance that i might not have been willing to do on my own is really special. >> we go on 150 surf outings a year. that's year-round programming. we've seen a tremendous amount of youth face their fears through surfing, and that has translated to growth in other facets of their lives. >> i just think the biggest thing is, like, that they feel like that they have something that is really cool, that they're engaged in, and that we, like, care about them and how they're doing, like, in general. >> what i like best is they really care about me, like, i'm not alone, and i have a group of people that i can go to, and, also, surfing is fun. >> we're creating surfers, and

we're changing the face of surfing. >> the feeling is definitely akin to being on a roller coaster. it's definitely faster than i think you expect it to be, but it's definitely fun. >> it leaves you feeling really, really positive about what that kid's going to go out and do. >> i think it's really magical almost. at least it was for me. >> it was really exciting when i caught my first wave. >> i felt like i was, like -- it was, like, magical, really. >> when they catch that first wave, and their first lights up, you know -- their face lights up, you know you have them hooked. >> i was on top of the world. it's amazing. i felt like i was on top of the world even though i was probably going two miles an hour. it was, like, the scariest thing i'd ever done, and i think it was when i got hooked

on surfing after later so vice president swig will be the presiding officer until he a arrives. vice president swig is joined by commissioner anne lazarus and tina chang. also present is deputy city attorney brad russy who will provide the board with any legal advice. at the control is the legal assistant alex longway and i'm julie rosenburg. we will also be joined by representatives from the city departments that will be presenting before the board this evening. scott sanchez the deputy zoning administrator with the planning department and joseph duffy director of san