i ask you all to oppose this conversion. it is so essential to keep the board and care that we have. thank you. >> hello, commissioners. i calling into ask you to oppose the change in use from a board and care facility to residential. let's keep this a community serving space. i spent a lot of time on this block. two days a week i deliver grocery boxes across the

street. they have been renters for 54 years. the last thing we need is a dark and gated mansion. we have to acknowledge the 30 year history of this facility at a time where huge facilities have been lost in the last decade. knowing there is at least one board and care operator interested, we should be exploring further before allowing conversions. the sponsor took a gamble and speculating on this conversion. if you grant this into a mansion with an 80 you, it will only push up land cap -- land cost. the trust that owns the property has 25 other properties, many of which are in the mission. we have to stop the flippers from converting these spaces into mansions and driving out residents in need. we need the city to step in and solve the crisis. thank you. >> okay, last call for public comment on this item. you need to press star three to

be added to the queue. >> good evening. my name is anastasia. as a rep coalition and san francisco tenant union member, i ask you to take d.r. and deny the proposed project. it was a residential board and care housing six patients and two staff until a fire in 2015. it sat empty since then. the delpit -- the developer wants to turn into a private mansion. you have the power to not allow this conversion. board and care facilities provide supportive housing for elderly, formally -- formerly homeless, people with disabilities, and ask people experiencing drugs, evictions and have as such -- half as much facilities have closed in the

last 10 years. the care provider has scent a message to the commission in expressing the interest of taking over the site, which brings us close to having it reopened as a residential care facility. please deny the project and take d.r. thank you. >> okay. final last call for public comment. you need to press star three. seeing none, this is being closed to members of the public. public comment is closed. this discretionary review is now before you, commissioners. i take it back. i apologize. i'm getting ahead of myself. you have a one minute rebuttal, miss patton. >> thank you. can you hear me? >> we are, but we have a strong echo. you might want to -- >> there we go. can you hear me?

the board -- it is zoned. [ indiscernible ] they found a loophole and that loophole has been closed. the financial feasibility is not an argument. [ indiscernible ] this will reduce potential housing for low income and disabled folks. there is funding available should we request that the project be denied and that the board and care -- the project be denied so aboard and care facility be reimplemented. thank you. >> great, thank you. mr. patterson, you have a one minute rebuttal.

>> thank you, commissioners. ryan patterson for the public sponsor. if we could please have slide number 2? it is not a conversion. it is also not a mansion. the fifth bedroom was added in response to a neighbor request for a family size unit. this is also adding a second unit which will be more naturally affordable. there's already at least one rcf a few doors down called morningstar at 666, which is in the process of being expanded to 41 occupants. the commission received a letter from richard daley. i had an extended conversation with him this morning and he confirmed that it is simply not possible to open and r.c.f. in this facility. i would strongly encourage you to ask him about the finances. or i'm happy to tell you more about our conversation. he also did not show up at the end of october or early november for the site meeting to inspect

the facility or inspect the property. we extended a right of first office -- offer. we waited eight months for financing on offers. the money just isn't there. we are asking to go forward with the housing project. thank you. >> okay, commissioners. that will conclude the public comment portion of the hearing. it is now before you. >> while i waiting for the other commissioners, i will express my support for staff's recommendation in not taking d.r. >> i'm sorry.

we have a late request for comment. should we take it? >> yes. >> hi, my name is victor. i a community activist. i have been advocating for the mental health community and those with substance use disorders. my letter is in your package. i someone who has a mental health diagnosis and has been out -- and had been out of the workforce for about 12 years plus. as such, i don't have much of a safety net. when i become ill, hopefully it will be when i old, i will have no place to go but a healthcare facility such as these and they provide vital services. one of your mandates is according to your websites to highlight health department disparities and critical

healthcare and development issues that have emerged since 2013. i-pronoun vote. >> thank you. that will conclude the public comment portion of this hearing. >> thank you. i have a question for mr. patterson. mr. patterson, how much is the asking price for this building, plus the rehabilitation? including the rehabilitation? >> commissioner, thank you. we offered to sell the property to a nonprofit entity or to the

city for fair market value. we believe that the value is approximately $2 million. we did not include construction costs in the request. that would be up to anyone who is perching it, but we did offer and do walk-throughs of this site so that anyone interested can see what work needs to be done. it is very extensive. i think that is the main part of the problem of why financing has not been available from the city or elsewhere. >> at minimum, it is 2 million, and it looks like there is a big amount of rehabilitation. [ indiscernible ] i just want to see if you have those kinds of estimates? >> i will defer to the

architects on the line. my understanding is the cost is probably significantly more than that. maybe in the multiple millions. i just the lawyer. i'm happy to refer to the design professional. they have better numbers than that. >> there are some questions i have regarding this see you. first, in our packet, it says that the previews does not have permits or may not have permits. it also mentions that the interim zoning control also applies to whether it has benefits of the permits or licenses. so can you clarify that?

can you clarify why this is not a cv -- see you? and what that means? >> i'm happy to clarify that. the interim zoning control that the property is subject to specifically states that it applies to permitted or unpermitted facilities that close within three years. this facility closed three years prior to the submitted -- to the submittal so it does not apply because all of the criteria had to be met and this one wasn't. when the cua was withdrawn, this project became a normal building permits. every decision the planning department makes is discretionary. so anything can be d.r. even though the project doesn't require public notice, while the

planning department had it, and it was a normal building permit in those few days, and d.r. was submitted. that is how we had the cua. it did not meet the three year requirement. it became a building permit and the building permit had d.r. >> this has been continued in the planning commission. my question is, at one point -- at what point is the planning department staff part of the discussion when it comes to residential care facilities and the funding around this? what is the extension of the planning department's in this kind of deal?

>> for this particular project, planning is not involved in the negotiations. i would defer to a planning manager or director to know if the planning department on a larger scale will go through the different initiatives involved. i'm not sure about that. >> i think you are muted. >> you are muted. >> hello? >> we can hear you now. >> okay, perfect. i with planning department staff. sorry for the technical difficulties.

last item for the year 2021. the planning department reviewed the project against the planning code compliance and also make sure the project meets residential design guidelines. we are not the experts in financing and evaluating whether a residential care facility is feasible on the size and proportionality. we have to defer to the project sponsors in terms of the numbers to come up with how much -- [ indiscernible ] >> okay. >> and in terms of, i guess, my point here, this is the d.r. now and this is the building permit. for us, here at the commission, in a way we are seeing this more than we see the d.r. it is more appropriate to that.

in terms of what we are basing on this in the decision-making, because it still touches on some of the planning department's responds and some of the general plan requirement, so that is something that i also looking into in terms of looking into the findings of this. the planning department did notice there is a 60% block -- loss of the residential care facilities. that is something that, again, i echoed many of the members of the public who came in on this, and for me, as d.r., i more prone to mean to not change the use of residential care facilities, and maintain the residential care facility use.

i would like to hear what other commissioners have to say on this. >> commissioner moore? >> i would like to pick up on the fact that we have the most important people in the crisis and we will stick to this today. it was eloquently speaking for us to take a very hard look at what is necessary. in light of the fact that there is a 38% reduction, the loss of residential care facilities, i feel pushed against the wall to see an arbitrary three year binary period mentioned in that legislation. this was brought forward in 2019. one year after the legislation.

i personally cannot support the change in use. the city can collectively muster to bring this project back to its original and intended use. that is all i have to say. >> commissioner chan? go ahead, commissioner chan. >> thank you. i want to start by thanking the public for calling in with testimony and i want to thank staff for creating the report for the working group. i found that report really

interesting. i wanted to highlight a few things that i thought was interesting today. any of you heard from our public testimony. [ indiscernible ] what stuck out to me is the client has been primarily in these types of small facilities. they have traditionally been more affordable and accessible to lower income properties. [ indiscernible ] the availability of these facilities is critical for seniors and people with disabilities in order for them to live independently in san francisco. for me i'm thinking about this in terms of a public health issue and this year need for this type of housing. it seems to me the city doesn't really have a shortage in availability and parcels that

are zoned for single-family homes. i don't have the exact number, but i think it is something like one third of plants is available, but the city does have a shortage of available parcels for the care facilities. these are facilities for low income individuals. [ indiscernible ] i finding that there are extraordinary circumstances. i would like to deny the use. by approving the change of use from residential care facilities to residential would directly reduce the number of available parcels that could be developed for residential care facilities and, therefore, the loss of however you measure this by parcels or square footage that can get built would actually be

meaningful to the public health and safety, especially with an aging population and persons with disabilities. [ indiscernible ] >> i sure commissioner chan made a motion, but i would make a motion to take d.r. and deny on the basis that these are extraordinary circumstances and for the public health's safety. >> i second the motion. >> if there is no further deliberation, there is a motion that has been seconded to take d.r. and disapprove the proposed project. on that motion... [ roll call ]

that motion fails 3-3. it was split, though, commissioners. unless there is an alternate motion against adopted or an alternate motion for continuance, as this is a principally permitted project and not a conditional use authorization before you, it is a discretionary review, and therefore would need for votes to take discretionary review to get the project approved. i would be interested to hear if there is any alternate motion. either to continue or otherwise. did you have a comment?

>> thank you, jonas. i do want to mention that this project is proposing two residential units and it is truly code compliant and does not require a variance. it is principally permitted on the site. >> thank you. commissioners, again, if there is no alternate motion, and with the split -- split vote of 3-3, the building permit application would ultimately be approved. >> jonas, may i comment as well, please? >> sure. >> commissioner chan, your comments that the facility is already zoned for a residential care facility and -- i was hearing that you were saying that there may be limited

opportunities for this. residential care facility is principally permitted in all districts. if properties -- properties don't already have to be a residential care facility to become one. so there are other parcels that are available. >> commissioner imperial? >> question to mr. patterson. >> happy to answer any questions, commissioner. >> mr. patterson, will you still see if there is the delay on who expressed the willingness to be the operator, and there are fundings that are coming down the pipeline. would you still willing -- would your client be able to work with mr. richard leon with other

committee members? >> thank you. as i told mr. daley this morning, if the project is approved today, i'm happy to continue talking with him, but he did make it very clear to me and i will quote directly, there's not going to be any money, and this will not be a sick bed facility. it is just not possible. so if something changes, absolutely. very happy to continue talking, but we have given eight months and i would hope that the city would have put together the funds by now. it simply hasn't happened, but to answer your question directly, yes. i'm happy to continue talking. [ indiscernible ]

>> supervisor ronen's office was involved in some meetings earlier and i have not been made aware of any agencies participating or arranging funds. if it has happened, i do not know about it. >> i would be willing to continue this for a number -- another few months, especially that this is the need for r.c.f. i would like other commissioners to -- [ indiscernible ] >> i would like to call on others to see if whether or not they in their own capacities and being interested in the subject matter can rally forces for this to become a larger discussion.

i'm not sure if they are still in the audience or if they can pick up their forms and express ongoing support for this. it would be great to hear from them. otherwise i would suspect that members in the audience who are still listening could reach out because this requires a much broader support and frontal strategizing of how to do this. >> commissioners, i think we need to vote on the motion. unless we hear another motion, i don't know how long we should continue the discussion. >> right. >> are you making a motion? are you leaning in that direction? >> i would like to make a motion. [ indiscernible ]

i would like to continue this in three months. >> did you want to clarify something? >> yes. we are at the last meeting for this project per sb 330. a decision should be made this evening. all of the meetings that happened for the conditional use authorization, all of those continuances, other than the ones that were initiated by the applicant count, so tonight is our last meeting to discuss this project because it is creating new housing units and is subject to sb 330. >> just for clarity, it doesn't

preclude you from making a motion to continue, it just puts the city in an uncomfortable situation. >> give it a shot. >> i would still make a motion to continue it to spring. >> i will second that. >> very good, commissioners. there is a motion that has been seconded to continue this for three months, which would put us into march 17th -- the march 24th. on the motion to continue this matter to march 24th... [ roll call ] that motion fails, again with a split vote 3-3. again, unless there is an alternate motion, i would

suspect in other words to not approve the project and it would still be split 3-3. since the motion to continue fails, the project would essentially and up not taking d.r. and being approved. there is a member of the public requesting to speak. should we take that caller? >> yes. >> hi, i saw you were asking to hear from sarah short and i was texting her. she is trying to get on the line right now. >> i'm not sure what that would accomplish at this point. thank you. >> i had asked to hear from those three individuals who have credible voices in the community to see if they can rally support and find strategies to speak to the city with a larger voice about the subject matter.

>> i understand that commissioner, but i'm not sure how that will change the vote today. okay. are we done? is there -- there is another member of the public requesting to speak? >> okay. last speaker. >> last caller being taken. >> hi, this is sarah short. i wanted to respond to commissioner moore's request, and i have been trying to get back on. i missed a little bit of the discussion and i think it maybe too late. is it still relevant? >> i'm sure commissioner moore would like to hear your response. i just don't know how that will impact the vote today. >> sure. >> go ahead. >> yes, this is in relation to what commissioner imperial

raised about the conversations with the city and such and the questions they were asking. i can say that there has been numerous conversations with different departments, including mo cd and the department of public health, as well as supervisor ronen's office, and supervisor mandelman's office. there are some possibilities for funding, particularly, there is funding set-aside for the mental health co-op that would be a potential use of the site. otherwise there is funding within prop see for the purchase of a board and care. we did not have hard and fast commitments. a lot of that depends on the details, but there are possibilities still from city departments to assist with funding for the property were we to be able to keep it as a community serving facility.

>> thank you. >> okay, are we done? anymore commissioner comments? are we adjourned? >> very good, commissioners. happy holidays. >> happy holidays, happy new year, guys.

>> welcome everybody. i am rudy, executive director of the violence prevention organization unite players. born and raised in san francisco. we have pretty much everybody from every walk of life in every sector from the sfpd to the private sector, community-based organizations. brothers and sisters on the other side of the wall. mothers who have lost kids to

gun violence. brady campaign. mazda action. we have the sbip. my two brothers, guy and gary, you all, soldiers for real. attorney general who is in the house. chief of police. we have everybody under one umbrella in solidarity. mayor of san francisco who is going to speak. we should have our senator here. we are all here together in solidarity to end senseless gun violence. there is so much going on right now in the city, region with the gun violence going on. somebody has to have enough courage to stand up to take a stand to let everybody know that we do not accept senseless gun violence. i am not against the second be amendment. trust me. everybody has a right as human being to protect their family,

property, and community. when you run around with guns, especially ghost guns or guns in the people of the wrong hands. we must end that. you have kids who are getting killed. two years old sleeping in the back of a car trying to get home. reporters like you guys out here trying to do your job to bring information, to be promised while gun violence and people are shot and killed to protect even you guys. everybody in between. we are here together to stand against senseless gun violence. i will bring on our attorney general of california, my brother. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. california attorney general. i am honor to be here with unite

players. so many great community leaders doing their part, rolling up their leaves to make the community better. collaboration is how we get things done working together. in united states of america every day on average 316 people are shot. that is every day. among those 106 are killed. a 23-month-old child in the back seat of his mom's car murdered by a stray bullet interstate 80. immigrant father shot in the mission district next to a playground. retired police officer murdered providing security in his retirement across the bay. when is enough going to be enough? when is the violence going to end? we cannot accept this. folks are taking a stand. we are in a full on crisis when

it comes to gun violence in america. we have a serious problem in the nation that is unique in the whole world only to us. it is taking all of the above approach to cure this sick disease. i want to thank rudy, united players for hosted the gun buy back and many partners in the fight today including mayor breed and senator weiner. at cal department of justice we are fighting to defends gun laws in court, confiscating illegally held firearms and cracking down on untraceable ghost guns. we can't do it alone. we need to fight this epidemic at every level. community-based efforts like this are part of the solution. this is the tenth year of buy back. congratulations on 10 successful years. this year and every year united

players brought in approximately 350 guns. that is roughly 3500 guns over 10 years they are doing the gun buy back. some link to serious crime are off the streets because of this one single effort. 3500 guns. thankfully, this effort is not just here. it is duplicated across the state and nation. that is many guns off the street. i support this work united players leading. they have a close connection with the community and they are on the ground to keep the neighborhoods safe. this is important work. if you want to get rid of guns, come down and make a difference this saturday. it just takes one bullet from one gun to kill, to end alive, to leave an irrepairable wound

for a family and entire community. thank you, united players for your work and to promote safety and opportunity. i will hand it back to rudy. i want to acknowledge i have to catch a flight to southern california to announce an operation in san bernadino where we have taken deadly firearms off the street. we are committed to this important work. i didn't want to miss this opportunity to be part of this effort to thank rudy and united players for your efforts to make the communities and neighborhoods safer. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, rob. attorney general california. before our next speaker i want to say real quick this collaboration would not happen

without front line soldiers. what i mean by that we have teams here that put their life on the line every day. i definitely have to acknowledge sbip. sometimes people don't see the work they do when they are out in the field in the trenches, in the mud. people wouldn't go. i wanted to say to you brothers and sisters doing this work. my brother from us against us right here. this brother right here is everywhere and anywhere. this brother is everywhere. i want to thank you for him and the leadership of my team, 23 people including the moms doing outreach, gun buy back saturday. a brother who has been organizing other guys who came home from doing a life sentence. my brother everett butler.

he came home with a life sentence to organize 23 other guys and girls who came home from behind the walls that are out there leading the way to stop violence. i want to applauds you for being a change agent, brother. i want to bring on our senator, scott weiner. scott, come on up. [applause] >> thank you, rudy. i am continually in awe of united players for the work it does. gun buy back every year to keep our community safe, work that up did during the pandemic to up sport so many families struggling. it is an amazing organization to help people turn their lives around, helps people get on track, keeps young people on

track and supports everyone. thank you, united players. it is a scary time in this country when it comes to guns. we know the data is really clear that the more guns you have, the more gun violence you are going to have. this fantasy that everyone can have a gun or 10 guns as long as they are responsible it is good. there is a direct correlation. the more guns in state, community, society, more people are going to get shot and killed. it played out again a few weeks ago. more high school students getting murdered by another student who had access to a gun. his parents gave him the gun. this has to stop. we know our federal government, congress is paralyzed. can't even pass the most basic

reforms with 90% support in the country. members of congress have taken to posing with young children with assault rifles. it is sending the wrong message. i am worried what take radical supreme court might do in terms of the second amendment. we can't control the federal government. we need to take it back and change change. we can control locally. in california we have some of the strongest gun safety laws in the country and it has an impact. we will continue to work in sacramento. you have my commitment. locally we can take action here. what united players is doing with gun buy back is taking large numbers of guns off the street. it is so impactful.

i look forward to saturday. let's keep fighting. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, scott. i cannot forget my brothers from cyc. thank you, rico and henry. where is henry? we got stories. i ain't going to share them now. next we have a couple more speakers. i will bring up the chief of police of san francisco, my brother, chief bill scott. [applause] >> good morning everybody. i want to first of all, say thank you. i know many of you might not know how much work it takes to keep us all safe. there is a community infrastructure that is absolutely necessary to get guns off the streets, to reduce gun violence and to engage with people who are the most at risk.

what i am here to tell you this morning is the people that you see surrounding me, people from the community. mothers, fathers, people that have been through the criminal justice system and come out to help their community. that is what it takes. that is what it takes to lift a city up, lift a community up. i am so thankful to be in partnership with united plays and all of the -- united players so we can make a difference. we have to make a difference. far too many times we knocked on doors to say a mother, father, aunt, uncle or brother or sister their child is not coming home. we have to do everything we cannot to allow that to happen.

10 years of gun buy backs 3500 guns off the streets is the way to do that. i am very thankful for the partnership and for these people that are surrounding me that do the workday in and day out. they are all doing treacherous situations. they don't have equipment that i have. they don't have backup. they have back up because they have us. they don't have body armor and guns and radios and things that we do. those of us in law enforcement. they are out there day in and day out getting the job done. i thank them and i hope you thank them. i shout out to one of the captains from the southern district, tim, who supports united players and this effort. he is a partner as well. they are members of the san

francisco police department. thank you for allowing me to be part of it. we have got to be here. when you are here it is serious. the chief is in the building. we have a couple more speakers to bring up. he is my brother. district supervisor, district 6. give it up for matt haney. [applause] >> thank you, rudy. thank you, united players, cyc, moms that demand action. this is what it looks like when people who have seen firsthand the pain and devastation that is caused from gun violence come together for solutions. these folks are in our community in the south of market every day working with young people, working to prevent violence.

some folks have been working here for a long time. they have served time, incarcerated and come back to our community to prevent harm and violence hatching to anyone else -- happening to anyone else. that is a power full statement of what it looks like when we listen to and support the people who know what needs done. i thank sfpd, chief scott, senator weiner and attorney gen. so many of us watching what is happening in the city are watching what is happening across the country. there could be a sense of powerlessness when it comes to gun violence. we see it on the tv. we don't know how to help. this is a way to help to get guns out of places where they

hurt people and get them destroyed so they never hurt anyone again. this is a way to help. a lot of people might think i have a family member or friend in the home. it is safe. >> it is not safe. and the data bears this out. if there is a gun in the home there is an exponential increase somebody is hurt from violence, accident or suicide. we have in this country about twice as many people who die of suicide and from homicide. very often that is because there is a gun accessible to them. often teenagers. people who for whatever reason feel depressed or afraid.

experiencing violence or trauma they may being a decision we can never bring back. i lost my best friend 19 years old to suicide. he shot and killed himself because he had access to the gun. if you have a gun in the home please consider bringing to the gun buy back on saturday. if you think this will never be used in an act of violence somebody could be hurt or die because they hurt themselves. we can save lives with the gun bike. they have been doing it for 10 years. >> if you know someone with a gun and they will get rid of it, that can save someone's life. we hope to see you this saturday. >> as we anticipate and weight for our mayor to speak, i have

to make sure we have people survivors of gun violence. my brother dame me another on . on. i am a san francisco native. i am one of the individuals who have been on both sides. shot five times in the city. i have also served 10 year in prison for possession of firearm. i am part of all of the gun buy backs. i am in charge of violent cheers that come out. it is very important that we get home -- guns out of homes.

we see a lot of senior community come out, husband passed on. he had a lot of guns. they are in the house. i want you to think about a father who passed on who collected guns properly now his wife and grand children are in the home or someone breaks in the house. now someone not trained to use the weapon has 10 unregistered guns out in the community. that is what we fight against. not against the second amendment if you are trained through the proper channels you have the right to bear arms and defend yourself. that was the case in my situation. if i didn't have a gun i wouldn't have done 10 years in prison. i am screaming loud and proud in

support of these amazing community activist i work with every day on the front lines. i had a meeting yesterday at the youth lounge with the district attorney's office. we had the family of jada who caught a stray bullet. those individuals didn't have a registered firearm, now the family has to deal with the holidays without their baby girl. i can't have it. i have been fighting for it. i will continue to fight. i will stand here. i am going to keep on doing it. we have been doing it for 10 years. we will do it for 10, 20 or more, whatever it takes.

thank you, rudy. >> i want to acknowledge my brother rod. front line soldier. thank you for putting your life on the line every day. that is one of the highest sacrifices you can do on this planet is to put your life in front of somebody else's life. to sacrifice your light so people will live. we are brothers and sisters on both sides of the guns. i want to bring up somebody who lost their kid to gun violence. a mother. you can never know the mother's pain when you lose one of your kids. mamma lia, you all. >> thank you.

thank you for being here for us mothers who lost children to gun violence. thank you sfpd, san francisco police department for working with up and all of us to get guns off our streets. i stand today other as mother representing killing for families and nation and representing every mother and father, brother and sister who lost a child to gun violence. i am elizabeth torres and i lost two sons to gun violence. it is a pain no mother or father or family member should have to endure. i am here for my sons. francis to and al better to. the weapons used to kill them

had the numbers scratched off. i fought because i couldn't see in this city or any other cities someone coming into rob my sons from me. they had a future. i sacrificed to bring them up the right way. yet the bullets found them and took them away from our families. the most important thing to say is to the mothers out there, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins who loved and lost their dear once, take a breath. take a spend. i know you want justice. justice is going to come at its own time, not in yours. what you can do in the meantime, take care of yourself.

your loved ones are looking at you. yes, i do believe that. if god could open up a window to our lives what we are doing. what do we want our loved ones to be proud how we are taking care of ourselves. they would want us to keep going. after all we are the only ones that can help and bring justice by being an example, by cop operating with the police. by getting on the investigators to not let them forget or loved ones. that is what we could do. the holidays are rough. every holiday, anniversary, birthday. it is very hard. go easy on yourself. please stay away from the drugs,

alcohol, anger. get into peace. that is the most precious gift. find your peace. thank you very much. (applause). >> thank you. as we anticipate and wait for the mayor to get here, i want to say it is serious business, you all. this is not no game. one of those bullets leave the chamber from the gun, it is going to destroy everything in its path. that bullet that has no name on it does not discriminate. it will kill and destroy anything it comes out. black, white, pepper min stripe, paul, gay, straight, doesn't matter. a lot of guns out here in the hands of people.

reckless people that should not have guns in their hands. that is what we are about. getting guns off the streets. destroying the guns so they will end somebody's life that will affect the community. you will see the ripple effect it would do. if that 2-year-old kid had not got shot and lived or the guy who was protecting the camera people was alive you don't know what impact this person will make on this planet. it destructs everything in its path. why do we do this? >> i am not against the second amendment. i am a survival. that is why i am passionate about this. i will bring up somebody else

who is very passionate. on both sides of the gun. i want to bring up my brother, everett butler. shots out for urban for the great work you all do. >> good morning. as i listened to the stories, i was a promoter of senseless gun violence. one of the decisions i made cost me the death penalty. after knowing i could sit on death row for two years, wow. that is traumatizing. we ain't going to talk about the lives taken and the life taken in doing the life i lived because i chose it. i made the conscious decision to become a gang member. then i ended up in prison.

it saved my life. prison afforded me to be out hear what i am doing for the community every day. where you meet us? in the back field. a lot of work. we have to show up. it is not hard. it has to be done. we don't do it. saturn it in. help us save another life. i will share something before i leave. day of remembrance was right here on the steps of city hall. it was a picture of a youngster killed watching fireworks. fireworks. you in what the picture read? don't shoot. i want to grow up. if that can't encourage me to get out and help stop it, i don't know what will.

i encourage you to get out here and help us do what we do. one bang, one sound. that is all we got. boots on the ground. me and my brother had 10toes, one sock. facts for gun buy back. this is important. this saturday, december 11, 8:08 howard street in san francisco gun buy back. one hundred dollars handguns. $200 for assault rifles. no questions asked. pull up we will give you the cash. we ain't asking for id, no information. we will give you your money when

you turn-in your guns. guns in the trunk or walk up. you know, either way it doesn't matter. we have a team trained to make sure they are professionally handled. this is not easy around a lot of people driving up with guns. you have people against what we do. we have to make sure we stay professional, vigilant. anything can happen. everybody involved will demand action. brady campaign and community-based organizations and sponsors. don't forget our sponsors. weed dispensaries who supported making it happen. private sector. sbip. everybody on stage. urban brothers and sisters,

united players, chief of police. everybody coming together to make this happen. shout out to our district supervisor. asha. supportive against gun violence. altogether if we pull one gun off the street that will make the difference. with that said i will bring up one of our sisters on the front line who comes out all of the time to help with the gun buy back support. shantay. say some words. >> good morning. you put me on the spot. i want to thank rudy. i appreciate this gun buyback. i lost my brother in 1998.

once the victim is gone, it is the families affected. to this day i am still affected by it. i stand before you and do this work for the street violence intervention to save another life. thank you, rudy. thank you to all of you guys that are in support of gun buy back to those out there one gun can change one life. thank you. >> you got to get ready that is how we got to stay 10toes to the ground. captain falvey. >> i am proud to work with united players to participate in

the gun buy back. we will bring out enough staff to retrieve these firearms from vehicles to take them if they walk up, we have them destroyed through property control division. a lot of reasons for the gun buy back are stated. i will reiterate. a lot of people have guns in their homes they inhaled or relative passed on and you are never going to use that gun in your mind. you don't won't children finding your gun in a closet. don't say a burglar are looking in closets for guns. we don't want that to harp. this is our tenth year to do this. third year participating as captain. i will be there at 8:00 in the morning. you have heard why we do this. i ask people to come participate and bring guns. take the money for holiday

shopping, get the community safer and we will continue to work with united players until the guns are off the street. it is the long process. the officers at southern station will be there with them and the rest of the sfpd. thank you. >> i think she is pulling up. i want to bring out another leader of san francisco who has been leading the way to help making change. district supervisor asha. >> i will say real quick, you know this issue with regard to violence in the city, guns, illegal guns on the street. opportunity to have a buy back program driven by the community for the community. i appreciate united players and

all people that have driven this conversation. we are here to be support and always think about safety. this is a really important opportunity to look to folks with experience and history with violence. turn their lives around and drive safety for the community. i appreciate that. thank you so much for the opportunity to say a few words. [applause] >> thank you. we caught you off guard. i don't care if you are sfpd with a gun in your house up locked and loaded with children in the house. turn those guns in. i will shout out to the urban brothers right there. front line. [applause] >> she is here, you all. i will bring up the san

francisco leader. our mayor london breed. [applause]. >> mayor breed: thank you, rudy. i want to take this opportunity to celebrate and recognize so many amazing organizations who have been at the forefront of addressing the challenges around violence in our city. in fact, as we celebrate 10 years of doing this gun buy back and betting thousands of guns off the street and out of people's hands it is important to recognize that this work is not easy. yes, this gun buy back is important. the work we do to change policies in this opportunity tree and city are critically to turning things around for the communities. shout out to so many people who

are on the front lines including street violence intervention. can you raise your hands if you are joining us today from urbannal cammy and svip. these are the people who constantly put themselves in harm's way with united players to ensure the safety of the communities throughout san francisco. they are always there when there is a tragedy orthopedic any situation. brady, mom to demand action, united players leading can cause. which one would stop something from hatching because we don't be want to lose people in the

city and opportunity tree to gun violence. we can do it. i want to voice supervisor stefani. yesterday we signed legislation banning the sale, distribution and purchasing of these ghost guns that had been rampant in our community. last year alone 42% of the lines in san francisco. imagine if those ghost guns never entered our streets. those people would be alive today. thank you so much steve scott for your work and helps us get guns off the streets of san francisco. mattie scott is not here from

the healing circle. she has been at the forefront of advocating for change. she is a mom who lost her son. who was an amazing person. i grew up with him in my neighborhood. there were people like george scott and others i grew up with that i police, that i loved as we played in the schoolyard and played tag and all kinds of other fun games before there social media and technology. when i go to united players and go to their home. i see the board with the people that we lost. african-american and latino men in the city mostly in their hail teens and early 20s. i know almost every person on

those boards. what we ask people to do put down the weapon. here is your opportunity. no questions asked. turn-in your guns. let's have peace on our streets. let's have love on the streets. come together like we once did before. we were one san francisco to catch buses all over to the bayview. sunnydale by 501. we were in every community in the city growing up. we can get back there. it has everything to do with putting down the guns. you have these incredible people and organizations to emplace you and help you turn your life

around. to those with guns and lock boxes. turn them in. for parents know your child is struggling for mental illness or you may by him a gun? i appreciate parents being held accountable in that particular case. we are better than that. getting guns off the streets why we are here today. what team takuma sato at 10 -- no questions asked no questions asked. turn-in your guns. make san francisco and this country a safer place so that your child is not the next victim.

thank you. (applause). >> thank you, london. leader of our city. before we end i want to say do not wait until somebody you love and you know is shot or hurt and is victim of gun violence. you need to get involved. do not wait until somebody you love or somebody you know gets shot and killed before you say i want to get involved. like mattie scott would say it is about. none of us. special shout out to james who helps us get together under one umbrella to unify to ender the gun violence. a lot of people helping us out. front line soldier.

i see you. all of you guys. reporters. you feel up safe because you felt unsafe about you getting robbed. >> it is not going to happily with us. look at the front line soldiers her to protect community and pemin between. you are looking at them right here right now. the brothers on front line, sister, leslie. chief of police our super-veessors coming together to end the gun violence. thank you for coming and taking a chance. we got your back.

>> i view san francisco almost as a sibling or a parent or something. i just love the city. i love everything about it. when i'm away from it, i miss it like a person.

i grew up in san francisco kind of all over the city. we had pretty much the run of the city 'cause we lived pretty close to polk street, and so we would -- in the summer, we'd all all the way down to aquatic park, and we'd walk down to the library, to the kids' center. in those days, the city was safe and nobody worried about us running around. i went to high school in spring valley. it was over the hill from chinatown. it was kind of fun to experience being in a minority, which most white people don't get to experience that often. everything was just really within walking distance, so it make it really fun. when i was a teenager, we didn't have a lot of money. we could go to sam wong's and get super -- soup for $1.

my parents came here and were drawn to the beatnik culture. they wanted to meet all of the writers who were so famous at the time, but my mother had some serious mental illness issues, and i don't think my father were really aware of that, and those didn't really become evident until i was about five, i guess, and my marriage blew up, and my mother took me all over the world. most of those ad ventures ended up bad because they would end up hospitalized. when i was about six i guess, my mother took me to japan, and that was a very interesting trip where we went over with a boyfriend of hers, and he was working there. i remember the open sewers and gigantic frogs that lived in the sewers and things like that. mostly i remember the smells very intensely, but i loved japan. it was wonderful. toward the end.

my mother had a breakdown, and that was the cycle. we would go somewhere, stay for a certain amount of months, a year, period of time, and she would inevitably have a breakdown. we always came back to san francisco which i guess came me some sense of continuity and that was what kept me sort of stable. my mother hated to fly, so she would always make us take ships places, so on this particular occasion when i was, i think, 12, we were on this ship getting ready to go through the panama canal, and she had a breakdown on the ship. so she was put in the brig, and i was left to wander the ship until we got to fluorfluora few days later, where we had a distant -- florida a few days later, where we had a distant cousin who came and got us. i think i always knew i was a

writer on some level, but i kind of stopped when i became a cop. i used to write short stories, and i thought someday i'm going to write a book about all these ad ventures that my mother took me on. when i became a cop, i found i turned off parts of my brain. i found i had to learn to conform, which was not anything i'd really been taught but felt very safe to me. i think i was drawn to police work because after coming from such chaos, it seemed like a very organized, but stable environment. and even though things happening, it felt like putting order on chaos and that felt very safe to me. my girlfriend and i were sitting in ve 150d uvio's bar, and i looked out the window and i saw a police car, and there was a woman who looked like me driving the car. for a moment, i thought i was me. and i turned to my friend and i

said, i think i'm supposed to do this. i saw myself driving in this car. as a child, we never thought of police work as a possibility for women because there weren't any until the mid70's, so i had only even begun to notice there were women doing this job. when i saw here, it seemed like this is what i was meant to do. one of my bosses as ben johnson's had been a cop, and he -- i said, i have this weird idea that i should do this. he said, i think you'd be good. the department was forced to hire us, and because of all of the posters, and the big recruitment drive, we were under the impression that they were glad to have us, but in reality, most of the men did not want the women there. so the big challenge was constantly feeling like you had to prove yourself and feeling

like if you did not do a good job, you were letting down your entire gender. finally took an inspector's test and passed that and then went down to the hall of justice and worked different investigations for the rest of my career, which was fun. i just felt sort of buried alive in all of these cases, these unsolved mysteries that there were just so many of them, and some of them, i didn't know if we'd ever be able to solve, so my boss was able to get me out of the unit. he transferred me out, and a couple of weeks later, i found out i had breast cancer. my intuition that the job was killing me. i ended up leaving, and by then, i had 28 years or the years in, i think. the writing thing really became intense when i was going through treatment for cancer because i felt like there were so many parts that my kids didn't know. they didn't know my story, they didn't know why i had a relationship with my mother, why we had no family to speak of. it just poured out of me.

i gave it to a friend who is an editor, and she said i think this would be publishable and i think people would be interested in this. i am so lucky to live here. i am so grateful to my parents who decided to move to the city. i am so grateful they did.

>> 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. [ ♪♪♪ ] >> the hon. london breed: all right. so quiet in here today. is it quiet? kind of quiet. well, first of all, thank you, everyone, for being here today. thank you for the boys and girls club for hosting us here in san francisco, and i really appreciate the continued to

stand before you as the mayor of san francisco to introduce something that i'm very proud of and something that is long overdue. so today, we're here with a number of elected officials, nonprofits, and professionals, because the city clearly needs a change when it comes to our young people. during covid, we all know that kids suffered, and schools that were closed led to learning loss and mental health challenges that sadly continue to this day, but we can't pretend that these opportunities didn't exist in the past, but today, we can create a new path forward. currently, there are ten agencies that make decisions for our kids.

it is so frustrating and confusing for kids when parents can't speak english and they have to translate for their parents. the thing about these programs, they don't necessarily have a coordinated vision, and the programs are confusing for families to access. we are here because we desperately desperately need to put our children first. there are a lot of people standing here today that really

care about kids. supervisor melgar couldn't make it, but she supports our kids. supervisor raphael mandelman is here. former president of the board of supervisors norman yee is here, who led the fight in the city. we also have board members like jennie lam and former board members like hydro mendoza, who i can't tell if they're here because i can't see under the mask as well as the service providers to -- who provide services to our kids. and of course, we have our parents, some of whom you'll hear from today. getting this charter amendment

onto the ballot is going to take a lot of partners, and i'm really proud of all the people who are supportive of this and with us today, including our young people, who probably -- [applause] >> the hon. london breed: i know we can put our kids in focus. in the summer of 2020, with our schools closed, we needed to support our kids, especially those living in public housing and congregate settings who had nowhere to go, nowhere to learn. that's when the city, under the leadership of maria su, with the department of children, youth, and families -- [applause] >> the hon. london breed: that's when we created the learning hub.

the program that we created happened in a matter of weeks, so these hubs, they served thousands of young people with a safe place to learn, to be around other kids, to get access to other food and to feel normal during one of the most difficult times of our experiences. and what made the community learning hub successful was the communication and partnership with the city and communication and partnership with the nonprofit agencies. we would often ask why we aren't using the schools, and i had no good answer for that, and that's exactly why this ballot measure is needed. it has two main focuses. first, we will centralize the work we've done for kids. it seems like it should, but it's not. one of the most frustrating

things as mayor is dealing with bureaucracy, and the agency that is responsible for what, and the expectation that nonprofits who are already working hard to serve our children have to fill out several different applications and meet several different requirements, and specifically, the measure will combine existing youth service departments into a single children's agency for the city and county of san francisco, which will be significant. it will create a unified vision, bring services and funding together in one place, improve efficiency by aligning all the spending that we make towards specific goals, and reduce bureaucracy so parents have one specific location to

access services and programs. how do we allow children access to things that they may be interested in doing? this holistic approach will better serve families and kids. the next part of this charter amendment will be school board accountability. the other thing that is so critical to, i know, what everyone is most excited about, is, you know, the fact that we need to change what happens at the school board. i'm standing here with school board members past and present who have done difficult work. they know what it takes to make

hard decisions and to focus on the core mission of that really important body, but unfortunately, the schooling board we have has too often focused on the wrong things at the expense of the big picture. people -- school renamings instead of getting schools opens, massive school budget deficits, parents who feel like they're not being heard, and kids who have not felt like they're being prioritized, i get where they're coming from. as mayor, i don't have control over the school district, but every year, the city provides millions and millions to the school district. i'm not just talking about the $25 million we gave them for

covid along with the various district partners who provided support for the challenges that they were experiencing. my responsibility is to ensure that those city dollars and resources are being spent well. we need to set some basic, basic accountability standards if we're going to keep spending that money, so children first will do just that. it will require the board of education to self-certify every year that they've met some of these basic guidelines, including undergoing regular training to improve their effectiveness, conduct extensive parental engagement to ensure all parent voices are heard, and allow the superintendent to manage other staff, which unfortunately is not happening.

approve the annual budget and ensure that it aligns with the overall goal of the district and conduct annual self-evaluations to ensure that they are working together as a collective body to achieve these long-term goals. now this is about good government and accountability. it's about ensuring that the city dollars are being spent wisely. it's about a reset of the board of education, and most of all, it's about our kids. no longer will this city give a blank check to the school board until it demonstrates some level of improvement and accountability to serve our children. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: so we have a lot of work to do, not just to get this charter on the ballot, but to pass it and take action. we have to show that this city

cares about our kids and their families. let me just say, as a kid that grew up in san francisco, you know, my grandmother was the person that was completing all the paperwork and doing all the things that needed to be done to make sure that i could participate in all of these programs. i was completing all the forms. i was completing all the forms, working with my grandmother, and at the time, a lot of people with the nonprofits, they were on the forefront with me, hearing me through this process. we thought technology made it better. in fact, things have gotten way more complicated, and it should not be difficult for kids to participate in programs, for them to receive a good education and the support that

they need and deserve so they can thrive, so their lives are made better. we owe it to them to think about their future, and part of that is making sure we're grading them. not just on math, science, reading, and writing. and right now, we're failing. we're failing our kids, we're failing our families, and so this charter amendment is about doing something different, doing something better, because i know we can do something better because they serve it, and i want to take a moment to recognize the leaders of the department of children, youth, and families. thank you, maria su, for helping to lead this charter amendment. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you to all the families who have provided their input. we are truly grateful, and as i mentioned to a number of folks

before from various nonprofits and agencies and parents, this has really been a collective effort, and long overdue, and we're going to have to work hard to get this passed, but when we get it passed, and when we implement it, we all are going to see and feel a change for our children and for our future. so thank you so much for being here today, and at this time, i want to introduce the supervisor of this district that we're in, and who represents district 8. ladies and gentlemen, supervisor rafael mandelman. >> supervisor mandelman: thank you, madam mayor. welcome to district 8, everyone. you know, if norman yee, london breed, maria su and

phil halperin agree on something related to kids, you know it's got to go good. as another san francisco former kid myself, i know this is a really good ballot measure. i think this measure is a measured and reasonable response to some of the frankly chaos that we have seen coming out of the school district, and we have, as a city, a tremendous stake in what happens at the district. we don't run the district, but we fund it in significant measure, and this ballot recognizes that, as a condition of that funding, we should have some expectations around the quality of governance, and so i really appreciate that that is an important piece of this charter amendment.

but i also really appreciate the thoughtful approach to the delivery to children and their families and the process that has gone on over many months. i have not been part of that process. i have checked in with folks along the way who have been part of it, and i have been really impressed to see folks digging in and helping kids in san francisco like they should. and plus, i called norman and asked him what he was doing. particularly, i want to thank maria for stepping up so phenomenally over the last two years. during this pandemic, some folks stepped up, but not

everybody. but maria did. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: many of the parent leaders out in the audience stepped up during the pandemic, and thank you. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: and the boys and girls club stepped up during the pandemic. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: and so with that, i'm going to introduce rob connolly with the boys and girls club. [applause] >> well, i'll be brief. i really just want to welcome you to our columbia clubhouse in mission park. this clubhouse has been here 114 years, and the boys and girls club has been in the city for 130 years, so we've been helping boys and girls and families in the city for a long, long time. i want to welcome the mayor to

columbia park. we got this just in time, and i think the mayor was able to get it for a little bit. you know, i guess i just want to say, mayor, thank you for prioritizing kids, families, and community. with that, i want to thank maria yu. when the mayor called for the shelter in place in mar 2020, we called up and say hey, we

don't think we're going to be able to close. i says, we really want to figure this out, and within a few hours, working with the mayor and dr. colfax, and whoever else that i don't know, figured out how to keep the boys and girls club open during the pandemic. our sites that we had controlled completely like this clubhouse and several other places, we were able to keep open. across the city, we have five facilities, and you heard about alignment. we receive funding from a number of different places in the city, and it is very challenging for us at every level, administratively as well as programatically, and

responding to the different needs assessments that come out, and all the administrative processes of who's getting funded by this contract and that contract. one of the thing that's we jokingly said, we ask the kids, what are your thoughts on this program? and they said, what program is that? it's the program funded by mohcd -- no, we don't ask them that, but they say they like this program because. really appreciate having everybody here, and appreciate the leadership, and the willingness to dig in and find greater alignment for families like ours, and we look forward to working as a nonprofit with

the city in a successful effort, which we hope it is. with that, i'm going to introduce mario paz, who runs the location here in the mission. mario's been in his role leading the organization for 15 years, so mario, welcome. [applause] >> thank you, ron. i'd first like to thank the mayor and maria su for your continued leadership on behalf of children, youth, and families. we do this work because we love our children. it's our children, and san francisco has proven to be one of the most generous cities in the world when it comes to our children.

i think about this assault from covid that we continue to have, and one of the things that we've found out is our most vulnerable are truly, truly the most vulnerable. the other important issue we learned is that it really, really, really does take a village, right? and we are that village. and we talk about that, but it really does take a village. but guess what? in order for that village to succeed, you need to be prepared, you need to be coordinated, and you need to be accountable to each other. this creates a village that's well prepared, well coordinated, and most importantly, we're going to be accountable. we're going to be accountable to each other, and most importantly, we're going to be accountable to the children. i grew up in the city. i benefited from many of the programs here. i grew up in san francisco. i'm a son of san francisco, and

i'm proud of it, but i'm here to tell you, we can no longer afford to fail our children. we've shown the world what we can do in so many different, but why are we failing on this? we're going to work hard, we're going to hold each other accountable, and thank you all for being here, and thank you all for your leadership. thank you. [applause] [speaking cantonese language]

>> okay. i will be translating. i have two children. my son is 13 years old, and my daughter is six years old. during the pandemic, sprisk provided a community learning hub to support my children through distance learning and children workshops.

i have received covid information and community resources such as where to got vaccination and where to get the covid test, and my family has attended events like halloween festival and thanksgiving. i'm thankful for the san francisco unified school district to provide wellness checks and meetings for parents conducted by the teachers. after my first wellness meeting, we received hand sanitizer from the teachers, and during the holidays, the teachers personally discovered study materials to my children.

we hope the city and school district can continue to serve even after the pandemic. this will provide the services that parents have been calling for since before the pandemic for education. thank you. [applause] >> hi. my name is chanel, and i am a parent of two children in san francisco unified school district. thank you, mayor breed, for allowing me to speak my voice

today. this children first initiative is very important for the children because during the first 18 months of distance learning for my son, he was in middle school at the time and didn't experience his graduation, and the experience of distance learning for 18 months impacted him a lot of he gave up after his younger brother went back to two days hybrid in april, he dove more into the internet. it was devastating for him, and he needed an outlet to survive, so he picked social media, and now, i'm seeing the consequences of that. he's so stuck now being a freshman now still in tenth grade. i'm a working mom, and my husband works, we didn't have 24 hours to watch him. i assumed he was doing his

classes, but he wasn't. i think he was only on the internet, and now he's having a really hard time adjusting in person in high school. it all just broke my heart because our kids were not in school. i feel like it was damaging to our kids' physical health and mental health. i understand that the district want today rename -- wanted to rename schools, but it wasn't a time for it. getting our kids back in school was our first priority. i hope this initiative will help our city kids and my kids. i'm optimistic that it will help the city kids. we're all overwhelmed, and we're all in the same boat, i get it, and we need to have all hands on deck starting yesterday. my hope is that we'll do this

together, listen to our teachers, principals, and do this as a san francisco community. our kids need our help and resources. i'm afraid about those budget cuts. do we have enough mental health resources that they need after promo distance learning. i am a mama bear protecting her cubs, and i hope we can do this right now. i'm a fan of prevention. if we don't do this, take action, we're going to affect our children's career potential. they can be artists, doctors, lawyers, scientists, and many more opportunities in this city. the school board has a big responsibility. if the school board was

operating as they should be, we wouldn't be here today. early on, the school district didn't listen. they didn't take the help from experts. i hope the san francisco unified school district starts to put politics aside. take advice from experts and consultants and govern better for our kids. i believe this children first initiative will help. it will move us forward helping our san francisco students be all right. to be clear, it's all about the children. thanks again for being a service for our kids. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you to our parents for their compelling stories, and the reasons why we're here today, and at this time, i just really

want someone who has been many, many years and who put kids first. although she's no longer on the school board, she cares about the children and is always actively engaged and providing feedback or historical information or institutional knowledge to help us move things forward in a positive direction, and someone who i'm sure if she was still on the school board, some of this would not be happening. please welcome former school board members rachel norton. >> good afternoon, everyone. it's really a mixed bag that i'm here today. it's sad that here's where we are, but this is where we are, and i have to say that san

francisco is the envy of many other districts in california because of the incredible support that the city of san francisco gives our district. in 2010, when the last economic downturn happened, i had been on the board about two years, and i went to a california school board association conference, and people said oh, we're cutting p.e., we're cutting art, and we didn't have to cut those because of the support that the city gives the school district. what happened during the pandemic, maria, mayor breed, the services that were provided to school children made a lot

of difference for families. i think normally, of course, a school board member would bridle when the mayor who's not in charge of schools should tell the school board what to do, but those are the times that we're not in, and somebody should step up and say that that's not important.

every year, the board adopts governance rules as part of its policies and procedures, and yet, we have not always seen those governance rules or procedures to be followed by the board, so i'm very grateful to you, mayor breed, for putting this forward. i gather, since supervisor mandelman is here, that he is cosponsoring. thank you. i'm also happy to see my former colleague, norman yee here, who, like me, spent many years in the trenches on the school board, and i think that this is an idea whose time has come, and i think it's time to start moving the district forward, so thank you. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: and i just want to add one more speaker just to stay a few word because our former president of

the board of supervisors, norman yee, also served on the school board, and so i want him to say a few words before we open it up for questions. . >> you know, i wanted to send the school district a message that if you don't step up in your leadership, then you're just going to, you know, lose it. the state's going to take it over, and they need to understand that. just because the state takes it over doesn't mean it's going to be better. it just means cutting without knowing our community, and thank you, mayor breed, for

really introducing this charter amendment. it's been needed, and i've been pushing for these for decades. when i was president, i put in a new council for children and families, but it just lacked a, needed a little bit more teeth. i think we started seeing the coordination of children's services between departments, and to work together, no more silos. it's really similar to what we

did [indiscernible] i'm glad to be very supportive of this charter amendment because i think this would move the city into the right direction. thank you very much. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you, and i want to thank c.y.c. and sarah wong for all of her advocacy. thank you to the s.f. parent coalition for rising up and doing what's necessary to not only support your children but to support all children in san francisco, and thank you to katie albright for being with us today from safe and sound. we have a sector of people who truly love and support kids in

san francisco, and i'm very positionate about supporting kids because i was probably one of the most problematic kids growing up. again, had it not been for the support of those places that i had to go as a kid, and teachers and all those things that i was exposed to, i just don't know where i would be. the people that i grew up with ended up, unfortunately, in many instances, in the criminal justice system, they ended up dead, and they ended up on drugs, and i still see some of those people today in various places, and somewhere along the way, we failed them.

if we don't do this and more to support our children, to protect them, to uplift them, to make sure that we get rid of the barriers to their success, that's how we make the difference for them so they don't end up in the same situation that so many people that i grew up with ended up in. so that's why we're here today. we're here today because we need to change that structure, and we need to think differently about how we make things better for them. so i also want to just take an opportunity to really thank phil halperin for his extraordinary leadership over the years of supporting children, period. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you, phil. he is one of the most committed san franciscans ensuring we are doing right through our policies, through our funding, and other resources, so we really appreciate you, and

thank you for your work. so with that, i think i'll open it up to questions, maggie. all right. questions? yes. [indiscernible] . >> the hon. london breed: so i'll say two things. there's the superintendent that's trying to govern and propose, from my understanding, a reasonable financial plan to address some of the deficit that the school district has, and then, there's a proposal by two of the school board members, and this is part of the problem and why we are introducing this charter amendment because the fact is the one that's introduced by the board members, if that passes, and that is the direction the school board goes

into, then sadly, the district goes into phase two of a possible takeover. the last phase is phase three, and then, there's a done deal. the state takes over the schools. so it's clear if it goes to that point, then, we're headed down that road, and to me, the fact that the school board members are moving toward that direction -- this will disqualify them from allowing them to play the $25 million that they owe to the city and county of san francisco. they're headed down the wrong

path, and they need to let the superintendent govern the school board so we don't have school board members micromanage what the superintendent should be doing, and i think that's part of the problem. any other questions? [indiscernible] . >> the hon. london breed: well, the city doesn't have control over the school board because if we did, we would probably

not be in the situation we're in.

there is a financial requirement that we provide resources to support the school district. and we're attaching accountability to that. so it has nothing, from my perspective, to do with a take over. we also feel strongly that, with those public dollars, there has to be an opportunity for the public, including parents, to have at least some say in what's happening with

the school district. and the concern that we have the most is how the board members are micromanaging the schools, micromanaging whether a principal should work at a school because of political reasons, when in fact, the only thing they should be responsible is hiring and firing the superintendent and legal assistant. but getting involved because someone supported someone in a campaign, that's crazy. that's the problem, and this is not about anything other than fixing a broken governing structure. [applause] >> just one more question. [indiscernible]

. >> the hon. london breed: i must say, a lot of this is something that i wanted to do for sometime, especially when the pandemic hit. it's looking at a disorganized chart where funding comes from. early childhood education, dcyf, tay-u, and all of these things were all over the place and not coordinated. and then, the beacons and what's happening with the beacons. and i know these structures like the back of my hand, and there was a real disconnect between all of these agencies and all of this money and how our kids were not only doing in

life but how they were doing in school, and so there's no direction. so we -- what we did had everything to do with being treated like we're an a.t.m. machine with unlimited money, and then, when we would ask for it to be used for a specific purpose or what have you, there was no way to have any accountability attached to that. there was money that i provided to the school district for specific purposes that i still don't necessarily have accounting for who it was used for that purposes, including establishing wellness centers

in every school in san francisco, and this was before the pandemic, and so i want some accountability for where those dollars are, and why haven't those wellness centers even opened in the first place? so that's been the focus of wanting to make sure that there's accountability, and we get more, and we get more for our families and our children. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: all right? thank you, everyone. thank you for being here. let's get this on the ballot and get it passed, because that's what this is about. thank you. [♪♪♪]

♪ >> it is unclenate's creativity time. welcome to uncle nate. we are are going to draw bubble letters. you need supplies.

you need a pencil, markers, something to color with and a few pieces of paper. gather up supplies and meet me back right here. all right. let's go. got all supplies out. draw your name lightly in the center of your page. give yourself room. give each letter a little room. all right. now, i want you to draw around each letter like you are driving a car around each letter. next, let's erase the center. take away the original outline and then we will be left just with the bubble letter. make sure you get the center part out of there.

okay. we will touch it up. time for color. i chose yellow, orange, and red. yellow at the top, then the orange in the center, and i am making a stripe right through the center all the way across. last, my red, which makes a cool fade. time for the outline. unclenate's creative time. figure it out. now we are going to do a drop shadow. a shadow underneath each letter and to the side. it is really going to give it a 3-d look. wow! great job. i bet you didn't think you could draw that. now you can draw bubble letters

you can use it to draw things for your friends, cards. it is really useful. i hope you had a good time. i will see you next time on uncle nate's creativity time. ♪ . >> my name is dave, and i play defense. >> my name is mustafa, and i am a midfielder, but right now, i am trying to play as a goalkeeper, because they need a

goalkeeper. >> soccer u.s.a. is a nonprofessional organization. we use sports, soccer in particular to engage communities that can benefit from quality programs in order to lift people up, helping to regain a sense of control in one's life. >> the san francisco recreation and park department and street soccer u.s.a. have been partners now for nearly a decade. street soccer shares our mission in using sport as a vehicle for youth development and for reaching people of all ages. rec and park has a team. >> i'm been playing soccer all my life. soccer is my life. >> i played in the streets when i was a kid. and i loved soccer back home. i joined street soccer here. it was the best club to join. it helps me out. >> the tenderloin soccer club started in the summer of 2016.

we put one of our mini soccer pitches in one of our facilities there. the kids who kpriez the club team came out to utilize that space, and it was beautiful because they used it as an opportunity to express themselves in a place where they were free to do so, and it was a safe space, in a neighborhood that really isn't the most hospitalable to youth -- hospitable to youth playing in the streets. >> one day, i saw the coach and my friends because they went there to join the team before me. so i went up to the coach and asked, and they said oh, i've got a soccer team, and i joined, and they said yeah, it was he for everybody, and i joined, and it was the best experience ever.

>> a lot of our programs, the kids are in the process of achieving citizenship. it's a pretty lengthy process. >> here, i am the only one with my dad. we were in the housing program, and we are trying to find housing. my sister, she's in my country, so i realize that i have a lot of opportunities here for getting good education to help her, you know? yeah. that's the -- one of the most important things that challenge me. >> my dad was over here, making some money because there was not a lot of jobs back home. i came here, finish elementary in san francisco. after that, i used to go back to my country, go to yemen, my country, and then back here. last time i went back was a couple years ago. >> i came here six months, i

know nobody. now i have the team has a family, the coaches. amazing. >> i'm hoping for lifelong friendships, and i'm super inspired by what they've been able to achieve and want to continue to grow alongside them. >> i love my family, i love my team. they're just like a family. it's really nice. >> street soccer just received a five year grant from the department of children, youth and family, and this is an important inreflection point for street soccer u.s.a. because their work in our most important communities is now known beyond just san francisco recreation and park department, and together, we're going to continue to work with our city's most vulnerable kids and teach them to love the beautiful game. >> i want to tell everybody back home, i hope you all make

it over here and join teams like this like street soccer u.s.a., and live your life. get a better life. >> right away, just be patient, and then, everything will be okay.

>> the 2021 virtual meeting of the entertainment commission. i am the commission's president. due to the covid-19 health emergency to protect members, and members of the public, all meeting rooms are close, but members and employees will be participating remotely. this precaution is taking -- sorry, orders, declarations, and directives, employees will attend the meeting by videoconference and it participates in the meeting to the same extent as if they were present. >> both trental 26 and san francisco government tvr