the management. i'm hearing about it and what decisions that they were going to respond tothose questions . >> i don't know when things were firstmade public . i do know in looking through the public coverage and discussions of this, i was forwarded a clip from a puc commission back in 2016 in which commissions were publicly discussing the lack of transparency of this specific program. i just think there's obviously concerns with a lot of what management do because they may be part of the problembut it's another thing when something becomes public . either a public hearing or made known through programs and other ways of making complaints

that isn't public but by other departments. i'm just very concerned we're looking at things in the public record that now have existed for over five years and that is suggests some kind of structural i think problem with the way we address it. but that is a comment, not a question and unless supervisor mar or other colleagues have questions i'd like to open it up for public comment . >> we're checking once again. see if we have any colors wish to provide public comment on thisagenda item number three . for those watching our meeting on cable channel 26 or via a streaming link or through sfgov tv or elsewhere, call innow. dial 415-655-0001 . today's meeting id is 2492 838 5397.

after you've entered the meeting id, press the pound symbol twice and press start followed by a three if you wish to speak. for those on hold continue to wait until you are prompted to begin. you will hear a product that indicates your line has been unmuted. i understand there are five callers who wish to provide public comment and could you connect us to our first color ? >> good afternoon supervisors. my name is lisa ramirez, public sector business agent for 261 and in today's hearing on the puc community benefits audit we have the opportunity to ask questions on a long-lasting paper plate collection scheme that robs and exploits the community but only if you receive the benefits. there are people present in various city departments that will not be able to claim a

variance for the findings of the audit or on thecorruption that occurred in those that engaged in . we know this to be true because in january 2019 both local 261 filed a complaint with the controller's office and city attorney's office which pointed to corruption and granting contracting and especially at the puc. that was well over a year before any indictments. we began in april 2019 unofficial transcript notified the city attorney's office and city administrator's office and hr about the corruption in dpw and specifically in puc community benefits program only to be told that what we did by blowing the whistle was scorched-earth. repeatedly over the last three years we've written letters, named names and provided the receipts calling for someone to please investigate the community benefits scheme. throughout these years 261 and

our membership have been met with nothing but severe retribution that continues to this day. so we want those engaged in retaliating against us to know that we will not besilenced because our membership has said that we have nothing to lose at this point but hope itself . what is right andjust will prevail. you are and the communities supervisors we have faith in you. we beg you to continueto ask the hard questions . we don't believe the ball those that may be co-conspirators or attempting to cover up this scheme . >> you for sharing your comments. we have the next color please. >> supervisors my name is ali and i am shocked to hear what i'm hearing today from this staff. first of all our public report had to be conducted by an entity that had been segregated to begin with. he does and did takeplace . i have seen it firsthand and it will continue by the general

manager still promoting the people involved like wayne jones. that is a fact and they are being promoted to continue that. thereport itself is the controller's report. it does not reflect the fact. let me tell you something not listed in the report that is so damaging and its undisputed fact . a any contracts at anywhere between eight and 10 percent profit scheme. that's with the audit overhead on top of the audited overhead rate. these tell me which publicly traded company pays out of a good heart 50 percent of their profits and jeopardizes their stockholders and managers bonuses ? the short answer is none. so where does the five percent or equivalent to the 50 percent of their own profits come from western mark the short answer is it comes from slopping the

invoices, extra billing hours and funneling money through the same non- licensed lbd projects companies.that is the fact ladies and gentlemen. so paying any money as a result of winning a contract is a bribery no matter what. and a page to play is just a marvelous way of scheming the program. if you want to look into the bribery, look at the straight line between companies that are paying the mandatory voluntary community benefit payments as a condition to make rents higher by the five percent. that is the straight line. >> thank you for sharing your comments with the committee. sorry to cut you off. all speakershave to money and once they've reached two minutes we must move on first.

could we get the next color please . >> eileen bogan, coalition for san francisco neighborhoods being on my own behalf. thank you to supervisor mar and the other sponsorsand participants in this audit . hopefully this will be the first of other audits focused on the puc, especially on work related to the emergency firefighting water systems including ongoing work on pump station number two. thank you. >> thank you for sharing your comments, could we have the next color please ? >> caller: supervisors, this investigation comes under the rico act. so you all are wasting our time. i started the investigation way back in 2002. i provided the controller's

office with all the data that they needed. your supervisors talk in generalities. you all have to beinvestigated by the fbi . for not doing yourdiligence . you don't even understand that this is a 6 billion now heading towards 12 billion. five percent of 6 billion is 300million . where is the accountability? and the joke about the sfpuc designed to give your presentation,i don't know where it's coming from . what planet but not on planet earth it's not coming from our earth . you're talking bullshit. you're not doing duediligence. you're talking in generalities

. [inaudible] sherman walton, supervisor brookter, how many do i have to name? you have no clue the task force formed by the community. this is after the five percent was shuttled, that's $400 million and they were given 150 million for workforce and there's hundred 50 before that. >> thank you mister dacosta for sharing your comments. could we have the next color please ? >> good afternoon members of the board.

rudy gonzalez, secretary-treasurer. so we represent workers at the puc.they were understaffed and under difficult and dangerous conditions not only in the city limits but beyond that there probably the work they do. unfortunately more out has taken a heavy hit with the mismanagement and very public corruption cases that have plagued the department that said i represent the majority of construction workers are on these jobs and the community benefitprogram i think on paper and in the could be something good . but without adequate oversight and without the public trust i think we and up in the situation . iwant to see the timing a little bit . in february 2019 this issue was raised and not in the abstract . the majority of unions in the labor council and city adopted

a resolution calling for this very and i want to flag gratitude to all of you in this process because nothing else is accomplished the line of questioning, the diligence is in itself a measure that will restore public trust whereit needs to be we can accomplish the things that we confront us . aspirations forempowerment and so forth but that was february 2019 . this has been long-standing and ongoing the only thing that materialized out of that was leading with myself thatthe general manager at the time . you don't want to talk about the workforce as a general apprentice and they want to shift theblame to private-sector contractors . private-sector contractors demanding accountability for years at the puc asking that the money they are asking today to get those competitive points be available for auditing purposes and you'll see those contractors only willing to perform in time and voluntary work and i'm not surprised by

the until we can restore even their faith in theseimportant programs.thank you and i urge you to continue . >> iq mister gonzalez. mister baltazar do we have other commenters in thequeue ? >> there are several colors remaining in the few. >> with no more colors in the queue public comment onthis item is closed. supervisor mar .>> thank you chair preston and colleagues for this really informative and important hearing that we have today. i want to take a second tothank the san francisco labor council and asked at building and construction and trades council for their advocacy on this issue . and also every member of the public who called in and mark delarosa and ron flynn for being here and engaging in the discussion and the staff for

their work on this.i want to acknowledge john from puc who has really taken every call, concern, complaint and inquiry from ouroffice dutifully and professionally . thanks again chair preston for allowing this hearing to happen and supervisors chan and mandelman for your partnership and also acknowledgethe work of my legislative a on the inquiries that led to it . i think again, we had a full discussion today about the findings and recommendations from the audit . this particular audit reports . i look forward to seeing the puc follow through on their commitment to implement all the recommendations by the end of the year but i wanted to thank supervisors chan and mandelman here in your line of questioning about whether the value for the benefits of this

program testify the costs especially as it's been implementedover the past 10 years . and again, my specific issue that i really want to follow up on his what was not included in the report but has been raised publicly and has been a big part of my inquiry and that's looking at a potential fraud and misconduct in the awarding of these contracts worth over $2 billion awarded in part through the social impact partnership, community benefit impact . and also the allegations of directing contractors to provide financial funding and other types of support to favored community nonprofit organizations so i'm not sure. this is something i'm committed to solving and figuring out th best way to do that . so thank you. >> thank you supervisor mar

vice chair chan's supervisor mar i want to thank you for the work on this . and one of the things if i may just quote what the editor of san francisco examiner wrote yesterday about corruption. the quote was very interesting but i think that i'm sharing it with you colleagues because when i read that quote i think of you here and supervisor mar today. the corruption is a couple gated labyrinth of relationships that can be hard to explain. it takes motivated participators with long attention spans to keep track of winding narratives and dramatic consequences and i think that's what this is about. it'sactually really complicated

. it takes a lot for us to unpack and i think there are multiple tracks of inquiry and hearings that we're all coordinating. i picked apart the little piece of the parts alliance and you take the piece with the sfpuc and chair preston overseeing the committee to make sure that we schedule all these hearings in a timely fashion that goes to midtown and making sure that we have compliance from our partners and making sure all of that. that leads to sort of the fundamental of governance that corruption and even just the perception of it. that is what been very challenging for all of us especially in the legislative branch to hold our city

apartments accountable to deliver equitable city services. at the end of the day this is not to embarrass anyone or try to put downanyone but this is really to fundamentally store public trust . to root out corruption because we know that is how we can deliver equitable city services that we deserve so thank you so much. i want to thank youfor your leadership on this and whatever it is you decide to do today , i'm definitely in support of and i look forward to continuingworking with you on these issues . thank you so much .>> thank you vice chair and i just want to an those comments and also the point you made on kind of the appearance. part of restoring public trust after so many different corruption scandals is the merits of the situation but also it's the appearance of propriety and i think i appreciate and frankly have

concerns on the appearance of some of these two. supervisor mar raised the issue around someone from mar was at the controller's office. i don'tthink anyone's alleging that , i certainly have no reason to work to think that but it's just that when you're folks who are overseeing have these relationships that you're saying supervisor chan, it's i think becomes that much more important that you have oversight so i appreciate that there was a third-party independent auditor here. my concerns were with the scope of their audit but i take comfort in the fact that an independent auditor looked at this because one of the things that i've pointed this out in multiple performances in the city people tend tomove around between these various

departments . we may not be the best about bringing in outside folks from outsidethe so-called city family to oversee .we have the city attorney who had responsibility over the last few years presumably. we've heard reference to them now running the puc. i have every reason to believe the general manager is committed to rooting out problems in the puc but from a public perception point of view those people moving between departments, between the watchdog and the watched essentially is problematic. i think this issue certainly we are not at the end of it. i will urge that further audits be investigated type audits, there really forensic

accounting here and investigating what supervisor mar has referenced in terms of what the fraud, waste or abuse or not. that has to happen and i think it has to happen ideally with folks who are outside of a lot of those existing relationships and potential for the appearance of conflict. so on that, i would just ask supervisor mar is your preference we filethis hearing or that we continue it ? >> thanks chair. obviously this conversation is far from over but i think we will have other hearings and legislative items to continue this conversation. so i would request a motion that we file this hearing toda . >> thank yousupervisor mar and thank you for yourleadership . do we have that motion from

anyone ? supervisor chan, so moved. please call the role. >> on the motionthat this hearing be filed notice has been heard . [roll call vote] >> mister chair there are 3 aye's. >> thank you again supervisor. and let's go ahead mister clerk and call the closed session items 4 through 13. >> 4 through 13 are seven ordinances and continuing resolutions settling lawsuits and unmitigated claims against the city. members of the public who wish to provide publiccomment should call the public comments call in number, it is 415-655-0001 . enter today's meeting id which is 2492 838 5397.

after you'veentered the meeting id press the pound symbol twice and star followed by 3 if you wish to be entered to speak . >> let's go ahead and open up public comment on this item. >> checking now with mister michaelto see if we haveany colors who wish to provide public comment on the litigation agenda do we have any colors ? >> there are zero in the queue . >> public comment on these items is now closed and i'll move to convene in closed session clerk, please call the role. >> on the motion by chair prestonthe committee convene in closed session for the committee agenda . [roll call vote] there are three ones again. >> the motion passes and we will now convene in closed session with parting

instructions from the mister clerk. >> members of this committee will be leaving this live meeting and connect to the closed session meeting that we have. after the closed session is concluded the members will reconnect to this live meeting and i will present a summary of the actions we took while litigation and discussion of what's happening in closed session. >> we will return pending the outcome of those discussions . >>

a city like no other, san francisco has been a beacon of hope, and an ally towards lgbtq equal rights. [♪♪] >> known as the gay capital of america, san francisco has been at the forefront fighting gay civil rights for decades becoming a bedrock for the historical firsts. the first city with the first openly gay bar. the first pride parade. the first city to legalize gay marriage. the first place of the iconic gay pride flag.

established to help cancel policy, programses, and initiatives to support trans and lgbtq communities in san francisco. >> we've created an opportunity to have a seat at the table. where trans can be part of city government and create more civic engagement through our trans advisory committee which advises our office and the mayor's office. we've also worked to really address where there's gaps across services to see where we can address things like housing and homelessness, low income, access to small businesses and employment and education. so we really worked across the board as well as meeting overall policies. >> among the priorities, the office of transgender

initiatives also works locally to track lgbtq across the country. >> especially our young trans kids and students. so we do a lot of work to make sure we're addressing and naming those anti-trans policies and doing what we can to combat them. >> trans communities often have not been included at the policy levels at really any level whether that's local government, state government. we've always had to fend for ourselves and figure out how to care for our own communities. so an office like this can really show and become a model for the country on how to really help make sure that our entire community is served by the city and that we all get opportunities to participate because, in the end, our entire community is stronger. >> the pandemic underscored many of the inequities they

experienced on a daily basis. nonetheless, this health crisis also highlighted the strength in the lgbtq and trans community. >> several of our team members were deployed as part of the work at the covid command center and they did incredit able work there both in terms of navigation and shelter-in-place hotels to other team members who led equity and lgbtq inclusion work to make sure we had pop-up testing and information sites across the city as well as making sure that data collection was happening. we had statewide legislation that required that we collected information on sexual orientation and our team worked so closely with d.p.h. to make sure those questions were included at testing site but also throughout the whole network of care. part of the work i've had a privilege to be apart of was to

work with o.t.i. and a community organization to work together to create a coalition that met monthly to make sure we worked together and coordinated as much as we could to lgbtq communities in the city. >> partnering with community organizations is key to the success of this office ensuring lgbtq and gender nonconforming people have access to a wide range of services and places to go where they will be respected. o.t.i.'s trans advisory committee is committed to being that voice. >> the transgender advisory counsel is a group of amazing community leaders here in san francisco. i think we all come from all walks of life, very diverse, different backgrounds, different expertises, and i think it's just an amazing group of people that have a vision to make san francisco a true liberated city for transgender folks.

>> being apart of the grou allows us to provide more information on the ground. we're allowed to get. and prior to the pandemic, there's always been an issue around language barriers and education access and workforce development. now, of course, the city has been more invested in to make sure our community is thriving and making sure we are mobilizing. >> all of the supervisors along with mayor london breed know that there's still a lot to be done and like i said before, i'm just so happy to live in a city where they see trans folks and recognize us of human beings and know that we deserve to live with dignity and

respect just like everybody else. >> being part of the trans initiative has been just a great privilege for me and i feel so lucky to have been able to serve for it for so far over three years. it's the only office of its kind and i think it's a big opportunity for us to show the country or the world about things we can do when we really put a focus on transgender issues and transgender communities. and when you put transgender people in leadership positions. >> thank you, claire. and i just want to say to claire farly who is the leader of the office of transgender initiatives, she has really taken that role to a whole other level and is currently a grand marshal for this year's s.f. prize. so congratulations, claire. >> my dream is to really look at where we want san francisco to be in the future. how can we have a place where we have transliberation,

quality, and inclusion, and equity across san francisco? and so when i look five years from now, ten years from now, i want us to make sure that we're continuing to lead the country in being the best that we can be. not only are we working to make sure we have jobs and equal opportunity and pathways to education, employment, and advancement, but we're making sure we're taking care of our most impacted communities, our trans communities of color, trans women of color, and black trans women. and we're making sure we're addressing the barriers of the access to health care and mental health services and we're supporting our seniors who've done the work and really be able to age in place and have access to the services and resources they deserve. so there's so much more work to do, but we're really proud of the work that we've done so far. [♪♪]

>> we worked very hard with the san francisco venue coalition, the independent venue alliance to advocate for venues. put this issue on the radar of

the supervisors and obviously mayor breed. the entertainment commission and the office of small business and we went to meetings and showed up and did public comment and it was a concerted effort between 50 venues in the city and they are kind of traditional like live performance venues and we all made a concerted effort to get out there and sound the alarm and to her credit, maybe breed really stepped up, worked with matt haney, who is a supervisor haney was a huge champion for us and they got this done and they got $3 million into the sf venue recovery fund. >> we have represented about 40 independent venues in san

francisco. basically, all the venues closed on march 13th, 2020. we were the first to close and we will be the last to reopen and we've had all the of the overhead costs are rent, mortgage, payroll, utilities and insurance with zero revenue. so many of these venues have been burning $1,000 a day just to stay closed. >> we have a huge music history here in san francisco and the part of our cultural fab lick but it's also an economic driver. we produce $7 billion annual' here in san francisco and it's formidable. >> we've been very fortunate here. we've had the department of emergency management and ems division and using part of our building since last april and aside from being proud to i

can't tell you how important to have some cost recovery coming in and income to keep the doors open. >> typically we'll have, three to 400 people working behind the teens to support the show and that is everything from the teamsters and security staff and usualers, ticket takers, the folks that do our medical and the bar tenders and the people in the kitchen preparing food for backstage and concession and the people that sell key shirts and it's a pretty staggering amount of people that are out of work as a result of this one verne you going tarkanian. it doesn't work to open at reduced capacity. when we get past june 15th,

out of the into the blue print for our economy we can open it it 100% and look at the festival in full capacity in october and we're just so grateful for the leadership of the mavor and dr. coal fax to make us the safest ♪ america and this is been hard for everybody in san francisco and the world but our leadership has kept us safe and i trust them that they will let us know when it's safe to do that. >> a lot of people know about america is military stuff, bullying stuff, corporate stuff. when people like me and my friends go to these foreign country and play music, we're giving them an american cultural experience.

it's important. the same way they can bring that here. it sounds comfy buyia, you know, we're a punk band and we're nasty and we were never much for peace and love and everything but that's the fertilizer that grows the big stuff that some day goes to bill graham's place and takes everybody's money but you have to start with us and so my hope is that allel groups and people make music and get together because without out, hanging together we'll hang separately, you know. >> other venues like this, all over the place, not just in the san francisco bay area need to exist in order for communities to thrive and i'm not just talking about the arts communities, even if you are here to see a chuckle bucket comedy show and you are still experiencing humanity and in specific ways being able to gather with people and experience something together. and especially coming out of the

pandemic, the loss of that in-person human connection recovering that in good ways is going to be vital for our entire society. >> it's a family club. most our staff has been working with us for 10 years so we feel like a family. >> what people think of when they think of bottom of the hill and i get a lot of this is first of all, the first place i met my husband or where we had our first date and i love that and we love doing weddings and i expect there to be a wedding season post 2021 of all the make up we haddings and i hope that many people do that because we have had so many rock ep role weddings.

>> i told my girlfriend, make sure you stand at the front of the stage and i can give you a kiss at midnight. at this got down on one knee at the stroke of midnight. it wasn't a public thing, i got down on one knee and said will you marry me and is he she had are you [beep] kidding me and i said no, i'm dead serious and she said yes. we were any time homicideel of the show. we just paused for new year's eve and that was where i proposed to my wife. this is more than just a professional relationship it's more than just a relationship from a love of arts, it's where my family started. we'll always have a special place in my heart. >> venues, you know, represent so much. they are cultural beckons of a

city. neighbors can learn and celebrate and mourn and dance together. venues and arts and culture are characterized as second responders to crisis and they provide a mental health outlet and a community center for people to come together at and it's the shared history of our city and these spaces is where we all come together and can celebrate. >> art often music opens up people to understanding the fellow man and i mean, taz always necessary and if anything, it's going to be even more necessary as we come out of this to reach out and connect with people. >> we can sustain with food, water and shelter is accurate and does anybody have a good time over the last year? no. >> san francisco is a great down. i've been here many years and i love it here and it's a beautiful, beautiful, place to

be music and art is key to that. drama, acting, movies, everything, everything that makes life worth living and that's what we've got to mow proteasome no san francisco and that's what is important now. [♪♪♪] shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do their shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services within our neighborhoods, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> my name is ray behr. i am the owner of chief plus.

it's a destination specialty foods store, and it's also a corner grocery store, as well. we call it cheese plus because there's a lot of additions in addition to cheese here. from fresh flowers, to wine, past a, chocolate, our dining area and espresso bar. you can have a casual meeting if you want to. it's a real community gathering place. what makes little polk unique, i think, first of all, it's a great pedestrian street. there's people out and about all day, meeting this neighbor and coming out and supporting the businesses. the businesses here are almost all exclusively independent owned small businesses. it harkens back to supporting local. polk street doesn't look like anywhere u.s.a.

it has its own businesses and personality. we have clothing stores to gallerys, to personal service stores, where you can get your hsus repaired, luggage repaired. there's a music studio across the street. it's raily a diverse and unique offering on this really great street. i think san franciscans should shop local as much as they can because they can discover things that they may not be familiar with. again, the marketplace is changing, and, you know, you look at a screen, and you click a mouse, and you order something, and it shows up, but to have a tangible experience, to be able to come in to taste things, to see things, to smell things, all those things, it's very important that you do so.

>> the city has undertaken a pilot program to hook up private privately -- owned hotels. >> the community members say this is helpful for them especially for the seniors and families with kids from seniors being able to connect with the family during the pandemic and too watch the news has been really helpful during this time where they are stuck inside and are not able to go outside. for families it is important to stay connected to go to school, to get connected so they can submit resumes to find jobs during the pandemic.

[speaking foreign language] >> challenges that might seem for the fiber in chinatown is pretty congested. the fiber team found ways around that. they would have to do things such as overnight work in the manholes to get across through busy intersections, and i think the last challenge is a lot of buildings we worked on were built in the early 1900s and they are not fitted with the typical infrastructure you would put in a new building. we overcame that with creative ideas, and we continue to connect more sites like this.

>> high-speed internet has become a lifesaver in the modern era. i am delighted that we completed three buildings or in the process of completing two more. i want to thank our department of technology that has done this by themselves. it is not contracted out. it is done by city employees. i am proud and i want to take a moment to celebrate what we are doing. >> usf donates 100-120 pounds of food a night. for the four semesters we have been running here, usf has donated about 18,000 pounds of food to the food recovery network. ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ >> i'm maggie. >> i'm nick. >> we're coe-chairs of the national led organization. what food recovery does is recover and redistribute food that would go wasted and redistributing to people in the community. >> the moment that i became really engaged in the cause of fighting food waste was when i had just taken the food from the usf cafeteria and i saw four pans full size full of food

perfectly fine to be eaten and made the day before and that would have gone into the trash that night if we didn't recover it the next day. i want to fight food waste because it hurts the economy, it's one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. if it was a nation, it would be the third largest nation behind china and the united states. america wastes about 40% of the food we create every year, $160 billion worth and that's made up in the higher cost of food for consumers. no matter where you view the line, you should be engaged with the issue of food waste. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

>> access edible food that we have throughout our lunch program in our center, i go ahead and collect it and i'll cool it down and every night i prep it up and the next day i'll heat it and ready for delivery. it's really natural for me, i love it, i'm passionate about it and it's just been great. i believe it's such a blessing to have the opportunity to actually feed people every day. no food should go wasted. there's someone who wants to eat, we have food, it's definitely hand in hand and it shouldn't be looked at as work or a task, we're feeding people and it really means so much to me. i come to work and they're like nora do you want this, do you

want that? and it's so great and everyone is truly involved. every day, every night after every period of food, breakfast, lunch, dinner, i mean, people just throw it away. they don't even think twice about it and i think as a whole, as a community, as any community, if people just put a little effort, we could really help each other out. that's how it should be. that's what food is about basically. >> an organization that meets is the san francisco knight ministry we work with tuesday and thursday's. ♪♪♪

♪ by the power ♪ ♪ of your name ♪ >> i have faith to move mountains because i believe in jesus. >> i believe it's helpful to offer food to people because as you know, there's so much homelessness in san francisco and california and the united states. i really believe that food is important as well as our faith. >> the san francisco knight ministry has been around for 54 years. the core of the ministry, a group of ordain ministers, we go out in the middle of the night every single night of the year, so for 54 years we have never missed a night. i know it's difficult to believe

maybe in the united states but a lot of our people will say this is the first meal they've had in two days. i really believe it is a time between life or death because i mean, we could be here and have church, but, you know, i don't know how much we could feed or how many we could feed and this way over 100 people get fed every single thursday out here. it's not solely the food, i tell you, believe me. they're extremely grateful. >> it's super awesome how welcoming they are. after one or two times they're like i recognize you. how are you doing, how is school? i have never been in the city, it's overwhelming. you get to know people and through the music and the food,

you get to know people. >> we never know what impact we're going to have on folks. if you just practice love and kindness, it's a labor of love and that's what the food recovery network is and this is a huge -- i believe they salvage our mission. >> to me the most important part is it's about food waste and feeding people. the food recovery network national slogan is finding ways to feed people. it's property to bring the scientific and human element into the situation.

>> the hon. london breed: good morning, everyone. i'm san francisco mayor london

breed, and i want to thank you all for joining us here today to talk about public safety on a whole other level in light of the challenges that our city continues to face. you know, this has been a problem that has persisted in the city for sometime now, and the fact is that things have gotten worse over time, and i want to thank a moment to appreciate our public safety officials today, some of whom you will hear from in a short moment, but thank you to our police chief, bill scott, for being here, our fire chief, jeanine nicholson, our sheriff, paul miyamoto, our director of

public health, dr. grant colfax, our department of public works director, shireen mcspadden, and our district supervisor, ahsha safai. in recent months, we've not only seen a rising number of criminal behavior, especially in the tenderloin that has become far too normal and cannot continue to be tolerated. all of our workers, our residents, and everyone who visits our city should feel safe no matter what part of town they're in, and i know that san francisco is a

compassionate city. we are a city that prides ourselves on second chances and rehabilitation, but we're not a city where anything goes. our compassion should not be mistaken for weakness or indifference. today, we're announcing a series of public safety initiatives to create a city that is safe and turns the tide on what we have recently seen in san francisco. and to be clear, what i'm proposing today, and what i will be proposing in the future will make a lot of people uncomfortable, but i don't care. at the end of the day, the safety of the people of san francisco is the most important thing to me, and we are past the point where what we see is

even remotely acceptable. the first of these initiatives is the tenderloin emergency plan, which is already underway. during covid, we showed what this city can do when we unify our efforts and we work together collaboratively. tlou our emergency action, we protected the health of the city, and san francisco was a national model for addressing covid. we saved lives. and let me say this: the tenderloin needs an emergency response, period. i spent a lot of time going to the tenderloin and have seen what's happening. we made a significant difference, but now, what i see is far, far worse. while there are still issues of needing to get people off the streets and into housing, and

there are also very important urgent safety issues. last week, i met with families from the tenderloin. their stories are heartbreaking. just imagine if you had to walk your kid down the streets of the tenderloin every single day with people shooting up, selling drugs, and because the sidewalks were so packed with people, you had to walk out on the street in incoming traffic on a regular basis. you've got these brand-new playgrounds where you don't even feel comfortable walking your kids to play in them because of everything they see around them, where you don't

feel safe. the unsafe streets, and the dirty streets, and when i say dirty, i mean the feces in the streets that department of public works will clean and have to come back just hours later. we can't keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. we need to be different, to act with urgency, and to be aggressive in countering these problems, and this is why i've directed mary ellen carroll, the director of emergency management, to lead our multiagency coordination on this effort, bringing the coordination and urgent responses that we brought to

covid this year. in essence, a covid command that will be a public safety command that will be specifically targeted at the tenderloin community, and i'm going to have mary ellen carroll walk-through the details of what this means. our priorities are focused on issues of drug dealing, private crime, public drug use, safe passage and accessibility for the people who live and work there, neighborhood cleanliness, housing resources, emergency medical calls, and we will be tackling illegal vending. in the short-term, that means taking actions like fixing the lights, adding additional lighting in very dark areas,

dealing with the trash all over the neighborhood, but it also means coordinating with the police and sheriff's office on felony warrant sweeps, which have led to the arrest of 23 individuals so far with outstanding warrants. these are some of the people who have been holding this neighborhood hostage, and our criminal justice system has a responsibility to hold them accountable. when the police make an arrest, the residents of the tenderloin should not see that same person back on the streets the next day dealing drugs right in front of their neighborhood. the next stage of this plan will roll out next month and continue for at least two months after that. the second stage will continue the progress made earlier on the law enforcement but interventions and connections of services to people facing evictions and other challenges, but to be clear, we're not

giving people choice anymore. we're not just going to walk by and let someone use in public daylight on the streets and give them choice of giving them to the location we have identified them or going to jail. this will involve outreach workers, social workers, police, and community workers working together, offering wraparound services at a new linkage site where people can start treatment, meeting people where they are, being the compassionate city that we are, but not tolerating the mess that we've had to tolerate. the final phase of this project involves keeping the streets safe for everyone who called

the -- who call the tenderloin home, and promoting safety and neighborhood support. this also includes long-term partnerships with community organizations and residents to maintain the improvements made during the crisis operations phase. the key will be to never let the tenderloin go back to what we are seeing today, to not go backward, to move forward, to feel and see a difference. but public safety isn't just about the tenderloin. we know that there are issues all over this city. our second initiative is targeting the illegal vending on our streets that is incentivizing the break ins and robberies like the ones we have seen at stores and small businesses throughout the city. and you know what's the sad

reality before i was even an elected official, everybody knew whatever they stole for cell phones, laptops, anything you steel in the city, you take it down to the tenderloin, and there's somebody waiting to give you cash for these items. i want you to know, these are not just victimless crimes, and these are not just property crimes. we're seeing stolen vehicles, physical violence, and the use of weapons. today, i'm introducing legislation to disincentivize theft by making the resale of stolen goods on the street more difficult. it will mandate highly visible posting of approved vendor

permits to make it simple and easy for inspectors for proof at any time and if they can't produce it, we will take action. it will allow the department of public works to associate with law enforcement. if there is a need to move an individual who's not complaint and the ability to confiscate goods. these are basic but important actions, and i want to thank supervisor safai for cosponsoring this legislation. we also need know that we need to give our officers more tools to effectively do their jobs. in 2019, the board of supervisors passed a law that effectively limited officers' use of camera feeds for certain situations. for what happened in union square, they could not.

when there were multiple robbery crews hitting multiple stores, they could not access those cameras, which is ridiculous. think about that. you're in an incident of severe looting, aurofficers are not able to use that other jurisdictions -- our officers are not able to use something that other jurisdictions use. we need amendments to clarify that officers are allowed to access these cameras when needed to address critical public safety issues. there is a balance to be had, i know, but right now, if our officers cannot use cameras during a mass looting event, then that policy is out of balance. we are actively working on

those amendments, with plans to introduce it in january, and my hope is that the board will support changes. lastly, we're increasingly asking our police department to do more. they're working overtime to address these challenges, including responding to the rash number of retail thefts, and expanding a number of deployments through our tourism deployment plan so when come here and support our economy, they feel safe, and they want to return, and we change the narrative about what people say about san francisco. and focusing on auto burglaries to make significant arrests on

prolific crews. they've done all of this -- our officers are committed to doing the work, and they're committed to keeping us safe, but everything they've been doing over the recent months and everything we've going to ask of them in the coming months before we pass a new budget is going to require more overtime funding, and it's going to require more police officers. my budget office is currently working with the san francisco police department and the chief to understand what the needs will be to get us through 2022, and i will introduce a

supplemental to ask this board for the resources that we need so that the deployment that exists now will not end after the holidays. the deployment that we're starting in this city needs to be permanent. as we are preparing for our budget, we will ensure these resources occur, including academy classes and overtime, are in place as part of the budget, and i will introduce that as part of that budget in may, but we cannot wait to continue some of those actions now. some of those actions are underway immediately, while others require significant action and legislation, and there will be more work on this front. taken together, they can make a real difference on our streets

and on our city. i want to recognize our police officers and their commitments. vacations have been cancelled, time off has been cancelled. it's been all hands on deck, and at the end of the day, what has made the most significant difference to address public safety is, yes, we've made investments in social service programs, yes, we pushed for reforms to our criminal justice system. we will continue to do that, but when a line is crossed, people have to be held accountable for the crimes they commit in our city, and that's where our police officers have been critically important to our ability to do so. thank you to sheriff miyamoto who has been a real partner, and i'm looking forward to working more with allowing our sheriff's departments to work

off duty. at the end of the day, i know this sounds like a lot of different things. i know this sounds like more and more promises that may not materialize, but i want each and every person in this city to know this work, and what we are going to do to turnaround how people feel in san francisco is the most important thing to me. this is a city that has a population of under 1 million people but has a $12 billion budget.

the people of this city have been extremely generous with providing us the resources to make a difference. and now, the priorities we need to make must be to protect them. when you are in a room full of people, i would say probably anywhere between 90 and 95% of folks could raise their hand and say that either their car has been broken into or they've been a victim in some capacity or another. that is not okay. that is not acceptable, and it's time that the reign of criminals is over. it happens when we are less tolerance of all the bullshit

that has destroyed our city. we are going to turn this around, and this is the most important thing for me and i know leaders of public safety in this city at this time. with that, i'd like to introduce our police chief, bill scott. [applause] >> thank you, mayor. good morning. let me start with this. the people in our city who have been impacted by crime, by quality of life issues such as open air drug usage, street vending, some of our issues with unhoused population that lead to trash on the streets and needles on the street and things like that, these things have to change. now from a policing

perspective, let me tell you what you can expect from the san francisco police department. first of all, enforcement of drug dealing and drug dealing offenses. it's little consequence that we've arrested 600 people in the tenderloin alone this year. it's little consolation when you're still seeing drug dealers on your block day in and day out. it's little consolation when we seize four times as much fentanyl as we did last year, and we still see open air drug use happening day in and day out. and here's the point to all of

this. we will continue to make arrests, and we will make more arrests, but there are areas in this city that need constant 24-hour patrol while we make those arrests. this is what i'm hearing over and over and over again, and i thank the mayor and our elected officials who are here with us for introducing the line because this police department will draw the line, but we need the resources to do it. and let me go in a little bit more detail how this works, because i'm going to speak about our officers. they're asked to go in and do their job, make an arrest. they're in the station, writing reports, booking evidence. that has to be done.

while they're doing that, that corner, nobody is there, and when that's happening, we can't afford to have a neighborhood where that happens. i've been out with those officers. i've walked those blocks with them. they make an arrest, they're out in the field. 30 minutes later, i go back, and it's like they've never been there. there are places in this city where we need constant police presence. and let me be very clear what i'm saying. i'm not saying unconstitutional arrests, i'm not saying brutalizing or excessive police force. i'm saying we need to be out

there, and that takes time, that takes money, and that takes resources. when i ask an officer, what do you need to do your job, the answer is usually two things: we need enough people to do our jobs the which we've been asked to do it, and we need to be supported when we do our jobs the right way. as your chief of police, that's what i'm asking for. i'm asking for the resources to do our job like we need to do, and i'm asking for support for our officers when you ask them to do the job the way they should do it. police departments all across this country are facing hiring challenges. this city is no exception. we need to have an environment in this city where people want to come to work here and be police officers. that doesn't happen without support, and mayor breed, thank you for your support on this.

we need the public support, they need my support, and they deserve that if we're asking them to do a very difficult job. so i'm going to go into a little bit more detail before i introduce mary ellen carroll to the microphone. open air drug deals, open air drug dealing, we need consequences. listen, i'm here to talk about what we can control, we, the san francisco police department can control. but when we are using drugs, and some of people that i'm talking about, they have substance addiction issues, they need medical assistance to get through those issues. we have to be compassionate about that, but being compassionate about that doesn't mean we turn a blind's eye to what's happening on the

street. the criminal just system has changed. a decade ago, possession of a small amount of heroin or crack cocaine would land you in jail with a felony, but it doesn't mean we can't be compassionate. it doesn't mean we can't rely on medical and health care resource to have a balance of health care treatment and enforcement. we've struggled with that, i'll be the first to admit it, but that day is no more. we will engage, we will engage consistently, we will offer up services. the city and the mayor and everybody standing here in front of you are working on a plan to do just that in the very, very near future, but at the end of the day, at the end of all of this, people will not be allowed to smoke meth, to

smoke fentanyl, to inject heroin in their arms in public spaces, and it's very important that we are consistent and that we sustain this effort because to do it for two weeks is not going to help us long-term, and again, it takes resources, it takes a commitment, and it takes a desire to sustain this effort. this department will own its shortcomings. we're not a perfect department, even though we try to be that. but i can say one thing, that the commitment is there. given the resources, we know we can have better outcomes than what we've seen, and we can have consistent outcomes. we want to be held accountable for those outcomes, i want to be held accountable, but we need the resources, no doubt

about it. using technology -- i've been doing this job for almost 33 years now. if we can't use the technology we have in a way that protects civil liberties but still protects the crime and the criminal issues that have been disclosed, then why do we have it. if you are the victim of a violence crime or the owner or a store keeper that had your store looted, it's little consolation to say, yeah, we can get the video after you've been victimized. yeah, there's value do it, but we need to do better. we have to do better. and lastly, we've seen what

happened in our city on union square on november 19. it's not the first time it's happened, but we saw the nature of it happening, and we saw it happen every where else. i'm here to tell you that that increased deployment made and continues to make a difference. again, seeing it with my own eyes, walking it with officers. and i've seen it all over the city, but in union square, after the world was set on edge with what they saw, the people that have to go there and work every day, the people that have to take transportation to go there, the people that want to go there and shop, that have to look over their shoulder, worried that 50 people are going to run in the shop with

knives or guns or hammers or whatever they have to run in the shop, it matters to them, so we need to sustain this effort. so you have our commitment. i want to thank our elected officials for supporting this effort. chief nicholson, fire chief, sheriff miyamoto, and many others, dr. colfax, and others.

we can do it when we do it together, and we have the support and the resources to get us there. so thank you, and with that, i'd like to introduce mary ellen carroll, the director of our department of emergency management. [applause] >> thank you, chief scott, and thank you mayor breed. emergency management provides coordination in times of crisis, and today, as you've heard, there's no more significant crisis than what's happening in our streets and especially in the tenderloin. during the pandemic, san

francisco demonstrated what can happen when we work together. at the mayor's direction, the department is going to collaborate with our community partners. over the next few months, the team will implement a multiphase assessment approach. the first phase is already underway. through meetings with community stakeholders and residents, we have developed an understanding of the challenges that we have to address.

enforcement and the disruption of criminal activity to guarantee safe passage in our community. during this phase, social workers, clinicians, community partners, and resources will work in concert to offer wraparound services at a new temporary linkage site. when it's established, it will allow services, and at the same time, as you heard, law

enforcement will be present in the community. our response will operate with the same level of urgency, coordination, and focus that was so successful during our first against the pandemic. the final face of our interventions will focus on transitioning to a sustained operation that will help keep the streets safe and accessible for all who call tenderloin home. this phase will include long-term partnerships with our community or with community organizations and residents to maintain the improvements that we will achieve during this crisis operation response. the tenderloin is home to families, local businesses, nonprofits, immigrants, seniors, and young

professionals who all deserve a safe and healthy place to call home. last week, as the mayor spoke, we met with the first group of san franciscans, and they demanded that the city take action so that they no longer have to live in fear in their neighborhood. through our effort, the city will stand with mothers who want their children to get safely to and from home and school and the playgrounds and the parks. we will stand with merchants and neighbors, and i want to thank mayor breed for her leadership, and at this time, we will introduce our sheriff, paul miyamoto.

[applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. these recent incidents, this recent uptick, all of the things that have been discussed here by all of the previous speakers, have created a citywide public safety concern that the san francisco sheriff's office is prepared to continue with the solution and provide services and support necessary to make sure that our collective efforts are not just a flash in the pan, are not just a temporary solution, but something that is long-term and sustainable. i think it's very important to recognize that we have city leadership here, just as with the pandemic, the city leadership is here to address the problem of safety and public safety and as a public

safety official, as an elected law enforcement public safety official, i am very grateful for the collaboration and the coordination not just between the electeds and our city government in addressing these concerns. we are going to be redeploying services that we have in place to help address the immediate concerns in the hope of creating a model to be sustainable over the long-term. our staff will be working them, and we have over 800

[indiscernible] we will continue to do so in this new model to address these concerns, to finally say no to some of these problem that's we face, and our support that we provide is compassionate mitigation of these challenges. we don't just work as law enforcement deputies in the street, we don't just work in the justice system with justice involved persons, but we're there with them for long period of times, in the health care facilities. we establish relationships, and relationships we hope to leverage in reaching out to people and making sure that they have support and access to services, as mary ellen mentioned, as the chief mentioned, as the mayor

mentioned. our commitment is what you get from us at the sheriff's office, and in collaboration with the rest of city leadership, we look forward to this. our staff members, people that have been dedicated to public safety for their careers, it was mentioned by the chief that a lot of us are working overtime. we're understaffed, we're underutilized, and we're working overtime to get things done. the commitment that we have here, we have to make sure we have what we need.

thank you, madam mayor. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. that was a lot of information to process, and we'll be providing additional information through our communications team, and at this time, are there any questions? question? [indiscernible] . >> well, that can be answered in two parts. first, we have to stop what's going on, with the understanding that there's a

possibility that it's going to displace somewhere else. in the area of the tenderloin, we sort of know where those are. we have to still be present in order to not let the problem repopulate as soon as we leave. i wish we could be everywhere in the city, but there are a lot of areas that need our attention. when we're out there, the people aren't selling drugs where we are. they see where we are, and they wait for us to leave.

but if we're on the next block, or we go to the next block with them, we've -- you've got to understand what we're dealing with. this is a very transitory drug market. people who want to sell drugs, they know there's going to be plenty of demand, and we have to disrupt all of that, while at the same time, we have to predict where they're going to go next, and we have to be waiting on them. this is a humbling experience, difficult experience, but it can be done. so resources, and understand

that we have to do what we say and say what we mean. we're not going to arrest everybody in one day, we can go there and make 20 arrests right now, and there's going to be 20 other people that come right behind them, and we realize that. that's why we've got to be there when they come, so that's part of the strategy. [indiscernible] . >> the hon. london breed: well, i think at the end of the day, the arrests will be made by the police department, with the hope that our district attorney will prosecute those cases. and accountability is not always jail time. it's some sort of punishment

that's appropriate to the crime. when we talk about criminal justice reform, maybe it's someone in their first offense. do we think they should just be let out and the charges dismissed? no. there could be a layer of community service or things that they're required to do as a result of committing that crime, and currently, there are challenges with accountability, and my hope is that the d.a., who we are definitely trying to work with, will hold the people that the police arrest accountability. we will, in every single instance of arrest, put together a report that is clear, that makes it clear in terms of what was actually done, and what the specific offense is. and our hope is that in light of everything that's being done, that the maximum charges in every one of these cases are

what the d.a. goes after. there are things that we want to do to reform this system, this is an industry. the car break-ins, the theft and the looting, it's not only how many are happening, it's how violent they're becoming. [indiscernible]. >> the hon. london breed: i have conversations with him regularly about everything that happens in the city related to charges that we hope he will impose. we have a relationship where we have conversations about many of those things, but as you

know, he is an independently elected official, and at the end of the day, you need to ask him what he plans to do. [indiscernible] . >> the hon. london breed: so i will say that, you know, when we talk about the number of stabbings, the number of shootings, the number of physical assaults that are occurring, unfortunately, our ambassadors and all of these other great services that we have, they're not equipped to handle those things. and in fact, some of them have put themselves in harm's way because of it. so too many people are crossing a line, and it's time for us to make a change, and that's where law enforcement comes in. [indiscernible]

. >> the hon. london breed: to be clear, when those funds from the police department were redirected specifically to serve the african american community, there were no cuts to the number of officers that we had in the department. there was really a goal of, you know, making some transformative changes with law enforcement and make it go clear that we are going to invest in people to avoid them even being involved with the criminal justice system in the first place but also make it clear to the criminal justice system that we are going to reform to help those that are disproportionately affected.

an investment is necessary as a result of it. [indiscernible] . >> the hon. london breed: so part of what's in the plan is giving the opportunity -- say, for example, department of public works, they are the enforcement leg of some of the illegal vending, but at the same time, we need to open the door to collaboration. we are still working on building that trust, and i

think, unfortunately, we do have people who, under no circumstances, are they willing to work with our police officers. and from my perspective at this point, it's important that we have nonprofit agencies and people that are nonsafety personnel, we need them to develop relationships with the people who need to protect our city because ultimately -- and i'll tell you an example of one of our persons who was out there, working to be that voice, and sadly, he was stabbed. so we have those situations that occur, and ultimately, when the crime occurred, then everyone wants help.

is we have been putting in action with all of the decisions that they've been making, and what we're seeing in terms of our use of force cases this is where we are and this is what we need to do. >> we have a united group on our incident management team on how to approach these problems, but what we've been doing the last few weeks is sitting down, negotiating a solution, and

moving forward, and that is part of the approach. we'll be reviewing on an every single day what our operation plan is for that day and then looking at what will happen the day before. this allows us to be agile, it allows us to adjust. we have to be successful. we are coming to the table with a set of tools and tactics, and if it doesn't work, we will sit down again, and we will adjust. [indiscernible]

. >> so the balance with the drug usage, particularly when we're dealing with people that are addicted, we can't ignore what our health officials are telling us what works. i would venture to say that the vast majority of the people that we're talking about have some sort of substance use disorder. what we're going to put into place, what director carroll has talked about, we have to listen to the science and the experts, but at the same time, we can't just allow people to use on the streets. if we're constantly talking to people and getting them to the

right locations, we should given them an opportunity to do it. we ask someone on the street, if they want to go services, skm they say yes, and we see them on the streets again, we're not asking again. then, it becomes enforcement. possession, use, those are misdemeanors, so the law still allows them to be cited out. let's say they're cited out, and a third time in the same day, the law allows us to ask for a detention based on the likelihood that the offenses will continue. all of those processes that i

talked about will be put in place. we have to be consistent, and it goes back to what i was saying, and i'll say it again, it takes resources. when we're not on the streets, we see the activity that we're trying to address, and can't address it if we're not there, so while we're in the process of enforcing, we have to replace those officers are officers that are constantly in the streets in some of the most challenging areas, and that's been a tremendous struggle because i'm telling you, if you go, and you've seen this in action, it's a revolving door.

the consistency of deployment along with compassion, offering services, giving people a chance to engage in those services, but we have to be consistent. you're smoking crack on our streets, you're smoking meth, no, that's not going to happen. we're going to engage. you may not be arrested the first time, but we're going to engage. we have to rely on what works from a clinical perspective, but that has to be balanced, and it's not an easy solution. >> that's all we have. thank you. thank you.

>> first of all, thank you for coming to celebrate this incredible milestone. i am really excited that she accepted. because i know what you often times may see is the fights between kim and i. what you don't know is about the friendship and the amount of love and respect i truly have for her and her work ethic from the moment i met her actively engaged in labor in a way that brought the conversation to a different level around women and minorities and their role in leadership and labor. it is good to see more women

step up and in fact, it is 125 year history not one woman has ever led the san francisco labor council and kim is doing that, which is absolutely extraordinary. [applause] and you are the first executive director of the labor council to serve on this work force investment board because i didn't want to appoint the others. just kidding. but in fact, you know, this is so important. when i think about growing up in the western addition and the fights that we used to have to be included in the placements and job opportunities that exist in the city, i feel like we have come a long way but we still have a long way to go to make the real connections between people in many of the communities that many of you

represent but himself the same people who want these opportunities, the new jobs that come to san francisco. not just the work related to construction and engineering but as you know there are even shortage of nurses. the work you have done with nuhw was extraordinary onever the years. how that played a role to make sure there is a real connection between people and the opportunities, through organized labor to make sure they get their fair share, the appropriate pay and benefits and the ability to take care of themselves and their families. you have been doing this work for a really long time. i know that you are going to bring a really strong voice to this body. in the process you are going to make a lot of folks upset what it is you have to say, but i wouldn't have wanted it any other way because some things need to be upset. some things need challenged.

in fact, i am not afraid of a challenge and not afraid of the conversations that need to be had to get to a better place that is what we want. we want a better place so people have better lives. you have dedicated your lives to public service. organized labor but public service because of the people that you know you represent. the people that you know are counting on autophytes for them and make the right decisions that are going to have an impact onnary families and livelihood. regardless of disagreements at the end of the day the underlying message i know that is most important to much of you and i know is important to kill is the fact that we want to fight for better lives for the people we represent. that is why you are going to be serving on this board, and i

appreciate and honor that you accepted this opportunity. i am looking forward to seeing something change for the better for workers throughout san francisco. with that let's debt you sworn in. (applause). >> i will put on my mask. covid is running rampant and we are close to each other. place raise your right hand and repeat. i say your name do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california against all enemies foreign and domestic that i bear true faith and allegiance to the same. that i take this obligation

freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which i am about to enter and during such time as i serve as a member of the work force investment san francisco board for the city and county of san francisco. congratulations. [applause] >> here is a little city seal pen with my signature. i give this to all people i swear in to serve.

ladies and gentlemen, the latest person for the board tackling work force in san francisco and making real change. [applause] >> thank you, mayor breed, for taking time-out of your schedule to do this. thank you to the leaders of labor here today, especially my board members, susan, mike, charlie, debra, and my good friend karen. i want to thank you for taking time for the swearing in. it means a lot to me because i have always been really challenged by the fact there rvs and have notes in the work force, and i really want to fight overcoming making sure

that everyone becomes a very. everyone has an opportunity to get a job and a wealthy job and to join a union if they so choose. that is my mantra since i was little. it is my mantra to this day. i will fight to make sure. that is what the labor council is about making sure there are opportunities for people and career ladders. that has always been what i have been about. i want to make sure that happens. we have seen companies take advantage of people especially during strikes when they go into poor neighborhoods to try to recruit scabs. we knead to emphasize recruiting people to getting into them into construction and janitors and construction trades and up the ladder and nursing, healthcare. these are all opportunities they

should all have. we want to make sure that the san franciscans that we all know and love have that opportunity and that is my goal for this. i really intend to implement a labor caucus to make sure that we are doing what we need to do to give every san franciscan the opportunity be to participate from our economic recovery from covid and overall economic recovery as we get on with opening up the city and making sure that people come to san francisco. those the obstacles before us. i hope we overcome them altogether as we move along. thank you. [applause].

>> my name is amanda

[inaudible] over see the girls sports program. when i came to san francisco and studied recreation and parks and towerism and after i graduated i moved to candlestick park and grain r gain adlot of experience work with the san francisco 49 and [inaudible] be agfemale in a vore sports dynamic facility. i coached volo ball on the side and as candle stick closed down the city had me move in92 too [inaudible] >> immediate interaction and response when you work with kids. i think that is what drives other people to do this. what drew me to come to [inaudible] to begin with for me to stay. i use today work

in advertising as a media buyer and it wasn't fulfilling enough and i found a opportunity to be a writing coach. the moment [inaudible] you to take advantage of how you change and inspire a child by the words you say and actions you do. >> you have a 30 different programs for girls through rec and park and fast ball, soft ball and volley ball. i started the first volley ball league and very proud what i have done with that. being a leader for girls is passion and showing to be confident and being ambiggish and strong person. [inaudible] for about 5 years. programs offered thraw thirty-three rec and park and oversee thg prms about a year. other than the programs

we offer we offer summer camp squz do [inaudible] during the summer and that is something i wherei have been able to shine in my role. >> couple years we started the civic center socking league and what an amazing opportunity it was and is it for kid in the neighborhood who come together every friday in the civic center plaza on green grass to run and play. you otonly see soccer and poetry but also see books t. is a really promoting literacy to our kid and giving them to tools to make it work at home. real fortunate to see the [inaudible] grow. >> girls get pressureed with society and i know that is obvious, but we see it every day, magazines, commercials the idea what a woman should look like but i like to be a strong female role for it goals that

play sports because a lot of times they don't see someone strong in a female role with something connected with sports and athleticism and i love i can bring that to the table. >> soccer, poetry, community service. we now have field of dreams. we are [inaudible] all over the bay area and excited to be share our mission with other schools across the bay to really build the confidence and character of kids when they go out to play and close their eyes and think, why was [inaudible] we want to make sure-i want to make sure they remember me and remember the other folks who [inaudible] >> get out there and do it. who cares about what anybody else says. there will be poopal people that come up and want to wreck your ideas. that happen today eme when i went to candle stick part and wanted to

[inaudible] people told me no left and right. whether you go out for something you are passionate about our something you want to grow in and feel people will say no. go out and get it done. i can be the strong leader female and i love that. a city like no other, san francisco has been a beacon of hope, and an ally towards lgbtq equal rights. [♪♪]

>> known as the gay capital of america, san francisco has been at the forefront fighting gay civil rights for decades becoming a bedrock for the historical firsts. the first city with the first openly gay bar. the first pride parade. the first city to legalize gay marriage. the first place of the iconic gay pride flag. established to help cancel policy, programses, and initiatives to support trans and lgbtq communities in san

francisco. >> we've created an opportunity to have a seat at the table. where trans can be part of city government and create more civic engagement through our trans advisory committee which advises our office and the mayor's office. we've also worked to really address where there's gaps across services to see where we can address things like housing and homelessness, low income, access to small businesses and employment and education. so we really worked across the board as well as meeting overall policies. >> among the priorities, the office of transgender initiatives also works locally to track lgbtq across the country. >> especially our young trans kids and students. so we do a lot of work to make

sure we're addressing and naming those anti-trans policies and doing what we can to combat them. >> trans communities often have not been included at the policy levels at really any level whether that's local government, state government. we've always had to fend for ourselves and figure out how to care for our own communities. so an office like this can really show and become a model for the country on how to really help make sure that our entire community is served by the city and that we all get opportunities to participate because, in the end, our entire community is stronger. >> the pandemic underscored many of the inequities they experienced on a daily basis. nonetheless, this health crisis also highlighted the strength in the lgbtq and trans community. >> several of our team members were deployed as part of the

work at the covid command center and they did incredit able work there both in terms of navigation and shelter-in-place hotels to other team members who led equity and lgbtq inclusion work to make sure we had pop-up testing and information sites across the city as well as making sure that data collection was happening. we had statewide legislation that required that we collected information on sexual orientation and our team worked so closely with d.p.h. to make sure those questions were included at testing site but also throughout the whole network of care. part of the work i've had a privilege to be apart of was to work with o.t.i. and a community organization to work together to create a coalition that met monthly to make sure we worked together and coordinated as much as we could to lgbtq communities in the city. >> partnering with community organizations is key to the

success of this office ensuring lgbtq and gender nonconforming people have access to a wide range of services and places to go where they will be respected. o.t.i.'s trans advisory committee is committed to being that voice. >> the transgender advisory counsel is a group of amazing community leaders here in san francisco. i think we all come from all walks of life, very diverse, different backgrounds, different expertises, and i think it's just an amazing group of people that have a vision to make san francisco a true liberated city for transgender folks. >> being apart of the grou allows us to provide more information on the ground.

we're allowed to get. and prior to the pandemic, there's always been an issue around language barriers and education access and workforce development. now, of course, the city has been more invested in to make sure our community is thriving and making sure we are mobilizing. >> all of the supervisors along with mayor london breed know that there's still a lot to be done and like i said before, i'm just so happy to live in a city where they see trans folks and recognize us of human beings and know that we deserve to live with dignity and respect just like everybody else. >> being part of the trans initiative has been just a great privilege for me and i feel so lucky to have been able to serve for it for so far over three years.

it's the only office of its kind and i think it's a big opportunity for us to show the country or the world about things we can do when we really put a focus on transgender issues and transgender communities. and when you put transgender people in leadership positions. >> thank you, claire. and i just want to say to claire farly who is the leader of the office of transgender initiatives, she has really taken that role to a whole other level and is currently a grand marshal for this year's s.f. prize. so congratulations, claire. >> my dream is to really look at where we want san francisco to be in the future. how can we have a place where we have transliberation, quality, and inclusion, and equity across san francisco? and so when i look five years from now, ten years from now, i want us to make sure that we're continuing to lead the country in being the best that we can

be. not only are we working to make sure we have jobs and equal opportunity and pathways to education, employment, and advancement, but we're making sure we're taking care of our most impacted communities, our trans communities of color, trans women of color, and black trans women. and we're making sure we're addressing the barriers of the access to health care and mental health services and we're supporting our seniors who've done the work and really be able to age in place and have access to the services and resources they deserve. so there's so much more work to do, but we're really proud of the work that we've done so far. [♪♪]

>> restaurants will be open for take out only, but nonessential stores, like bars and gyms, will close effective midnight tonight. [♪♪♪] >> my name is sharky laguana. i am a small business owner. i own a company called vandigo van rentals. it rents vans to the music industry. i am also a member of the small business commission as appointed by mayor breed in 2019. i am a musician and have worked as a professional musician and

recording artist in the 90s. [♪♪♪] >> we came up in san francisco, so i've played at most of the live venues as a performer, and, of course, i've seen hundreds of shows over the years, and i care very, very deeply about live entertainment. in fact, when i joined the commission, i said that i was going to make a particular effort to pay attention to the arts and entertainment and make sure that those small businesses receive the level of attention that i think they deserve. >> this is a constantly and rapidly changing situation, and we are working hard to be aggressive to flatten the curve to disrupt the spread of covid-19. >> when the pandemic hit, it was crystal clear to me that this was devastating to the

music industry because live venues had to completely shutdown. there was no way for them to open for even a single day or in limited capacity. that hit me emotionally as an artist and hit me professionally, as well as a small business that caters to artists, so i was very deeply concerned about what the city could do to help the entertainment committee. we knew we needed somebody to introduce some kind of legislation to get the ball rolling, and so we just started texting supervisor haney, just harassing him, saying we need to do something, we need to do something. he said i know we need to do something, but what do we do? we eventually settled on this idea that there would be an independent venue recovery fund. >> clerk: there are 11 ayes. >> president walton: thank you. without objection, this

resolution is passed unanimously. >> and we were concerned for these small mom-and-pop businesses that contribute so much to our arts community. >> we are an extremely small venue that has the capacity to do extremely small shows. most of our staff has been working for us for over ten years. there's very little turnover in the staff, so it felt like family. sharky with the small business commission was crucial in pestering supervisor haney and others to really keep our industry top of mind. we closed down on march 13 of 2020 when we heard that there was an order to do so by the

mayor, and we had to call that show in the middle of the night. they were in the middle of their sound check, and i had to call the venue and say, we need to cancel the show tonight. >> the fund is for our live music and entertainment venues, and in its first round, it will offer grants of at least $10,000 to qualifying venues. these are venues that offer a signature amount of live entertainment programming before the pandemic and are committed to reopening and offering live entertainment spaces after the pandemic. >> it's going to, you know, just stave off the bleeding for a moment. it's the city contributing to helping make sure these venues are around, to continue to be

part of the economic recovery for our city. >> when you think about the venues for events in the city, we're talking about all of them. some have been able to come back adaptively over the last year and have been able to be shape shifters in this pandemic, and that's exciting to see, but i'm really looking forward to the day when events and venues can reopen and help drive the recovery here in san francisco. >> they have done a study that says for every dollar of ticket sales done in this city, $12 goes to neighboring businesses. from all of our vendors to the restaurants that are next to our ven sues and just so many other things that you can think of, all of which have been so negatively affected by covid. for this industry to fail is unthinkable on so many levels. it's unheard of, like, san

francisco without its music scene would be a terribly dismal place. >> i don't know that this needs to be arrest -- that there needs to be art welfare for artists. we just need to live and pay for our food, and things will take care of themselves. i think that that's not the given situation. what san francisco could do that they don't seem to do very much is really do something to support these clubs and venues that have all of these different artists performing in them. actually, i think precovid, it was, you know, don't have a warehouse party and don't do a gig. don't go outside, and don't do this. there was a lot of don't, don't, don't, and after the pandemic, they realized we're a big industry, and we bring a lot of money into this city, so

they need to encourage and hope these venues. and then, you know, as far as people like me, it would be nice if you didn't only get encouraged for only singing opera or playing violin. [♪♪♪] >> entertainment is a huge part of what is going to make this city bounce back, and we're going to need to have live music coming back, and comedy, and drag shows and everything under the sun that is fun and creative in order to get smiles back on our faces and in order to get the city moving again. [♪♪♪] >> venues serve a really vital function in society. there aren't many places where people from any walk of life,

race, religion, sexuality can come together in the same room and experience joy, right? experience love, experience anything that what makes us human, community, our connective tissues between different souls. if we were to lose this, lose this situation, you're going to lose this very vital piece of society, and just coming out of the pandemic, you know, it's going to help us recover socially? well, yeah, because we need to be in the same room with a bunch of people, and then help people across the country recover financially. >> san francisco art recovery fund, amazing. it opened yesterday on april 21. applications are open through may 5. we're encouraging everyone in the coalition to apply. there's very clear information on what's eligible, but that's basically been what our coalition has been advocating

for from the beginning. you know, everyone's been supportive, and they've all been hugely integral to this program getting off the ground. you know, we found our champion with supervisor matt haney from district six who introduced this legislation and pushed this into law. mayor breed dedicated $1.5 million this fund, and then supervisor haney matched that, so there's $3 million in this fund. this is a huge moment for our coalition. it's what we've been fighting for all along. >> one of the challenges of our business is staying on top of all the opportunities as they come back. at the office of oewd, office of economic and workforce development, if you need to speak to somebody, you can find people who can help you navigate any of the available programs and resources. >> a lot of blind optimism has

kept us afloat, you know, and there's been a lot of reason for despair, but this is what keeps me in the business, and this is what keeps me fighting, you know, and continuing to advocate, is that we need this and this is part of our life's blood as much as oxygen and food is. don't lose heart. look at there for all the various grants that are available to you. some of them might be very slow to unrao, and it might seem like too -- unroll, and it might seem like it's too late, but people are going to fight to keep their beloved venues open, and as a band, you're going to be okay. [♪♪♪]

hi everyone. i'm san francisco mayor london breed and i know that many of you have been anxious to hear what's happening with this new omicron variant. the coronavirus and we're here today to talk about and announce that here in the city and county of san francisco under the university of california san francisco and our partnership with the department of public health using the latest of technology, we have discovered our first case not only here in san francisco but the entire country and i wanted to at this time introduce dr. grant colfax to talk about the specifics and what that means in terms of what we need to do as a city.

dr. colfax. >> thank you, mayor breed. good morning everybody and thank you, mayor breed, for your ongoing leadership during this pandemic. and i want to thank our partners at u.c.s.f. and especially dr. charles chiu and his team and i'd also like to thank our testing partner dr. scott topper. both are here today. and, of course my partner dr. mary ellen carol. all of us have been working in the last 24 hours with our state and federal partners at cdc and the state department of health to determine whether this indeed is the first case of omicron that has been detected and that has indeed been the result of our work overnight. i want to acknowledge our

health officer dr. susan philip. but i also want to emphasize this is not a surprise. for those of you who knew, we thought omicron was already here. we just hadn't detected it yet. so this is cause for concern, but it's also certainly not a cause for panic. we are prepared in the city for this with regard to the case itself. the person recently traveled to south africa and they did the right thing and got tested and reported their travel history. they had mild symptoms and thankfully recovered. contacts have been notified by the health department. and, again, here's what we know now. san francisco is relatively

well positioned to respond to variants. our vaccine rate is high. more boosters are going into arms every day. 5-11-year-olds are getting vaccinated at rapid uptake. our masking and vaccine requirements are among the most stringent in the country. these efforts have been very effective in helping us slow the spread of the virus. and there's still a lot we do not know about omicron. we don't know how infectious itself although there's a strong likelihood that it is more infectious than delta. we don't know how sick it makes people. and we're studying that throughout the world. we don't know how the vaccines will protect against transmission due to omicron.

but most experts that i have spoken to believe the vaccine is still protective against the omicron variant. to best protect against this variant, get vaccinated for goodness sakes if you have not been vaccinated. get your booster if you're eligible. continue to wear those masks inside where required. continue to take the steps that we know that has been successful in san francisco to prevent major loss of life and to slow the spread of this virus. we know how to do this, san francisco. at this time, we do not anticipate changing any of our health orders or changing

restrictions or imposing new restrictions in san francisco. we will share information as we have it and get vaccinated, get your booster, wear the mask and for goodness sakes it's been a long almost 24 months now. please have a great holiday season with your family. and now i'd like to turn it over to dr. chiu whose team worked so hard overnight to make sure we get this information as quickly as possible. thank you. >> good afternoon. so my laboratory at university california san francisco has been working very closely over the past year with the san francisco department of public health, the california department of public health and color genomics on genome basics

of the virus. by that, we identify covid positive cases in the city and county, we make an attempt to sequence all cases that we are able to identify. this particular sample, i heard about it yesterday at about 3:00 p.m. and we were able to receive the sample in the laboratory by 8:00 p.m. we ran a very fast molecular test which looks for psychgene drop-out. we were able to get the results of that test within two hours showing that potentially this sample was an omicron variant sample l. to concur this finding, we needed the viral genome of this virus and we used a pocket size sequencer made by oxford

technologies. this is a sequencing technology in which we can go from detecting the virus to being able to detect the entire genome within a few hours. we were able to confirm the detection of omicron within five hours and we had most of the genome within eight hours. so 4:00 a.m. last night we were able to detect the omicron variant. thank you. >> thank you. i think the goal of the public is to get vaccinated. the challenges with the covid-19 virus and what this means is we want to make sure that people get vaccinated. so at this time, if anyone has

any questions, please let me know. are there any questions? yes. i'll let dr. colfax answer that question. >> i'm sorry. i heard about sequencing, but i didn't quite hear the details of the question. i'll try to answer what i take the character of the question

to be which is we are continuing to work with color, with dr. chiu's lab, with the state to sequence samples. we work with a number of partners in doing that. so generally, we're sampling more in san francisco and it depends on the site. so with our partnership at u.c.s.f. and the latino taskforce, all those samples are being sequenced and then i'll turn to have them answer what percent of their samples are being. i think the key with the sequencing right now with the sample, the turn around time is considerable. so that's why we really wanted to run this sample locally as quickly as possible. as you know, across the nation and across the state locally, we're continuing to ensure that we sequence specimens as

quickly as possible. again, i think the point is omicron is here. i don't want to be focused on when's the next case coming. we should all be reactive as we were yesterday. we need to get those vaccines and boosters get tested if you know that you've been exposed and continue to wear those masks. and i don't know if you have more to add. dr. topper. >> yeah. so color health provides much of the infrastructure to execute their programs to defend against covid. to make unique samples available for sequencing. almost 100% of the samples, of the positive samples that are identified in san francisco and in california are being routed

for sequencing. my name's scott topper. i'm the vice president of clinical operations at color. i'm going to let dr. philip answer that question. >> i believe you were talking about walking through contact tracing. first of all. thank you to our lab partners. also, thank you to the individual themselves. they recognized that they had symptoms and they did what we should all be doing which is to get tested with symptoms. and then they reached out to sfpdh, with our team.

we were able to speak with them. so with all investigations and contracting, we're talking to the individual, understanding what their risk factors might have been, in this case travel and i'm speaking with them to make sure they're staying home and once they know they have a positive test and then speaking to them about close contact. so that is the usual path that we follow, that is what we're doing in this case and we're in the process of doing that with this individual now. the question was what kind of close contacts? yeah. for privacy reasons, we are giving out limited information about the specifics of the individual, but we are in the process of finding out the people that may have been in close contact with them and reaching out to those individuals specifically. the general definition is of a close contact is someone who

has been within 6' for 15 minutes or more. that's the definition that has not yet changed. as we are learning more. we will understand that that definition has to change if this virus was more transmissible and that is generally what we ask people about. we most often will ask what other people are residing in the home. it's generally the length of time and being with someone. that is all in process now. the question is now people have been traveling outside southern africa. the travel policy is governed at the national level and so we know there is a restriction, noncitizens traveling. we understand from our cdc colleagues that additional steps and requirements will be coming into place. and people are required to have

a test within 72 hours. and we likely will be hearing more in the coming days with omicron of additional steps people will be asked to take pre and post travel. >> the question was about age. we're not giving specific information. this was a previously healthy individual. their symptoms were mandy bujold and they did not have to be hospitalized. yes. this person was aware of the news of omicron and that's why they appropriately reached out after they returned from travel and then had their positive test result through the color

laboratory. they got their result and reached out to public health. so i really appreciate the person's awareness and collaboration on this case. >> yeah. there's another question here. yeah. i think that's probably an answer for dr. chiu. so the question is what lessons could sequencing provide for you. sequencing is very useful, has been shown to be very useful as a way to understand how understand the emergence of new variants in the community. it can also help with contact tracing, with being able to

investigate outbreaks because the genome sequence is very often is specific for giving an individual so we can use the genomic sequence for how the transmission chains from person to person in the course of an outbreak. and from this example, it's useful in identifying specific variants such as the omicron variant. to be able to identify the new variants in the community. i'm sorry. i missed that question. >> reporter: [inaudible] >> based on the question you're asking, is this the first sequence -- is this the first sample l that we've sequenced outside of the country?

this is the first example of where we saw the s-gene sample. i've been told we have time for one more question. thank you and just to emphasize, you know, this is not where we were 20 months ago. we are in a much better place. i don't want us to focus on counting omicron cases as much as the fact it is here, it's likely to increase over assume. we've got to get those boosters and vaccines. continue to wear the masks. thank you.

will. >> good morning. welcome to the january 20th 2022 meeting of if board of supervisors. i am chair of the committee joined by vice chair director co n nie and soon to be joined by supervisor mandelman. the committee clerk is john carroll. thanks to sfgovtv for staffing this meeting. we also have supervisor ronan with us for item 1.