lee. thank you for the opportunity to provide my public testimony. my public testimony is still about the closure of j.f.k. drive. i strongly oppose the city close j.f.k. drive because it keeps my son from accessing golden gate park, so please consider my opinion. thank you. [speaking cantonese language] >> clerk: thank you. operations can we have the next caller, please. we have 34 lined up to speak and 55 who are listening. let's have our next caller. [speaking cantonese language]

>> hello, board of supervisors. my name is shu tau wu or ng. thank you for the opportunity to give you public testimony. my public testimony is about the closure of j.f.k. drive for people with disability.

we strongly oppose the city's close j.f.k. drive. thank you. [speaking cantonese language] >> clerk: operations let's welcome our next caller, please. [speaking cantonese language] >> hello, board of supervisors.

my name is jen tau wu. my public testimony concerns closure of j.f.k. drive. i oppose closure of j.f.k. drive. thank you. [speaking cantonese language] >> clerk: let's welcome our next caller please. [speaking cantonese language]

>> hello board of supervisors. my name is tauguk lau. thank you for this opportunity for me to deliver public testimony. my public testimony is about the public closure of j.f.k. drive. i want to express my input here because of i don't think it is good for us seniors and for our kids if you close it if the city prepares to close j.f.k. drive because it will affect our well-being and also will not be good for our public safety. it is -- it would be also inconvenient for our seniors and kids to enjoy their time in

golden gate park so that's why i strongly oppose the city close j.f.k. drive. thank you. [speaking cantonese language] >> clerk: we have 29 callers in the queue and 59 listening. operations let's hear from our next caller, please. >> good afternoon, president walton and supervisors. i agree with the second caller and the speakers on behalf of the museum to open j.f.k., and i further think the rest of our closed roads should be open and should be shared with everyone, in or out of [indiscernible]. i think no more taxpayer money should be given to sfmta. everywhere you go, ittraffic flow

is interrupted by sfmta projects that never seem to get completed. our streets and public transportation are a mess. sfmta backing the movement for a car free vision zero san francisco, with everyone using bicycles or public transportation. it is detrimental to disabled communities to advocate for car free roads when there is not a safe and dependable public transit available or can be used nearby. sfmta is neither transparent or reliable and should be replaced by a competent reliable, dependent agency with oversight by another independent agency.

we do not need more money thrown to sfmta. [indiscernible] regarding certain specific items that should be made available to the public upon request. sfmta ishas over $1 billion in its budget. it has not spent its money wisely in the past and should not be given more money in the future. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. we are setting the timer for two minutes so i apologize if i've interrupted your comments. operations, do we have another caller in the queue, please? [speaking cantonese language]

>> hello, board of supervisors. my name is [indiscernible]. i'm a resident of sunset district. thank you for this opportunity for me to deliver public testimony. my public testimony is merely about closure of j.f.k. drive. here's my input. actually i think j.f.k. drive being closed for our residents

of golden gate park and also richmond we are too much inconvenienced there because it's been too much for theseniors. when we try to visit golden gate park, we used to be in commute for 20 minutes or more than 20 minutes and also a lot of my neighbors they also had the same mutual feelings about the commute. i hope the city can pay more importance and can attach more importance to our

[indiscernible]. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. >> hi, there. i want to thank the board of supervisors for the opportunity to offer public comment. i will be speaking on the close you are of j.f.k. to cars. my name is [indiscernible] and i am a [indiscernible] our park

and all the publicly funded experiences such as the academy and the d.m. are not just san francisco treasures, but they are regional, national, and international destinations and we have to think about sharing them with all those who visit our city. >> clerk: thank you. i apologize if i'm cutting off anyone's talking points but we have a limit of two minutes this evening. thank you for your patience. operations, let's hear from our next caller please. welcome, caller.

all right. perhaps that's an unattended line. let's move onto the next caller. welcome, caller. >> hi. my name is emily keesten. i'm a photographic journalist who had been moving and documenting the movement to keep j.f.k. drive open for the past three years and counting. i have been commuting on j.f.k. drive for the last five years. i help run a small business in the outer sunset at [indiscernible] so hearing today there was going to be public comment on the docket today about car free j.f.k. i raced home to be able to make a comment. as i biked home through j.f.k. drive on this beautiful sunny

tuesday on the way to my home i counted at least 100 people out biking walking, skate boarding, and simply enjoying the park free of dangerous car traffic. i wish public comment was just a video of all those people choosing to get around outside of their vehicle enjoying the slow life in our beautiful city. i'm really disappointed that supervisor chan, you're trying to stall the process of approving a car free j.f.k. drive by forming another working group. j.f.k. is a tiny portion of the park and the city and the least you can do is keep it open for all san franciscans. thanks. >> president walton: this is a reminder to keep your comments to the entire board of

supervisors and not any individual supervisor. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller? >> hello. thank you. yes, hello? hello? >> clerk: please proceed. >> hello. my name is joanna cotter. i am a native san francisco. very proud of that. grew up in the sunset. golden gate park was my playground still is my playground and i have mobility issues and i really feel strongly about this. i have to have my vehicle near me. i am a supporter of the arts and go to the academy and d.m. museum for many years. the legion of honor hasn't any issues. i can pull up close and i have

no problems with that. but if you close j.f.k. you're closing the park to people with accessibility issues and people with small children. peacock meadow i can't see it and i can't get close enough. i just want to say that my husband is an avid cyclist. he goes up and down the park because there's a cycle lane. we can cohabitate together in san francisco as we always have. please please keep j.f.k. open and while i'm on that, the upper haight and the slow straights. it's hard to navigate as a former nurse at ucsf and an avid lover of my beautiful city. don't destroy it. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your

comments. may we have the next caller please? [speaking cantonese language]

>> hello, board of supervisors. my name is [indiscernible]. i'm a resident of the richmond district. i've lived in richmond for more than 20 years. i also wanted to deliver my public testimony about the closure of j.f.k. drive. from my public view i think closure of j.f.k. drive, it's really inconvenient for the persons of disability and also for our seniors.

>> clerk: thank you for your comments. can we have the next caller. >> hello? >> clerk: yes, caller. please proceed. >> yes. third generation san francisco richmond district. city and county retired city and county employee third generation city and county employee the richmond. haven't been to the museum

academy since the pandemic and i'm older. closing the roads all over town has just really curtailed the whole access, so yes, i want them back open, all our roads and if we had a park and rec director who wasn't in the pockets of real estate this wouldn't even be a debate, along with the public transportation guys. we used to -- had departments that new something about their departments, weren't political hacks. so ofyeah, open up our roads again and trust me these guys are not on your side.

thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller please. >> good afternoon supervisors. my name is stephanie peek. i live in the richmond district near lake street. i'm a san francisco resident for the last 60 years, and i'm speaking about the j.f.k. drive issue. i would love it if you would go back to the way that we had it before where it was open on sundays and everybody could come out and have a wonderful time but not during the week because during the week, kids are in school and it's not used that much. and the name is true of [indiscernible] street, so i'm

also against the slow streets, for the most part. and because it's caused traffic congestion on the other streets. california is a complete mess now, and i think that's about all my comments. i'm just really grateful that we do all have an opportunity to speak. thank you for listening. good-bye. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller, please. >> hi. my name is shirley. i'm a resident of the sunset district? i recently lost my month, who lived in japantown, and driving through golden gate park through j.f.k. drive to arguello to get to j-town was a breath of fresh air, and it was wonderful. well, for us folks who are

caretakers, driveing my mother to golden gate park for her to be able to see a place that she's seen for 50 years, closing all of our streets that we have during the pandemic has not been very good for traffic congestion. i think all roads need to be open. we want them to be safe. i've driven for 50 years, and i find it offensive when bicyclists call me and folks who drive, they say we drive these killing machines. well when you drive safe you bike safe you learn to get along. but to shutdown the streets because one group of people who want it all for themselves, it's not fair. if they want bike lanes, put more bike lanes, but don't cut

it out for people who need it for their safety, for drive the elderly around, for taking kids to where they need to go. we need to stop all the bickering and open up our city to the way it was. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller, please. >> hi. my name is ruth malone, and i'm a senior and richmond district resident. i now use an e-bike as my primary transportation because i can no longer walk long distances. i urge you to keep j.f.k. car free. if the if -- in the context of the newly released report on the climate crisis we need to be doing everything humanly possible to make car free spaces permanent, and i encourage more use of other modes of transportation.

if at 71 years old i can use an e-bike or one of the many noncar options to get around others can and will if the safe infrastructure is there. i also note that it's women's history month. studies show that women, children, and seniors are less likely to cycle if they don't have safe infrastructure yet we've seen that more and more children and parents and seniors are using and enjoying a car free j.f.k. we shouldn't have to beg for this sliver of a park for use by those without cars to satisfy those with cars. it's about creating infrastructure. we have to change. please make car j.f.k.

permanent and thank you for your leadership. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller, please. we have 43 listening and 22 left in the queue. >> good afternoon. my name's patricia and i'm a retired teacher. i've lived in san francisco for 46 years. i'm speaking about j.f.k. closure and i'm imploring you to not close j.f.k. but return it to the status it was before the pandemic. if you permanently close it you're going to be denying thousands of seniors, people of all ages access to the park and you'll be violating a.d.a. laws. put yourself in the shoes of a

disabled person. this is not equal access. this is a violation of the a.d.a. laws. if the -- if you compromise and give disabled people time, you

can also provide time to close j.f.k. drive. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. i'm sorry for cutting you off, but we have a two-minute limit for public comments. may we have the next caller please. >> hello? >> clerk: hello, please proceed. [speaking cantonese language]

>> hello, board of supervisors. my name is lee qua guang, and i'm sunset resident. thank you for this opportunity to deliver public testimony. my testimony is about the closure of j.f.k. drive. since right now the j.f.k.

drive is being closed it's really challenging to visit museum due to some traffic issues, and i really hope you open j.f.k. drive. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller? >> hi there. i'm calling as a resident of district one. i strongly ask you to oppose the permanent closure of j.f.k. drive and golden gate park. being able to walk and bike is a privilege, and not everyone is able to do that. eye i used to visit the park all the time with my grandmother, but the closure has made it difficult for me to take her because she can't walk long distances, and she can't be left alone.

thank you for your consideration. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller, please. >> hi supervisors. my name is lucas and i really appreciate your time and attention. i'm calling in support of j.f.k. drive turning into j.f.k. promenade. i continue to be amazed that all we had to do was to simply put up some barricades to remove cars from a small part of our park and i'm proud that our city is doing more than that and we're stepping back to study how that part of the park is an integral part of the community and improvement to the park.

thank you so much. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller, please. >> hi. can you hear me? my name is -- okay. thank you. my name is linda matthews, and i'm calling in to please ask to go back to the precovid j.f.k. rules. please tell the girl who so enjoyed cycling on car free j.f.k. on sundays that she can do that. it was like that on sundays

already. s.f. bike walk s.f., kid safe s.f. tweet and send out e-mails to their followers ahead of time. they have paid employees who are paid to protest. the average working family cannot afford to call in and wait 3.5 hours on that call. >> hello. my name is nikki, and i am a

native of san francisco since the eisenhower administration and i want to express my concern with this j.f.k. drive. recently, we had planned a trip to the park there, and i realized that parkings was just impossible, and we had to abandon is abandon it and it was very disappointing to the seniors. many people have commented who live in sunset and the richmond but i live in the district. this is where our working families are and this closure

is going to be extremely detrimental to those families those working families, the wunts ones that want to bring their kids to the park on the weekend. it's just unfair it's extreme, and it's not the way we do things in san francisco, in the heard of heart of san francisco. so i want the board of supervisors to consider my opinion and the others who have expressed so eloquently the need to keep j.f.k. open. it's essential for families and it's essential for seniors and people with disabilities. thank you for your time. bye. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. all right. we have 16 callers lined up to provide their comment and we

have 37 listens. if you're one of the 37 and you'd like to provide public comment, please press star, three soon. all right. operations, may we please have the next caller, please.

[indiscernible] . >> clerk: thank you for your comments. all right. operations let's hear from

another caller please. welcome, caller. [speaking cantonese language]

>> hello, board of supervisors. my name is [indiscernible] nau. thank you for this opportunity to give my public testimony. my public testimony is about the closure of j.f.k. drive. from my perspective i usually use j.f.k. drive -- i usually will visit golden gate park from monday to sunday seven days a week and my friends will also use j.f.k. drive as well to visit our parents and do some sports. and also, we will commute to sunset because we go to

shopping there and also go to see doctor there too. and if the j.f.k. drive is being closed by the city, is means for our daily computers, it is not worth it because it will increase our daily expenses especially on gas. and sibs since -- since you may know that [indiscernible] is a very heavy traffic jam, so i hope you can consider my input. thank you. [speaking cantonese language] >> clerk: operations, do we have another caller in the queue, please. thank you, caller.

>> hello? >> clerk: welcome. >> hello? hello? >> clerk: welcome. we can hear you. >> hi. thank you. my name is [indiscernible] and i live half a block from the j.f.k. promenade right now. [indiscernible] and are very proud of that. my husband and i walk around the promenade at least twice a day and use it to take our kids to school who attend in the

inner sunset. [indiscernible] as supervisor chan said earlier now is the time to make progress not take a step back. ultimately, the promenade is a monument to keep us safe during the pandemic [indiscernible] of a world-class city. board of supervisors, please take action and make it the picture of a [indiscernible] i

thank you for your time and leadership. >> clerk: thank you for your time and comments this evening. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. operations, do we have another caller in the queue? >> thank you supervisors. this is thomasita calling, and i really appreciate that so many of you are still here, listening to the comments, and i really appreciate secretary angela's comments, your politeness when you cut them off. i know that everybody on the board has good intentions. i remember when the board meetings were rude and raucous, and i really appreciate you.

you know what i'm asking for. i'm asking you to reopen j.f.k. boulevard. 24-7 was never ever on the table, and it's very, very unfair because at night, those of us are disabilities have -- us with disabilities and those of us who can't walk in and families throughout the city have been denied night activities by the recreation and park department, like the neons and light show in the park that i used to sit in my car and watch during the winter. i ask you to return to the 2007 compromise agreement because it was already a compromise and so please return to that,

and thank you for your courtesy. i'm really proud of you guys for being there and conducting yourself like city officials should be conducting themselves, and thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments and for the kind words. much appreciated. we have in the queue who are lined up ready to listen -- to provide their comments, excuse me and 35 listeners. it is 6:22 p.m. and we will have to say good-bye to our interpreters around 7:00 p.m. okay, so let's hear from our next caller please. welcome, caller.

perhaps that's an unattended line. let's go to our next caller. welcome, caller. >> hi yes. thank you. again, my name is judy el kin's,kin'selkin, and i want to piggyback on the comments of the last caller. thank you for your time. i came to public comment and january and wrote to you all, and did hear back and i really appreciate that the board of supervisors would take a moment for me like that and work with me. listening to all the callers i just am so moved by the people with disabilities and the elderly who have for two years, had to change their whole lives for the closure, and my own personal opinion is you should reopen it and do a whole other study for two years of it being reopened. if the last caller is correct

as i'm sure she is in 2007, this seemed so contentious. golden gate park was designed so beautifully, and j.f.k. drive, it's for able people. my first meeting was that ten-hour meeting, and i couldn't even say what i wanted to say that night, and what i wanted to say i'm originally from new york, manhattan and i grew up in the 70s and 80s and the drug program. i am a child who would go to the park and the ball would roll away and i'd have to run past people shooting up on the bench me. it made me a better person and a more compassionate person to see people struggling that way.

i just hope that able people and people with real privilege can understand that they can go walk and ride their bikes just about anywhere, but it's the disabled people that come here that we think about. >> clerk: thank you. >> thank you for your time. >> clerk: i want to thanks everybody for their patience this evening. it's about 6:25 local time. >> thank you. i went to lowell high school. i worked as a public school teach teacher with students in the bayview. i love san francisco. i am also an immigrant and a person of color with two elderly and disabled parents. i want to express all of our

support for keeping j.f.k. car free. any increased traffic we are seeing is due to more people taught to rely on services like cars and uber not car free transportation. car free j.f.k. is a public space that can be used by all people not just people sitting in their cars. if the museums want to help they can make the giant parking lot of the museums free instead of charging exorbitant prices but they only care about money. allowing cars on j.f.k. is only allowing more people to be murdered by cars.

please do not allow cars on j.f.k. i know that change can be scary, but we must change to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. leadership is not about doing what is easy, it is about doing what is necessary. thank you so much. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. operations latina's hear from the next caller please. welcome caller. >> hi. my name is martin yost. as you know i am one of the 10,000 respondents who responded to r.t.a. and sfmtas most recent survey for a car free promenade. it's rare, but it's beautiful to see so many san franciscans rallying about the closure.

j.f.k. provides a flat continuous surface for people walking, biking and using mobility devices to get around the city. we cannot go back to this deadly status quo. if we can't do this on one street here in san francisco, [indiscernible] here's a shocking fact. did you know up to $8,900 have already been spent [indiscernible] how many more dollars are they willing to spend to line mark zuckerberg's pockets and gaslight the public? are you okay with san francisco funneling money to the facebook platform to spread disposition in our city? we don't accept this from putin's government. we don't accept this from corrupt politicians. why would we accept it from our own museums?

many of us have told you we would not return to the museum if you consider to wage a war again car free j.f.k. the refusal to come to the table and help negotiate this movement with a giant underground parking garage directly underneath your location [indiscernible]. >> clerk: i apologize for interrupting your comments. we are setting the timer for two minutes this evening. we do appreciate you still being here and providing us your comments so operations, we have 18 callers who are lined up ready to make their comments and then, there are 35 who are listening. if you're one of the 35 and you'd like to prepare comments this even please press star three. okay. let's hear from our next caller.

>> hi. i'm a haight-ashbury tenant and i live with permanent disability. the car free promenade is the only break from the chaos in the city that you can probably hear in the background that i can access. i can't ride in cars. please don't delay in the permanent approval of car-free j.f.k. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. all right. operations do we have another caller in the queue, please? [please stand by]

[speaking chinese]

>> [speaking chinese] >> [speaking chinese] >> hello, board of supervisors, my name is sophia. thank you for the opportunity for me to give public testimony. my public testimony is about the

j.f.k. drive. in my day time i usually rotate my seniors -- my parents i guess to go to golden gate park and for my children i usually would take them to academic museum and also the art museum for them to have learning. and but right now things j.f.k. drive is closed it's really inconvenient for our family to go to golden gate park because parking there is really hard and also the traffic is an issue as well. and i'm okay that you can close j.f j.f.k. drive on weekends but i

disagree on weekdays because we urge the city to reopen j.f.k. drive because we can visit the golden gate park on weekdays. it is very important for family to get together and enjoy their time there. and hope that the city can consider our inputs. thank you. >> thank you. operations, let's hear from our next caller please. welcome, caller. all right. let's move to the next line, please. welcome caller. >> hello board of supervisors. my name is kimberley johnson and i'm a resident of san francisco and i would like to thank you for hearing my comment and thank

dean preston for the leadership on the issue. my husband almost got hit by a car last week. every time we leave the house on a bike, run walk, i wonder if we'll be safe. it's a miracle really, because j.f.k. was one of the most dangerous but the promenade has become a safe place for all to enjoy the park. and there have been investments made to create access around the promenade including more frequent shuttles and new ada parking and there has already been so many studies. i was one of the 70% of san franciscans who support making it permanent and ask -- [indiscernible] -- and seeing this beautiful open park space and working toward adopting and -- i logged thousands of miles on that

pavement and community members cheering me on like a mother and daughter cheering for me. please keep this space open, people, thank you so much. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. operations, do we have another caller in the queue, please? >> caller: hello. i'm a senior native who grew up and lives in the sunset. i'm asking you to stand up for the people in your community who voted you into office and do the right thing and make it a car-free space on j.f.k. drive. now it's time to claim it for people not cars. take a look. it's paradise. it's kept us healthy through the pandemic. it has become a community hub and welcomes thousands of people walking biking and roller

skating. j.f.k. welcomes everyone those are accessibility issues and folks who want to go to the museum. let's keep it car-free and welcome those with issues about to engage in a dialogue on how to accommodate those issues. i commuted from my house by bike to my job downtown for 10 years. j.f.k. was one of the scariest parts of the ride. now it's peaceful, the way parks are supposed to be. i see more shuttle buses and the addition of thousands of new ada parking spaces near the museums, with more ada parking to come. 70% of san franciscans support making j.f.k. car-free permanently. we don't need more studies. i'm tired of hearing about why it shouldn't happen. step up represent the majority

of us now. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. let's hear from the next caller please. >> caller: supervisors, you should be promoting remote work which will do more to reduce trips than the entire anti-car pro-bike policy. there are 875,000 in s.f. 90,000 cyclists. less than 11% of the population. i haven't heard one comment to exclude cyclists but i certainly hear a lot of comments to exclude cars and disabled. they forget motorists are people. these people wanted to keep j.f.k. close all talk about how great is it for them. talk about selfish. the voters are fed up with the failed policies of our elected officials. we need to start listening to the voters and not these

interest groups. reopen all the rails and you're doing a great job. >> clerk: let's welcome our next caller, please. >> caller: good evening. there is a silent overwhelming majority of san franciscans who are becoming less and less silent who are fed up with all the road closures that are happening everywhere. there are so many reasons for it. they're bad for the environment when cars have drive around longer detour out of their way, circle, circle. they're inequitable. they hurt families and commuters that need to get their kids to school, get to work. they make -- they undermine vision zero by making the streets far less safe less congested. and yet as many of you supervisors have said publicly or at least in smaller forums or

your staff mr. ginsburg and mr. tumlin are street closure or bus people. they don't care about anything except closing streets to drivers. they've completely bought into the biggest lobbyist groups in the city the bike coalition and walk s.f. who get huge amounts of their funding from the city itself. they've completely bought into the anti-driver agenda. consider other options. consider why aren't they talking about improving public transit to the west side of the city for example? why aren't they talking about building up the electric car infrastructure? giving subsidies to electric vehicle purchasers? they don't care about any of that stuff, all they care about is sticking it to drivers every chance they get. making it hard to drive is not going to make cars go away in

the short run and we don't have the long run with climate change. there is zero legitimacy to anything that is done based on sfmta studies. you need to call in outside entities. everything they've done so far surveys, their data is false. >> clerk: thank you for the comments. i apologize for cutting you off this evening we are setting the timer for two minutes. we have 12 callers ready to make their comment and there are 27 listening. if you're one of the 27 and you'd like to get in line to make your comments press star 3 now. let's hear from the next caller. welcome. >> caller: hi can you hear me? >> clerk: yes we can, welcome. >> oh, hi yes, okay. i just wanted a couple of things here. one of the callers earlier spoke

about keeping the roads closed and he recently promoted an event on the upper great highway to throw an event and i want to know how this is environmental. many of went to survey the damage after a kite flying event was on and the dunes were trashed. i'm imploring you to open the roads. we're fed up with the closures. we're families teachers health care workers and we belong in our vehicles. we're not just new residents who all work from home that are representing our city. j.f.k. has never been dangerous despite the comments made earlier. i shared that road safely with cars, pedestrians and bike riders. i am no longer afforded the that luxury. i'm a teacher and rely on going through that park and great highway every day. it's not a luxury for just a

small group of rich elites with expensive bikes. if they want cars off of the roads remove the uber drivers. get rid of the uibo drivers. we receive deliveries every day from amazon. we all rely on drivers. all deserve access. i see plenty of people walking and driving and enjoying the road. we feel it's important that -- and especially for the elderly that we open all roads to family. it is unfair. it is biased and we really need to keep everybody the opportunity to see all of our park's treasures. we can see clearly from this meeting that the majority of these callers are for opening the road. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. let's hear from the next caller

please. >> caller: sorry about that. can you hear me? hello? oh okay. hi, thank you so much for hearing my public comment. i'm a san franciscan native and i live in the haight ashbury. and i'm calling to support a car-free j.f.k. drive. since the first opening there has been many studies and many improvement to access made and improvements to access made and for that my mobility impaired father is very thankful. he can visit the gardens and the

museums. weekends on j.f.k. are packed with people. i recommend all supervisors all decision-makers visit the street on the weekend. we don't need any more working groups. please approve car-free j.f.k. in perpetuity and more. thank you very much for your time. >> clerk: thank you for your comments this evening. operations, do we have another caller in the queue, please? >> caller: hello, can you hear me? hi. my name is cody vaughan and i am a resident in district 9 in bernal heights.

and i am in great support for car-free spaces like j.f.k. i regularly commute to my work on bike. one because it is cheaper as somebody who is not -- does not make a lot of money and works at a nonprofit helping youth in the bayview and a lot of our parks have been used to get around. lower number residents don't always have cars. there are so many car spaces -- spaces with cars in the city, having one space or a few spaces throughout the city that are not car stewards basically is so beneficial to the community. we need to have more spaces that are car-free and we need to live up to our vision zero and goals and our transit first as a city.

otherwise if we're not doing things like this and not being bold we're not living up to those ideas. it's imperative you vote to or recommend to keep the j.f.k. closed. there are so many other parts of the park that you can access with car. and why can so many other cities around the world have car-free spaces, but cities in the u.s. can't? we're not that special. we can find solutions. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments this evening. let's welcome our next caller please. >> caller: hi, supervisors. my name is jessica jenkins. i'm a single mom. i don't own a car and i use car-free j.f.k. and slow streets with my 7-year-old kid. i would like to read a statement on behalf of my friend who lives

in district 4 and cannot call in. phillip writes ever since a driver turned into me in 2004 i study from a disorder that prevents me from driving. as on outer sunset resident the j.f.k. connection has become my gateway to get to the park. many proponents have been using a -- create more disabled residents. i write to remind that not all disabilities are visible. and that car centric spaces aren't safe for anybody especially those outside of a car. i promote measures for those with disabilities. a return to gridlocked j.f.k. -- car-free can make the park accessible to all. i am disabled and i need safe streets. thank you, phillip for allowing

me to deliver the statement on your behalf. and thank you for working toward creating car-free spaces for us all to enjoy and travel safely. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. let's hear from our next caller. welcome caller. >> caller: my name is dennis native san franciscan. i'm for reopening j.f.k. or at least coming up with compromise. there is a compromise on the great highway which i don't think is a great compromise but at least taking a look at something different for j.f.k. so we can get accessibility for everyone. we should bring this to a vote to the people of san francisco instead of phone calls. i'm opposed to many safe streets. not all. in our neighborhood, the kirkham

safe street is a total waste of time. thank you very much for your time and listening. >> clerk: thank you for your comments this evening. all right, we have 10 callers in the queue who are ready to make their comment and approximately 26 listening. if you're wanting to make comment this evening, make sure you press star 3 if you haven't already. operations, let's welcome our next caller, please. >> caller: hi. can you hear me? hi. my name is bill lee. i live in the richmond district on 8th avenue. i'm a native san franciscan. i've lived in the sunset district for 30 years. i lived in the richmond district for 40 years. i want to provide some information that needs -- that i'm aware of. golden gate park advertises they get 7 million plus visitors

annually. yet, there is only two parking -- public bus stops inside golden gate park. so the plan that we're looking at and considering to me has been a piecemeal plan shortsighted and has a shortsighted approach. it puts the burden on sunset neighbors because what you're seeing there is removing close to 800 parking spaces that's from stanyan to the parking around the conservatory and the other parks that are closed like sunset down to la playa. if i were, looking at this and calculating, the 800 parking spaces times 364 days a year, equals about 291 parking spaces.

but people visiting golden gate park only stay for two hours that's equivalent to 1.7 million parking spaces annually. so what happens is that you're pushing all into the neighborhood. which to me then, you're not developing a comprehensive stand for golden gate park usage that includes separate biking and walking areas underground pass through for the neighborhood. the 800 parking spaces under the concourse is owned by the city and they're the ones charging it. there is roller skating -- [bell ringing] >> clerk: thank you for your comments. we are setting the timer for two minutes. i apologize if i cut you off. operations, do we have another caller in the queue, please? >> hi.

can you hear me? hi. thank you for all your hard work, board of supervisors. i'm born and raised in san francisco. i learned how to ride a bike in golden gate park and grew up riding my bike all over the neighborhood in the richmond district where i grew up. today i walk ride my bike and i also drive in the city with my three children. our city is a city of tolerance. and in order to make this work, i believe we need to come up with a compromise. a compromise of like someone called earlier and mentioned in 2007 we voted there was a vote and saturday was then added to the closed park j.f.k. being closed. i think a compromise is necessary. those of us that enjoy actually driving safely through the park

on our way home from work to decompress is a safe thing. i've never experienced an unsafe experience on my bike or car on j.f.k. drive. so i implore you that we don't need any more working groups or studies but a compromise between all these different special interest groups and those of us who are in the city and have been in the city and are invested in the city. open up j.f.k. drive monday through friday. close it on the weekends for families, friends and everyone to enjoy. it is enjoyable, but it is also enjoyable for me to drive home from my very stressful job and drive through the park and take in the beauty of the park just as i do. i get to take my mom to the rose

garden. she can't get to the rose garden, because the road's been closed. i would love to take her to the rose garden. thank you for your hard work. >> clerk: do we have another caller in the queue, please? >> caller: hello. my name is ian. i'm a resident of the sunset. recently moved from soma. i'm calling to support car-free j.f.k. i think this is really a settled matter. 70% of interested parties have already spoken in favor of the -- of it being car-free. a lot of people are calling in saying you can walk or ride your bike anywhere. that's not true. what -- the vast majority of the park is still open to cars. you can drive your car anywhere.

the entire city is designed for cars and much of the park is. there is no replacement space when you take this away. there is no large paved area that is free from dangerous vehicles and polluted air that the residents are going to be able to use. you know, if you want to teach your kid how to use roller skates or ride their bikes, where are you supposed to do that? on the street with cars racing by? is that what would you have us do? a lot of people are speaking to traffic jams. i don't see any benefit from diverting these traffic jams into the park. these people are upset about they're losing a free parking space. when the park is, you know the peak times that people use the park, you're not going to find a parking space. what you will find is a lot of cars double parking and a lot of cars making illegal u-turns.

the -- i think it needs to remain a car-free space. we don't have enough of these. if we're going to meet vision zero and climate goals. this is a no-brainer. i want you to represent the citizens. there is a massive parking lot under the museum. we're making infrastructure upgrades. they're opening up a new parking lot behind the music shell specifically for ada. make the underground parking free. there is -- [bell ringing] >> clerk: do we have another caller in the queue? >> caller: good evening supervisors. thanks for staying late. i'm a taxpayer and resident of district 3. i wanted to voice my support for

j.f.k. promenade. golden gate park is supposed to be a refuge from urban mice and one that should include a refuge from cars. the j.f.k. promenade helps to deliver on this promise. it's wide, open and safe from automobiles cutting through the park. it has to be one of the best things you can enjoy for free. before when j.f.k. was in car traffic, it was something you tried to get away from in the park. it was on the high injury network meaning that it was legitimately dangerous for children, seniors, people with disabilities. it's dangerous for everyone. now as a promenade, j.f.k. has become safe and star attraction in the park. i can understand that some of the other attractions in the park may be get a little jealous but in all seriousness, j.f.k. has been transformed into a space that is available to all san franciscans.

i want to give s.f. rec and park and sfmta who are working to address these legitimate concerns they're adding more parking today. they're adding more spots closer to the entrances than ever before. they're also for the speeding reliability of transit and improving the shuttle and improving access for people who walk or roll into the park. many who are elderly or disabled. i hope you make the parks better. and working to get spaces devoted exclusively back to the community. [please stand by] [please stand by]

>> flyshaker pool was a public pool located on sloat boulevard near great highway. it operated from 1925 to 1971 and was one of the largest pools in the world. after decades of use, less people visited. the pool deteriorated and was demolished in 2000. built by herbert flyshaker, pumps from the pacific ocean that were filtered and heated filled the pool. aside from the recreational activities many schools held swim meets there. the delia flyshaker memorial building was on the west side of the pool. it had locker rooms with a sun

room and mini hospital. in 1995, a storm damaged one of the pipes that flowed to the ocean. maintenance was not met and the pool had to close. in 1999, the pool was filled with sand and gravel. in 2000 the space became a spot for the san francisco zoo. these are some memories that many families remember swimming at flyshaker pool. >> if i could have your attention. thank you. the look around the room, it is wonderful to see your faces. it is really a pleasure to see

wisdom strength, bravery and leadership. all of the great attributes for the year of the tiger. [applause] >> thank you for being here. on behalf of the heritage foundation, thank you so much for coming to this afternoon's lunar celebration. i am the board chair of the foundation. the foundation's mission is to promote awareness of the asian pacific cultural heritage and great opportunities for community collaboration. the main event is a celebration of the apa heritage month in may. you will learn more about that later this afternoon. this seven's event will not be possible without all committee members and volunteers. we also are thank full to the

reception sponsor amazon. let's give them all a warm round of applause. thank you so much. [applause] now to start our program i have the great pleasure to introduce san francisco's city administrator carmen chu. i really don't have to say more than that, right? carmen chu. how much more do i need to say? i have a list. a career in public service. mayor's office of public policy finance. elected to serve as district 4 supervisor for two terms. following which she was elected to serve as city assessor. last february carmen was appointed by may or london breed toto be the san francisco city

administrator overseeing 25 city agendas. please welcome carmen chu. [applause] >> good evening everybody. i am carmen chu, san francisco city administrator. as you can tell from the buzz of conversation the happy faces that we have here that we are so excited to be back in person to celebrate the lunar new year. [applause] on behalf of the city and county on behalf of mayor london breed, board of supervisors and elected officials and department heads today we want to wish all of you a very, very happy year of the tiger. (applause). cheers. come on. [cheers and applause.] i want to give a shout out and

thank you to jj and claudine who have worked tirelessly to organize this event to make sure we start the year of the tiger off right. claudine please come on up. yes you. [applause] here is the certificate of honor on behalf of the san francisco city administrator's office. thank you. [applause] >> i saw on your script it was five more minutes. co-chairs, please join me. we need to welcome former mayor. thank you for being here. let's start with celebrating

lunar new year. trying to connect everybody with this celebration. this is february 7th. it is a prize if you can explain why we chose that day and what is special about this date february 7th. anyone? what? i can't hear you. it is right. commissioner louie. in the lunar calendar the seventh day of the new year as long as everybody's birthday. happy birthday everyone. [applause] lunar new year is about gathering of families. we have all done that. looking around the room a number of you are not asian pacific

americans. today you are because we appreciate you being here to celebrate with us. in the last year or year and a half in the asian communities we have been encouraging each other to speak up, stand up because of anti-asian hate at the san francisco human rights commission. we also have talked a lot about standing together. we shouldn't stand together and support each other connect this event today. not only as we kickoff the whole year of cultural celebrations in the city, but we want all of you to have an opportunity to connect a number of you just told me earlier this afternoon this was the first time you were in city hall in two years. isn't that great? i want to thank you mayor for allowing us to do this. this afternoon is about celebrating families,

celebrating communities by first communities coming together. we are thinking this is part of every year in may we have the celebration of asian pacific heritage month. we were thinking what is our theme this year. anti-asian hate, standing together. what we need is to continue to create opportunities for more community bonding. i think what we need is keep on having those opportunities that we can meet each other learn a lot more about each other and be friends. it is true. if you know somebody, we are all different. we all come from different places. we get to spend some time together. get to know each other. that can am how we appreciate

differences. the celebration of apa heritage month in may we are going to be talking about community bonds. that is what we are about. that is what this afternoon is about. i want to thank all of you for taking time to be here. i want be to specifically thank former mayor willie brown for being here. he hasn't missed too many occasions in our community. [applause]. we are a small organization but very very blessed with a large community that consists of representatives of from over 10 to 12 different ethnic groups. at the head of it we have very, very fortunate to have three co-chairs working together. thomas lee and everyone bringing

a lot. [applause]. to make it all work. this is by invitation only. the reason we invited you because we appreciate you and we want to thank you. unfortunately so many have done so much we cannot introduce every one of you. we have specialing special acknowledgments to make. when i say your name please stand. the president of the board of supervisors. supervisor walton for district 10. district 1 1 connie chan. district three peskin representing chinatown.

district four gordon mar. district five preston filmore. >> haney soma. melgar. district eight mandelman representing castro. district nine ronen thenition. district 11 supervisor safai. >> thank you. in paddition to the board of supervisors we would like to welcome the city-wide elected officials. no particular order. city attorney david chu. [indiscernable] district attorney public

defender har. board member lee and city college trustee allen wong. thank you all for joining us this afternoon. >> last but not least i would like to acknowledge the members of the heritage foundation board. different directors today. the foundation is a small nonprofit with individuals from diverse backgrounds. jj laura. [indiscernable] steve wilson. irene riley. [indiscernable] scott adams. in the audience are members of the apa heritage celebration committee. in the interest of time we

cannot introduce all of you. please note we are so very much appreciative of your participation and service on the committee. thank you so much. [applause] >> really we appreciate the support of the city's family. at this time i would like to introduce our mayor. i don't know how many of you were at chinatown when we kicked off a week ago. lunar new year is a new beginning, reset for communities, and we are so proud of being in the city where it is one of the safest cities in the country. the mayor has taken tough measures to make sure we are safe and healthy.

mayor london breed. [applause]. >> mayor breed: thank you. let me say i can't believe that we are all able to get together again like this. it is absolutely amazing. claudine the people who work in city hall and our elected officials come to the event because we love coming to the event. not just because the food is so amazing. i don't know if we have food this year. i remember the days on the board of supervisors. this was a good meal after a long day's work. we are here to support the apa heritage foundation for all of the work they continue to do. not just during lunar new year but year around. to really highlight the importance of the api community in san francisco. one of the things claudine

mentioned that is really impactful to me is, sadly when we started to experience a lot of the hate and the deviciveness and the attacks on the community. the heritage foundation started to build bridges with a number of cross cultural events. they have embedded the work around cross-cultural relationships in their programming year around. i want to thank claudine for leadership and work and advocacy of bringing our communities together to understand one another to learn about one another's culture and uplift and appreciate one another. i remember when i was in high school. we always had all kinds of assemblies about the taiwan or chinese or black community just to understand and see just our cultures on full display sparked

interest and discussion and understanding. it also sparked togetherness. today we are joined by some of our asian countries. council generals. i want you all to stand when i announce the council general from korea, japan, philippines, indonesia, singapore, mongolia and vietnam. [applause].applause. and china. building relationships with not just the communities in san francisco but all over the world is very important to us. we are grateful for the partnership with the various council generals who continue to work with us every day.

today as we unveil this new stand. it is not about a collector's item. will say to our postmaster general in almost every instance they are so beautiful and fascinating you can't help but want to collect them. we know it is about signifying a new day new opportunity, every lunar new year is about an opportunity for us to reset and to come together and to just really appreciate life as we know it, especially after dealing with a very challenging time during this global pandemic. we are grateful to celebrate the year of the tiger which signifies courage and strength. i know as a tiger myself where i get it from. [laughter] but the truth is i couldn't wait until we got to the year of the tiger.

i couldn't wait to this year where we could see all that it will entail the various events lunches, performances, gatherings, parade in person for the first time in over two years. [applause]. i want to thank each and every one of you for coming to the celebration, helping to uplift our community. all of the things you have done that have been seen and unseen to have an impact. by just being here today it demonstrates your commitment and support for the api community in san francisco and this stamp is really another incredible thing that we are able to really show and support and as a matter of fact in honor of lunar new year maybe we can start writing

physical letters and using stamps to mail them other than just mailing bills with those stamps. with that i want to thank you all for coming and looking forward to seeing this incredible stamp. we will hear from our postmaster general before we move to the unveiling so we can get on with the festivities. thank you all so much. [applause] >> thank you, mayor breed. before we go into that i want to acknowledge our reception sponsor amazon. i would like to invite sally to say happy new year to everyone. >> thank you. you know what they say never stand before a party when there is stamp unveiling. based on what we learn tonight. thank you for coming to my

birthday celebration. it is all of our birthdays. thank you for the apa heritage foundation for including amazon and inviting us to sponsor this event. over the last two years amazon is investing in san francisco. looking around the room so many partners we have worked with and to be inspired by. thank you for that. i am told the water tiger is a symbol of courage and action. i want to let you know as amazon continues to invest to invest in the city we will serve the needs of the community and celebration. thank you for being here tonight. thank you for allowing amazon to be part of it. thank you. >> every year we have been unveiling stamps in san francisco since 1992.

i was reminded by my good friends this is the 13th anniversary of the historic announcement of the issue of set of stamps honoring chinese and asian-american cultural heritage in december of 1992. this year's unveiling has special meaning. we hope next year that the national birthday of issue will be in san francisco. it is 30 years of history. something we are proud of. it is a very tiny stamp. a stamp is an instrument of communication. it represents so many more people to learn about the lunar calendar what it means, whether they agree or don't agree, what to do on a particular day. there is a lot of history on the lunar calendar. we are happy to have the second

postmaster with us today. the acting postmaster of san francisco starting in postal service as letter carrier. over the years he has been operational managers and customer service. after that the postmaster of oakland. now we are happy to have you as the acting postmaster of san francisco. we are having stamp sales outside. after the event feel free to go and if you haven't purchased your stamps please do to so. let's welcome the acting postmaster. [applause]. good evening everyone. thank you for the kind introduction. i am postmaster of san francisco. i am happy to be here on behalf

of the post office for the year of the tiger stamp. i would like to thank our speakers, mayor breed, commissioner chang. board president walton and customers and leaders for joining us today. i want to take this opportunity to thank the national organization oca and several local organizations for continued support. in china the tradition of celebrating new year's began thousands of years ago. the crops and livestock the villages were on the night before the new year. in some versions of the story the brave old man decided to put up red paper around the village and fireworks.

frightened by the loud noise and red peeper left without eating the crops. i love this. it symbolizes the human experience and fighting spirit in protecting and caring for our families. since that time the lunar year evolved and the customs are loved throughout the world. the celebration is squarely within the cultural traditions. time to prepare for a fresh start while honoring the past. families come together for delicious food an occasion for good luck and prosperity. this year more than 1.5 billion people around the world mark the beginning of the year of the tiger. strong, gave confident and well liked. we could all benefit from the tiger's qualities in the year ahead. let's work together across the

globe with confidence better days lie ahead. to the stamp. year of the tiger is created by chu after the director. the lunar year stamp. you will agree the result of the coloration and design that captures the beauty and strength of the tiger and fresh. the design is comtemporarily take and. [indiscernable] lion or dragon dances performed during the new year parades. it is symbolic meanings of blue orange and gray. the tiger's head purple to reflect the chinese zodiac. this is from the third series of new years.

1993-2004 and 2020 to present. this event is for celebrating the 30th anniversary announcement of the stamps honoring the chinese asian contribution to this country. announcement was first made at the national convention in august of 1992. former and vailing of year of the rooster in the same year. add to your collection or mail your new year's greetings. it is our hope it brings you pros pair be, peace -- prosperity peace, good luck and much joy. the mayor will join me in unveiling the stamp.

(applause). [ music ]

>> this is one place you can always count on to give you what you had before and remind you of what your san francisco history used to be. >> we hear that all the time people bring their kids here and their grandparents brought them here and down the line. >> even though people move away whenever they come back to the city, they make it here.

and they tell us that. >> you're going to get something made fresh, made by hand and made with quality products and something that's very, very good. ♪ >> the legacy bars and restaurants was something that was begun by san francisco simply to recognize and draw attention to the establishments. it really provides for san francisco's unique character. ♪ >> and that morphed into a request that we work with the city to develop a legacy business registration. >> i'm michael cirocco and the owner of an area bakery. ♪ the bakery started in 191. my grandfather came over from italy and opened it up then.

it is a small operation. it's not big. so everything is kind of quality that way. so i see every piece and cut every piece that comes in and out of that oven. >> i'm leslie cirocco-mitchell, a fourth generation baker here with my family. ♪ so we get up pretty early in the morning. i usually start baking around 5:00. and then you just start doing rounds of dough. loaves. >> my mom and sister basically handle the front and then i have my nephew james helps and then my two daughters and my wife come in and we actually do the baking. after that, my mom and my sister stay and sell the product, retail it. ♪ you know, i don't really think about it. but then when i -- sometimes when i go places and i look and

see places put up oh this is our 50th anniversary and everything and we've been over 100 and that is when it kind of hits me. you know, that geez, we've been here a long time. [applause] ♪ >> a lot of people might ask why our legacy business is important. we all have our own stories to tell about our ancestry. our lineage and i'll use one example of tommy's joint. tommy's joint is a place that my husband went to as a child and he's a fourth generation san franciscan. it's a place we can still go to today with our children or grandchildren and share the stories of what was san francisco like back in the 1950s. >> i'm the general manager at tommy's joint.

people mostly recognize tommy's joint for its murals on the outside of the building. very bright blue. you drive down and see what it is. they know the building. tommy's is a san francisco hoffa, which is a german-style presenting food. we have five different carved meats and we carve it by hand at the station. you prefer it to be carved whether you like your brisket fatty or want it lean. you want your pastrami to be very lean. you can say i want that piece of corn beef and want it cut, you know, very thick and i want it with some sauerkraut. tell the guys how you want to prepare it and they will do it right in front of you. san francisco's a place that's

changing restaurants, except for tommy's joint. tommy's joint has been the same since it opened and that is important. san francisco in general that we don't lose a grip of what san francisco's came from. tommy's is a place that you'll always recognize whenever you lock in the door. you'll see the same staff, the same bartender and have the same meal and that is great. that's important. ♪ >> the service that san francisco heritage offers to the legacy businesses is to help them with that application process, to make sure that they really recognize about them what it is that makes them so special here in san francisco. ♪

so we'll help them with that application process if, in fact, the board of supervisors does recognize them as a legacy business, then that does entitle them to certain financial benefits from the city of san francisco. but i say really more importantly, it really brings them public recognition that this is a business in san francisco that has history and that is unique to san francisco. >> it started in june of 1953. ♪ and we make everything from scratch. everything. we started a you -- we started a off with 12 flavors and mango fruits from the philippines and then started trying them one by one and the

family had a whole new clientele. the business really boomed after that. >> i think that the flavors we make reflect the diversity of san francisco. we were really surprised about the legacy project but we were thrilled to be a part of it. businesses come and go in the city. pretty tough for businesss to stay here because it is so expensive and there's so much competition. so for us who have been here all these years and still be popular and to be recognized by the city has been really a huge honor. >> we got a phone call from a woman who was 91 and she wanted to know if the mitchells still owned it and she was so happy that we were still involved, still the owners. she was our customer in 1953.

and she still comes in. but she was just making sure that we were still around and it just makes us feel, you know, very proud that we're carrying on our father's legacy. and that we mean so much to so many people. ♪ >> it provides a perspective. and i think if you only looked at it in the here and now, you're missing the context. for me, legacy businesses, legacy bars and restaurants are really about setting the context for how we come to be where we are today. >> i just think it's part of san francisco. people like to see familiar stuff. at least i know i do. >> in the 1950s, you could see a picture of tommy's joint and looks exactly the same. we haven't change add thing. >> i remember one lady saying, you know, i've been eating this ice cream since before i was born. and i thought, wow! we have, too.

♪ >> i try to start every day not looking at my phone by doing something that is grounding. that is usually meditation. i have a gym set up in my garage and that is usually breathing and movement and putting my mind towards something else. surfing is my absolute favorite

thing to do. it is the most cleansing thing that i'm able to do. i live near the beach, so whenever i can get out, i do. unfortunately, surfing isn't a daily practice for me but i've been able to get out weekly and it's something that i've been incredibly grateful for. [♪] >> i started working for the city in 2005. at the time my kids were pretty young but i think had started school. i was offered a temporarily position as an analyst to work on some of the programs that were funded through homeland security. i ultimately spent almost five years at the health department coordinating emergency programs. it was something that i really

enjoyed and turned out i was pretty good at. thinking about glass ceiling some of that is really related to being a mother and self-supposed in some ways that i did not feel that i could allow myself to pursue responsibility; that i accepted treading water in my career when my kids were young. and as they got older i felt more comfortable, i suppose, moving forward. in my career, i have been asked to step forward. i wish that i had earlier stepped forward myself, and i feel really strongly, like i am 100% the right person for this job. i cannot imagine a harder time to be in this role. i'm humbled and privileged but also very confident. so here at moscone center this is the covid command center or

the c.c.c. here is what we calledun -- call unified command. this is where we have physically been since march, and then, in july we developed this unified structure. so it's the department of emergency management the department of public health and our human services hughesing partners so primarily the department of homelessness and supportive housing and human services agency. so it's sort of a three-headed command in which we are coordinating and operating everything related to covid response. and now of course in this final phase it's mass vaccination. the first year was before the pandemic was extremely busy. the fires, obviously that both we were able to provide mutual support but also the impact of

air quality. we had in 2018, the worst air quality ten or 11 days here in the city. i'm sure you all remember it and then, finally, the day the sun didn't come out in san francisco, which was in october. the orange skies, it felt apocalyptic super scary for people. you know all of those things people depend on government to say what's happening. are we safe? what do i do? and that's a lot of what department of emergency management's role is. public service is truly that. it is such an incredible and effective way that we can make change for the most vulnerable. i spend a lot of my day in problem solving mode so there's a lot of conversations with people making connections, identifying gaps in resources

or whatever it might be, and trying to adjust that. the pace of the pandemic has been nonstop for 11 months. it is unrelenting, long days more than what we're used to most of us. honestly i'm not sure how we're getting through it. this is beyond what any of us ever expected to experience in our lifetime. what we discover is how strong we are, and really the depth of our resilience, and i say that for every single city employee that has been working around the clock for the last 11 months and i also speak about myself. every day i have to sort of have that moment of, like okay i'm really tired, i'm weary, but we've got to keep going. it is i would say, the biggest challenge that i have had

personally and professionally to be the best mom that i can be but also the best public certify chant in whatever role i'm in. i just wish that i, as my younger self could have had someone tell me you can give it and to give a little more nudge. so indirectly, people have helped me because they have seen something in me that i did not see hadin myself. there's clear data that women have lost their jobs and their income because they had to take care of their safety nets. all of those things that we depend on schools and daycare and sharing, you know being together with other kids isn't available. i've often thought oh, if my kids were younger, i couldn't do this job but that's

unacceptable. a person that's younger than me that has three children we want them in leadership positions, so it shouldn't be limiting. women need to assume that they're more capable than they think they are. men will go for a job whether they're qualified or not. we tend to want to be 110% qualified before we tend to step forward. i think we need to be a little more brave a little more exploratory in stepping up for positions. the other thing is when given an opportunity, really think twice before you put in front of you the reasons why you should not take that leadership position. we all need to step up so that we can show the person behind us that it's doable and so that we have the power to make the changes for other women that is going to make the possibility for their paths easier than

ours. other women see me in it and i hope that they see me and they understand, like, if i can do it they can do it because the higher you get, the more leadership you have and power. the more power and leadership we have that we can put out

>> the market is one of our vehicles for reaching out to public and showing them how to prepare delicious simple food. people are amazed that the library does things like that. biblio bistro is a food education program. it brings such joy to people. it teaches them life skills that they can apply anywhere and it encourages them to take care of themselves. my name is leaf hillman and i'm a librarian and biblio bistro is my creation. i'm a former chef and i have

been incubating this idea for many years. we are challenged to come up with an idea that will move the library into the future. this inspired me to think, what can we do around cooking? what can i do around cooking? we were able to get a cart. the charlie cart is designed to bring cooking to students in elementary students that has enough gear on it to teach 30 students cooking. so when i saw that i thought bingo, that's what we're missing. you can do cooking classes in the library, but without a kitchen, it's difficult. to have everything contained on wheels that's it. i do cooking demonstrations out at the market every third wednesday. i feature a seafood, vegetable, and i show people how to cook the vegetable. >> a lot of our residents live

in s.r.o.s single resident occupancies and they don't have access to full kitchens. you know, a lot of them just have a hot plate, a microwave, and the thing that biblio bistro does really well is cook food accessible in season and make it available that day. >> we handout brochures with the featured recipe on the back. this recipe features mushrooms, and this brochure will bring our public back to the library. >> libraries are about a good time. >> i hired a former chef. she's the tickle queen at the

ramen shop in rockwood. we get all ages. we get adults and grandparents and babies and, you know school-age kids and it's just been super terrific. >> i was a bit reluctant because i train teachers and adults. i don't train children. i don't work with children, and i find it very interesting and a bit scary, but working here really taught me a lot you know how easily you can influence by just showing them what we have and it's not threatening, and it's tasty and fun. i make it really fun with kids because i don't look like a teacher. >> in the mix, which is our team center, we have programs for our kids who are age 13 to 18 and those are very hands on. the kids often design the menu. all of our programs are very

interactive. >> today, we made pasta and garlic bread and some sauce. usually, i don't like bell pepper in my sauce, but i used bell pepper in my sauce, and it complemented the sauce really well. i also grated the garlic on my bread. i never thought about that technique before but i did it and it was so delicious. >> we try to teach them techniques where they can go home and tell their families i made this thing today, and it was so delicious. >> they're kind of addicted to these foods, these processed foods, like many people are. i feel like we have to do what we can to educate people about

that. the reality is we have to live in a world that has a lot of choices that aren't necessarily good for you all the time. >> this is interesting, but it's a reaction to how children are brought up. it is fast-food, and the apple is a fast-food, and so that sort of changes the way they think about convenience, how eating apple is convenient. >> one of the things that i love about my program out at the market is the surprise and delight on people's faces when they finally taste the vegetable. it's been transformative for some people. they had never eaten those vegetables before but now they eat them on a regular basis. >> all they require is a hot plate and a saute pan, and they realize that they're able to cook really healthy, and it's also tasty. >> they also understand the importance of the connection that we're making.

these are our small business owners that are growing our food and bringing it fresh to the market for them to consume, and then, i'm helping them consume it by teaching them how to cook. >> it connects people to the food that they're buying. >> the magic of the classes in the children's center and the team center is that the participants are cooking the food themselves and once they do that they understand their connection to the food to the tools, and it empowers them. >> we're brokering new experiences for them so that is very much what's happening in the biblio bistro program. >> we are introducing kids many times to new vocabulary. names of seasonings, names of vegetables names of what you call procedures. >> i had my little cooking

experience. all i cooked back then was grilled cheese and scrambled eggs. now, i can actually cook curry and a few different thing zblz and . >> and the parents are amazed that what we're showing them to cook is simple and inexpensive. i didn't know this was so easy to make. i've only bought it in the market. those comments have been amazing and yeah, it's been really wonderful. >> we try to approach everything here with a well just try it. just try it once, and then, before you know it, it's gone. >> a lot of people aren't sure how to cook cauliflower or kale or fennel or whatever it is,

and leah is really helpful at doing that. >> i think having someone actually teaching you here is a great experience. and it's the art of making a meal for your family members and hope that they like it. >> i think they should come and have some good food good produce that is healthy and actually very delicious. >> cooking is one of my biggest passions, to be able to share, like my passion with others, and skills to h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h >> how i really started my advocacy was through my own personal experiences with discrimination as a trans person. and when i came out as trans you know i experienced discrimination in the workplace. they refused to let me use the women's bathroom and fired me. there were so many barriers that other trans folks had in the workplace. and so when i finished college i moved out to san francisco in the hopes of finding a safer

community. >> and also i want to recognize our amazing trans advisory committee who advises our office as well as the mayor, so our transadvisory community members if they could raise their hands and you could give a little love to them. [applause] >> thank you so much for your help. my leadership here at the office is engaging the mayor and leadership with our lgbt community. we also get to support, like, local policy and make sure that that is implemented, from all-gender bathrooms to making sure that there's lgbt data collection across the city. get to do a lot of great events

in trans awareness month. >> transgender people really need representation in politics of all kinds, and i'm so grateful for clair farley because she represents us so intelligently. >> i would like to take a moment of silence to honor all those folks that nicky mentioned that we've lost this year. >> i came out when i was 18 as trans and grew up as gay in missoula montana. so as you can imagine it wasn't the safest environment for lgbt folks. i had a pretty supportive family. i have an identical twin and so we really were able to support each other. once i moved away from home and started college, i was really

able to recognize my own value and what i had to offer and i think that for me was one of the biggest challenges is kind of facing so many barriers, even with all the privilege and access that i had. it was how can i make sure that i transform those challenges into really helping other people. we're celebrating transgender awareness month and within that we recognize transgender day of remembrance, which is a memorial of those that we have lost due to transgender violence which within the last year 2019, we've lost 22 transgender folks. think all but one are transgender women of color who have been murdered across the country. i think it's important because we get to lift up their stories, and bring attention to the attacks and violence that

are still taking place. we push back against washington. that kind of impact is starting to impact trans black folks, so it's important for our office to advocate and recognize, and come together and really remember our strength and resilience. as the only acting director of a city department in the country, i feel like there's a lot of pressure but working through my own challenges and barriers and even my own self-doubt i think i've been try to remember that the action is about helping our community whether that's making sure the community is housed, making sure they have access to health care and using kind of my access and privilege to make

change. >> i would like to say something about clair farley. she has really inspired me. i was a nurse and became disabled. before i transitioned and after i transitioned i didn't know what i wanted to do. i'm back at college, and clair farley has really impressed on me to have a voice and to have agency, you have to have an education. >> mayor breed has led this effort. she made a $2.3 million investment into trans homes, and she spear headed this effort in partnership with my office and tony and we're so proud to have a mayor who continues to commit and really make sure that everyone in this city can thrive. >> our community has the most resources, and i'm very happy to be here and to have a place finally to call home. thank you. [applause] >> one, two three.

[applause] >> even in those moments when i do feel kind of alone or unseen or doubt myself, i take a look at the community and the power of the supportive allies that are at the table that really help me to push past that. being yourself it's the word of wisdom i would give anyone. surely be patient with yourself and your dream. knowing that love you may not always feel that from your family around you but you can

>> if i could have your attention. thank you. the look around the room, it is wonderful to see your faces. it is really a pleasure to see wisdom strength, bravery and leadership. all of the great attributes for the year of the tiger. [applause] >> thank you for being here. on behalf of the heritage foundation, thank you so much for coming to this afternoon's lunar celebration. i am the board chair of the