>> good morning, everyone. my name is jeffery tumlin, and i am the executive director of the sfmta, and welcome to the new van ness avenue. this has been a very long time in coming, but i am so proud of the results that all of my teams have produced. the new van ness avenue is a part of our efforts to reimagine san francisco streets, to rethink our streets to allow them to move more people as the city grows, and to prioritize the people with the fewest mobility choices, and that is what we're steadily delivering all over san francisco, so these projects

include some obvious components like the bright red new transit only lanes that are built of 2 feet thick of red concrete that's red all the way through. it includes rebuilding everything of the overhead power structure, including 375 new trees and 4,000 drought resistant new shrubs, but the best part is the undergroundwork. we dug up and unsnarled 150 years' worth of crazy utilities, including 10,000 feet of communication fiber optics lines, 18,000 feet of sewer pipes, including 19 century brick sewers, 25,000 feet of water pipes, and 5,000

feet of ductwork to power our buses and power signals. rebuilding all of these utilities and strengthening them for earthquake resistance means we will not have to do that again for another 150 years, and i am so glad for that part of the project. this project was the result of -- okay. we could not have done this without a very, very large team, so i'm going to go through and thank some of our partners, and i will miss some. so thankful for the transit commission, to the san francisco county transportation authority who is our funding and planning partner, to mayor london breed and the board of supervisors who have prioritized this project again and again for over a decade.

to the planning department, who helped us reimagine the space, to public works department, the public utilities commission, who helped us reimagine the under ground staff. to the arts commission, who helped us choose the art, to the city attorney's office, to the historic preservation commission, particularly here in the civic center area, to the mayor's office on housing development, but we also owe a very strong debt of gratitude to the folks who live and work along this corridor. digging up this entire street to replace 150 years of utilities resulted in some major disruption and impacts as

a result of the construction, and i really want to extend my gratitude and sincere apologies to all of the business owners and residents along this corridor. thank you for your patience. you put up with years of noisy and disruptive work at all hours of day and night. we have learned a lot of lessons from this project, and we are already applying this lesson to other projects, so i also want to thank, in addition to the residents and business owners for their patience, i also want to thank the people who worked on this project. i want to thank everybody for

their work along with hundreds and hundreds of people, but particularly those people who have spent the last decade making this happen. from the san francisco transportation authority, i want to thank tilly chang and bob masis, and then, i want to particularly want to thank walsh construction and all of their technical subcontractors for being out here delivering this work, including the ballet dance of rebuilding the mission and south van ness intersection. so thank you to all of those people for really making this happen. so it's very, very exciting to finally be here. this is a very big year for the sfmta. we completed the first phase of the geary rapid project earlier this year. we completed the first phase of rebuilding taraval and the el

taraval this year, and indeed, we're going to open the central subway later this year, in the fall, and i'm so happy to be here, finally opening the van ness area bus rapid transit. so without further adieu, may i introduce the mayor of san francisco, london breed. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: wow. what a big deal in san francisco today. thank you so much, jeff, and thank you -- let's give another round of applause to the great san francisco symphony for that beautiful rendition of "i left my heart in san francisco." yes, our hearts are in san francisco today, and today, because of that, we are rolling out the red carpet. no, this is not an april fool's joke, this is finally done, because it has been a long time

coming. the people of san francisco, the voters of san francisco approved this back in 2003, and the work began to look at how we were going to reimagine what van ness boulevard would be in order to provide efficient transit and safety and all the things that we need. when i think back to the history of van ness boulevard and what it represented after the 1906 earthquake, when i used to walk up and down these streets and catch the 49 to the 47 to galileo high school, not too long ago, it was auto row. this city was built mostly to accommodate vehicles, and over the years, we've seen a significant shift, people using various modes of

transportation. but also, because we are a city who pride ourselves on making sure we are good stewards of the environment, we noticed something. 47% of greenhouse gas emissions happen in this city because of vehicles, and we need to make changes. we need to make our public transportation system more efficient. we need to make sure that we improve our infrastructure so that different modes of transportation be moved around san francisco in a safe and efficient manner and at the same time having positive effects on the environment. yes, this project took a very long time, starting when i was on the board of supervisors in 2016, but you know how that is. even scott wiener was on the board of supervisors. bureaucratic years take forever in this city, but guess what?

i feel like we're opening it right on time after dealing with two years of a global pandemic, so please forgive me if i don't recognize you anymore. as we begin to reemerge, i can't believe how strong and resilient this city is. we've endured so many challenges in our city's history, but when we're able to complete challenges like this, we celebrate, but we also understand the value of what this will mean for people to get around this city, for the commuters that come all over the bay area -- golden gate regional, and the folks who catch muni, and the kids who try to pretend to get to school

on time at galileo -- this is going to be a meaningful change, reducing the travel time by 30%, making public transportation more attract attract -- attractive to people. that's our goal in these various transportation projects, so as we reopen, we have to make sure we can get people around efficiently and safely, and i am so happy that this is finally getting done because now i can catch the 49 to the house of prime rib and get there in a timely manner. now we can make sure that we support all of these businesses. yes, the city came together and provided millions of dollars for grants for small businesses, but it clearly was not enough, and so now, the

real work began -- begins. using this system, enjoying the public art, commuting back and forth to wherever we need to go and supporting the businesses along van ness, but i want to say to the kids of galileo, don't get off before it's time because we don't want this transit system to be a way to let you do what you're not supposed to be doing. i want to thank the county transportation union, the people who live along this area, work along this area and have businesses along this area. we owe you a debt of gratitude for what you've endured during this time, and i think this is

a shining example of san francisco and our resilience of what we've had to endure the last couple of years. we are going to continue to host the cleanest and the greenest fleet and move san francisco in a direction where we meet our climate goals, and we make sure that we provide transportation that makes this the priority in san francisco, using public transportation as the priority in san francisco to get around because it is more efficient than any other mode. thank you all so much for being here. we appreciate everyone that's participated in this project. [applause] >> thank you, mayor london breed. fun fact: in 2001, i was quoted by san francisco columnist john king in a newspaper story in the chronicle talking about san francisco bus rapid transit, and the mayor, at the time, i don't know -- at the time, upon

reading this article, tried to fire me over the radio. thank you, mayor breed, for your support strong of transit in san francisco. meanwhile, the author of this recent legislation would have saved -- shaved significant time off of transit in a year. senator scott wiener. scott? >> i am so excited. as a 25-year muni rider, i've seen the good, the bad, occasionally the ugly. i love the subway, i love trains, but in my heart, i am a bus person. and buses, you know, get really neglected a lot of times. it's the large majority of

transit here in san francisco, is buses. we need to find ways to make buses faster, more efficient for people. they shouldn't have to live by a subway line to be able to use transit. they should be able to use transit everywhere, and buses are the way to do that, and rapid area transit is the way that we do that. this is just incredibly exciting. when you look at the future of san francisco, we need a lot more housing. we need to put a lot more housing here in san francisco so that people can be paired to

live here. but we have to have more and more trouble transportation to support it because if it's just a bunch more cars, the geometry doesn't work. we need to put it all together to make this the most amazing and sustainable city in the world. this has been a real team effort. when you look at the work that's being done here on van ness and other amazing transit projects in the city, i had the honor of chairing our county transportation authority, and we worked really hard with the mayor, with then-supervisor breed to move this forward, but we also worked at the state level, and i want to really thank and acknowledge our entire current and former state legislative delegation, our city attorney, david chiu, who we really miss in the legislature.

let's hear it for mr. chiu. when he was on the board of supervisors, his district was right along van ness, and he helped guide this along, and working with phil ting, the chair of the assembly budget committee, we've worked hard to get more funding in san francisco. we're getting more and more momentum to have the state be a better partner to counties and cities to make sure that we're adding more transit. so this is amazing. congratulations to everyone. we learned a lot from this project. it can -- it will not take this long in the future. we're working, as jeff mentioned, on legislation to dramatically streamline bus and rapid transportation. let's get more of it, let's get it done faster, and congratulations, everyone. thank you.

[applause] >> thank you, senator wiener. one of the places that the bus will take you to is the san francisco opera, and so i am very pleased to introduce elisa sunshine and andrew king from the san francisco opera. [applause]

[♪♪♪]

[applause]

>> over 40% of california's greenhouse gas emissions come from the transport sector, and of that, the vast majority of personal driving. and in addition, here in california, we're no longer demolishing low-income neighborhoods in order to widen highways, and yet, the state is growing. we are growing jobs, we're adding people. california is still a land of opportunity, and so i am utterly delighted to watch new leadership at the state department of transportation who's working to reimagine the state highway system in order to move more people rather than just moving more cars and to help the state achieve its greenhouse gas emissions goals. so i am very honored to introduce the california secretary of transportation. >> thanks for the set up,

director tumlin, to have me come after that performance. how in the world do you top that? so when you schedule an event on april 1, and and it has the history that this event has, immediately, the thought is, is this real? is it actually going to happen? everybody can see today what the fortitude of mayor breed, director tumlin, it is real, so kudos to everyone for making this happen. i'm the secretary for transportation for the state, here on behalf of governor

newsom. he would have loved to be here because he loves transportation, but he was busy this morning. we know what this is going to mean as far as reduction in travel time throughout downtown san francisco and the region, so efficiency is a big part of what we're going to gain from this. number two, the environmental benefits. environmental benefits are going to be huge. environment impact, nearly 50% of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. transportation is the largest, the biggest culprit of our environmental challenges in this state, and projects like this will improve that.

it definitely will improve that. it will address it. and finally, thirdly, equitable. we know how much senator wiener mentioned it before -- how much of a challenge it is to afford to live in this state, but we are coming up with solutions to make it less costly, more equitable for people to be able to move about is exactly the direction that we need to go. so kudos for people moving in the right direction but to actually be able to deliver this project today. i city -- see ray from caltrans

team. our district director, thank you for your leadership. city and county staff, mayor breed, congratulations on an amazing day like today. thank you again for having me here. thank you very much. [applause] >> completing a project of this magnitude also requires strong managerial support, so i am proud to introduce supervisor

raphael mandelman. >> supervisor mandelman: director tumlin, you actually got it done. congratulations. but you know what got it done? the union workers who show that sustainable projects and union jobs go hand in hand. there were lessons to be learned, mistakes not to be repeated, but this project will make a difference in the lives of san francisco every day as transit riders whiz past cars stuck in traffic carrying students, construction workers, seniors, tourists, and anyone wise enough to choose transit first, this project will make a difference for our quality of

life. the transportation authority is proud to have helped lay the groundwork for this day by leading the planning and environmental review phases of the project as well as providing nearly $45 million to support every phase of the project from planning to construction. these funds were from the transportation authority's half cent sales tax, proposition k, which included $500 million for muni and other projects when it passed in 2003. as we look forward to another critical transportation funding source in november, i want to thank san francisco voters for their consistent support of transit first investments like this one. yeah, give it up for the voters. [applause]

>> supervisor mandelman: in the case of the van ness improvement project, this investment paid off multifold. local city and sales tax leveraged $120 million in state and local funds to support this project. so we want to thank our friends at the f.t.a.s and at caltrans for their partnership over the years of this project. finally, i do want to recognize our transit authority staff who are instrumental to the development phase of the project. tilly chang and our deputy director of planning, rachel hyatt, and our deputy for policy and programming, anna la

forte, whose staff supported each phase of the project. and i want to thank michael short who was the manager of the e.i.r. under rachel and flew in from north carolina to be here with us today. now that is love. i would be remiss if i did not acknowledge my colleagues on the transportation authority board who made it out here this morning, commissioner stefani, commissioner melgar, commissioner safai, and commissioner haney. so with that, congratulations, everyone. san francisco's coming back on transit. [applause] >> as we've already mentioned, this project took way too long, and it also required digging up the entire street curb to curb

to unsnarl a mess of utilities completely down the street. i am therefore very pleased to introduce our final speaker, one of the -- one of our favorite business owners in the corridor, joseph betts, who is the owner and manager of the house of prime rib. mr. betts, please join us. [applause] >> thank you very much. i'd like to just is you, commissioners, for inviting me. you know, there's not much to say that's not already been said, however, i'd like to tell you my point of view. yes, it was difficult, but there are two people that i'd like to thank. katie mccarthy from the city. she informed me what was going on. we had a meeting before things

started, and during construction, she always informed me when i called. the answer was right away, and this way, we could plan. we were not blindsided. another one who i really appreciated to work with is david costello. he was the best. again, a lot of things have been said already that i don't want to repeat, but there's one thing i want to say, an old saying. you forget the price, but you don't forget the result, and the result is beautiful. when you look at van ness, the trees in the middle, the bright striping in the middle, it looks great what you have accomplished. thank you.

[applause] >> so thank you all, and i also want to thank a few additional people for their strong support throughout this project. city attorney david chiu, jose cisneros, treasurer, ralph remington from the arts commission, and our entire m.t.a. board, almost all of whom are here, manny yekutiel, fiona hinze, sharon lai, chair borden. thank you to all of you. now, who wants to cut a ribbon

so that we can actually start service on this corridor and get on a bus and ride to galileo high school with us? one thing that i do want to remind everyone if you are going to get on a bus, which is going to start running in about five minutes, please do wear your masks. we'll be going to galileo high school where there will be some additional activities. get on the bus. >> the hon. london breed: well, we've waited long enough. everybody join us. five, four, three, two, one. [cheers and applause]

[♪♪♪] >> van ness avenue runs from market street to bay street in san francisco. south vanness runs from south of market to cesar chavez street. originally residential after the 1906 earthquake it was used as a fire break. many car dealerships and businesses exist on vanness today with expansion of bus lanes. originally marlet street was named after james vanness, seventh mayor of san francisco from 1855 to 1856. vanness heavy are streets in santa cruz, los angeles and fresno in his honor. in 1915 streetcars started the

opening of the expo. in 1950s it was removed and replaced by a tree-lined median. it was part of the central freeway from bayshore to hayes valley. it is part of uses 101. it was damaged during the 1989 earthquake. in 1992 the elevator part of the roadway was removed. it was developed into a surface boulevard. today the vanness bus rapid transit project is to have designated bus lanes service from mission. it will display the history of the city. van ness avenue.

>> the hon. london breed: all right. hello, everyone. i'm san francisco mayor london breed, and i am extremely excited to swear in jose fuentes almanza. [applause]

>> the hon. london breed: i've got to say, it always brings me so much pride and joy when i get to swear in san francisco natives, and i definitely don't hold it against you that you went to balboa high school, the second best high school in san francisco, right behind galileo. that's right, state champs. i was really proud of the balboa football team who became the state champions. we had a great celebration here in san francisco, and i'm always so proud of our young people. as a kid who grew up in san francisco in those years, back in the day, we remember many of the challenges that existed in san francisco, but we also know that san francisco was a place of opportunity, and balboa high school was that place of opportunity for jose, who was able to be an apprentice, who

was able to move up in the ranks and be a part of an incredible union, local 6, the electricians, who do a lot of wonderful work for san francisco, and who have been really great in providing opportunities for city build. we know it's a part of the larger building trades family here, so it's great to see rudy gonzales here, and tom mazzola. this seat has traditionally been a labor seat, one in which the person who is a part of labor, it's usually somebody very prestigious, and the mazzolas, they don't necessarily do a change in leadership very lightly when it comes to this seat, so the fact that they dug deep, and they found someone that they could

pass the torch to must mean that you are a very significant person in the labor world, and we are very proud and excited to have you join. i wanted to take this opportunity, we have so many partners and labor leaders here and members of our airport commission. i'm not sure -- oh, ivar made it, i see. ivar, the airport director as well as jane natoli and malcom young, and also thank you to myrna melgar of our board of supervisors. thank you so much, as well as thank you to our labor leaders. mr. mazzola, sr. has been a labor leader in this area for decades. he paid a lot of attention to not just the work that needed to be done, but all the major

projects and construction going during this time at the airport, he made sure that small businesses and people who were part of the fabric of san francisco had opportunities, always asking the right questions, always paying attention to everything and all the details. and i know, based on your history, based on your work, and based on your love of san francisco that you're going to do an extraordinary job, so we're looking forward to seeing you serve. clearly, you have a tremendous amount of support. everyone is asking to be on this commission, by the way, but it's not just about who i want to appoint, it's about what's in the best interests of the city, and more importantly, this is just -- the tremendous amount of support from labor demonstrates that you are clearly the right person, but i also take a lot of pride in the fact that you are not only a

native san franciscan but the first latina to be appointed to this body -- [applause] >> the hon. london breed: -- which has been long overdue, so it's time. come on up, jose. let me get you sworn in. all right. please raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, please state your name, do solemnly swear to 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 commissioner for the airport commission of the city and county of san francisco. congratulations. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: here's your official city pin. wear it right next to your -- how did they do this before i even had a chance. wasn't even sworn yet. >> i was told this is unofficial. >> the hon. london breed: and look how big that is.

this is the whole world can see. it's, like, i'm a commissioner, but i've got class. there's your commission pin and your pin from me. wear it with pride. all right. commissioner, let's hear a few words. [applause] >> well, clearly, as you can see, this is not what i normally do. thank you for the confidence in me. appreciate that. look forward to being part of a great team and being a -- being able to help any which way i can to make this the world's best airport and increasing the capacity. there was so much more in my head before i got up here. and most, importantly, my wife, janet, my son, antonio, all my friends, colleagues, and everybody out here.

thank you very much. >> the hon. london breed: let's get you signed in. all right. there we go. all right. it's official. [applause]

>> shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do their business in the 49 square files of san francisco. we help san francisco remain unique, successful and right vi. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> i'm one of three owners here

in san francisco and we provide mostly live music entertainment and we have food, the type of food that we have a mexican food and it's not a big menu, but we did it with love. like ribeye tacos and quesadillas and fries. for latinos, it brings families together and if we can bring that family to your business, you're gold. tonight we have russelling for e community. >> we have a ten-person limb elimination match. we have a full-size ring with barside food and drink. we ended up getting wrestling here with puoillo del mar.

we're hope og get families to join us. we've done a drag queen bingo and we're trying to be a diverse kind of club, trying different things. this is a great part of town and there's a bunch of shops, a variety of stores and ethnic restaurants. there's a popular little shop that all of the kids like to hang out at. we have a great breakfast spot call brick fast at tiffanies. some of the older businesses are refurbished and newer businesses are coming in and it's exciting. >> we even have our own brewery for fdr, ferment, drink repeat. it's in the san francisco garden district and four beautiful murals. >> it's important to shop local because it's kind of like a

circle of life, if you will. we hire local people. local people spend their money at our businesses and those local people will spend their money as well. i hope people shop locally. [ ♪♪♪ ] bayview. >> a lot discussion how residents in san francisco are displaced how businesses are displaced and there's not as much discussion how many nonprofits are displaced i think a general concern in the arts community is the testimony loss of performance spaces and venues no renderings for establishes when our lease is up you have to deal with what the market bears in terms of of

rent. >> nonprofits can't afford to operate here. >> my name is bill henry the executive director of aids passage l lp provides services for people with hispanics and aids and 9 advertising that fight for the clients in housing insurance and migration in the last two years we negotiated a lease that saw 0 rent more than doubled. >> my name is ross the executive directors of current pulls for the last 10 years at 9 and mission we were known for the projection of sfwrath with taking art and moving both a experiment art our lease expired our rent went from 5 thousand dollars to $10,000 a most. >> and chad of the arts project pursue. >> the evolution of the orientation the focus on art

education between children and patrol officer artist we offer a full range of rhythms and dance and theatre music theatre about in the last few years it is more and more difficult to find space for the program that we run. >> i'm the nonprofit manager for the mayor's office of economic workforce development one of the reasons why the mayor has invested in nonprofit displacement is because of the challenge and because nonprofits often commute technical assistance to understand the negotiate for a commercial lease. >> snooechlz is rob the executive director and co-founder of at the crossroads we want to reach the disconnected young people not streets of san francisco for young adults are kicked out of the services our building was

sold no 2015 they let us know they'll not renew our lease the last year's the city with the nonprofit displacement litigation program held over 75 nonprofits financial sanction and technical assistance. >> fortunate the city hesitate set aside funds for businesses facing increased rent we believable to get some relief in the form of a grant that helped us to cover the increase in rent our rent had been around $40,000 a year now $87,000 taylor's dollars a year we got a grant that covered 22 thousands of that but and came to the minnesota street project in two people that development in the

better streets plan project they saved us space for a nonprofit organization national anthem and turned out the northern california fund they accepted us into the real estate program to see if we could withstand the stress and after the program was in full swinging skinning they brought up the litigation fund and the grants were made we applied for that we received a one thousand dollars granted and that grant allowed us to move in to the space to finish the space as we needed it to furniture is for classes the building opened on schedule on march 18, 2016 and by july we were teaching classed here. >> which we found out we were going to have to leave it was overwhelm didn't know anything about commercial real estate we

suggested to a bunch of people to look at the nonprofits displacement mitigation program you have access to commercial real estate either city owned or city leased and a city lease space become available there is a $946,000 grant that is provided through the mayor's office of economic workforce development and that's going to go towards boulder the space covers a little bit less than half the cost it is critical. >> the purpose of the organization trust to stabilize the arts in san francisco working with local agency i go like the northern california platoon fund that helped to establish documents of our long track record of stvent and working to find the right partner with the organization of our size and budget the opportunity with the purchase of

property we're sitting in the former disposal house theatre that expired 5 to 10 years ago we get to operate under the old lease and not receive a rent increase for the next 5 to 7 years we'll renting $10,000 square feet for the next 5 to seven years we pay off the balance of the purpose of this and the cost of the renovation. >> the loophole will that is unfortunate fortunate we have buy out a reserve our organization not reduce the services found a way to send some of the reserves to be able to continue the serves we know our clients need them we were able to get relief when was needed the most as we were fortunate to arrive that he location at the time, we did in that regard the city has been -

we've had tremendous support from the mayor's office of economic workforce development and apg and helped to roommate the facade of the building and complete the renovation inside of the building without the sport support. >> our lease is for 5 years with a 5 year onyx by the city has an 86 year lease that made that clear as long as we're doing the work we've been we should be able to stay there for decades and decades. >> the single most important thing we know that is that meaningful. >> it has been here 5 months and even better than that we could image. >> with the economic development have announced an initiative if ours is a

nonprofit or know of a nonprofit looking for more resources they can go to the office of economic workforce development oewd.com slashing nonprofit and found out about the mayors nonprofit mitigation program and the sustainability initiative and find their information through technical assistance as much as how to get started with more fundraising or the real estate assistance and they can find my contact and reach out to me through the circles of the city through the

>> okay. good morning. i call the san francisco department of disability and aging services commission