(♪♪) [applause] >> thank you, lion dancers. [applause] you know it's a special occasion in san francisco anytime that you see the lion dancers here. and we are certainly celebrating a special occasion today. so it's so wonderful to see everybody. the weather is wonderful. the pre-program with all of the skaters is wonderful.

and it's great to see everybody here today. and you know what we're celebrating, right? [cheers and applause] we are celebrating because this 3.3 mile stretch of road behind me is finally permanently car free [cheers and applause] and it's wonderful to see so many people still behind us just walking and biking and skating. and it's wonderful to see people of all ages enjoying this promenade. my name is carol ann tyler and i'm your m.c. for this long overdue celebration. [applause] i was a news reporter and an anchor at abc 7 for more than 30 years. [applause] thank you.

i covered a lot of the city's challenges, and also successes and this is certainly a major success. [applause] j.f.k. drive is such a massive success that it is resonating all over the country. people are talking about what you have managed to do here. it's hard to believe that this oasis where now we're going to see all sorts of cyclists and pedestrians and walkers and everybody coming out and enjoying it, it's hard to believe that this is once on the high injury network. can you believe it? now it's off permanently. [applause] and that success is thanks to all of you and it is thanks to the bold leadership of our mayor, london breed. [cheers and applause] who has always been a strong advocate

for the city's parks and open spaces. i was hoping that she'd come out here on roller skates, but guess not today. but, please welcome to the stage the honorable london breed. [applause] >> thank you, carolyn. well, i really was going to come out here in roller skates, but then i got a little nervous. i didn't want anyone to catch me falling on video. i will say that i i'm just really happy about what we're doing here today. and i don't know about you, but i'm a big fan of "bridgerton" that is on netflix, and i always wanted to promenade down some sort of walkway, because they always talk about going somewhere to promenade and now we have our own promenade here on j.f.k. it's going from a

drive to a promenade, a place that we can all enjoy. and i remember coming here with my aunt who went to washington high school and i thought that i was a big girl hanging out with all of the high school students this place was always packed with people on roller skates with those radios that we had to use the big batteries with. and a lot of people would roller skate and some bike, and mostly roller skaters back then and david miles will remember that time because i think that he was a grown-up during that time and i was just an itty-bitty kid. and the fact is that, you know, this is an incredible park. and it's a huge park filled with open space, with plenty of opportunities for so many different things. i know that many of you are so happy and grateful for what we were able to do together, not just me but all of you who advocated for this for many years as well as the members of the board of supervisors who are joining us here today. supervisor mandelman and

supervisor mar and supervisor preston. and getting that level of support, because it does take courage and i know that this was not an easy thing to do. but at the end of the day this was the right thing to do for the people of san francisco. that's why i'm so proud to be here and so proud to kick this off. golden gate park is a special place and when i traveled all over the country and all over the world to talk about san francisco, to talk about reasons to come to san francisco to visit, to convention, i talked about golden gate park and the fact that j.f.k. is now car-free and the fact that we have a battery bus opening up. and tunnel top park and san francisco park, and all of these great, wonderful open spaces in san francisco that are available. and i will say that this park was my saving grace during the

global pandemic. i know that many of you felt the same way. because i would come up here on a regular basis in disguise. and i would see the people with their babies in strollers. i would see folks in wheelchairs and i would see people on their bikes and i would see kids rollerskating and i would see them on their scooters and the thing that i saw more than anything else was not just all of the folks who were using this area, but i loved seeing the smiles on people's faces to be able to be out here in this way and to enjoy this incredible open space. so this is a victory for san francisco. this is something that we will be able to treasure, that kids now growing up and going roller skating and hanging out on j.f.k. promenade will be able to share with their children in this city. and i want to really thank so many of the various mommy groups

because, man, when moms get together and they want something to happen, they don't mess around. you better get out of their way and i want to thank all of the parents, the families, the community. i want to thank church on wheels and david miles. [applause] i want to thank the grannies over there too, and all of the great people. this is just really a beautiful day for san francisco. and it means so much and i'm so proud to be here today to sign this legislation, and i want to thank the rec and park director phil ginsburg, and the director of m.p.a., jeff tumlin. and they drove me nuts through this process, but they were fierce advocates for what they knew was right thing to do. the city has changed. people are using various modes of transportation and how we get

around is so perspective. but also -- important. but also how we have open space where we can feel safe. san francisco is one of the densest cities in the country and that's why a space like this being car free is so critical to ensuring that we have the ability to move around, to skate around and to bike around free of vehicles, because this is not a place that should be a highway or a freeway, or a cut-through. it needs to be a place for people to enjoy. and it's a space that you guys are going to enjoy, that you're going to take care of and you're going to continue to be proud of. so i'm excited to sign this legislation, but clearly somebody wanted to have a party today. so i think that i'm going to leo introduce phil or do you want me to bring him up? okay, you want to come on up. but, clearly, somebody wanted to have a party today because it's a big deal and it is a

celebration. and as carolyn has said, you know, people are talking about this all over the country, and really surprised and happy that we were able to make this happen. i think that this is going to be something that can happen for other large parks in the u.s. so i am just glad to be here and i am glad that you are all here and this is your golden gate park, enjoy it. >> thank you, madam mayor. i mean, golden gate park is definitely one of the crown jewels of this city and is known really worldwide and so it's great to have the car free stretch that the mayor is going to sign into law today. as she said, if we learned anything during the pandemic, it was that our parks are not luxuries. they're necessities. mayor breed talked about coming here to golden gate park in disguise.

well, i went to my neighborhood and walked all the time along the marino green and into chrissy field and it really helped during those dark days. these parks are really essential to our mental and physical health. they are some of the highest points during those dark days for us, during the health emergency. and they will continue to be here for us so that we can enjoy. i mean, just look around and it's so beautiful and so amazing. and the beautiful parks in san francisco are maintained by a very hard-working staff at the department of rec and parks. and we would like to give a hand clap to them. [applause] and our next speaker is the general manager of the department, phil ginsburg. [applause] >> hey, let's give it up for carolyn. thank you so much for being here today to celebrate this.

so someone once said that the best way to avoid criticism in life is to do nothing. that's not what we did today. great cities do great things and great leaders, mayor, help cities to do great things. and that takes bold leadership, it takes courage, and we are really grateful to you for your vision and for leaning into this, for steering us. thank you. thank you, thank you. [applause] we also really want to celebrate and to acknowledge the co-chairs of the legislation, assemblyman matt haney and our three board members from the board of supervisors, give it up for them. [applause] so golden gate park has always been the keeper of san francisco's stories.

it housed refugees during the 1906 earthquake, and fire, and it's seen the heartbeat of love. and it has memorial grove and you can see it right here is a place of national reflection for all touched by h.i.v. and aids. and most recently as the mayor noted, golden gate park provided connection and healing during the covid-19 lockdown. and for me one of my greatest personal challenges during the covid-19 lockdown was indeed having a mayor in disguise here every single day. today we're adding a new chapter about the future of our city. this story is one of joy and safety, of people-centered parks and the determination of families. urban planner fred kent who was probably the founder of the modern placemaking movement said, that if you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get --

you get cars and traffic. if you plan for people and places, you get people and places. of course that is easier said than done. and we couldn't have done it all without our partners from sfmta we are incredibly grateful to mta staff for their hard work and jeff tumlin -- where are you? just come on out and take a bow, please. [applause] jeff is our leader. he is a visionary in the pursuit of healthier, safer and more sustainable san francisco. and he's here every day too. i got a handful of difficult customers. anyway, jeff, thank you for leaning into this with your technical expertise, but most importantly, with your heart and empathy for making sure that this park is accessible and

available for everyone. thank you, jeff, so much. i also, as carolyn mentioned, i really want to thank our rec and park team who shepherded this project over two years and served with impassionate debate on all sides and our director of public affairs who worked so hard on this whole project for two years and worked so hard on throwing a great party today, sarah madlin. [applause] but none of this happens without all of you, so we want to thank all of the volunteers who worked tirelessly to secure this space thank you, david miles, thank you, where are you? the hardest working man in skating. the church of eight wheels, walk s.f. and the mayor's office on disability. and san francisco bike coalition and so many other wonderful grassroots organizations, i really want to thank tilley chan, with the transportation authority and the sfmta board of

directors and our very own rec and park commission for leaning in and sitting through some sawflly long hearings. but the last and the most important thank you goes to all of you. more than 10,000 san franciscans engaged with us during this conversation over eight months of outreach. and your input has not only led to a permanently car free j.f.k., but 45 different access improvements to ensure that everyone can enjoy this space. you all made the next chapter of san francisco's story today, you made history. thank you very much. and madam mayor -- we have a little something for you. a sign which we hope that adorns your office. you no longer need to be here in disguise. you are welcome along j.f.k. promenade anytime. [applause]

>> now if we could only find that guy from "bridgerton" to go with you. [laughter] mr. hotness, yes. [laughter]. thank you, phil, for those words. you know, car-free j.f.k. at its heart is all about kids as the mayor mentioned. i grew up in cheyenne, wyoming, and it's big open spaces and i never had to worry about a car running my down when i was trying to learn to ride a bicycle. in a big urban city like this, that's not necessarily the case so when you think about car-free j.f.k., i think about the kids who can learn how to skate, following in the footsteps of david miles, or can learn to ride their bike with their parents. things like that. they can get out in nature. they can play. the fresh air is accessible. those are the things that really

make a difference. and parents as the mayor mentioned played a huge role in advocating for this car-free space. and so we want to recognize one mom but she really encompasses the work of a lot of the moms and dads who have been pushing for the last couple years trying to get this going. so please welcome to the stage now district one mom and advocate, leanne chang. >> thank you. [applause] i am so honored to be here today with madame mayor london breed. i'm leanne chang, one of so many parents who love this space for our families and who got involved to help to make it permanent. almost exactly two years ago, mayor breed created a car-free

space here in golden gate park and mcclaren park so that we could have space for socially distanced recreation. and i want to share a little story with you from the very earliest days of the pandemic when we were sheltering in place. after many days of saying inside of our apartment, the first place that i took my son, he's over there in the pink pants -- jay -- he was three years old at the time and it was golden gate park. and on the way over here, it just felt like a revelation to me to be back in this city, like, back on streets of this city which, like, was so much more beautiful than i remembered. and i know that jay felt it too as we were crossing the street just up there at 8th avenue and we could start to smell the trees and see people walking and sitting on the grass, suddenly jay belted out "i love this town."

i love everything in this town. i love everything and everybody in this town. and that was his song as we made our way to a quiet corner of the park where we reconnected with nature. and from an extremely safe distance we reconnected with other safe san franciscans. and then mayor breed created a safe car-free space here on j.f.k. and suddenly we had a space where we could be not only in the city surrounded by the diversity of people and activities that you can only find in a city and really only in this city of san francisco. and at the same time, be safe from dangerous traffic. so, jay could listen to the music and join the party here at the skating place, and get a snack from a food truck. in fact, riding his bike, and, at the same time to see and meet other kids and adults, learning

and even practicing tricks on theirs. and all of this was so much more carefree for me, you know, not feeling like i had to constantly watch for cars. so i will be forever grateful to you, madame mayor london breed, for seeing that this safe family-friendly, climate-friendly space, could benefit san franciscans for so much more time after the pandemic. for every kid who now gets to grow up with the j.f.k. promenade for generations to come, i thank you. your leadership -- [applause] your leadership in creating the j.f.k. promenade makes me feel the way that i think that my son did when he sang out, i love this town, i love everything in this town, i love everybody in

this town. so, thank you. [applause] >> thank you, leanne. i love this town! [cheers and applause] i love this new promenade. and i'd like to thank everybody who came out today to celebrate so we're going to conclude our speaking portion of the program but we want all of the speakers to gather around because the mayor is now going to make this promenade official. she's at the picnic table. everybody should go over there as she signs the car-free j.f.k. ordinance into the law of the land. [applause] >> all right, are we ready to see this become law? [cheers and applause]

>> there it is. [applause] (♪♪) (♪♪) hi, sandy, how are you? >> hi, fine, thank you. how are you? >> good. i want to ask you what inspired

you to be a paramedic? >> that's a good question. you know, i wanted to go into med school and after i found out how much time it took and all of that, i decided that that was going to be a little too much schooling, but i still wanted to figure out a way that i could provide medical care and doing that as an emt as well as a paramedic was a way to do that. >> can you give me a break down of a typical day for you? >> i come to work and sit at my desk and then i respond to e-mails and try to figure out what are some of the issues we need to address. can we hire more people. what kinds of policies we want to try to create that will help us do our job as ems. >> what does it take to be a female paramedic? >> you know, it takes quite a bit of schooling, but also required somebody who's empathetic. it can be a very stressful job and so we want people to be able to hand that on a day-to-day basis.

>> so what's your greatest satisfaction in your job? >> trying to make sure that the work that we provide and the services that we provide to the community is the best that we can in ems so that when we go out to see you if you call us for an emergency, that we'll be able to treat you in the best way possible and that you get the care as quickly and as effectively as possible. >> why is it important for young girls, women of color to see women in these roles? >> i think it really is important for us to be able to get into these roles because we are effective, we are able to reach out to the community. we are able to do the job in a very effective manner and to be able to relate to the community and be able to do that is one of the best things that we can do. and people of color and as women of color, you know, we are in a great position to be able to do that.

>> this meeting is being held in person the city hall in room 4 huh human as authorized by california gentleman code, section 54953e and mayor 45th supplement to her february 25, 2020 emergency proclamation. possible that some members of the fire commission may attend remote. those members the participate and vote by video. members of the public may attends the meeting to bench and provide public comment at the meeting location mentioned abovement or upon line at the meeting link, which is on the posted agenda on the commission website. you may also watch live at www.sfgovtv to participate