get the lease-up rate faster. if there is a vacancy and it takes three to five months the initial lease up shouldn't take seven months or more. if we have a understand party working with your department why wouldn't there we a way to certify work to speed up the process, ms. benjamin. >> i will close public comment. >> thank you, supervisor. it looks like we are four or five leasing agencies that were working on the bmr program prior to the pandemic. now we really have two active

agencies that are the developers and property owners can reach out with a lot of experience in the bmr program. like so many other organizations or businesses in our city during the pandemic again. they have staffing issues. they were hiring in staff to fill the needs that they were experiencing. when there is a new staff person, conducting the income and eligibility criteria, then they tend to make some errors and we help train those agency's new staff. eventually they score.

that might have been if there have been times where we reviewed some of those agencies, it was a new staff person they had working on the project. other than that, we just don't do it. we don't have capacity to sit down and redo every single unit that comes through. as i said earlier, there have been mistakes made and the applicant appeals that is when we go over it again. we turn over more appeals than stand by them because of an error the leasing agent has made. i also don't want to say that if it took 7 months to lease the

unit. i would like to see where the unit was, how big, how much it was. >> not to interrupt you. you heard from the caller over 230 units that represent over 10% of your bmr stock. their words were seven months is too long to rent a bmr unit. i don't think it was a specific case of one or two units. i think this is someone who said they are fond of your department and like working with your team but seven months is too long to renter these units. what i want to close out today is that we ask for the bla report, discovered there were over 300 vacancies and almost

20,000 applications coming to the city. still sitting on hundreds of units in a housing crisis. it tells me something is wrong with the process that needs adjusted. we will ask for an annual review of this. annual report. one of the property owners we spoke to in advance of this said 30bmr applications reviewed and 25 were rejected and these people had gone through the lottery process. it might not be about the applications. some tweaks are needed in the system. lastly, i understand there needs to be scrutiny of people's bank statements and looking at people's' individual money. it seems there is discrepancy from front line realtime person

trying to lease units working with a management company to saying video posssits as low as 20 and 50 pan $100 are scrutinized. it is something that we want to make sure we get these units to the right people. we want to follow the income guidelines. we are not asking you to bend rules. i think there should be clarity in the process. before we start talking about penalizing developers. i heard you say that and property owners, you are not in the business. 31 out of hundreds of applications is a low number. i am glad to hear you say that today. i think what we need to do is work in collaboration and look at the bla recommendations and if information you put out today have the goal with the hiring process in the city for the job

applications and need to fill those jobs and crucial departments. we have to figure out a way to lease these units up in a more time and more efficient manner than months of delays when we are facing a housing crisis in our city. thank you and your team for coming today. thank you, chair, for having the meeting. there is a lot of items to come forward. we look forward to continuing the work with the mayor's office of housing and community development. thank you for your questions and thank you, callers, today to provide information. i think there is room to make improvements. i think having that information on annual basis will be helpful for this board. it will allow for transparency and accountable which are all important when it comes to this much needed stock of housing. thank you, madam chair. >> thank you, supervisor safai.

would you like to file this hearing or continue to the call of the chair? >> continue to the call of the chair and come back as data is provided in six to nine months to see what is going on. >> they are due for renewal of the policies and procedures manual. >> happy to work with you and your team. we can continue to the call of chair. >> motion to continue to the call of the chair. supervisor peskin. >> aye. >> preston. >> aye. >> melgar. >> aye. >> you have three ayes. >> thank you. that motion passes. do we have any other business? >> that concludes the business for today. >> thank you. we are adjourned.

>> my name is sylvia and i'm the owner of the mexican bistro. we have been in business for 18 years and we first opened on

garry street in san francisco, and now we are located in a beautiful historic building. and we are part of the historical building founded in 1776. at the same time as the mission delores in san francisco. (♪♪) our specialty food is food from central mexico. it's a high-end mexican food based on quality and fresh ingredients. we have an amazing chef from yucatán and we specialize on molotov, that are made with pumpkin seeds. and we're also known for handmade tortillas and we make our own fresh salsa. and we have cocktails, and we

have many in the bar. we have specialty drinks and they are very flavorrable and very authentic. some of them are spicy, some are sour, but, again, we offer high-quality ingredients on our drinks as well. (♪♪) we have been in san francisco for 27 years, and our hearts are here. we are from mexico, but after 27 years, we feel part of the community of san francisco. it is very important for us to be the change, the positive change that is happening in san francisco. the presidio in particular, they're doing great efforts to bring back san francisco, what it was. a lot of tourism and a lot of new restaurants and the new companies. san francisco is international

and has a lot of potential. (♪♪) so you want to try authentic mexican food and i invite you to come to our bistro located on 50 moroo avenue in presidio. and i'll wait here with my open arms and giving you a welcome to try my food. (♪♪.

>> hello everyone, i'm san francisco mayor london breed and i am so excited to be here today announced the budget for the city and county ofsan francisco . [applause] i see all the department heads clapping. they're really excited about thesenew budget numbers . when i think about the challenges that have existed in the city i can't help think about all the things that we

have tried to do for the past couple of years especially during this pandemic. and when people have made a number of requests for additional services or additional support or additional assistance, it's not just about the dollars and the policy. it's about the people who actuallydo the work . the people who work for both the city and county of san francisco and the people who work for various nonprofit agencies in san francisco though as we unveiled this 13.95 billion dollar budget for the city and county of san francisco, it's important to take a deep dive into what we need to do as we come out of the global pandemic. we need to focus on the people. we need to focus on our workforce we need to focus on our

economic recovery . we need to focus on the challenges that exist with public safety. we need to focus onhelping our most vulnerable and homeless populations and improve our transportationnetwork . so many things to do but i've got to tell you on this beautiful sunny day in union square i am hopeful . i am optimistic aboutthe future of our city more than i have ever been because i am confident about the investments that we are making . [applause] so let's start off with our economic recovery. any of us remember last november where we saw mass looting that happened in union square . and allof a sudden , people put us on the map virally like they never have before. so what they didn't show was our response to what happened

here in union square. not only more of a police presence but also more of our incredible humidity ambassadors who showed up time and time again. the beautifulice-skating rink , tree lighting and all the othe activities . so much so that many of the retail businesses said itwas one of the best years they've ever had . think about that san francisco and our downtown and our economy, not just our retail spaces but ourworkers . this downtown economy of tourists, this downtown economy of conventions and business visitors generate anywhere close to 30 million people visit a year which creates about $10 billion for our economy. $10 billion. that's not only as it relates to taxes but supported many of the people who work down here. many of the people who work at our hotel rooms and many of the folks who work at our retail

establishments and many of our programs and supportive services. so it's important we focus on our economic recovery because it doesn't fall short, it doesn't fall on me that many of our storefronts are empty and we need to do something about our economic recovery. we need to invest in our businesses and so we're going to be making a significant investment of $50 million for various small businesses to helpwith grants , to help with loans and help with our economic recovery. money that will help support thiscommunity . we're investing almost 20 million additional dollars to help clean our streets. to help improve the conditions of the streets. to make sure the garbage is empty. that the streets are power washed. that we keep san franciscoclean

and green . make sure the investment goes towards our community ambassadors who are friendly faces that when people come and visit our beautiful city they have a lot of folks who are native san franciscans who know the right restaurants to go to and the places to visit and the best place to jumpon the cable car without waiting in a long line . we're going to invest in our economic recovery by making sure conventions are coming back and providing subsidies and otherincentives to make sure san francisco is their firstchoice . when i traveled to promote san francisco , people talk about the city and how much they love it and how they want to come here but what they also talked about is their concerns about safety and there was recently a survey done about publicsafety in san francisco . you want to know what over 1000 10 franciscans said in the survey aboutwhat they want to see ? over 80 percent wanted police officers walking the beach. [applause] we made that happen

in union square and we didn't see those mass looting situations occur since then. we have consistently tried to make it happen even though the tenderloin is geographically a larger footprint, we have tried to make it happen inthe tenderloin community and wewill continue to doso but let's be honest . it's been tough . it's been tough for law enforcement . and we have seen over 400 officers leave our force andwe anticipate more to retire . so in this budget not only are we proposing academy classes, we are increasing the starting pay of police officers. we are adding incentives bonuses for those who choose to stay in san francisco longer and we're going to make a commitment to do everything we can to not only for our police

force in san francisco but to also do the reforms necessary to make sure we are leading the way aroundpolice reforms in san francisco . we don't have to choose between having a diverse, incredible, active and engaged law enforcement agency and doing the reforms necessary to increase public safety for all communities. that is what we're going to continue to do and in fact we have invested significant resources into our street crisis response team. into our street wellness needs, into our street overdosing and by the end of this year when those 911 calls come in for people who struggle with behavioral health, those street wellness teams will be the first responders. those alternatives to policing will be the first responders so that our officers can focus on the crimes they need to focus on and not some of the behavior

and challenges that continue t persist not only in san francisco but all over this country . we will also make significant investments in making our streets cleaner and safer and we will also not only support the ambassadors of downtown but the ambassadors and other resources throughout our city. art streets crisis response teams, our street violence improvement program that supports cross cultural and engaging with the community and dealing with the challenges throughout san francisco will be an important part of the work we do .now i want to talk about homelessness the little bit because we always make significant investments in homelessness but finally this year we are seeing that investment pay off . since 2019 the on sheltered

homeless population dropped by 15 percent. and it's taking off since 2018 we've been able to get 6500 people off the streets so while other counties saw an increase in there on sheltered homeless population san francisco finally saw a decline and we should be proudof that . [applause] but we know there is more work to do.we will invest in our various cabin communities, continue to invest in our various shoulders and many of the hotels that we acquired during the pandemic when funding ran out we are investing the funding to keep those hotels in our portfolio so we can keep people housed. other key investments include making sure that we support our families . $50 million of children and family recovery providing additional support for child care for various families

throughout san francisco and a new partnership around mental health . between some of our nonprofit agencies and the university of california san francisco because if what has happened in these school shootings and other challenges in our school system, if this has taught us nothing else it should teach us that we need to address the crisis that our children are struggling with before they crossed the line. before things get out of control before they take a life or lose their lives themselves . so mental health be a key part of thisbudget in helping our children . in helping our workforce and in helping the people in the city and county of san francisco. there are so many investments. i can't get into every last investment today and this budget but as i said, he focuses include definitely our

economic recovery. people that includes children and families. he focuses of this budget include public safety and homelessness. and addressing many of the challenges that we face as the city and i want to also be clear that many of these investments came about because of what the people of the city and county of san francisco said they wanted. people in communities not just here downtown but folks in the avenues. people on the west side oftown. people in the bayview hunters point. for from all over the community . they want us to make sure they are not forgotten and this budget is not only supporting the economic engine of the city but it's supporting our entire city from every corner of this city is touched in some

capacity with additional resources that will truly make their neighborhoods better and ultimately make ourcity better . let me just finally say before i turn it over to some of the amazing people who serve san francisco. i started off talking about services, funding and policy but what makes services, funding and policy possible are the workforce of the city and when i say workforce of the city it's not just the people who work for the city andcounty . it'speople who work for various nonprofit agencies . many people despite this pandemic still had to show up to clean the streets. to clean the buses, to get people to and from the hospital and many people had to show up to work during this pandemic to this budget wardellworkforce , providing a significant raise over the next two years to ensure they know how valuable they are to continue to see the

city work and thrive. but the extension of that is also our nonprofit workforce. we've heard from so many of the nonprofit agencies including those who work in prominently supported housing .they too struggle that they love the work they do but it is hard work and they commute here. as far as lodi and stockton and other places it is expensive so we are also providing additional support for that workforce, for the nonprofit workforce as well that we can see increases in wages that can hopefully help make life a little bit better for the people who serve and workin the city and county of san francisco . lots of work to do, folks. but let me tell you something. there are people who tried to

count san francisco. there are people who have tried to only focus on the negative and takethose various viral videos , put them all over the map. but here's the good news. we know what our city is. we know we are thephoenix. we noticed by earthquakes , aides, pandemics when we were left on our own and previous pandemics heard that when faced with a challenge like the phoenix vr we rise to the occasion and we make the investments and we provide the support and we come together as a city like we did during this global pandemic even though you are one of the preeminent cities in the country. we were an example and we saw one of the lowest death rates of any major city in this country and we should be proud of everything that we've done during the pandemic .

[applause] so now it's time for a newday . it's time for a new day filled with happiness, filled with joy. filledwith optimism . wesurvived a global pandemic . to tell the story. part of that story is our economic recovery. part of that story is making life better for the people of this city. part of that story is making theinvestment and seeing those investments get put to work every single day throughout this entire city . i know what is possible in san francisco. we've been through challenging times before. and because of these investments and because of the work that we all are going to doincluding the many men and women who stand here with me today , we're going to see san francisco shine andsee san francisco thrive. i want to thank you all for being here today . we will release the details of

that budget so we can start diving in to the specifics but ultimately i'm excited. i'm excited to be to see downtown come alive again. to be welcoming, to be thrivin , for folks to be spending money in all the stores and our restaurants. i'm excited to hear the bell ring for those cable cars. i'm excited to see people feel safe about going to their homes in the tenderloin. i'm excited to see streets clean and for people to say you know what? san francisco is better than it ever has before and we're going to continue to make sure we not only make thathappen but make sure it continues to happen so people know why this is one of the most incredible beautiful cities anywhere in the world. thank you all so much . [applause] >>with that like to introduce the captain of central station

, captain julian ames. [applause] >> good morningeverybody and thank you mayor breed . i want to thank mayor breed, of course chief scott and the entireconnect staff . mayor breed talked about longer than six months ago the mass looting's in union square. we acted swiftly because of the support from the city. we were ever to get officers down here and now you see the officers by me making a differencein public safety . i look over and i see been over there. as i look at you right there and looking back the six months at the hard work we've done including all ofour partners behind me , to make union square better and safer. i think about the budget that

mayor breed just talked about and how important it is. i'll give you one example. one example thismorning in:00 there was a retail store just about 100 yards from here . 8:00 in the morning there's a worker that came to open the door and foundsomebody inside the store . and their thinking oh my god, there'sa trespasser . luckily we had officers around the corner and she walked forward to find an officer but the officer responded with her and saw an individual and called a couple more officers over.it ends up theindividual comes out, he's not a trespasser, he's a burglar . they came up with four bags of merchandise and had a cop at the front door. this is what i mean. thank you. this is why it's so important to have the officers out there making a difference. we recovered about $4700 in

merchandise that would otherwise be gone. it's very important. i was born and raised in san francisco . and worked there for the last 23 years as apolice officer . probably the best profession i couldhave chosen . the best thing i can hear every day and from you all the community thanking the officers aroundhere , they are the backbone. they are the boots on the ground. they are the ones workinghard and long hours every day to keep our city safe . but union square is the last six months the rest of the city needed as well. the rest of the city deserves it. so i thinkthat's exactly what this budget is going to do so i thank you very much mayor breed . >>. [applause]

>> thank you and today we also have one of our wonderful ... i get so manyemails about our community ambassadors . both are always talking about the work that they do. urban out to me, the ambassadors of union square and today we have paul fields with the san franciscowelcome ambassador program . [applause] >> thank you mayor breed. my name is sue. since i've been a san francisco welcome ambassador i had the honor ofworking with local community partners, business owners and the police department . as part of this team witnessed the value we bring to tourists, natives and san francisco providing insight on restaurants, offering direct i , giving hospitality escorts to

destinations. or just a few examples of how we enrich the experience here. when visitors come from all over the world we make them feel at home. our california welcomes outshines southern hospitality. so thank you so much everyone. it's great to be here. thanks to myteam members. i couldn't do it without them . >> thank you so much, sue. and i want to also introduce someone who is working in the tenderloin every single day. i know that we hear a lot of complaints but i'm going to tell you right now it wasn't for the department of public works and the various agencies that wework with to help keep

the streets clean it would be a lot worse . and one of those persons is supervisor for public parks green team is nicole delagarza . >> thank you mayor for the opportunity to speak. the hard-working men and women at public works. the power washed, pick up meals. cleaning the debris left on the sidewalks and work together on a daily basis to help maintain the city clean. my name is nicole de la garza. i'm grateful to behere. this is my home city . i'm a native occurrence residents of the city and we're grateful for the age increase

the mayor has given usfor all our hard work. for the men and women who are boots on the ground every day . the essential workers are out here during the pandemic and 24 hours a day to keep the city safe and clean. thank you to our partners that work with us every day. to help clean and to be a presence in the city. i'm so grateful for the efforts of everyone. thank you to jade and to carla. they are great leaders and i appreciate all they do for me and for the city . and thank you guys so much. >> last but not least i have one of the owners of schroeder's bar andrestaurant , andy chung. [applause]

>> thank you mayor breed. when the pandemic started is no secret hospitality was hit particularly hard. as the rest of the city recovered of the restaurants along the city recovered as well unfortunately the story downtown has been significantly different . workers have been slow to return back and retail has been slow to recover along with the tourists we count on. a lot of times we feel alone as a hospitality or business owner and you kind of feellike your forgotten . i was really excited to hear about the mayor and city's commitment to revitalize the downtown core this budget goes a long way inproviding that first step . our hope is at the downtown economic core transitions to whatever it becomesin the world of hybrid work , that's the businesses that have made san francisco unique and i know it's been around since 1893.

down the street they been even longer than us and our businesses represent the history of our city. so as we transition to the next generation of what downtown becomes we love to see hospitality become a big part of it the mayor has allocated quite a bit of funds to help the arts, restaurants, bars, music and wehope to use those funds to activate the streets and make downtown an attractive place to come and visit . as she's made a commitment to clean the streets i think our heart is to enjoy those streets. to come back to downtown and support the thing that we all want which is therevitalized new san francisco we canall be proud of . you . >> this is not as traditional as what we've done in the past in terms of announcinga city

budget . because the fact is it's so important to me that when we talk about these budget numbers and we talk about these things that we need to do that we definitely understand the people that make those things happen yes, as mayor i take all the credit for all the good stuff . i take credit for the badstuff too but at the end of the day , the reason why many of the great things that you hear about happening in san francisco, they happen because of so many of the people attending with me here today. the department heads, various these services,nonprofit agencies . the restaurants, the businesse . it's all of us. we really are in this together and as we come out of this globalpandemic went try to remember that . we're here to helpwith this

city. we're here to focus on the positive . we are here to develop our own narratives, our own about what san francisco truly is and what it means to us and what it can mean to a visitor when they have a wonderful experience what it can mean to the kids whose walking downtown on their way home from school and feels safe in their community. it's what we need to do to change the city for the better as i know about being a native san franciscan, i know without a doubt that we cannot only persevere, we can thrive and that's exactly what this budget is going to help us do. it's going to help us thrive as the city and i hope all of you will join me inhelping san francisco bride. let's open the door and get back to work and get back to having fun and having a good

time.thank you all so much . >> >> welcome everybody. i am dave id martin and it's exciting to be here this afternoon. not only in the middle of city hall, so let's make as much noise as possible so that everybody knows what we're here today to celebrate, that is a

state championship from our men's basketball team. [applause] on behalf of city college of san francisco, we are so proud of our student athletes. not only have you persevered on the basketball court, you persevered in the classroom as well during a very difficult time. you got to the finish line, not only in your athletic endeavors, but the classroom as well. and for that we celebrate you today. [applause] now, before i pass it off to the next speaker, i wanted to take a moment and acknowledge the publicly elected leaders that we have with us this afternoon. and i would like to acknowledge the city college board of trustees, trustee alan wong. [applause] and we have also trustee selby. [applause] and we have the current vice

president of the board, vice president john rizo. [applause] now what is my honor and privilege to pass it off to the mayor of san francisco, mayor london breed. [applause] >> thank you, chancellor. martin, we appreciate you all coming out here today. but i don't feel like the energy is in the room. you just won a state championship. you got to act like you about to play for the warriors. because that's the next step. in fact, what we are so excited about is that as we celebrate the team today, coach justin, we know that you have won four state championships. move over steve kerr, he's only won three. so you -- you created this

incredible, remarkable group of young men that we have here today as well as a lot of other folks who came before you. and city college clearly is an important institution, but it also has an extraordinary reputation when it comes to sport. a couple months ago we honored the football team that won the state championship. and now we're honoring the basketball team who basically lost one game, and then came back and beat the team that thought they were running away with the state championship. so, i know that felt good. if nothing else, it's like to lose to the team and then to come back and beat them for the final state championship, that's the kind of team we're honoring here today at city hall. so i'm really happy to have you all here. i know that this year has been challenging, the past two years, in fact, have been challenging through this global pandemic, needing to change how we learn

and how we engage with one another. in fact, we couldn't play sports in the same way. so losing out on those years of not being able to really develop your craft the way that you want to because of covid and our inability to interact in the sports world. but the good news is that it didn't stop you from working hard and getting to this point and handling your business on the court. so now to walk away with a state championship, regardless of what you decide to do, whether you're finishing city college this year with your a.a. or you're continuing for another year, this is something that you'll be able to carry with you in life. and i hope that all of you are considering going on to bigger and better things, whether it's a four-year university to continue along those lines or anything else that you choose to do in life. i hope that you take the experiences of what you learned, teamwork, working together, all

of those things -- hard work is what brought you here in the first place because i know that many of you might be naturally talented, but it doesn't mean that you didn't work hard to get here. you may make it like seth curry, he makes it look easy, but every single day he's working extremely hard to make sure that he's stepping up his game at every game for the warriors and i know that all of you are doing the same thing. so a couple of things that i wanted to do and i think that you were already aware. number one, we lit up city hall in the colors of white and red in honor of your win this past saturday. [applause] and, coach, you don't look enthusiastic enough for me. get up here. come on up. [cheers and applause] did you guys work him to death? you worked him to death? coach, i wanted to do something really special because as i said, you know, clearly this is a special group of guys.

they brought home a state championship. i know that they worked hard to do so, and i know that you had a good time coaching these guys. 20 years of coaching in basketball for city college. not only do we appreciate that, but we appreciate, you know, your consistency and your involvement in supporting the next generation of athletes in san francisco. and, so, on behalf of the city and county of san francisco, it is my honor to recognize the city college men's basketball team and declare it your day in the city and county of san francisco. so you get a day and you get some love and, coach, we need a few words from you now. come on up. [laughter]. >> thank you so much, mayor breed. that's awesome. and it's an absolute privilege

to be here and invited down here and to have you guys recognize us. and it was super cool to drive down on saturday night and take a picture at city hall with my wife. these guys got to tweet it out and got some mileage from that one, so that was cool. you know, these group of guys will be missed. i get to have a couple of these guys back, which is nice, but they were the most resilient group that we've ever had. just because they did -- it took these guys two years to win this championship and one year they didn't even get to play any games. it started on zoom calls once a week, where they didn't even know each other and then we got into the gym and makeshift weight room and makeshift film sessions and we had to wear masks in play. and then throughout the season we got sidelined from, you know, taking our turns getting covid. i had took my four games off, and thank god my assistance coach adam took the reins and did a good job, those were all easy games, right.

and thanks to my chancellor and the dean who have been supportive. i took on a new role in city college and they took some off my plate and i appreciate that. these guys, guys, you will be missed. you know, you put your mark on history. and, you know, our assistant coaches -- our assistant coaches, i think when you're in a pandemic like this and there's so many challenges, i felt that this year my assistant coaches were the glue that kind of kept these things together, especially adam. so i'm really grateful for you guys. lastly, my athletic director harold brown who is stepping down. harold is a product of hunter's point and the city college of san francisco and then went to conzaga and coached at city and i took over after him, and he's been so supportive for the last decade. and there's the correlation of

us winning four championships underneath this guy's guidance. i know this is your last time down here with us and you're going to retire, but thank you for everything. i really appreciate it. [applause] all right, guys. i do want to introduce one of our players who is going to talk here, shea riley. shea just accepted a division i championship last week to seattle university. so here's shea. [applause] >> hello. thank you guys so much for having us here. really been a great opportunity to win this championship and to meet all of you great guys. i want to give a shout-out to our coaches and our whole coaching staff and giving not just myself, but countless young men the opportunity to pursue their academic dreams and their athletic goals at the next level at the university. and i'm so grateful for the opportunity to cultivate these relationships with a group of great guys.

and just great life-long connections and bonds with these dudes that i will know the rest of my life. i'm really glad that we're able to bring home this championship in san francisco and thank you, guys, so much for honoring us. [applause] (♪♪)

>> we have private and public gardens throughout the garden tour. all of the gardens are volunteers. the only requirement is you're willing to show your garden for a day. so we have gardens that vary from all stages of development and all gardens, family gardens, private gardens, some of them as small as postage stamps and others pretty expansive. it's a variety -- all of the world is represented in our gardens here in the portola. >> i have been coming to the portola garden tour for the past seven or eight years ever since i learned about it because it is the most important event of the neighborhood, and the reason it is so important is because it links this neighborhood back to its history.

in the early 1800s the portola was farmland. the region's flowers were grown in this neighborhood. if you wanted flowers anywhere future bay area, you would come to this area to get them. in the past decade, the area has tried to reclaim its roots as the garden district. one of the ways it has done that is through the portola garden tour, where neighbors open their gardens open their gardens to people of san francisco so they can share that history. >> when i started meeting with the neighbors and seeing their gardens, i came up with this idea that it would be a great idea to fundraise. we started doing this as a fund-raiser. since we established it, we

awarded 23 scholarships and six work projects for the students. >> the scholarship programs that we have developed in association with the portola is just a win-win-win situation all around. >> the scholarship program is important because it helps people to be able to tin in their situation and afford to take classes. >> i was not sure how i would stay in san francisco. it is so expensive here. i prayed so i would receive enough so i could stay in san francisco and finish my school, which is fantastic, because i don't know where else i would have gone to finish. >> the scholarships make the difference between students being able to stay here in the city and take classes and having to go somewhere else. [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪]

>> you come into someone's home and it's they're private and personal space. it's all about them and really their garden and in the city and urban environment, the garden is the extension of their indoor environment, their outdoor living room. >> why are you here at this garden core? it's amazing and i volunteer here every year. this is fantastic. it's a beautiful day. you walk around and look at gardens. you meet people that love gardens. it's fantastic. >> the portola garden tour is the last saturday in september every year. mark your calendars every year.

>> i'm rebecca and i'm a violinist and violin teacher. i was born here in san francisco to a family of cellists, professional cellists, so i grew up surrounded by a bunch of musical rehearsals an lessons. all types of activities happened in my house. i began playing piano when i was 4. i really enjoyed musical activities in general. so when i was 10, i began studying violin in san francisco. and from there, i pretty much never stopped and went on to study in college as well. that's the only thing i've ever known is to have music playing all the time, whether it is someone actually playing next to you or someone listening to a

recording. i think that i actually originally wanted to play flute and we didn't have a flute. it's always been a way of life. i didn't know that it could be any other way. >> could you give me an e over here. great. when you teach and you're seeing a student who has a problem, you have to think on your feet to solve that problem. and that same kind of of thinking that you do to fix it applies to your own practice as well. so if i'm teaching a student and they are having a hard time getting a certain note, they can't find the right note. and i have to think of a digestible way to explain it to them. ee, d, d, e. >> yes. then, when i go on to do my own

practice for a performance, those words are echoing back in my head. okay. why am i missing this? i just told somebody that they needed to do this. maybe i should try the same thing. i feel a lot of pressure when i'm teaching young kids. you might think that there is less pressure if they are going on to study music or in college that it is more relaxing. i actually find that the opposite is true. if i know i'm sending a high school student to some great music program, they're going to get so much more instruction. what i have told them is only the beginning. if i am teaching a student who i know is going to completely change gears when they go to college and they never will pick up a violin again there is so much that i need to tell them. in plain violin, it is so difficult. there is so much more information to give. every day i think, oh, my gosh. i haven't gotten to this technique or we haven't studies

they meese and they have so much more to do. we only have 45 minutes a week. i have taught a few students in some capacity who has gone on to study music. that feels anaysing. >> it is incredible to watch how they grow. somebody can make amazing project from you know, age 15 to 17 if they put their mind to it. >> i think i have 18 students now. these more than i've had in the past. i'm hoping to build up more of a studio. there will be a pee ono, lots of bookshelves and lots of great music. the students will come to my house and take their lessons there. my schedule changes a lot on a day-to-day basis and that kind of keeps it exciting. think that music is just my

favorite thing that there is, whether it's listening to it or playing it or teaching it. all that really matters to me is that i'm surrounded by the sounds, so i'm going top keep doing what i'm doing to keep my life in that direction.