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 >> hello and welcome. this is the mayor's disability council meeting. the time is 1:02 p.m.

we'll go ahead and do roll call. this is the mayor's disability council. this is friday, june 17, 2022. we are meeting virtually through zoom. there is no in-person meeting happening for this session yet. we are also broadcast on public television, sfgov.tv. this meeting has live captions and live captioning interpreting. we also have two interpreters signing here and speaking for people who don't sign. the mayor's disability council has nine public meetings a year. typically, on the third friday

of each month. if you would like more information, if you would like to request additional accommodations, please be in touch with the mayor's office on disability. the phone number is 415-554-6789, and that's the vice phone number. if you'd rather e-mail, you can do so by sending a message to mod@sfgov.org. our next regularly scheduled meeting will be july 15 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. i am the cochair, and i would like to remind everyone today

that we all have different opinions, and we are all here to solve the same problems. we are here to listen, and we will listen to all perspectives on the issues that are covered here on a wide range of disability identities and issues. verbal harassment will not be tolerated. m.d.c. members promise to be respectful to each other and to the public, and we ask the same in return.

we'd like to remind everyone who attends the meeting to speak at a pace that is conducive to both interpreting and captioning, meaning not too fast, and also, please be aware that, during the meeting, m.d.c. members and o.d. staff members also may turn their videos off if they're not actively speaking at that time. and if you're wondering why that is, it's for access reasons, but my video will stay on. >> i believe we will start with roll call, and so i will go ahead and do that. >> great. please go ahead.

[roll call] >> okay. and that concludes our roll call. >> okay. so does anyone on the council, any council member, have

comments or questions on the agenda? if you do -- no, i'm sorry. i skipped a line. i will need to read the agenda first, i believe. >> yeah, so i can read the agenda. after the agenda -- >> sorry. before you do, before you read the agenda, i forgot to add that we should introduce our newly joined members, sherry albers, from the house for the blind, we would like to welcome you to the council. welcome to your first meeting. glad to have you. >> thank you. >> this is orkid, through the interpreter, saying congratulations and welcome. >> thank you, orkid. thank you, tiffany. >> we also want to say many thanks to tiffany yu.

this is actually her last session today, so we want to thank her for her commitment to the m.d.c., for her attendance at today's meeting, and we will be sad to see you go, but we wish you luck for the next adventure. >> thank you, orkid, and thanks to everyone on the council. >> okay. iman, would you go ahead and read the agenda? >> all right. so for the agenda, we have item number 1, which is welcome and roll call, item 2, which is reading and approval of the agenda. item 3 is general public

comment. item 4 is the co-chair report. item 5 is report from the mayor's office on disability. item 6 is report on the implementation of j.f.k. promenade and golden gate park accessibility improvements, presented by lucas tobin, from the san francisco recreation and parks department, and chava kronenberg, san francisco metropolitan transit authority. item 7 is the aging and disability housing needs assessment community research opportunities. item 8 is correspondence. item 9 is general public comment. item 10 is an information item,

council member comments and announcements, and item 11 is adjournment. >> okay. so council member comments or questions about the agenda, or please do what? or do we approve of the agenda? please say aye if you approve of the agenda. >> okay. and if we could please take general public comment. do we have anyone lined up to speak? >> okay. we welcome your public comment. there will be an opportunity

for public comment at the beginning and end of the meeting, as well as each item on the m.d.c. agenda. each comment is limited to three minutes. comments may be limited to two minutes when there's a lot queue of people waiting to maim comments. at the end of the comment period, we will move onto the next commenter. if you want the council to respond to the comments at the end of the meeting, please send your contact information to mdc@sfgov.org with the subject m.d.c. comment response request. you may also send e-mail comments to this address or by calling 415-554-6789.

members of the public will be able to join the zoom meeting as a participant. you can join the meeting using the zoom link. you can also join by calling 669-900-6833 with the meeting i.d. 854-1955-0368. if you joined the webinar using your computer or tablet or smart phone app, click on the three lines and then on the raise hand or on the raise hand

icon. if you've joined by phone, dial star, nine to be recognized. we strive to make the m.d.c. meetings more accessible. please send any e-mails to mdc@sfgov.org. at this time, members of the public may address the council on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of

the council that are not on this meeting agenda. for agenda items, you will have an opportunity to address the council when the item is reached during this meeting. the brown act prevents the council from taking any action or discussing any item not on the agenda, including those items raised in public comment. so at this time, i do see a couple members of the public who have indicated that they're wanting to make public comment. >> orkid, this is debbie kaplan. the first commenter is jake, and so he is deaf. john, can you please elevate him to panelist so that he can make his comments through the interpreter?

>> so please sign slowly today, jake. we want to get your message. orkid, should i read it for you? does that work? am i the only person here? i want to talk about the san francisco -- what's going on right now, and orkid's saying, i can read it and sign it for you if you want. you have three minutes, remember, jake? [indiscernible] no, cesar chavez elementary school. and orkid and jake here, and there's special ed, and there's kindergarten, kindergarten to

second grade, and the teachers moved me out of the special ed, and i just -- i kept going, and it was a very large system, and there were a lot of mistakes made in the san francisco education system. i couldn't access school. i did have a disability but i was very intelligent, and they told me that they want me to go to college, they want me to get a job, and i've "the book of -- i've been in san francisco all this time. i'm just so frustrated with what's going on, and i just want to make sure that we are all paying attention to that in california because there are a lot of issues, and i would like us to focus on deaf education, deaf teachers, and interpreters in the classroom. >> and this is true of students in sfusd right now. they don't -- they're not

hiring sign language instructors or fluent teachers to work with deaf students, and it shouldn't be in special education. it shouldn't be that deaf students are in special ed. they should be in their own group. there are several deaf schools in the county, but they're still being lumped in special education. and also, we don't pay teachers enough who work with special populations, like deaf students. what about them? and then, my next question, over my many years, as i've seen people graduate with communication studies degrees or whatever, and they want to get jobs, it's really hard for

deaf people to get jobs. hearing people don't have an understanding of what it is to be a deaf person. all of these places like red cross, habitat for humanity, they should be welcoming, but they're really not. a lot of places won't provide interpreters, so how do we solve that for deaf residents in san francisco? >> orkid is saying, we've read your comment, jake. thank you very much. are there any other comments? thank you, says jake. >> yes, we have another member of the public who's indicated they want to make public comment. a reminder, you only have three

minutes, william. >> thank you. first, a quick thank you. the agenda for this meeting was posted in the right place more than one week in advance. i really appreciate that. that is more in advance than required by law, and the extra notice really helps people to become aware of the meeting and to plan for it in advance. i realize there is a ton of work that goes into putting the final agenda together, and so again, i thank you for that. second, i want to join the thanks that were expressed already to council member yu. i have noticed in observing these meetings that ms. yu has often asked very perceptive questions and made very astute comments, and i am sure that her contributions will be missed. finally, i'd like briefly to

say that i appreciate that the city has been attempting to enforce accessibility of all the new outdoor dining and drinking spaces that have been created under the shared spaces program. i also appreciate the efforts that are being made to educate business owners on their obligations to provide accessibility, and i also appreciate the fact that some funding has -- has been provided for businesses to hire accessibility consultants and also even fore some construction expenses to fix their accessibility. that said, it is just not right that so many businesses are using public property to serve customers but still are not providing required accessibility. open to all means open to all. i know we all agree with this. i have noticed some problems

being fixed and appreciate that, but at the current pace, it could be a decade before these newly created dining and drinking areas in the public right-of-way are made accessible, and that's just not acceptable. thank you. >> thank you, william. you hit it on the nose. next comment? >> at this time, i am not seeing any other member of the public who is wanting to make public comment. >> are there any in the chat room? they might be in a different topic. do you see any in the chat? >> this is orkid speaking. i think we're covered for

general public comment at this time. >> okay. great. okay. so item 4, moving down the agenda, the cochair report. in may, we had a public meeting, and we sent correspondence to san francisco department. we recently had an m.d.c. meeting, and we received that information. debra, would you like to add anything to that? >> no, i think that sounded

great. >> okay. hold on a second. i would also like to briefly mention that sherry would like to introduce herself before we start item number 5. sherry, would you like to do that? sherry can just say a brief hello. >> hi, everybody. i am very happy to be here. it's an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity on the mayor's disability council. i am currently the outreach coordinator for the house for the blind in san francisco. i grew up in new jersey, moved to ohio, and now i've made my way west to san francisco, and i'm very happy to be here. i have spent many, many years

in blindness related leadership roles, in consumer advocacy roles. i love doing legislative world, and through now, my job at lighthouse, i get to advocate for people who need services and to make their lives better and fulfilling and know there are solutions to their changes in their vision. what i love to bring to this council is a person living with blindness and knowing that there is a way out. but i believe that if we can start with putting accessibility into projects

before they get off the ground, we are so much better off, inestate of -- instead of trying to undo and fixing later. i just know that, for me, i will speak my truth as someone that lives with blindness and that's what i will bring to the table here in this council and to make life better for those of us who live this walk, so thank you so much for having me, and i look forward so much to working with you. >> thank you, sherry. we all look forward to working with you. we all have a common goal, so thank you. >> thanks so much. >> next, we will move onto item 5, the record from the m.o.d.,

mayor's disability office, and after this, we will have questions and comments, as well. so nicole, would you like to go? >> yes. i'm just pulling up my report, which i sent in advance to you. good afternoon, everybody who's following along and watching on sfgovtv. what i'm going to do, the full report will be posted following this meeting, and so today, i'm going to highlight some legislative and other items that are of critical importance. members of the public who would like to engage with any act of this report can contact us at mod@sfgov.org or by calling us

at 415-554-6789. the report will also be posted, as i mentioned, at sfgov.org/mod following this meeting. so here are the legislative updates that i wanted you to be aware of, at least some of them. i haven't mentioned all of the legislation that impacts people with disabilities today. in the june report, it's the legislation that is the most timely, so i have a couple of announcements around that. so the j.f.k. promenade legislation, you'll be hearing a little bit more about that where that is, so you'll be hearing a little bit more of the legislative referrals around that item. you can find them in the report. around the shared spaces,

enforcement continues, and we're working now on a public service announcement about accessibility and shared spaces that's in progress. if you're a member of the disability community and you'd like to be in a public service announcement, please contact us at mod@sfgov.org, or call 415-554-6789. the next piece of legislation that i'd like to highlight as part of my verbal report is pertaining to state legislation around virtual meetings, open meetings, state and local meetings. you'll recall in last month's

meeting, arcada is asking to continue the public meetings beyond the state legislative order. i'd like to highlight this week that the state attorney general released guidance that reminds jurisdictions to uphold their accessibility obligations, including but not limited to accessible public comment, and the committee is committed to posting this soon so you can learn what's happening in that regard, especially if you have concerns. the next item that i would like

to highlight is work that's happening around the california public utilities commission and the [indiscernible] vehicle. a thanks to all who participated in this public comment and for the m.o.d. for endorsing participation in these efforts, and this is to remind everyone that while e.v.s are a potential transportation to some people with disabilities, especially those who are blind or low vision, there are remaining accessibility features and measures of concern that we want to consider and need to consider. m.o.d. anticipates that we'll

be working with the sfmta to to -- and with the disability community so we can keep track of items of concern. as a reminder, part of the reason that this is critical is permission for operate electric vehicles in san francisco is regulated by the cpuc and the department of motor vehicles but not the city. there are very specific ways that we can participate and workshops and feedback is one of the ways where we can be most impactful. the next piece of state legislation that i want to talk about is senate bill 1480,

which is remote accessible buildings. i mentioned this in the last report, but s.b. 1480 allows voters with disability to submit their voted potentially by e-mail or fax to the elections department potentially improving access to people with disabilities, particularly impacting people who are blind or have other physical disabilities. the bill is currently in the assembly. if the legislation passes, san francisco would have the opportunity to provide leadership implementation, especially if the department of elections is endorsed to do so by the mayor's disability council, so please keep that in mind. that's also legislation that i

wanted to highlight today. i wanted to just remind folks related to covid response in the disability community that covid-19 vaccines are still available. recommended second dose boosters are available still for people who are age 65 and older, people 50 years and older with underlying health conditions, and people who have severely immunocompromised systems, and those are many people with disabilities, as we know. you can call 628-652-2700. as a reminder, for those who are not able to get to a

vaccine center or place of vaccine where it's still available, you can call 658-652-2700. next, i'd like to announce a couple upcoming events and announcements. first, i have an announcement for everyone that that is currently a vacancy in the transbay joint powers authority citizen advisory committee. they're searching for a disability community member to fill the seat that was once held by a community advocate. those interested may contact the tjpa at cac@tjpa.org, and the announcement by be found at

tjpa.org/cacrecruitment, so those interested may take advantage and apply to that position for consideration. finally, i will be talking a little bit more about this as -- on behalf of my colleagues on behalf of the human services agency, but the affordable housing needs assessment, continuing stakeholders needs and surveys are on going now. we need people to participate -- i'll need this -- repeat this again later, but first

sfhsh.org/housing for more information. finally, i have prioritized three items that are up for time sensitivity. the first is remote meeting and accessible public comment that i highlighted earlier. and then, the next is senate bill 1480, remote accessible voting, also referenced earlier. and thirdly, there is the work of the great highway, great highway park, and continuing slow streets. as i mentioned earlier, when the state and local emergency orders are lifted, other projects may be underway that

affect folks with disability or disability citywide, so please consider prioritying them. and then finally, i just want to address highlights as part of your august convening. in may, [indiscernible] the san francisco police department and 311 to discuss safe passage. any critical obligations you may see concerning accessibility on our city sidewalks.

the council is encouraged to place this item on an upcoming public agenda. i wanted to highlight this as something new that started this month, and that's where i'll pause for today. thank you very much. >> great. thank you so much, nicole, director bohn. do any council members have comments or questions at this time? please use the raise hand icon if so. okay. seeing none, great, thank you so much. we will consider and review your report, director bohn. it looks like we have no questions or comments, but it

looks like we have quite a few issues to consider and keep in mind. thank you. shall we move onto the next item, item 6? board discussion, a report on implementation of j.f.k. promenade and golden gate park accessibility improvements. and my presenter is -- hi, my blurry background is giving the interpreter a challenge. our presenter is lucas tobin from san francisco rec and park department and additional presenter is chava kronenberg, or excuse me, if the interpreter mispronounced it, from san francisco m.t.a. i will turn it over to the two of you.

>> thank you chair and others. i'm chava kronenberg from m.t.a. can i share my screen or who will be presenting the slides? oh, i see -- can i just -- i'm going to have a minute to make sure i'm getting the right screen share. can someone verbally confirm that you can see my screen? >> i can see it, chava. >> thank you very much. so again, i'm chava kronenberg from the m.t.a. i'm joined today with my colleague, lucas tobin, from rec and park, and i'll let him introduce himself. lucas, do you want to introduce yourself? >> hi. i'm lucas tobin from recreation

and parks. i supervise our a.d.a. inclusion in programs and parks, and i'm happy to be here today. >> we will be presenting this presentation on our progress on our vast program that has many components specifically around accessibility. i also have some colleagues here from rec and park and m.t.a. who are some of our subject matter experts. great. i'll just jump in, and i want to thank m.d.c. for having us again to give this update. okay. next slide. facing us is a series of

solutions to improve safety, accessibility, and mobility in golden gate park. pictured on this slide is tiffany yu in an adaptive bike share. wheelchair users using the park in the promenade in another picture. in april, an ordinance was approved at the board of supervisors to retail three miles of car-free streets in golden gate park. this ordinance retained 83% of the parking spaces, 80% of roadways are still available for driving and parking. the promenade, which has restricted access, continues to have access for emergency vehicles, muni, paratransit,

the young deliveries, maintenance vehicles, and other vehicles. in addition, this ordinance came with many commitments to advance individual projects and policies that improve many aspects of the promenade. i'm going to take the next few slides to review the commitments made by the department to m.d.c. i just want to -- while i go over those commitments, i want to say the list is not exhaustive, nor is it complete to the resolution passed by this group. so the accessibilities that are currently made and in progress, and we'll be giving you an update on some of these today, was firstly for accessibility

coordinators to be added to the current coordinators, additional accessibility services to be made in golden gate park next to the band shell, and we'll be hearing more about that. more running of the shuttles that have access to restricted streets, including vehicles that are easier to board, new seating, and better signage, improving information. within the concourse garage, we committed to advance a number of items, which is to share more broadly that there is a

15-minute drop-off option for all members in the garage, to improve these garage waiting areas, and to improve additional subsidized waiting areas and discovering bill passes. [please stand by]

. >> -- which is a notoriously difficult area for access for all users and areas along the promenade like conservatory meadows. so now, lucas, i'm going to turn it over to you to discuss safety and accessibility. >> thank you, chava. this outlines the goals for the safety program, keeping bay to beach streets car free in

golden gate park, equity, which to us, includes the disability community. accessibility, improve access for people with disabilities and older adults, and mobility. ensure great choices for everyone because of course people have different ways of getting around. and the image on this slide is of some people boarding the golden gate park shutting at the rose garden, and thank you. so the next few slides are going to talk about progress that we've already made, which chava mentioned. the all new parking lot in the music concourse is already opened. it's got a completely repaved surface. 20 accessible parking spaces,

four of which are van accessible, and it's also got curb ramps and accessible paths of travel to all of the destinations in the music concourse as well as the botanical gardens, the tea gardens, and all of the features that are close to the band shell. i believe chava took these images. there are two images of the parking lot. there is also some other things. this slide talks about more progress that we've made, including shuttle operations and routing. the shuttle has a new route with stops at all of the key destinations in the eastern end

of the park, including still lake, the parking lot that i was just talking about, at the band shell, and the haight street. and the haight street stop connects with three more muni bus lines or m.t.a. bus lines. the shuttle runs now seven days a week, and it runs every 15 minutes on weekends and every 20 on weekdays. we've also improved the shuttle information and signage and put benches at all of the shuttle stops. the signs are still temporary, but we're -- will eventually get signage that's permanent and show access to crosswalks. i'm not sure.

this may be at the end of nancy pelosi drive, where the shuttle intersects with j.f.k. i've been creating access plans in golden gate park and other areas for several years, but now, we have the whole rec and park team on board to make sure that those things are created and followed. we're also looking for an intern or staff person that can help collaborate on projects that we started a year ago to make sure that events on park property have good access plans, not only in golden gate

park but in all areas of the city. access plans include driving directions, where to park, including blue zones, information for people taking paratransit and ride share, shuttle information and extending shuttle hours.

>> -- and that the public understands why they're there. in addition, unneeded and confusing signage that has been removed along the car free routes, including parking and speed and other signs that were really directed at cars, and some confusing signage on j.f.k. have been removed, and improved stencils being placed on the pavement. our partnerships division is

continuing efforts to provide free shuttles to the park from communities that don't have easy access, with the goal being helping people feel comfortable making return trips to the park. this year, they're including specialized american sign language and everybody travels camps will be visiting through the program. they've already provided visits for the rafiki coalition, the network for elders, feline finesse, and this slide shows some of the participants of the plan. they all get it, that this

includes people with disabilities, and would love to invite other groups. if anyone has any suggestions for any groups who mite want to visit the park and take advantage of the shuttle, you can contact me and i will put you in touch with them. i'll put my e-mail in the chat. so this slide shows more to come. there's a slide that shows what looks like older adults walking on the promenade. as far as the shuttle goes, we're working with some awesome people from adobe to provide shuttle information in three key areas, including website

improvements, which will include more accessible, visible, and better information on the website, which is better to use when you're using a mobile device. the second is improving the temporary signage that we have at the shuttle stops now but also on the permanent signage that we're going to create going forward, and then creating on going signage and information when you're on the shuttle, because we were hearing feedback once you're on the shuttle you need information on where to get off and everything. real-time information for the shuttle is still a work in progress. integrating the shuttle with apple and google is not as easy as it sounds, as chava educated me on, but that is something that we're working on. and then, one of the most

important things is the new contract for the shuttles should be starting in 2023, and one of the requirements of the provider is that the vehicles have low floors so they're easier for people to get on and off. and also, the new contract will include better training for the drivers and more. let's see...the next slide shows an image of the beginning of the closed section of j.f.k. and talks about curved ramps and funding improvements. funding has been included in this year's fiscal 22-23 budget

for some physical improvements that we know we need to make. including curb ramps on j.f.k. and the conservatory because we know that that has been a difficult place to access. the stanyan street frontage, and level pads and some things that need to be created at these shuttle stops. like i said, they are included in the budget for this upcoming fiscal year, so they are on track to be implemented by summer of 2023. and finally, something i'm really excited about is the adaptive bike program is getting some great upgrades and

will be relaunching in the coming weeks. we had a little bit of a delay getting it started just because of some limited issues, but it'll be starting soon. it'll be running every saturday at two locations, and so it'll be the first and third saturday. it'll be right next to the new accessible parking lot in the music concourse, alongside the segway and rental bike stations, and then, they'll be on judah street.

they're close to public transportation, and most importantly, they're great places to go for a ride. through the new program, individuals or groups can reserve their bikes and their spaces directly through borp, and borp, if you don't know, is bay area outreach and recreation program. now, i will pass it back over to chava. >> thank you, lucas. the restoration traffic and continuing traffic to sunset boulevard via m.l.k. drive in the east direction, we believe

that will be implemented in the next two weeks. we have made a commitment, and we want to make sure that as we restore vehicle traffic that there is safe places for people to walk and bike and access the polo field. exciting for those folks that are big fans of public transit. the haight 23 will be in a modified route to golden gate park starting on july 9. so for those of you that are on the 19 sunset route, there is an outreach project currently underway, and i encourage you to go to the m.t.a. website to

learn more and contact the project manager to ensure that the 29 sunset is a continuing way to get around. there is continued progress on many of the garage related amendments. the music garage are being worked on by several nonprofits. including free or subsidized parking for up to three areas.

that continues to be a work in progress, and i hope to have more information soon and i think most critically and importantly, this is our first progress update, so we hope to have more progress in the coming months. we are tentatively to go to the board of supervisors public safety and neighborhood services committee. we will be hosting our presentation in a quarterly report memo on the m.t.a. rec and park website, and we've been asked how can the disability community and the

kmupt at large continue to give input and share? and -- community at large continue to give input and share? first, i want to say that staff are continuing to act on all the feedback that you've given previously. we had a design workshop last november, where we had a tremendous amount of feedback, and we are taking all of that and ensuring that as we move forward on the shuttle, we are doing that on the good advice and information that has been provided. as we start new efforts that are responsive to these commitments, and the one that i'll flag specifically is the fast and slow lanes transportation improvements on the promenade itself.

that is launching a current team, and hopes to launch itself in the coming months, and great outreach and communication with them, especially from the disability communities, so it will independently have its own public outreach process, and so we will make sure that we connect with this group. and there are other opportunities or commitments that m.d.c. and people who are attending this meeting are interested in participating in, we would like feedback from you all about the best forum. we've considered some committees [indiscernible] is that what prosac stands for? >> yes, yes. >> or if there is a specific

group that is interested in hosting us. i know that the senior disability action group hosted us, or if there's any other ideas or forums, you know, we would like to just hear from this group about the right place to communicate and share. so that is just an ask of this group. and so i think that concludes my report, and lucas' report. lucas, is there anything we want to add before we turn it over? >> i don't think so. >> so we'll conclude here, and we look forward to hearing your feedback, and thank you, m.d.c., for having us here. and if i could stop screen sharing, that would be great.

>> orkid says already, great. [indiscernible] says i'm sorry for wearing a mask. i am at work with the public, so i have to wear a mask. so next up is public comment regarding what was just shared and staff comment, as well. so do i think we should do public comment first? >> let me just interject here. this is debbie. there are four questions that have come in from the public in the question-and-answer area,

and so with your permission, i'll ask those first. they all seem to be related. yeah, let me read those. first one, when will the ramps for crossing kezar drive be widens, and when did [indiscernible] for crossing four lanes of high speed car traffic? >> sure. i think this is a question for m.t.a., and it's not related to any proposed ordinance, but it's to the east of the geographic area that was covered through the ordinance. this is, i believe, asking

kezar drive east to west. so from j.f.k., it's -- so i think it's a capital request for improvement to the curb ramps on kezar drive east of j.f.k. park. it's something that i can certainly take back to my colleagues at m.t.a. this is outside of the scope of our area, but i understand this is a specific concern and question. >> okay. thank you, and so i think m.d.c. will also -- the m.o.d. staff will also be happy to help you keep track of it. the next question is when will signage and wayfinding be added

to the western edge of j.f.k. promenade to make people aware of the west end car free route and direct them to that route? >> yes. so broadly, the first step was removing signage and inaccurate information along the entire route, so as lucas alluded to, for example, removing parking signs on the promenade or any other areas that no longer had parking spaces available. the next step will include how are we going to make it clear for people walking, biking, strolling, or rolling along the route to understand the route they should be taking? there is currently

bike wayfinding signage, so we are working on currently improving that, so our hope is in the next six months, we'll be upgrading the signage on the entire route and near transverse drive on the western end of j.f.k. >> thank you. another one. when will signage and way finding be added to upper great highway, lincoln boulevard, and m.l.k. drive to make people aware of the car free light route to j.f.k. promenade when traveling westbound? >> i think that's the same answer. this is a request for broad way finding for, and we are currently working to implement that.

>> okay. when will the [indiscernible] to reduce conflict points between people and the 44 bus? >> i don't believe there's plans to remove the barriers. one is it is to give visual cues to any driver that they should be entering j.f.k. drive, so someone could enter from music concourse accidentally. we are considering, as department weigh, to upgrade these intersections for ledgibility and to remove an awful lot of older markings on the street and temporary markings on the street, and so we will also review where the

barriers are replaced and confirm that there is safe places for people to cross and understandable places for people to cross while retaining access to the 44. >> and i'm just add to that -- and i'll just add to that, i wasn't aware of conflicts in the area, but if the commenter has any comments or ideas, like chava was saying, it's necessary to have the barriers to make sure that people don't drive their cars through. >> okay. just one more question, and

that is, when will more space be created for people on foot and wheels to go to j.f.k. promenade from the kezar crosswalk where there is congestion, being too little space for people and too much space for cars on kezar drive? >> i think this is related to the first question, where we had the comment, what improvements can be made to the safety, and i think that would be the next steps. how can we improve upgrades and access points to the promenade, particularly when we have a new traffic configuration. >> okay. these came in from an anonymous member of the public, but just to that member, if you wish to

get assistance in tracking responses, please let us know. okay. >> so let's move onto general public comment. we'll do that first this time. this is nicole speaking. we'll move to general public comment, and if you have additional public comments, if you could address them via public comment, we'll come back to the council to be able to ask any additional questions, and then, our presenters can choose to respond if they have the information or take it back to their groups. so let's move to general public comment now, and then, we'll come back to the council. >> okay. so this is iman. for public comment, i would like to remind the public that if you are interested in making public comment, you can dial star, nine if you're on the

phone in order to be recognized, and you'll be prompted when it's your turn. or if you're using the zoom platform, you can use the raise hand icon to indicate you would like to make public comment. you can also type it into the chat, and it will be read by the clerk. i see two people indicating they would like to make public comment at this time. caller 7629, you are now permitted to unmute. >> hello. my name is richard rothman, and two comments. the conservancy of flowers is very inaccessible to people with disabilities. the parking by the tennis court, you know, it's not -- you know, people from the

tennis court use it, and one of the things, it's too close to the barriers. i've told rec and park staff. they could put some a.d.a. parking behind the flowers there. you know, if you have to cross there, the skaters, they don't stop for people. the conservancy of flowers is inaccessible. you know, i rode the van. i wanted to ride the shuttle, but i wasn't really experiencing the park.

it's just not being able to be in your own car makes one feel like they're not a part of the park and part of the experience. maybe they need to have all the bikers and skaters in the area with the beach, and they can have the whole road on m.l.k. from transverse to the ocean and connect to the great highway. i imagine i'll never go to the park again in that area. the garage, it's dark in there. who do i talk to with m.t.a. about the garage. you can't see the m.t.a.

signage in there. it needs to be better lit, and that program of who gets the discount, it's totally inadequate. i don't know who sponsored that legislation or who worked on it. i'm on prosac, but i don't know who to ask about these questions. there's been some work done, but there's still a long way to go. thank you. >> thank you for your public comment. thank you. next public comment. >> helen wall, she's permitted to unmute. >> hi. thanks for your presentation. i just have two quick questions

now. people with electric or motor motor -- motorized wheelchairs, their batteries are going to get used up in the park. are we going to provide charging stations? and then, the bicycle program, that may not work for some people. that borp, that's a great plan, but are we considering for the plan for people who do walk but have mobility issues, like our elders, that there might be a rental situation for a mobile scooter or something of the like so they have equity in terms of having a bit of freedom like the speaker before spoke, to enjoy the park and get in up and close for

themselves on some of the nice pathways to enjoy the flowers. there's gorgeous flowers in the park. so those are my two questions, and i hope to hear some answers or thoughts. >> thank you very much, are there any more public comments? >> yes, we have another person. dean has been permitted to unmute. you have something up. >> okay. can you hear me now? >> yeah. >> okay.

i heard a word in the report about segway. are segways, why are they being used in san francisco? now, i heard the mention of a segway stand in san francisco, in front of that new taxi stand. if segways are being so widely used, are people with disabilities being widely protected against their use? that's all. >> thank you so much. are there any other public comments at this time? >> i do not see anyone.

i'll close public comment at this time. >> okay. let's now move onto council comments. anything to add here? we can raise our hands to indicate we have a comment from council. any council members at this time? >> yes, this is sherry. >> okay. sherry, go ahead. >> hi. i have a question concerning the shuttle. what kinds of considerations are being made for a blind person to have access to the schedule for the shuttle? any real-time, as you're at a stop, when is it going to get

there? and i heard something about information while you're on the shuttle. does that mean, like signage? is it spoken, verbal, real-time, like, the next stop is, as if you were on a muni bus or a.c. transit, so what kinds of accommodations are being made for people with low vision? >> hi. this is lucas. so i -- when i was speaking about the new contract with the new shuttle provide coming fairly soon, and we are -- and i'm not 100% sure that it's written into the contract, but what we want to provide on the shuttle is, you know, like, what the buses provide, so there's auditory information

and visual information about the stops, and like i mentioned, it is -- it's a work in progress providing gps on the shuttles and getting them onto a system where we can -- you know, people can get the real-time information on when the shuttle is going to arrive. so right now, it's coming every 15 minutes on the weekends and 20 minutes on the weekday. we know that people don't want that. they want the real-time information that they can access from their phones or from the stop that they're at. it's going to take some time for us to do that, but we know that that's part of what's making it a good useable system and making it accessible so

it's available to people with low vision or people who are deaf or hard of hearing, so we definitely have that. we've heard that loud and clear that those are things that we need to do. >> okay. >> i don't have the exact answer at this point. >> but -- >> but it is in the plan. >> -- it's one of our priorities. >> okay. thank you. >> thank you so much, sherry. thank you for your comment. helen is next. would you like to ask your question, helen? >> yes, thank you. hi, everyone, and i want to thank the presenters for the presentation today and all of your good work. i appreciate all of the -- i think everyone is very well intentioned and there's a lot of goodwill here. i also want to make the point,

and lucas, i appreciate you stating it in your presentation, how disability really is part of the discussion we should be -- we have when we talk about equity and diversity. and i find oftentimes the disability community is left out of that conversation, and i think inappropriately, so thank you all. >> wonderful. tiffany, would you like to go next? >> sure. this is tiffany. i also wanted to just echo helen's comments just around not only how comprehensive the presentation was but i think

the collaboration between not only the m.d.c. and what happened but also the timeline, i'm really appreciating, so i just wanted to name that working forward we're continuing to partner with m.t.a. and rec and park over the next little bit. i think the senior and disability action group that you named is a really great resource for you and their transit justice group, i know that was one of your asks in the region around outreach. i personally turn to them and a lot of their advocacy work and leadership to help guide what's going to be on the advocacy agenda. and i'd also add, if it wasn't for being on the mayor's disability council or tuning into these meetings, i wouldn't have known about the adaptive biking program or all of the

great work that -- i know there's still a lot of progress that we have to make, but that there's still progress being made, and i appreciate everyone from m.t.a. and rec and park coming here and sharing the information because i think we're figuring out how to make outreach seamless to different parts of our community. >> great. thank you. thank you for your comments, tiffany. and we have an additional member signing. this is orkid. i know that golden gate park has changed a lot. it's kind of shocking to me as a resident. i frequently go to the cal academy of sciences and the deyoung museum. i use both of those facilities, and i've seen a lot of changes.

i go from district 9 to district 1 frequently, and that's quite a lot of navigating -- it's quite challenging, and i know there's a lot of changes on that route. so i'm grateful for what's happened, and i know it's going to take time to adjust, especially for people trying to get to schools from one side of one to the other. there's a lot of traffic, transit is very crowded. there's difficulties with bike lanes and cars and drivers. all that aside, i'm also thankful to see the partnership

with the community and look forward to that continuing so that we're all able to make the most of our city. so i know it's challenging to really be in deep partnership, but i'm grateful for that. and i hope that these improvements will really make it more accessible for everyone because it's really frustrating for those who wish to use the park and are unable to. so again, i want to say thank you to our presenters, lucas tobin and chava kronenberg. oh, chava, did you want to say something? >> no, i just wanted to say thank you. >> okay. m.l.d. staff, did you want to say something? >> think nico d -- this is

nicole, but i wanted to make sure there were no other council members that wanted to say something because i'll cede part of my time to you. all right. if something does come up, raise your hand or let us know. so first of all, thank you, lucas and chava, for being here. also, i really want to -- i thank you, but i also really want to thank this council because the resolution and the work that you've done to help continue these conversations, we know that not everybody is in agreement, but we also know that the work that the council did around the resolution has truly, truly shaped how we have prioritized accessibility improvements, so i just wanted to acknowledge that again, and that the city has truly taken your recommendations and is

working towards more improvements. as we learned today, we have a lot farther to go, but thank you to the council. i just wanted to acknowledge that the and the time and the efforts -- that and the time and the efforts that you've taken to be engaged at the supervisors level will continue to be an experience for everyone. my questions, i was hoping we could address briefly. i know there's some things on the list -- so there's a lot of things on the list, and we have a timeline for when certain things can be addressed. i'm wondering if one of you is able to speak to -- and maybe,

chava, this is for you -- you mentioned briefly some mandatory reporting you'll be doing to the board of supervisors. i'm just wondering if you could share a little bit more the kinds of things that you'll be sharing at that meeting, just so the public is aware so that when it comes up, may have context for what it is, and then, i had some other thoughts. but if you could do that, that would be great. >> thank you so much. so as needed, we will be meeting with the board of supervisors, and proactively just making sure we're putting information on our website. so the presentation will take much of the same -- it will be very similar to what we just saw. so where there's information lacking or people thought information could be expanded or there's not interest, it would be great to have that

feedback. that said, the presentation will take a very similar vein, and i know that many members of the board of supervisors had a comment list, so we want to be responsive to every comment that was made. we will have a quarterly report, for those who don't want to listen to any presentations and would just like to read all of this information in writing, so i hope that's a satisfactory -- yeah. okay. >> thank you. that really helps. i'm really thinking toward the question how to continue to collect feedback from members of the public. i think we've had some good ideas raised. i also want to encourage members of the public, we will collect the feedback that we've received as part of this meeting and make sure that it gets back to folks working on

the project so that we have that, but i just want to encourage the public to contact the m.d.c. or m.o.d., either entity, if there are still areas of concern that you would really like focus on so that we can use that for now as a way to make sure that we're engaging in public feedback. one of the questions that i have -- or one of the concerns, i should say, that is coming to, at least into me most frequently still remains around wayfinding, especially for folks that do not have access to the internet, and so i just wanted to name that as something that, in helping people learn kind of how to nav

nav -- navigate the park. it's still a challenge for some folks, so i wanted to elevate that. and then, if -- the other thing that i was going to ask, so i had a -- i was able to go into -- into -- take muni into golden gate park to see the quilt, and it was beautiful. it was great to see some of the things starting to happen, and i'm glad there were escorts down to the quilt for some of the folks that needed that. so anything that we can do to have -- when we have specific exhibits like that, where we can improve the micromobility access, let's continue to do that. one of the questions that i was

wondering, though, so in relation to way finding and what exists now with google maps and apple maps and every map on one's smart phone, so we've had some ability to influence, you know, driving directions and wayfinding a little bit that way, it sounds like. i'm just curious, and i know that being assessable mapping is something that is kind of on the list and we're going to continue working on that. i was just curious, to the degree that we would have influence with google and apple around helping with kind of best paths walking routing? one of the things that i was noticing as i was scooting around -- i'm a wheelchair user, also, for people that may

not know that -- the electronic maps don't really take into account if it's actually a rubrick that comes to a dead end. does that make sense? so i was just wondering, do we have influence over that? and the last thing i will say is i think the ideas, again, around micromobility are great, and also, the idea about having places for folks to charge their batteries and mobile devices, i think that is a really great idea. as a person that uses an electric mobility device, i would have appreciated that when i was there last weekend myself. so that's all i'll say, but i'm wondering what thoughts you have, either of you, on that.

>> i can speak a little on that. well, first of all, i just want today say thank you for your leadership and your advocacy and elevation of these key accessibility issues so that we can make progress on them, and making sure that as new ideas come in, that we can listen to them. i think as far as google and apple, while they may be local companies, they're more international.

i'm sure there's an opportunity for us to connect with them and learn more about what kind of ideas we can do. thank you for that idea, and i don't have any concern raising that and seeing what we can make progress on together. >> and i'll chime in. i agree with what chava said about that, and i can think that those are the things that are definitely possible and should be possible. i like what you said about the micromobility access, and that really is -- should be part of, you know, the quilt is, like, an event, right, or it's an exhibit, and just like when we

had the entwined exhibit, i worked on an access plan for that, and so those are the kinds of things that -- and now, i feel like because the focus is on this, there's a team working on these things, and we can do better with finding creative solutions and eating things as part of those he plans, like what you call micromobility or microaccess. and so -- so those things are definitely doable, and if you have suggestions on, you know, for specific installations or events or things like that, i'm sure talk, and as far as -- you mentioned way finding for people who don't use smart

phones. we would include things like accessible paths. we've turned off a lot of the outlets because people vandalizing them or using them for things that they shouldn't be using in our parks. they're not just sort of out there for people to find on their own, but charging stations are a thing that i've been hearing for a few years. all of that, because our facilities are public spaces,

people are allowed to go in there, and they definitely can plug in and charge, and so some of that is, my challenge is just educating the staff, that people should be allowed to plug in their devices. but every time the issue comes up, it's just a matter of how do we set it up and which locations and everything, so i still feel it's a great idea and something that's needed. >> thank you. let me just speak a little bit more. one of our public comments mentioned the different kinds of devices in the park, and i know we're going to be working

on getting devices linked, and maybe it's too early to talk about that, but if you can say a few words, that would be great. >> maddie is going to put herself on the spot, that would be fine, but it's okay to decline. she might be the subject matter expert. we understand that there's a natural conflict. anyplace that we have these chaired straits, embarcadero, it's a timeless conflict, but our hope is that given the width, we can engage in a community process for you all and for others to sort of say how can we best assign space for people who would choose to

use the promenade and not use the sidewalk to feel safe and not stay out of the area. we're hoping to engage in a more robust dialogue, and i'm hoping that the project team will start coalescing in the coming months, and i hope that satisfies the question. >> i think so. would you like to add anything, maddie? i notice you're waving. >> no, i just wanted to say hi, everyone. she pretty much covered it, but i just wanted to reiterate the process around road safety. we've heard from folks using

j.f.k. and the space safely. again, appreciate everybody for coming today and say that you will be hearing more from us soon. >> great, and i just want to say one more time for the public that we'll take all of this feedback, and based on the feedback that came through your public comments and through the q&a today, i think we'll have a presentation for the board to address some of the public concerns. even better, i'm so pleased with the -- how far we've come since the very beginning of this process, so thank you once again. debbie, is there anything else you would like to -- >> it's orkid. can i jump in here? i just wanted to ask if there's anymore public comments from

the staff because time is very limited, and we are running out of time on this section of the agenda. >> that's what i was just asking. >> no, i've got no other comment other than what people were already asking. >> all right. so john, would you like to come on the screen? no john? nothing from the staff? >> i think we're fine, orkid. we can close the item. >> okay. so now, it's 2:50, and we will come back at 3:05. so 15-minute break. thank you so much for your presentations today. thank you so much for coming to see us, and we look forward to what is to come. all right. everyone, have a good break.

see you back at 3:05. >> and a confirmation from sfgovtv that we're ready to go back on-line again. >> this is denise. i'm ready to go back on call. >> okay. so are we ready? is everyone ready? okay. so nicole, i guess we should start. >> yeah. >> okay. great. >> hello, again. we are all back from our break. welcome to m.d.c., mayor's disability office discussion. we will now be speaking about item number 7, which is aging

and disability house needs and assessment. so we have isabel today from h.s.a., and nicole, you will be replacing somebody. >> hi, everybody. izzy was on a wedding planning committee today, so she was not able to be here. i'm going to be presenting the housing assessment needs, and

i'm hoping that john or kadi are able to put up the slides. are you able to put it on a slide presentation, so it's a little bit easier to see? for folks who want to follow along, and i'm going to look at my own copy in just a moment here, but if whomever is screen sharing, if you go to slide show view, i think that would be helpful. did we lose it?

the slides? debbie or john? >> okay. if you have anything else you want to fill in, i will get it up in just a sec. >> okay. well, i'll just -- i'll just start, and we'll catch up with the slides. the slide information is posted with the other mayor's disability council content by the agendas, correct? >> yes. >> okay. so that's for folks who would like to reference it later. so i'll just go ahead. so this is a reminder. the affordable housing needs

assessment report was part of an ordinance, the ordinance was passed in december 2020, and it was part of two reports that focused on older people and people with disabilities. this legislation is led by disability and aging services within the human services agency. like i said, normally, they would be the ones that would be presenting on this. mayor's office on disability, the mayor's office on housing and community development, and the department of homelessness and supportive housing are also named partners in this legislation. so as such, we're on the steering committee, so that is why you get to hear from me on about specifically today. but i just want to be clear that we're steering committee members, and i'll be providing

just a brief overview. so first of all, you heard in -- earlier in the fall or the housing needs assessment, which provides a snapshot of housing needs for older people and people with disabilities as well as those housing units in the production pipeline as they are tracked by the mayor's office on housing and community development. the first one was due on october 2021, so just last fall, and every year, we need to do an overview, except when we're in the needs assessment, which is where we are now. now, we're in the housing

assessment and needs pipeline report, which is an announcement of senior and disability housing needs, city housing programs and services, and recommendations to meet the unmet needs in the housing system, so that's the process that we're in right now. that report will be due october 2022, and then, that report will be due every three years. so i'm still working on getting the slides up, it seems like. so i'll keep going. in talking a little bit about the needs assessment timeline. so phase one was the project launch. that was -- that happened in october 2021 through january 2022. in that first phase, we developed the project plan, we coordinated the key departments, and we got the

services -- design consulting services together and thought about the analytic approach. right now, in the timeline, we're in phase two, data collection and analysis, that run from february to july. thank you for putting up the slides. i just need to change my view so i that can see a little bit. one second. okay. and then -- so that's where we are right now. we're in the community engagement process. we're doing research, we're collecting feedback from folks and really working at the gaps analysis in how we are doing in affordable housing. and so the third phase is going to be developing

recommendations that's coming out of the community engagement phase, and then refresh any new data that had -- that mite have needed to be added since the last overview report, and then, the public will see the published report by october 1. so as part of what's happening now, the city needs to be aware of the affordable housing needs. just for folks' awareness, when we're talking about city founded affordable housing, we're talking about affordable

housing that is part of the general affordable housing portfolio that the city has but also the permanent supported housing unit that also has city services and some things attached to these buildings and facilities. and your input will help us develop recommendations to address those unmet needs, like i mentioned, and hopefully will improve coordination. and so what i wanted to highlight for today because the community engagement and the community forums have started, and also one-on-one stakeholder engagement has started, next month, there are some more community forums, so we wanted

to encourage people with disabilities especially to join the community forum next week if you can. attended the second one, so two have happened, and there are three more to go. i attended the virtual one that was on thursday, and i will say that we got a lot of very rich information, especially from community based organizations, especially from older adults and adults with disabilities who are wanting to be in or are in supportive housing or affordable housing or they've tried to access affordable housing and they can't or they don't meet the lower income threshold to qualify or they're in housing but they need more affordable -- accessible affordable housing, so from all

sorts of folks. what i would say is that we are still really looking and needing feedback from people with disabilities who have either navigated the housing system and were not successful or navigated the system and are currently in affordable housing so we can make improvements. so there are community forums happening. there's a very previous survey that folks can take. and i would say we really want

to hear from folks over the age of 30, but we really want to hear from everyone. please be aware that we're looking for feedback from everyone, but especially from these groups. later on in july, we will have a deaf focus group specifically to collect feedback from the deaf community around these same issues, and communication reasons, and because the level of detail that the interviewer's getting to, we

thought it would be good to have it in sign language or interpreters. we anticipate that being in the last week of july, either the 25 or 26, right in time for the anniversary of the americans with disabilities act, so that's good timing at least in that regard. so if you need more information or want to take the survey, you can go to sfhsa.org/survey. that's all the information i wanted to present today regarding this topic, so i'm

not sure what's next, if we're going to public comment next or council questions. >> this is orkid here. there are a few things before we move on. public comment and then council members and then staff comments, so just for everyone who's confused, we will let you know the protocol. for public comment, you can either type your comment or let us know in some other way that you'd like to be unmuted, and you'll have up to three minutes. do we have any public comment? >> i would like to remind the public that you can make public comment by dialing star, nine to be recognized over the phone or by using the raised hand

icon within the zoom platform. at this time, i do not see anyone indicating that they want to make public comment. >> great. and i don't see any typing in the chat room, either. do you, iman? >> i do not see any comments or questions that were typed in the q&a box. >> okay. then we'll move onto council members. any council member who would like to make a comment or ask a question, please raise your hand. okay. i'm not hearing any. this is orkid here. i actually have a comment to make. director vaughn, this is great, and -- director bohn, this is great, and i'm actually looking forward to the community

housing forum. often, those with housing situation -- those agencies that provide housing help often don't know how to accommodate a deaf person or how to get an interpreter or so on, so the last week of july sounds wonderful. i'll be entrenched with you, and thank you, director bohn, for that wonderful overview. any other comments or questions before we move onto staff comments or questions? >> may i just say that we will be definitely touching base with you and folks in the deaf services center. i really need every single council member's help in getting in on the opportunity

to get out the word about feedback needed on affordable housing in san francisco. it's going to form what we do for the next three years, so i really -- i can't emphasize enough that we really get the word out and spread the word to folks with disabilities about their experiences so we can identify those gaps and make those improvements. >> yes. definitely, definitely. any other staff commentary -- debbie, did you want to comment? >> no comment. >> oh, i think your computer

made a noise. any other council comments? last chance. all right. >> okay. >> on number 8, and thank you, again, director bohn, for that report. oh, i see debbie. item 8. debbie, is there any correspondence since the last meeting that we need to discuss or address? >> and the answer is no, there is no correspondence to report. >> okay. great. thank you very much. moving on, item number 9, general public comment. are there any public comments for topics that were not on our agenda today but within the purview of the council?

iman, would you like to start? >> umm, okay. as a reminder to the public, you can indicate that you want to make public comment by dialing star, nine over the phone to be recognized or by using the raise hand icon within the zoom platform. as orkid mentioned, at this time, members of the public may address the council on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the council that are not on this meeting agenda. i do not see any members of the public indicating they want to make public comment. i also don't see any comments within the q&a box.

>> okay. so hearing no additional comments or questions at this time, next on the agenda is item number 10, discussion item. comments, announcements from council members. any announcements from council members? i do have one, but i wanted to give you the first opportunity. this is your chance, council members. okay. it's summer. things are different, i guess -- oh, tiffany says nothing from her. okay. so i'm hoping that everyone has a wonderful summer, and that we'll see you again in july, and we will have a staff retreat in july, so if you're wondering where we are, we're not off the grid, we've gone into retreat, so we will be doing that in july.

>> august, actually, orkid. >> i'm sorry. maybe that was an interpreter mistake. can you say it again? sorry. that was an interpreter error. the retreat will be in august, so -- the staff retreat will be in august, so if you're wondering where we are, we will be doing some training with the staff. the council and staff are doing some training and working on our work internally. so we're not off on vacation, we're doing work. so if you have any comments, again, please contact m.d.c. at

mod@sfgov.org. thank you to all the council, staff, and the presenters for making today happen. we're thankful for you and hope to see you all again in july, and have a great summer. so do we now move on, i believe, to item number 11, adjournment. >> go ahead, orkid. >> all right. well, thank you all. all right. meeting adjourned.

>> once i got the hang of it a little bit, you know, like the first time, i never left the court. i just fell in love with it and any opportunity i had to get out there, you know, they didn't have to ask twice. you can always find me on the court. [♪♪♪] >> we have been able to participate in 12 athletics

wheelchairs. they provide what is an expensive tool to facilitate basketball specifically. behind me are the amazing golden state road warriors, which are one of the most competitive adaptive basketball teams in the state led by its captain, chuck hill, who was a national paralympic and, and is now an assistant coach on the national big team. >> it is great to have this opportunity here in san francisco. we are the main hub of the bay area, which, you know, we should definitely have resources here. now that that is happening, you know, i i'm looking forward to that growing and spreading and helping spread the word that needs -- that these people are here for everyone. i think it is important for people with disabilities, as well as able-bodied, to be able to see and to try different

sports, and to appreciate trying different things. >> people can come and check out this chairs and use them. but then also friday evening, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., it will be wheelchair basketball we will make sure it is available, and that way people can no that people will be coming to play at the same time. >> we offer a wide variety of adaptive and inclusion programming, but this is the first time we have had our own equipment. [♪♪♪]

>> growing up in san francisco has been way safer than growing up other places we we have that bubble, and it's still that bubble that it's okay to be whatever you want to. you can let your free flag fry -- fly here. as an adult with autism, i'm here to challenge people's idea of what autism is. my journey is not everyone's journey because every autistic child is different, but there's hope. my background has heavy roots in the bay area. i was born in san diego and adopted out to san francisco when i was about 17 years old. i bounced around a little bit

here in high school, but i've always been here in the bay. we are an inclusive preschool, which means that we cater to emp. we don't turn anyone away. we take every child regardless of race, creed, religious or ability. the most common thing i hear in my adult life is oh, you don't seem like you have autism. you seem so normal. yeah. that's 26 years of really, really, really hard work and i think thises that i still do. i was one of the first open adoptions for an lgbt couple. they split up when i was about four. one of them is partnered, and one of them is not, and then my biological mother, who is also a lesbian. very queer family. growing up in the 90's with a queer family was odd, i had the bubble to protect me, and here,

i felt safe. i was bullied relatively infrequently. but i never really felt isolated or alone. i have known for virtually my entire life i was not suspended, but kindly asked to not ever bring it up again in first grade, my desire to have a sex change. the school that i went to really had no idea how to handle one. one of my parents is a little bit gender nonconforming, so they know what it's about, but my parents wanted my life to be safe. when i have all the neurological issues to manage, that was just one more to add to it. i was a weird kid. i had my core group of, like, very tight, like, three friends. when we look at autism, we characterize it by, like, lack of eye contact, what i do now

is when i'm looking away from the camera, it's for my own comfort. faces are confusing. it's a lack of mirror neurons in your brain working properly to allow you to experience empathy, to realize where somebody is coming from, or to realize that body language means that. at its core, autism is a social disorder, it's a neurological disorder that people are born with, and it's a big, big spectrum. it wasn't until i was a teenager that i heard autism in relation to myself, and i rejected it. i was very loud, i took up a lot of space, and it was because mostly taking up space let everybody else know where i existed in the world. i didn't like to talk to people really, and then, when i did, i overshared. i was very difficult to be around. but the friends that i have are very close.

i click with our atypical kiddos than other people do. in experience, i remember when i was five years old and not wanting people to touch me because it hurt. i remember throwing chairs because i could not regulate my own emotions, and it did not mean that i was a bad kid, it meant that i couldn't cope. i grew up in a family of behavioral psychologists, and i got development cal -- developmental psychology from all sides. i recognize that my experience is just a very small picture of that, and not everybody's in a position to have a family that's as supportive, but there's also a community that's incredible helpful and wonderful and open and there for you in your moments of need. it was like two or three years of conversations before i was like you know what? i'm just going to do this, and

i went out and got my prescription for hormones and started transitioning medically, even though i had already been living as a male. i have a two-year-old. the person who i'm now married to is my husband for about two years, and then started gaining weight and wasn't sure, so i went and talked with the doctor at my clinic, and he said well, testosterone is basically birth control, so there's no way you can be pregnant. i found out i was pregnant at 6.5 months. my whole mission is to kind of normalize adults like me. i think i've finally found my calling in early intervention, which is here, kind of what we do. i think the access to care for parents is intentionally confusing. when i did the prospective

search for autism for my own child, it was confusing. we have a place where children can be children, but it's very confusing. i always out myself as an adult with autism. i think it's helpful when you know where can your child go. how i'm choosing to help is to give children that would normally not be allowed to have children in the same respect, kids that have three times as much work to do as their peers or kids who do odd things, like, beach therapy. how do -- speech therapy. how do you explain that to the rest of their class? i want that to be a normal experience. i was working on a certificate and kind of getting think early childhood credits before i started working here, and we did a section on transgender inclusion, inclusion, which is

a big issue here in san francisco because we attract lots of queer families, and the teacher approached me and said i don't really feel comfortable or qualified to talk about this from, like, a cisgendered straight person's perspective, would you mind talking a little bit with your own experience, and i'm like absolutely. so i'm now one of the guest speakers in that particular class at city college. i love growing up here. i love what san francisco represents. the idea of leaving has never occurred to me. but it's a place that i need to fight for to bring it back to what it used to be, to allow all of those little kids that come from really unsafe environments to move somewhere safe. what i've done with my life is work to make all of those situations better, to bring a little bit of light to all those kind of issues that we're still having, hoping to expand into a little bit more of a resource center, and this resource center would be more

those new parents who have gotten that diagnosis, and we want to be this one centralized place that allows parents to breathe for a second. i would love to empower from the bottom up, from the kid level, and from the top down, from the teacher level. so many things that i would love to do that are all about changing people's minds about certain chunts, like the transgender community or the autistic community. i would like my daughter to know there's no wrong way to go through life. everybody experiences pain and grief and sadness, and that all of those things are temporary.

>> we are right now in outer richmond in the last business area of this city.

this area of merchants is in the most western part of san francisco, continue blocks down the street they're going to fall into the pacific ocean. two blocks over you're going to have golden gate park. there is japanese, chinese, hamburgers, italian, you don't have to cook. you can just walk up and down the street and you can get your cheese. i love it. but the a very multicultural place with people from everywhere. it's just a wonderful environment. i love the richmond district. >> and my wife and i own a café we have specialty coffee drinks, your typical lattes and mochas and cappuccinos, and for lunches, sandwiches and soup and salad. made fresh to order. we have something for everybody

>> my shop is in a very cool part of the city but that's one of the reasons why we provide such warm and generous treats, both physically and emotionally (♪♪) >> it's an old-fashioned general store. they have coffee. other than that what we sell is fishing equipment. go out and have a good time. >> one of my customers that has been coming here for years has always said this is my favorite store. when i get married i'm coming in your store. and then he in his wedding outfit and she in a beautiful dress came in here in between getting married at lands end and to the reception, unbelievable. (♪♪)

>> the new public health order that we're announcing will require san franciscans to remain at home with exceptions only for essential outings. >> when the pandemic first hit we kind of saw the writing on the walls that potentially the city is going to shut all businesses down. >> it was scary because it was such an unknown of how things were going to pan out. i honestly thought that this might be the end of our business. we're just a small business and we still need daily customers. >> i think that everybody was on edge. nobody was untouched. it was very silent.

>> as a business owner, you know, things don't just stop, right? you've still got your rent, and all of the overhead, it's still there. >> there's this underlying constant sense of dread and anxiety. it doesn't prevent you from going to work and doing your job, it doesn't stop you from doing your normal routine. what it does is just make you feel extra exhausted. >> so we began to reopen one year later, and we will emerge stronger, we will emerge better as a city, because we are still here and we stand in solidarity with one another. >> this place has definitely been an anchor for us, it's home for us, and, again, we are part of this community and the community is part of us. >> one of the things that we strived for is making everyone

in the community feel welcome and we have a sign that says "you're welcome." no matter who you are, no matter what your political views are, you're welcome here. and it's sort of the classic san francisco thing is that you work with folks. >> it is your duty to help everybody in san francisco.

>> all right. hieverybody . i've i'm sanfrancisco mayor london bree . [applause] welcome to the tried raising flagceremony . and i have a very, very big announcement today . holes want to crybecause i'm so happy . but i along with our lgbt queue public safetyofficials will be marching in pride