>> thank you. good morning and welcome to the rules of committee of the san francisco board of supervisors for today, monday, november 28th. i'm the chair of the committee, aaron peskin joined by vice-chair mandelman and committee member supervisor connie chan. our clerk is mr. victor young, mr. young, do you have any announcements >> yes, the board of supervisors and its committees are having hybrid meetings for public comment and providing remote comment. the board recognizes the equitable public access is

essential and taking public comment as follows. first public comment is taken on each item on the agenda. those attending in person will be allowed to speak first and we'll take those who are waiting on the telephone line. for those watching channel 26, 28, 78 or 99 and sfgovtv dot org, the public comment call in line number is streaming across the stream. the number is 415-655-0001. the meeting id of 24885274429 and then press pound and pound again. when connected, you'll hear the meeting discussion but you'll be muted and listening mode only. when an item of interest come up, those joining in person should line up to speak and those on the telephone line should press star three to be added to the speaker line. if you're on the telephone, remember to turn down your television and other listening devices you may be using. we'll be taking public comment from those attending in

person first and then we'll go to public comment telephone line. alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing, e-mail them to the committee clerk at victor dot yong at sf gov dot org. it will be included in the file. send city hall one dr. carlton room 244 san francisco, california, 94102. that completes my comments. >> thank you, mr. young. could you please read the first of two items. >> yes, item no. one is a resolution updating the proposed designation of agencies qualified to participate in the 2022 annual joint fundraising drive for officers and employees of the city and county of san francisco. and i believe there's a request this matter is sent out as a committee report.

>> that's correct. we will go to supervisor mandelman who is the sponsor of this item. supervisor? >> thank you, chair peskin. the city's heart of san francisco charity drive is an annual drive that provides a way for city employees to contribute to the charities traffic choice by weekly payroll. it is outreach to city employees. it's a long city program to support philanthropic employees and we the board of supervisors approved a resolution for those charities as a part of the san francisco campaign. however, less than two weeks after this year's campaign was lunched on october 1st, we learned that among the many charities represented by the federation that partner with city, there are several that are appear to be anti-lgbtq groups. this was

brought to my attention by city staff who expressed profound concern that city resources are spent amplifying those groups and although i understand this campaign includes a range of charities and provides city employees to donate to any 501c3 of their choice, i and others have been troubled to have the city seemingly to be promoting lgbtq groups when using city resources. and we paused the campaign to consider next steps. the resolution before you today proposes a temporary solution that allows us to relaunch the campaign for this year with a much shorter and targeted list of participating chairs with a clear focus on supporting bay area, bay service provides and city employees will have the opportunity to write in the name of any charity or non-profit they would like to support but the list published by the city in support of the campaign will be shorter and focused on bay area based organizations. this

is a temporary and imperfect solution that allows us to relaunch the campaign for this year in according to the admin code. we need to come up with a more permanent solution and we need to consider a more comprehensive update to the language of the administrative code. i hope we do that early in the new year so we can make changes to lay the groundwork for future efforts. i want to thank our city administrator carmen chiu and sophie, the legislative and policy and public affairs director with the city administrator's office who have spent a lot of time and done a lot of brain damage trying to figure out what -- how this program should be structured going forward and what we should do about the current years program or and so i would like to, after my colleagues have a chance to speak, invite ms. heyward to

come up and provide additional details on the proposal. >> thanks. ms. heyward, i appreciate your work although it has implicated a larger conversation and maybe today is not the day but i thought we use this as an opportunity to discuss the combined charity programs and its utility, its history and its future in an age where donations facilitated by the internet have become a lot easier so i wanted to have broader -- i'm prepared to vote for this and appreciate supervisor mandelman and your office's work on this but also am questioning whether we want to devote what i understand to

be more than a full-time equivalent staff, more like to an ongoing program in an environment where charitable giving by people in general and city employees in particular is, has -- many less barriers these days. and so, i lean towards maybe starting a conversation to exercise this function from our government in total. maybe you want to comment on that as well as the specifics of the resolution before us. supervisor chan, sorry. i'm not looking at the screen. my apologies. >> no problem, thank you chair peskin. i concur with your sentiment about while this has been a long time tradition of san francisco, it is time to revent this program. i think that there are good example like, what sfpuc have been

really working on like the social program they have established a data base for us to give and in partnership and then also i think that existing, actually, another program we have like give to sf also need a revamp. perhaps it's time to start that conversation and what does that look like for the entire city, both as a government but also for our workers to give and i just want to thank supervisor mandelman for taking this on and would like to be added as a cosponsor. thank you. >> thank you, chair peskin. thank you, supervisor chan and of course, thank you supervisor mandelman. i do have a presentation today and with your comments in mind, i want to note the presentation gives an overview of the program and some of the history, so that mayday the groundwork for the broader conversation. i'm joined today virtually by deputy city administrator johnson and

colleague, angela. angela has the presentation to share. i don't know how to make that happen but i'm hoping it will. >> good morning ms. yip and ms. johnson. >> hi. my name is sophie. i'm the director of legislation and public affairs for city administrator carmen chiu. for the opportunity to present this morning. i'm be brief but give an overview. what i want to do is sort of set the perimeters of what exist in the administrative code. give you an idea of the process and how it works and the data to date. and then i do want to propose what we consider a temporary solution to allow us to relaunch the program for this year in accordance with the requirements of the admin code but plant the seed of ideas that we could act on potentially with your partnership early in the new year. going to slide one, please, administrative code section 16.93 defines the

structure of the program. first and foremost, it requires that we have an annual campaign. that's why we're working quickly to come up with a way to relaunch it in an acceptable way for this year. the specific language says each year the city and county of san francisco shall hold an annual joint fundraising drive. there's no may in there. it also defines which federations and federations are groups that represent a large group of charities. which federations can participate and here the language is clear. any federation that meets the criteria defined in the admin code may participate. those were created in 988 and updated -- 988 and updated in 19 -- 1988 and updated 1977. it defines the timeline. the mayor designate a champagne chair and the controller has backup for payroll deduction and processing any individual checks that

employees gives and the city administrator reviews applications and make recommendations to the board of supervisors for approval which federation meet criteria. in addition to those named roles in the admin code the work of the campaign chairs is significant. right now, it's the sheriff's department and the airport and they work together to administer the program and then sprinkled throughout the city in every city department there's a campaign campaign who motivate staff and encourages them to participate. on the next slide, we have the specific criteria included in the admin code. it's the rule of our office, the city administrator's office to review applications from federation that apply to make sure they meet the criteria. but as you can see there's not an opportunity to screen for what types offer advices any -- any services that the participates charity support. are they a 501c

and submitted audits statements and been in existence for a year and our little opening for changes this year, at least half of them have to be located in the bay area. in addition, i want to stress and i will stress it several times today that in addition to the federations included in the campaign, city employees can always write in the name of any 501c3 nonprofit they wish to directly support through the donor's trust office. you're not limited to just the charities included through the federation. the next slide, i'm going to guess i can skip this. this is just the process by which the recommendations make their way here to the board of supervisors. federations do have to apply every year. city administrator's offices review those applications and we forward a recommendation to you.

i want to give you a snapshot of the campaign and the city resources involved in administering it. 10% of city employees participate each year. they raised just over a million dollars last year. i think it was $1.2 million. and city staff partner with the lead federations to administer the program much on the city side on the front end, the board of supervisors and the city administrator's office are involved in designating the participating federations and office of the controller establishes and implements payroll deductions and processes individual checks and then the sheriff's department, airport and then captains throughout departments citywide work on the ground game of motivating employees to join and participate. on the next slide, let's see here. yes. as you know, as supervisor mandelman noted, thank you, we had launched this year's campaign on october 1st as planned and then we paused the campaign on october 12th after receiving

complaints from city employees but this prompted an evaluation of the whole program and bring us to where we are today. so, on the next slide, here we go. we clearly have no mechanism by which to screen individual charities that can participate and i'm not sure that they would be possible or appropriate. in most circumstances, it's hard to make a clear distinction as to what charity city employee should or shouldn't support. so the resolution before you today proposes to strengthen the existing geographic requirement that is in the admin code by, instead of focusing on the fact that at least half of any med races charities be located -- federation charities be located in the bay area, we're expanding that or narrowing it, i guess, to say all participating charities should be based or located in the bay area and that any funds raised through the

campaign be spent on services in the bay area. and then lastly, although it's not in the resolution, i also want to note that the federations themselves have opted to further require that any participating charity sign onto a nondiscrimination pledge to be included in this campaign. and again, i will say that city employees would retain the ability to write in the name of any of their own preferred 501c3 to donate through the donor's choice option. next slide, the results. let's see. the number of participating federations is reduced from 4 to 3. so creating healthy communities, america's best local charities and earth share is the three federations we would partner with and i provided to you and the clerk, the updated charities a part of those federations and it's a

shorter list than before. what this also means though is that the federation global impact, we lose because this is a federation that, as the name suggest, represented charities that's focused on international activities and that's a loss. another item we distributed to you and i have given to the clerk is a separate appear from global impact to consider and if there's a way to loop them back in. and then, depending on how the resolution goes today, we can relaunch the campaign for the coming year much we will likely have to start payroll deductions slightly later because we need to give enough time for the controllers office to setup deductions but we can get it done by the end of this year. and then next slide, again, this is the temporary solution that i've just outlined. i wanted to plant the seed of what you can consider for amending the language of the

admin code which would take an ordinance not a resolution so a little bit more time. so three options to consider, one, i think that you could certainly amend the criteria defined in the admin code in any way you feel appropriate so that organizations could be screened a little bit more tightly. i would note that it's probably not the preferable solution from our end because i'm not exactly sure how or who screen all of the various charities and what kind of perimeters we would set up there. the next is you could consider an ordinance that limits participation and this touches on what supervisor chan was suggesting, to named funds that are already associated with the city. for example, give to sf and give employees, would have the ability to name any 501c3 they want to directly support. that would narrow the group that we, as a city amplify

and if that's a concern, it could get to that. lastly to the point that perhaps chair peskin was making, you certainly have the opportunity to consider an ordinance that would eliminate the program entirely and that could perhaps acknowledge that the universe of giving has certainly changed since 1988/1997. it's probably easier to setup reoccurring donations now than it was then. i will say another benefit of the program that i don't want to ignore is that some of these smaller charities do not have to spend dollars on direct outreach to reach the pool of 30,000 city employees. that concludes my overview presentation. i'm available for questions. you can see deputy city administrator johnson is available for questions. thank you! >> thank you, ms. heyward and that last slide display the

universe. i have not come to any hard fast conclusions. i wanted to have that conversation. i mean, option number two also, i think, has merit as option number three. i guess my question would be, how -- what are the next steps beyond what we're doing today and the board will presumably vote on tomorrow and i think time is our friend here because this -- any code changes that we make presumably would not be applicable until the next cycle, right? >> that's correct. time is kind of our friend but i went over the slide very quickly that had our campaign timeline and by march 1st of every year, the admin code requires that applications from federations is submitted and i believe it's a date in april whereby, may it is may 1st, the board is supposed to approve the participating

federation. thinking through the legislation timeline, we can fix this for next year but we should hit the ground running in january. >> something would have to be introduced by the end of this year or early in january to be lawed by the march deadline. >> we're happy to partner with you to make sure it happens. >> it's a conversation i'm happy to have -- i haven't have it with supervisor mandelman as long as both of us on the committee. i'm happy to follow someone's lead and options two or three are the right ones to explore. i would throw out there a couple of next steps suggestions. one is, how much does this cost us? and do we, i mean, don't get me wrong. sometimes i'm happy to spend money to make money, so i mean, that's -- it's a data point we should be interested in and two, and i don't want to create work

for anybody but what does the universe of an approximately 3,000 people that take these think? i don't know if we have a simple relative way of serving them but it might be of some utility. those are my two thoughts for the ongoing conversation. i'm happy to participate in whatever way is most expedient without stepping on anybody's toes? that's it for me. supervisor mandelman? >> >> thank you, chair peskin. can we look at the slide with the three options? >> sure. i don't know how to get it for you. >> ms. yep. >> in you could go to the option -- if you could go to the option slide, that would be great. >> well done. based on the comments of colleagues, it seems

like, well, i haven't said anything but i agree that trying to keep the -- trying to sort of tinker with the current program and put guardrails on it going forward, that seems like a ton of brain damage and not worth trying to do, so i'll be the third person on this body to say that option, that the first bullet on there seems like a non-starter and we shouldn't do that. in trying to understand and it seems like and i would share the sense that the third bullet may be the, certainly the simplest, concern i think for me about going with the third bullet rather than trying to at least explore the second bullet is there are these 3,000 people who use -- and wleefb -- -- and liking some aspect of the current program. so i'm wondering how much of that

demand could be met for a second bullet. the other thing that's a peaking about the second bullet, i think it's good to encourage city employees to make charitable contributions and in particularly to thing that's are priorities that the city is trying to advance and maybe some funds like give to sf if there's a relatively simple and cost effective and efficient way of making it easier for city employees to do that and if some number of those 3,000 folks would appreciate that option, i would be interested in trying to give it to them but not if it's going to mean a ton of work for a city administrator's office that we have a lot of other priorities for, so, i don't know. do you have any preliminary sense of that and just respond to chair peskin's question? do you have thoughts on how we would get feedback from city employees on this? >> i have two thoughts. to address the city employees who

participate enthusiastically in the program, we did receive complaints this year but we received a lot of e-mails in support of the program so i do want to acknowledge that as well. and to your second point about cost and how to make this efficient, the administrative code prescribed, i believe, a percentage of each donation that the city holds onto. we could look, i would say more comprehensively at the entire section of the admin code that deals with this section to build in ways to make it more efficient. perhaps, it is not efficient to accept individual checks rather just focus on the payroll deduction for example. i think that's probably the benefit to any charity anyway. that employees feel like they can give nor if you spread it over 26 pay periods and i would just have to guess that processing individual checks is more labor intensive for

example. but that actually makes me think that there are probably other aspects of the admin code i didn't focus on today related to this program that could be overhaul through cost effectiveness and a lens. >> well, you got three supervisors up here who are interested in this conversation. none of us probably feel particular ownership over this. it sounds like you all can do some work to come up with something, somewhere between bullet two and bullet three and any of us are happy to probably lead sponsor and the others would probably cosponsor. >> thank you for your patience and support through this. >> thank you for all your work on this. >> supervisor chan? >> ms. johnson, anything you want to add or subtract? >> no, thank you. >> is there any public comment on this item? members of the public who wish to speak on this

item and joining in person should line up to speak at this time, and those listening remotely, please call 415-655-0001 and enter the meeting id of 24885274429. press pound and press pound again and press three to enter the speaker line. those in the queue, continue to wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and that's your queue to begin your public comment. no one in the room for public comment. and just checking online. there's nobody online for public comment on this matter. >> public comment is closed -- supervisor mandelman, would you like to make a motion. >> i recommend we move. >> to recommend the matter as a committee report, chan? >> aye. >> mandelman?

>> aye. >> peskin? >> aye. >> the motion passes without objection. >> next item, please. >> -- next on the agenda is item no. two, ordinance amending the administrative code to permit members of the san francisco employees' retirement system (sfers) to designate special needs trusts as retirement beneficiaries in certain circumstances, and to specify requirements for those trusts. >> supervisor safai is the lead sponsor of this measure and a member of the retirement board. supervisor safai, welcome, good morning. >> thank you, chair. thank you, colleagues. colleagues, today i'm presenting legislation to change the administrative code to allow for special needs trust as retirement beneficiaries. i will give a brief overview of the legislation and turn it over to staff, the retirement system to elaborate further. as the president of the retirement system, we have a responsibility to our members to update the rules and regulations when it's

necessary. last year, a member who was planning their estate pointed out they would not lead their survivor immunity to the surviving member unless it was deposited in a special needs trust. this is because survivor immunity recovered by adults with disabilities can cause disastrous unintended consequences to their benefits that they are currently receiving. for individuals due to their disables of relying on public needs based benefits such as ssi, supplemental security, income, medi-cal and section 8, this could result in a loss of these benefits. this could mean a loss or barrier to affordable housing, healthcare, personal care, community supportive services for persons with develop mental disabilities and many more items and things.

allowing for survivor a immunity to be placed in a trust or supplemental trust would often solve this problem. it is a form of trust that's recognized by both of social security administration and the department, california department of healthcare services. as a vehicle for holding and managing funds for benefit of a person with disabilities where they are not, they would not interfere with their eligibility for other benefits. this has been done in the california state teacher retirement system and the u.s. department of defense and many other places around the country. in addition, and this is an important update as well, the code has not been changed since 1983. and does not reflect a general neutral terms that we used to. so, we would be making a much-needed change to the code to reflect the diverse city employees that we have in our

workforce today. we have cecelia, karen, and our new ceo, cio, allyson to elaborate further on the legislation. before i hand it over to them, i want to thank richard and annette, annette is a current beneficiary who have advocated on behalf of her family member, so that their son would be able to benefit from this in the future and so, thank you to them for bringing this to our attention. i'll hand it over, through the chair, i'll hand it over to the spurs representation here today. i think that's karen bortnick. >> good morning, supervisors. thank you for inviting us here. i'm not sure i can add much more than what supervisor safai has already told you. but i can tell you how this proposed ordinance would work. when a member comes to retire, they do have an option to name an individual who

can receive a monthly immunity after their -- anuity after their death. as supervisor safai told you, if they name a dependent adult child to receive that monthly annuity, that may impact their ability to receive public benefits. this special needs trust will allow them to receive the benefits without losing their ability to get these benefits, these public benefits from the federal government and state government. so, the way it would work, someone would come into retirement, they would tell us that they wanted to select an option, that's what we call them. you have one of three options and they would want to name the trust rather than the dependent child. as it stands now, you cannot name a trust to receive a monthly benefit because there is a very

fundamental retirement rule that a benefit must be definitely determinable. you have to know when it starts. you have to know when it ends. if you have a trust, it could in theory last forever and that would violate the rule. in this particular case, as drafted as we understand it, it would put the burden of ensuring that the benefit will stop at the death of the recipient on the member and the trustee which simplifies things for spers because the other plans have a very difficult burden of tracking and making sure that -- that they learned about it, so they can cut off the benefit. as i said as drafted, it would impose all of those obligations on the member one to ensure the trust they are designating notes all of the legal requirements. we don't have to do any analysis. we don't have to ensure that

it's a proper special needs trust and then again, at the time of the members death, the trustee steps in and again affirms that this is a proper trust at the death of recipient, beneficiary, the trustee steps in again and has the obligation to inform us and the trust would have to reimburse us for overpayment. we can implement that. i can't tell you how, what the cost would be because it's really hard for us to estimate how many people would be qualified for this but i have to say i would think as drafted, it would be very small number of people and again because the principle burden is placed on the member and the trustee, there would -- there should not be anything but a minimal expense for spers and i'm happy to answer questions >> thank you for that presentation and thank you supervisor safai. this seems

like a straightforward tweak and sensible. are there any members of the public who would like to testify on this item no. two >> yes, members of the public who wish to speak on this item and joining us in person should line up to speak it a time. for those listening remotely, call 415-655-0001. enter the meeting id of 24885274429. then press pound and pound again. once connected, you need to press star three to enter the speaker line. for those in the queue, please continue to wait until the says -- the system indicates you have been unmuted. there's no one in the room for public comment at this time. double checking. there's nobody in line for public comment at this time. >> two for two. public comment is closed. supervisor mandelman? >> thank you, chair peskin. i want to thank supervisor --

supervisor safai on this. i set one up for my mother after my grandmother's death. and it's helpful when someone with significant disabilities has asked, has access to other assets. and i think that this just does make sense. i would like to be added as cosponsor and happy to support it today. >> all right. with that -- supervisor safai? >> i want to thank nami, the national alliance of mental illness for writing their letter of support and pointing out the importance of this, so i want to thank ann fisher, the executive director for working with us. it has taken time. it has been a year since this has been setting so i want to thank the family and again, annette and her family and for their patience and i want to thank the staff at

spurs, karen, allyson and team and our city attorney for working on this to get this right, so thank you very much. thank you, colleagues. >> thank you, supervisor. thank you to the retirement system and with that, i will make a motion to send this item to the full board with a positive recommendation on that motion, mr. young, a roll call, please. >> yes. on the motion to recommend the matter, supervisor chan? >> aye. >> vice-chair mandelman? >> aye. >> chair peskin? >> aye. >> the motion passes without objection. and we are adjourned. [gavel]

>> it's great to see everyone kind of get together and prove, that you know, building our culture is something that can be reckoned with. >> i am desi, chair of economic development for soma filipinos. so that -- [ inaudible ] know that soma filipino exists, and it's also our economic platform, so we can start to build filipino businesses so we

can start to build the cultural district. >> i studied the bok chase choy heritage, and i discovered this awesome bok choy. working at i-market is amazing. you've got all these amazing people coming out here to share one culture. >> when i heard that there was a market with, like, a lot of filipino food, it was like oh, wow, that's the closest thing i've got to home, so, like, i'm going to try everything. >> fried rice, and wings, and three different cliefz sliders. i haven't tried the adobe yet,

but just smelling it yet brings back home and a ton of memories. >> the binca is made out of different ingredients, including cheese. but here, we put a twist on it. why not have nutella, rocky road, we have blue berry. we're not just limiting it to just the classic with salted egg and cheese. >> we try to cook food that you don't normally find from filipino food vendors, like the lichon, for example. it's something that it took years to come up with, to

perfect, to get the skin just right, the flavor, and it's one of our most popular dishes, and people love it. this, it's kind of me trying to chase a dream that i had for a long time. when i got tired of the corporate world, i decided that i wanted to give it a try and see if people would actually like our food. i think it's a wonderful opportunity for the filipino culture to shine. everybody keeps saying filipino food is the next big thing. i think it's already big, and to have all of us here together, it's just -- it just blows my mind sometimes that there's so many of us bringing -- bringing filipino food to the city finally. >> i'm alex, the owner of the lumpia company. the food that i create is

basically the filipino-american experience. i wasn't a chef to start with, but i literally love lumpia, but my food is my favorite foods i like to eat, put into my favorite filipino foods, put together. it's not based off of recipes i learned from my mom. maybe i learned the rolling technique from my mom, but the different things that i put in are just the different things that i like, and i like to think that i have good taste. well, the very first lumpia that i came out with that really build the lumpia -- it wasn't the poerk and shrimp shanghai, but my favorite thing after partying is that bakon

cheese burger lumpia. there was a time in our generation where we didn't have our own place, our own feed to eat. before, i used to promote filipino gatherings to share the love. now, i'm taking the most exciting filipino appetizer and sharing it with other filipinos. >> it can happen in the san francisco mint, it can happen in a park, it can happen in a street park, it can happen in a tech campus. it's basically where we bring the hardware, the culture, the operating system. >> so right now, i'm eating something that brings me back

to every filipino party from my childhood. it's really cool to be part of the community and reconnect with the neighborhood. >> one of our largest challenges in creating this cultural district when we compare ourselves to chinatown, japantown or little saigon, there's little communities there that act as place makers. when you enter into little philippines, you're like where are the businesses, and that's one of the challenges we're trying to solve.

>> undercover love wouldn't be possible without the help of the mayor and all of our community partnerships out there. it costs approximately $60,000 for every event. undiscovered is a great tool for the cultural district to bring awareness by bringing the best parts of our culture which is food, music, the arts and being ativism all under one roof, and by seeing it all in this way, what it allows san franciscans to see is the dynamics of the

filipino-american culture. i think in san francisco, we've kind of lost track of one of our values that makes san francisco unique with just empathy, love, of being acceptable of different people, the out liers, the crazy ones. we've become so focused onic maing money that we forgot about those that make our city and community unique. when people come to discover, i want them to rediscover the magic of what diversity and empathy can create. when you're positive and committed to using that energy,

>> 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

>> i went through a lot of struggles in my life, and i am blessed to be part of this. i am familiar with what people are going through to relate and empathy and compassion to their struggle so they can see i came out of the struggle, it gives them hope to come up and do something positive. ♪ ♪ i am a community ambassador.

we work a lot with homeless, visitors, a lot of people in the area. >> what i like doing is posting up at hotspots to let people see visibility. they ask you questions, ask you directions, they might have a question about what services are available. checking in, you guys. >> wellness check. we walk by to see any individual, you know may be sitting on the sidewalk, we make sure they are okay, alive. you never know. somebody might walk by and they are laying there for hours.

you never know if they are alive. we let them know we are in the area and we are here to promote safety, and if they have somebody that is, you know, hanging around that they don't want to call the police on, they don't have to call the police. they can call us. we can direct them to the services they might need. >> we do the three one one to keep the city neighborhoods clean. there are people dumping, waste on the ground and needles on the ground. it is unsafe for children and adults to commute through the streets. when we see them we take a picture dispatch to 311. they give us a tracking number and they come later on to pick it up. we take pride. when we come back later in the day and we see the loose trash or debris is picked up it makes

you feel good about what you are doing. >> it makes you feel did about escorting kids and having them feel safe walking to the play area and back. the stuff we do as ambassadors makes us feel proud to help keep the city clean, helping the residents. >> you can see the community ambassadors. i used to be on the streets. i didn't think i could become a community ambassador. it was too far out there for me to grab, you know. doing this job makes me feel good. because i came from where a lot of them are, homeless and on the street, i feel like i can give them hope because i was once there. i am not afraid to tell them i used to be here. i used to be like this, you know.

i have compassion for people that are on the streets like the homeless and people that are caught up with their addiction because now, i feel like i can give them hope. it reminds you every day of where i used to be and where i am at now. >> first let me acknowledge paul we left outside. he is under the tent, which is good. he is an ambassador. cudos he is amazing. [applause] thank you and to acknowledge another doctor carol tang director of the children's creativity museum. put a nice roof over our heads appreciate it, carol >> welcome to the yerba buena gardens a beautiful garden i'm

scott ruiz the new director for the yerba buena community benefit district and the gardenace conservesancey. thank you for having me both organizations are dmited improve thanksgiving yerba buena neighborhood. yerba buena is a u neefk neighborhood. culture, convention and community meet. we have world class museums like this amazing children's creativity. the amazing moscone convention center. hotels. educational snoous institutions the yerba buena gardens. small businesses, restaurants and live/work senior housing, et cetera . yerba buena is a diverse and unique community. i want to highlight this museum bring your kids back. i have young kids it is an amazing place for 2 to 12 year olds to experience education rotating common when is you are done here today.

i was going to send you out to the carousel we can do the carousel is outside and check out the museum. look at the mufb lab if you can it is neat. >> a couple other things i want to acknowledge mandy hall from the sftid and paulita eliot. [applause]. and paulita eliot from block by block. [applause]. those 2 amazing individuals create third degree program. we are honored have this program and this here a year later. we all know and you will hear more. the oranges jackets are amazing and they make such a presence in our community. yerba buena and everybody in the city. thank you for your hard work. i know you are not here to hear

from me. most important person. london breed, our mayor. [applause]. >> thank you, scott, it is great to be here and you know i should have worn my orange jacket today t. is actually in the car now. sometimes when i want to go out there and support the community and have conversations with just visitors and i will 3 it on when i'm out cleaning up the streets i wear that orange jacket. people will stop and ask me questions. which is nice. they don't ask because i'm mayor because they see that orange jack and it is really something this i will tell you is one of the things i'm most proudest of as mayor. because i had a chance to talk to some of you over the past year. and what i was most excited about is number one, so many of

you who have grownup in san francisco and your love for san francisco. and how you have told people like the best places to eat. not the places that typically tourists go to at the whar and downtown but places in neighborhoods that still exist. places all around the city. you give them a different perspective of san francisco. when i travel, i wish i could find someone to give me nadifferent perspective. i gotta say, i get so many letters not always good letters but for this program, it is probably the program this i gotten the most good letters from visitors and people who travel to san francisco from downtown. and i make my staff give me them to read because i want to have i good day. and i have a good day when i hear about the stories where i think i don't want to say names

but there was an ambassador who someone had an experience with a family member approximate a medical issue they let them use their cell phone ask stayed with them to make sure that that family got connected with another family member. and it is just things like that that make this program unique you alwaysment to help. i see you all talking on the talking to visitors on the corners. walking with people. trying to point out the directions to go in. and the thing i love most you always have a smile on your faces. >> and makes a difference. you know, we have been through a challenging time this global pandemic hit us hard. can you imagine having a really bad day and you walk up and you see someone and you just smile and how good that makes you feel. it makes you want to ask for

directions even though you can use your phone. it really invites you in to have that conversation. that conversation leads to a great experience in san francisco. we are not going to let everyone determine what the story is of san francisco with all of the posts that oftentimes target and focus on the negative things. when we will do is elevate the experiences of what the downtown community ambassador program has done in neighborhoods throughout san francisco. that is the story of san francisco. talking about the personal experience that you have about our city and also making the recommendations to the people who live and visit. we have a convention going on now. and many of those convention goers sent letters in the past about this program. and how they had a great experience. because i will tell you there

were conventions that were having second thoughts about whether or not they would come back to san francisco. and because of you, they not only came back to san francisco but are looking toward the future of returning to san francisco after their conventions. this means so much support. this means the ability to pay for programs and do all the great things we do in san francisco. you are an important part of this work. i can't thank you enough for your commitment, work, for your advocacy, for everything that you have done to really turn this area around because last year, you know and this year to an extent; there was uncertainty whether or not people would return to work. and we are still struggling with that. but people still come to san francisco for skroengzs and to visit and to ride the cable cars. where i always see an ambassador at the cable car location.

where do i get a ticket. what do i do. where are the best stops? i appreciate mta but not mta answering the question its is all of you that are telling folks where to go and how to get to lombard and look over and the beautiful views of san francisco park and the golden gate bridge that is meaning. . this has not happened before. we did not have you all over a year ago. and the experience was much different even before the pandemic. i'm glad to be here with so many folk who is believe and support this program. but i'm glad to be here with the people who show up every day rain or shine. to be of service to the city that you all know and love. i can't be more proud to celebrate a year of this program and hear here is more years to

come. thank you very much. [applause]. thank you mayor i'm matt dorse the district 6 supervisor. for those of you visiting welcome to district 6. this is a district that credit includes high traffic and visited destination in our south of market neighborhoods including mosconi. west field shopping center yerba buena gardens. these destinations attract thousands of visitors a year. remind people how important that is. in 2019 san francisco had a record shattering year in tourism it was 26 million visitors that is the state of texas. coming to visit our city. 10 billion dollars in economic activity. and supporting 82,000 jobs for

san francisco. this is really important. and the work that our ambassadors do is bring us back. you know the thing they think about you know i know that we can be down sometimes as we come out of covid. if you look at the seal of our city t. is a phoenix. we come back. that is the civic creed of san francisco. and we are on our way back and doing it, i think one smile at a time. what i love about the ambassador program, happy anniversary to all of you. i will say as a new interiors it is niez to know how popular you are. the k bd's are well regardd and it means so much to residentses and as well as to our visitors. to see a smiling face, welcoming

presence, knowledgeable person who can answer a request where something s. that is how we will come back and i do feel a little eni havous i'm on the board of supervisors the least popular there is a public comment caller who every week reminds us that the 12% think we are competence. it is humbling and i really appreciateow popular you are and i hope you see it. and i do. to say to the public. when you see people out here ambassadors whether in orange or blue or white or green. you am see a lot of them and you will see people pick update street who is work for the community benefit districts. say hello and thanks. it means the world to our city. we are coming back. and i want to say how grateful i am as a supervisor i will do everything i can to stand with the mayor to make sure we have

the funding for this we need. and we are funding our cbd's and bringing our city back to get better the numbers we had in 2019. and with that, it is my pleasure to welcome john anderson the general manager of the marriott marky. >> thank you very much. i appreciate your leadership in district 6. i get to chair the [inaudible] and the general manager of the san san francisco marriott marky. this neighborhood is important to the ambassadors. a year ago we stood here not far from here in yerba buena and introduced the san francisco welcome ambassador program. thanks to the support london breed, it has been successful, would you agree? good. today over 4 million welcomes later it is i pleasure to say

and celebrate the success of the program to see how far we have some on the road to recovery. in quarter 3 of this year san francisco recorded the best tourism quarter since the pandemic started >> the san francisco market achiefed 70.5% occupancy, daily rate of 230 dollars. last year in quarter 3 it was 51% occupancy and 168 dollars of average daily rate. we have a ways to go to reach 2019 record tourism year it is important to celebrate mile stones the program has been successful and measures to support the economic growth in san francisco. i want to thank all the ambassadors for important contributions to make the visitors and residents feel welcome are safe and cared for in san francisco. the ambassador program is well

received by planners and convention goers. it has been crucial in helping bring book conventions to san francisco. last 12 months we received e mails raving about experiencing with the ambassadors. who are thrilled receive cal travel endorsement of the welcome ambassador program when they awarded at this time 20 upon 22 visitor experience award last month. congratulations. [applause]. this would not have happened without the support of mayor breed and the welcome ambassador program. thank you, mayor breed, we appreciate it. [applause]. before i turn the microphone over to rodriguez i encourage the business community representatives to open your doors to the ambassadors. they are walking the streets and greeting guests they use the

restroom. of kick feet and up get a drink of water. welcome your doors to anybody in orange. we appreciate you, thank you very much. [applause]. >> thank you, john. i'm marissa rodriguez the union square alliance the heart of our city thank you very much our ambassadors. we don't beat without your support i receive e mails telling us the great stores. we are the part of town that is home to hotels, theatre, restaurants, visitors. it is not without the support of our ambassadors that we will not be able to receive back all of the san francisco. of you reminds them it is safe and the accomplice to come back and celebrate the greatest moments i want to thank patrick who kept me dry moments ago.

it is acts like that that i hear about. the small things that people appreciate you feel welcomed. the community feels welcome and feel like they are stepping into san francisco living room they have you to ask questions and talk to which i want to thank all of the individuals here today this is a racial fabric you may not realize ambassadors you are supporting. i want to thank block by block. handy hall for her program. i see ken with the conventions without which our heart would not beat. thank you and supporting them. i see our hotel and cbd community. and there are so many people here that count and rely on you. we can't do this without your support. they are all here to support

you. i can't imagine. this is one year that you have been here and changed lives. and right observe the holiday season come again. we are excited for a big blow out in union square. of course, winter market and the ice rink is opening today. yes it is opening today i know you will all be there i want to thank our mayor for all of her support and all of you. it does not happen without great vision. i want to thank you, mayor and certainly to our board of supervisors for recognizing the importance of that, too. we do better when we work together. our ambassador in blue appreciate you in union square. thank you so much. with this i like to welcome up moanna. [applause]. >> hello i'm moanna saul

[inaudible]. and i have been with the welcome ambassador program since the beginning. one year ago. when i applied for this position, as a welcome ambassador i did not know what to expect. all i knew was i was going to make a difference i look forward to greeting commuters on their way to work. school kids crowding the 30 and 8 bus. saying hello to cable car conductors and welcoming our visitors to the great city of san francisco. i think that this program is important because we help a lot of people. we give dreksz. all types of recommendations. and also guide many folk who is are in san francisco for a convention to the mosconi

center. we also offer and provide different resources for the homeless and just anyone who is in need. although i have been in an san francisco all of my life this job helped mow to be kinds always. many visit because of the diversity and we are the heart of the bay area. to the current and future welcome ambassadors, thank you for your hard work and your dedication when you are out in the field. rain or shine, our orange still is bright. [applause] >> thank you, mayor london breed and the city of san francisco for funding this amazing program. it is making a huge difference for visitors, locals and

businesses in the areas we cover. also, to all of us ambassadors that enjoy the job. thank you. [applause]. >> thank you everyone for coming and thank you for staying here even though it rained heavy out there. i'm mandy from the sftab the director of the welcome ambassador program. thank you to our speakers to mad am mayor, maona. supervisor dorsey, john and scott and your team for hosting us today. it has been a privilege to work with and get to know the team overnight past year. it is gratify to receive all the fantastic e mails that i get. and to share them with the team. these are a reminder of the amazing work they are doing.

and i know that it shows how much they are appreciated. thank you all of you for all that you do. all your hard work. ? this includes paulita the director of the program near block by block. . [applause]. before we close the proceedings and you will get to ride the care set, hopefully and cookies we have cookies to share. i would like to recognize the upon 20 team members been with us from the beginning the guys that you see behind us. not all 20 are here but -- [applause]. thank you all of you for all your hard work. and thank you also to everybody else on the team of in the office or out on the streets every day you do an amazing job.

thank you. [applause]. and then just to conclude my bit here, one person has been chosen as ambassador of the year. uh-huh. this is i surprise to everybody. [laughter]. she was chosen for strong work ethic. being a great example to coworkers. always as a smile and goes above and beyond to provide great service and also share her knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow team members. moanna, would you like to stem forward. [applause]. [applause] so, thank you, moanna. congratulations.

this is your certificate and will be goodies as well >> you are being recognized as ambassador of the year for 2022. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. [applause]

shop and dine on the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco by supporting local services within neighborhood. we help san francisco remain unique, successful and vibrant. where will you shop and dine in the 49? san francisco owes the charm to the unique character of the

neighborhood comer hall district. each corridor has its own personality. our neighborhoods are the engine of the city. >> you are putting money and support back to the community you live in and you are helping small businesses grow. >> it is more environmentally friendly. >> shopping local is very important. i have had relationships with my local growers for 30 years. by shopping here and supporting us locally, you are also supporting the growers of the flowers, they are fresh and they have a price point that is not imported. it is really good for everybody. >> shopping locally is crucial.

without that support, small business can't survive, and if we lose small business, that diversity goes away, and, you know, it would be a shame to see that become a thing of the past. >> it is important to dine and shop locally. it allows us to maintain traditions. it makes the neighborhood. >> i think san francisco should shop local as much as they can. the retail marketplace is changes. we are trying to have people on the floor who can talk to you and help you with products you are interested in buying, and help you with exploration to try things you have never had before. >> the fish business, you think it is a piece of fish and

fisherman. there are a lot of people working in the fish business, between wholesalers and fishermen and bait and tackle. at the retail end, we about a lot of people and it is good for everybody. >> shopping and dining locally is so important to the community because it brings a tighter fabric to the community and allows the business owners to thrive in the community. we see more small businesses going away. we need to shop locally to keep the small business alive in san francisco. >> shop and dine in the 49 is a cool initiative. you can see the banners in the streets around town. it is great. anything that can showcase and legitimize small businesses is a

wonderful thing. >> welcome everyone to union square my name is marissa rodriguez and i'm executive director of union square alliance. what a beautiful, sunny welcoming day here in union square. [applause] we are in the heart of san francisco, the crown rule, union square where the holidays are synonymous with union square. i just want to take a moment to acknowledge all the folks behind me today. it takes a village to ensure that our community is safe vibrant and beautiful as it is today. this time last year, was very difficult for all of us, we were still in the throws of the pandemic and we were coming out

of some very challenging times. in fact, throughout the country, we were seeing a rash of retail crime bu. here in san francisco, there was a response like no other. i want to thank our mayor, london breed, our police chief bill scott, for leaning in and ensuring that this was going to be not only a good year but one of the best years that we've experienced since that day here in union square. soy just want to take a moment to thank them for their leadership and all that they've done. i want to also acknowledge kate of oewd and of rec and park who's park we are in now and all the work that he and his team have done to create this welcoming and safe and enjoyable environment. this work, yes, thank you. [applause]

the work that they're all doing is vital to the health of our city. we are in the economic core, union square sits in the economic core downtown and we need our downtown tore thriving and healthy. and they have worked so hard to ensure that it can be so we can continue to support the important services that our city so relies on. this year i'm thrilled to announce that the holidays have done. --begun. if you see behind me, you see macy's great tree and this is the first year that we're introducing winter wonderful land. after thanksgiving you're going to see a village opening up at holiday plaza, the gateway to union square and where the powell street bart station welcomes our visitors. we want to acknowledge and thank bart for all of their help. in addition we're opening up

the subways. today we're having a party to welcome the central subway that will be connecting visitors and welcoming guest back here to union square. so with that, i want to thank you all for being here and i would like to welcome our mayor, london breed. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, marissa and thank you so much for the work that you continue to do to make union square a wonderful attraction for visitors and people who live here in the bay area. i want to start by saying to all the folks who reached out and asked, mayor are we lighting up the tree and we have not had thanksgiving? and i'll just say, you know, we're so in the holiday spirit this year, more than ever before mostly because we went through a global pandemic. we couldn't come together before. and it was not just that our economy suffered, it was our

ability to be together and be around one another and experience the holidays without the concerns like we had in previous years due to covid. and you know, we were anxious to get the holiday started early. so as we move into thanksgiving and move into christmas and hanukkah and all the great holidays that we're going to celebrate, the spirit is in the air. i know often times there are a number of videos that go viral that try to paint a harsh picture of our beautiful city. but i'm here to tell you, that things have have happened. things are looking up and i'm optimistic and excited about the future. we see hotel occupancy rates increasing, we see more visitors and shoppers in the downtown area. we see retail start to go expand and improve. i'm more excited because we have not had a major toy store

in san francisco in a while. and the fact that macy's is investing in having a toy store here in union square is a big deal to the community. when people come to union square and san francisco, i know they want to feel safe. and i know that we have a lot of work to do. but let me tell you about some of the investments, we have a larger, both uniform and you know, those who are undercover, who are going to be out here who have been out here making sure that we are addressing a lot of the public safety concerns. and i want to thank chief bill scott, all of the members of our san francisco police department and for your work and being out here and being proactive to help keep the public safe. i also want to thank our union square ambassadors, our downtown ambassadors, urban alchamy. we're adding a 150 more ambassadors to the street.

the folks you see with the friendly face who are smiling, who are giving you directions, who are dealing with concerns and cleanliness in the area, we have some great people out there doing wonderful work. we also in our ambassador team, retired san francisco police departments who have been really extraordinary and wonderful to address some of the opinion safety concerns. we'll have another 150 ambassadors in the streets of san francisco adding more eyes and ears ot streets. we're also going to be enhancing the clean up, making sure that we're power washing and cleaning the streets. making sure that the streets smell good. i know that is important to visitors as well. so i'm excited about that, but i also want to say that bart and muni have partnered to make sure that we have ambassadors and support in those stations as well. so in addition to those who

want to drive, you can take muni, you can take bart and you can come here to see a show or come here to shop or visit one of our amazing restaurants. the other thing that i'm excited to announce, which i know many drivers would love to hear, we plan to offer one hour free parking in union square garage. [applause] in addition to that, i want to thank phil park and rec for the work that they're doing to address some of the safety concerns in a number of our garages, there will be more people, more eyes and ears in spoez spaces paying attention to what is happening here, to make sure that we keep you and your belonging safe. a lot of work to do and we know that, things are going to look up for the city this holiday season. i'm looking forward to it, this

tree and ice skating rink, but also we know that there have been some vacancies in our downtown corridor. we've gotten rid of some of the bureaucratic that make it difficult to deal with the pop up, things that will be temporary will you will make the experience a downtown even better, working with our artist community. so you may see somebody having a good time and wonder what is going on here. and it may be one of our local artist, whether it's a visual or performing arts, that is what you can expect downtown. it's going to be fun and exciting and it's going to be a little chilly but the sun is clearly shining today and inviting you back downtown. this is a great place, but also this is an important place. this is an important place to the economic stability of san francisco.

making sure these jobs and retail and in our hotels and our restaurants, exist and thrive is also equally important. we are here for not just the residents who live in san francisco but the residents all over the area and people who visit us from the u.s. and other countries. we're here to uplift san francisco and make sure that you leave this area and any part of san francisco with a great experience. i want to thank you all for being down here today. we want everyone to know that we got eyes and ears on the streets, so we plan to make this one of the best and safest times during the holiday season for those that come to san francisco yet. and at this time, i want to introduce our chief of police, bill scott. [applause] >> thank you, mayor breed. good morning, everybody. i want to start my remarks with

thanks to mayor london breed. a year ago, almost a year ago today, mayor breed and i stood right over there, right behind these cameras, after one of the worse nights that we've had in a long time in the city. i don't want to regurjitate that story but what i want to highlight is what happened that day and afterwards because of the leadership of this mayor. i was angry, quite frankly, i was sick to my stomach. and the impact that that left to the people that come here to work and shop and the damage that it did to my city worldwide. mayor, we made a promise that day, that things would change.

and i stood behind her to make sure that we delivered. and when i say we, i'm talking about all the people that you see back here and the people behind you. we as a community, had to deliver her promise to make this community and this city safer. i will say, we still have work to do but i'm going to share a story about what has happened in the last year. first of all, i want to thank all of our law enforcement partners. we have our chief park ranger is here. director of rec and park is here today. you heard about our ambassadors and the mayor has committed more investment to our ambassadors. i want to call the police ambassadors. these are people that dedicated that came back to help at a time when we need it the most. working with the union square

alliance, which is one piece that had to happen when the mayor made that promise. but i want to tell you something, through all of that adversity and the disgust of what happened that night t brought us altogether in a different way. because this is our city. this is the place we love and we call home. so here's what happened since then, i'll speak for the san francisco police department. and you're going to hear from our incredible district attorney jenkins who i am glad to call a partner. here's how we delivered on the mayor's promise. employment was an issue, we quadrupled deployment and at times that deployment increase has been exponential. during the holiday season, last year, you could not come to

this area without bumping into a police officer and guess what? that's what will happen this year. we have officers out that you will not see but they're out there for a purpose and that is to arrest people who don't get it. that's when people try to rob after people spend their hard earned money and we want to send a message that that will not be tolerated in the city of san francisco. hear me clearly. with we doubled the size of the theft unit. and this is the result, we have cases 82 or more with charges pending or about to be filed. they're not only hitting san francisco, but they're hitting throughout the region. that's because of the mayor's commitment. we got an overtime budget that restores some of the overtime

that we lost in 20-21 and that helped us deploy officers not only to this community but all over the city. i'm not going to sit here and tell you that everything is perfect because it's not. we rolled up our sleeves and we still have work to do. but that work will be done as a team. that work will be done with a vision of mayor breed and i'm so proud to be part of that work. we have what we call force multiplier, these are people like reserve officers and like this command post vehicle that you see sitting here, that help us send the message that public safety is important to this city. we care. and i think more important than anything that was said a year ago when the mayor stood there, we had to remind people that we care and it matters because this is our city.

so i'm going to end by saying this, it ain't perfect, but things are better. there is a difference here, there is optimism here. last year, we were dealing with people scared to come to work. we were dealing with people scared to come here and shop. after that proments and adjustments that were made, we had record numbers in terms of people coming here to shop because they felt safer. we cannot and will not let that go. i can sit here and quote statistics here all day long, but if you don't come, none of that matters. and we want to tell you, that when you come here, we want to you feel safe because you're safe. thank you for from so many members until the community, who said, you know what, sfpd

and all of your officers, sworn and not sworn, we support you. thank you to the board of supervisors who increased our budget so we can bridge some of our staffing. thank you to mayor breed for provieeding the leadership. thank you to our district attorney, for holding people accountable. thank you to our business community for stepping up and supporting us. thank you to the media for telling our story. but here's one thing, we will control our narrative in the city because the narrative that has been put out about this city is misleading and it's wrong. i live here, this is my city, my family live here, this is my their city. everybody behind this, podium, this is our city. and this is a beautiful city and we want the world to know it. thank you and with that, i want to introduce our district

attorney, rick jenkins. [applause] >> good morning, i'm excited to be here, not just as your da but as a san francisco resident who enjoys bringing my children to this area. they love the tree and they love to ice skate so i'm excited for them to experience the winter wonderful. i want to start by thanking chief scott and mayor breed who have been amazing partners to put us on track towards a safer san francisco. i also want to thank marissa rodriguez the president of safety alliance who has been big a part and made sure that myself and my office understand the concerns so we can address those concerns and make sure that businesses in our city thrive. i think for the first time in a

long time, we've realized the connection between law enforcement and the district attorney's office and our san francisco economy. we can't allow our businesses to be ravaged, the rampant theft to go on and expect them to stay. we need to do better to protect, not only those businesses but the thousands of jobs that they provide to both san francisco and bay area resident who need the ability to take care of their families. and it's our job to make sure that we protect these businesses and the jobs that they provide as well as the experience that they give, because if you're anything like me, i love a little bit of retail therapy. and we need to make sure that we're protecting the businesses in san francisco so that we have access to be able to shop, to be able to unwind, to join together during the holiday period and share that joyous occasion by the gifts for the family members.

i want to be clear today, that the lawlessness and the organized retail theft that we saw this time last year, will not be tolerated under any circumstance. the days of there be free passed for that type of conduct are gone and anyone caught engaging in such conduct will face consequences. this is a new day! [applause] we will do our jobs to protect these businesses and to protect our citizens and our visitors. and a part of that comes with restoring accountability. like i said, i thank chief scott for everything that they're doing to make sure na anyone who chooses to engage in crime is caught because that's the first step, and what i will promise the city is that there will be accountability on the back end. we will not focus on charging

but accountability because that's what has to be restored and that's what i promised to the city to bring back. so i again, i'm just excited to be here, thank you to all the ambassadors who are going to support our city and the police department in making sure that our resident sxz shoppers feel safe. and i look forward to celebrating this holiday season with all of you. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone i'm john sparks and i'm the store manager here at macy's union square. and i want to start by thanking a few people, jenkins and chief scott and mayor breed and all they're doing to keep the area safe. we are so excited for all of the holiday tradition that's are coming back this year that mean so much for san

franciscoian and all of our visitors, including our windows that will come back with live animals. santa's will return to macy's on black friday and we have a toys r us location here. so we're so excited for everything that is happening this holiday season, for our community and thank you to all of our community partners and everything they're doing to keep us safe. thank you so much. [applause] >> okay, wow, talk about leaning in. i want to thank again all of our law enforcement partners for being here, our district attorney, brooke jenkins, our police chief bill scott and our mayor, mayor london breed, when the lights go on which she have, it means the holidays have begun and it's going to be an incredible holiday season this year. thank you for all of us for

coming out. thank you for the alliance team for all you do. the cda, i know is here representing. thank you all and let's have a wonderful holiday season. [applause] ?oo hi, i'm holly lee. i love cooking and you are watching quick bites. san francisco is a foodie town. we san franciscoans love our food and desserts are no exceptions. there are places that specialize in any and every dessert your heart

desires, from hand made ice cream to organic cakes, artisan chocolate and cupcakes galore, the options are endless. anyone out there with a sweet tooth? then i have a great stop for you. i've been searching high and low for some great cookies and the buzz around town that anthony's are those cookies. with rave reviews like this i have to experience these cookies for myself and see what the fuss was all about. so let's see. while attending san francisco state university as an accountinging major, anthony's friend jokingly suggested he make cookies to make ends make. with no formal culinary training he opened his own bakery and is now the no. 1

producer of gourmet cookies in the biarea and thank you for joining us on quick bites. how do you feel? >> i feel great. >> so i want to get to the bottom of some very burning questions. why cookies? >> it was a recommendation from a friend. hard to believe that's how it all started. >> why not pies and cakes? what do you have against pies and cakes, anthony. >> i have nothing against pies and cakes. however, that was the recommendation. >> you were on the road to be an account apblt. >> actually, an engineer. >> even better. and it led to making cookies. >> in delicious ways. >> delicious ways.

>> this is where the magic goes down and we're going to be getting to the truth behind cookies and cream. >> this is what is behind cookies and cream. >> where were you when the idea came to your mind. >> i was in my apartment eating ice cream, cookies and cream ice cream. how much fun, cookies and cream cookies. their cookies and cream is not even -- it took a lot of time, a lot of fun. >> a lot of butter. >> a lot, a lot, a lot. but it was one of those things. all right, now behold. you

know what that is? >> what is that? >> cookies and cream. >> oh, they are beautiful. >> yes, so we got to get --. >> all right, all right. we treat the cookies like wine tasting. i don't ever want anybody to bite into a cookie and not get what they want to get. we're training staff because they can look at the cookie and tell if it's wrong. >> oh, here we go. >> you smell it and then you taste it, clean the plat palate with the milk. >> i could be a professional painter because i know how to do this. >> i can tell that it's a really nice shell, that nice crunch.

>> but inside. >> oh, my god. so you are going to -- cheat a little bit. i had to give you a heads up on that. >> what's happening tomorrow? these cookies, there's a lot of love in these cookies. i don't know how else to say it. it really just makes me so happy. man, you bake a mean cookie, anthony. >> i know. people really know if they are getting something made with love. >> aww >> you know, you can't fool people. they know if you are taking shortcuts here and there. they can eat something and tell the care that went into it. they get what they expect. >> uh-huh. >> system development and things like that. >> sounds so technical.

>> i'm an engineer. >> that's right, that's right. cookies are so good, drove all other thoughts out of my head. thank you for taking time out it talk to us about what you do and the love with which you do it. we appreciate your time here on quick bites. i hope you've enjoyed our delicious tale of defendant 93 and dessert. as for me, my search is over. those reviews did not lie. in fact, i'm thinking of one of my very own. some things you just have it experience for yourself. to learn more about anthony's cookies, visit him on the web

at anthoniescookies.com. if you want to watch some of our other episodes at sfquickbites/tumbler.com. see >> 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. (♪♪) >> goovend, everybody. >> how is everyone doing today? >> awe some. great weather we were dreading it would rain today and look at the sky behind me. gorgeous. this was meant to be. my name is natasha i'm the executive vice president the development at bridge. for northern california. i will also be our mc