[music] ♪♪ . >> one welcome to the small business commission meeting on january 27th 2025. the meeting is being called to order at 4:31 p.m.. this meeting is being held in person in city hall room 400 and broadcast live on s.f. gov tv. the small business commission thinks media services and s.f.

gov tv for televising the meeting which can be viewed on s.f. gov tv two or live streamed it s.f. gov tv.org. we welcome general public comment at the end of the meeting and there will be an opportunity to comment on each discussion or action item on the agenda. public comment during the meeting is limited to three minutes per speaker. an alarm will sound once time has finished. speakers are requested but not required to state their names. s.f. gap tv please show the office of small business slide . >> today we will begin with a reminder that the small business commission is the official public forum to voice your opinions and concerns about policies that affect the economic vitality of small businesses in san francisco. please call item one. item one roll call. commissioner benitez. commissioner cornett. present. commissioner dickerson. present. commissioner herbert is absent. president. he here? commissioner he's cartagena is absent. vice presidencies in us present. president you have a quorum.

>> thank you. >> the san francisco small business commission and office of small business staff acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the promoters aloni who are the original inhabitants of the san francisco peninsula as indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions. the dramaturge aloni i have never ceded lost nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. as guests we recognize that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland. we wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors elders and relatives of the armitage's aloni community and by affirming their sovereign rights as first peoples. >> please call item two item two approval of legacy business registry applications and resolutions this is a discussion and action item the commission will discuss and possibly take action to approve legacy business registry applications.

presenting today is richard carrillo, legacy business program manager with the office of small business. >> so good afternoon president eui vice president business commissioners, city staff members of the public. i'm richard carrillo. legacy business program manager. i would like to acknowledge michelle reynolds, my colleague in the office of small business who provides beneficial assistance to the legacy business program. as a cover tv, i have a powerpoint presentation before you today or for applications for your consideration for the legacy business registry. each application includes a staff report or draft resolution the application itself and documents from the planning department. the applications were submitted to planning on december 18th and heard by the historic preservation commission on january 15th. item two a is cha cha cha cha.

the business is a restaurant in the haight-ashbury and mission neighborhoods that was established in 1984. they offer a caribbean tapas world famous sangria, local beers, craft cocktails, entertainment and catering and they have a great venue for events. cha cha cha cha creates a unique caribbean inspired atmosphere providing their patrons with the restaurant experience that fear feels more like a tropical escape. >> the mission location has a rich history independent of cha cha cha cha. it was an irish restaurant and pub called original mccarthys that was founded by irish immigrant dennis mccarthy. dennis was one of the first businessmen to begin legally serving alcohol after prohibition ended in 1933. to recognize the legacy of the mission location it is sometimes referred to as cha cha cha cha at original mccarthys. the core feature tradition the business must maintain to remain on legacy business registry as restaurant featuring caribbean cuisine.

>> item to be is city optics the business founded by dr. jeffrey rich in 1988 is the preeminent optometrist office located in the marina and cow hollow neighborhoods. city optics carries a wide range of high fashion frames from the best designers in the industry including prescription glasses and sunglasses. their experience two optometrists are on hand to assist clients with comprehensive eye care services and high quality eye exams. they emphasize personalized customer service blending medical expertise with fashionable eyewear to meet the specific needs of their clients . the core feature tradition the business must maintain is optometry. >> >> item two c is golden gate park band. >> the organization was founded in september 1882. the golden gate park band provides free concerts to the people of san francisco in the spreckels temple of music at

the music concourse in golden gate park. they offer classical band favorites operas, marches, broadway show tunes, orchestral transcriptions, novelty tunes, folk music, big band swing music and original works for concert band. throughout the season the band features soloists from within its membership as well as guests artists, guest artists. >> the core featured tradition the business must maintain is music. item two de is san francisco flower market. >> the business established in 1912 is the largest wholesale flower market in northern california with products coming from all over the world. it was founded by two immigrant groups the italian-american san francisco flower growers association and the japanese-american california flower market inc. both of which played pivotal roles in shaping the market's legacy san francisco flower market's esteemed vendors with

years of dedicated partnership bring unique expertise to the marketplace and offer a global array of cut flowers potted plants, blooming plants and floral supplies. just this month the san francisco flower market moved to a state of the art facility at 901 16th street and patrol the core featured tradition the business must maintain to remain on the legacy business registry as distributor of flowers and plants. >> all of the businesses met the three criteria required for listing on the legacy business registry and all have received a positive recommendation from the historic preservation commission. legacy business program staff recommends adding the businesses to the registry and has drafted a resolution for each business for your consideration. a motion in support of the businesses should be framed as a motion in favor of the resolutions. thank you. this concludes my presentation. >> i'm happy to answer any questions and there are businesses represented to

present who may wish to speak on behalf of their applications during public comment. >> thank you very much, rick. anybody any commissioners have any questions at this point? no questions. um, i'd like to open it up for public comment to anyone present for a public comment. >> you can line up if you want to my left your right or just come forward. >> hello? commissioners, i have here binder with publications regarding cha cha cha that goes back to 1985. i thought you guys might enjoy taking a look at it. >> oh well that. >> how often do you take that out? just to the last hearing that we had to come to it two weeks ago. >> all right. so i'm here to speak about the inclusion of cha cha cha into the legacy business registry. >> cha cha cha cha was started by my father phillip barber

and his business partner leon peck in 1984. originally he started it to bring puerto rican and cuban food that he had grown up eating in new york to san francisco. >> but eventually it evolved into a top us hotspot with long lines, loud music and flowing sangria. i began working at church of cha around 15 years ago during the summers off from high school and until then it was just a restaurant i grew up in. it wasn't until i started working there that i realized how renowned it really was. my teachers all ate there. my friends parents all out there. i waited on my childhood crush kelly kapowski from saved by the bell. >> it became clear to me that i was not just working at my family's restaurant but rather i was part of a san francisco institution. a lot of the people who were working there at that time the ones who showed me the ropes of the restaurant industry are still there to this day. the chefs have been there for decades, the bartenders as well. there's a host who's been

working thursday nights there for about 30 years. cha cha cha has hosted politicians and celebrities. mayor frank jordan had his birthday there in the 90s and has been recognized in local, national and international publications. but to me that's not what makes it historic. it's the fact that residents of san francisco have been eating there for over four decades. >> parents who used to eat there with their children now visit with their grandchildren and enjoy the same cajun shrimp dish they had 20 years before. >> i'm extremely proud of what my father's built and how cha cha cha has persevered. i'm also very happy with how the new owner oz has honored the history of the restaurant while also working hard to continue its legacy. i think we all know how hard the restaurant business is in this city and the fact that cha cha cha has had continued success for over 40 years solidifies it as part of san francisco's history and deserving of legacy business status. >> thank you very much.

and this is us. he's going to say a few words. >> he's the new owner here. thank you. >> hello, ladies mandelman. my name is on earth sky nicole and wrote such a i'm here to celebrate cha cha cha cha this san francisco institution that has enriched our kids cultural fabric for over four decades. >> what says cha cha cha cha apart is its resilience in a constantly evolving city. it has weathered challenges and remains steadfast. after temporarily closing in 2022, the mission location reopened in 2023 symbolizing the restaurant's enduring commitment to the community and its role in revitalizing the neighborhood. cha cha cha cha is more than a restaurant. it's a cultural landmark. for decades it has brought people together for celebrations, first dates and family gatherings all while

championing local artists and musicians. its signature sangria chicken and plantains have become icons of san francisco's diverse and are seen recognized by artists like the san francisco chronicle, rolling stone and sunset magazine. cha cha cha has run pace for its bold flavors a welcoming ambiance cha cha cha cha significance aligns perfectly with the legacy business registry criteria it has operated in san francisco for over 40 years contributing to the city's identity preserve the traditions and spirit of the heart and mission districts foster creativity and inclusivity. fortune creations. by recognizing cha cha cha cha as a legacy business we honor its rich history and ensure its future as a beacon of san francisco's culture. this preserve this vibrant piece of our city's story. >> thank you. thank you.

>> good afternoon. i'm vance. you shared and i serve as the president of the california flower court llc, which was a previous owner of this franciscan flower garden. i also serve on the board of the sale. this is going flower from art's new nonprofit corporation. >> my grandparents who immigrated from japan had a nursery in oakland and they sold their flowers. >> this is in sysco flower mart when it was their fifth mission in the early 1900s. when my father and his two brothers took over service they continued to sell their flowers

at the flower market. from the time i was eight years old i remember going to the flower mart at 1 a.m. with my father and with my uncles. the flower market continues to be a place for many first in an asian family from all over the world to start their business and thrive. >> the flower markets contain gardens are family owned businesses and the owners are first generation or children of the immigrants. i urge you to get the flower market like good seasons starters so it can continue to help many first generation families and the flower industry in northern california to thrive. >> thank you.

>> thank you. >> good afternoon commissioners and thank you for this opportunity to speak to you. my name is rose robinson and i've been working at the san francisco flower mart for nearly 30 years and in this time i've met many small business owners. some of them have been second and third generation flower growers flower wholesalers and florists. this community has deep roots in the bay area. >> over a century ago italian immigrants, chinese immigrants and japanese immigrants gathered at lotus fountain to sell their blooms and then together they formed a partnership that became the first flower market. >> and these families didn't just do business together. they helped each other. like in world war two when the japanese weren't and weren't internment camps it was the

italians who took care of their farms for them. and you know, when the war ended, these communities kept thriving. they grew flower market into one of the oldest and largest flower grow flower markets in the united states. >> they've brought a lot of jobs to the area. but it's not just jobs. it's a heritage and it's a heritage that we don't want to see lost because it means something to work with flowers. you can't get flowers just like that on amazon. somebody has to grow them. they cut them. they design them. and that's not something we want to lose. we don't want to lose the tradition or the history. our market is a cultural and economic cornerstone that serves over 4500 small businesses. it provides jobs for 250 workers and fosters committee sorry community events like tulip days in union square. >> generations of san franciscans have relied on the flower market to sustain their

businesses. celebrate life milestones and beautify our city. flowers bring pleasure to so many people. they brighten our lives and the businesses, the small businesses who toil day to day. make a lot of sacrifices to do this. they get up early. they weather the seasons. and they're here doing business on holidays when the rest of us are enjoying the holiday. as one of the last wholesale flower markets of its kind, our designation as a legacy business is not just about preserving our history. >> it's about honoring the contributions of immigrant families, small businesses and workers who have shaped san francisco's unique character. time can i keep going? >> oh this designation ensures that our story rooted in resilience and community can continues to inspire future generations. i've stayed at the flower

market for almost 30 years because i thrive in this community. i know the people. they are my community. thank you. >> good afternoon commission. i first like to say thank you to rick because he really helped us get our application together and did a fabulous presentation. my name is jeannie taggart bowes. i'm the executive director of the san francisco flower market and it's an honor to stand here before you as we started to celebrate our 113th year in san francisco in a brand new home in petro hill. for more than a century the flower market has been a cornerstone of our city a place where growers, florists, grocers, interior decorators and event designers have come together with the beauty of flowers. today our vendors compete on a global scale navigating intense challenges from internal disruptors and online marketplaces.

despite their pressures, they continue to innovate and adapt. >> all we preserving the community spirit that defines the market. now managed by s.f. flower market inc a501c3 nonprofit and a proud supporter and supporting organization to the san francisco wholesale produce market we are deeply committed to sustaining northern california's floral agriculture community. we're supporting our small businesses that are our vendors and fostering educational connections. legacy business designation is not just an honor it's an essential. it will enable us to provide for our 22 plus vendors safeguard livelihoods of over 250 blue collar workers and maintain affordability and vibrancy of this cherished institution. the san francisco flower market is more than a business it's a living legacy. flowers do more than brighten places they brighten lives.

scientifically proven to boost dopamine, flowers bring joy. they reduce stress. they connect us to all. as supervisor aaron peskin so beautifully said recently san francisco flower market is as quintessentially san francisco as its cable cars and the golden gate bridge. with your support we can ensure this historic institution continues to thrive providing opportunity and inspiration to our city while helping our vendors overcome the immense challenges of a global market. together we can carry the legacy forward and secure its place as a vital part of san francisco for generations to come. i thank you for your consideration of legacy status . thank you. any other public comments? seeing no public. >> no further public comment public comment is closed and any commissioners like to

make comment. commissioner dickerson, first of all, thank you so much for bringing i know the gentleman left the. the cha cha cha cha history. that was that was great to look at. there's some real heritage there. wow. so that was that was wonderful. that was a great experience. and what do you say about the flower market? >> like i remember in 1992 when i was getting ready to get married we my mom was like we got to go to the flower market . >> i have six sisters. we all came to the flower market. >> like what are you thinking? when i think about the flower mart i want every single person that i know that has gotten married. >> it doesn't matter where they live in california. they came to the flower market.

so i say that to say i am just so grateful to first of all it's an honor to meet every single one of you who have put so much hard work. i can only imagine what what that is like to handle such a vast i mean there's so much involved in that. so i just want to say more than anything thank you so much for being a part of so many people's lives. i don't think you are i don't think you all really realize how many lives are impacted by having that space in the opportunity to go and literally create dreams and visions and memories that lasts forever with this space that you all have diligently provided for this city. you definitely agree with peskin for that one so thank you so much and i just appreciate every single one of

you have put so much work into your businesses all of the businesses. >> so thank you. it's an honor. >> thank you, commissioner benitez as well. >> thank you again. just to ride on the coattails of commissioner dickerson, a amazing presentations and love to hear the stories with cha cha cha i've got many a memory. we could be here for another five hours if we needed to now i'm just kidding. >> but many a celebration, many a birthday and many a job promotion many have spilled sangria but it was so much fun and that place is still such a great time that i send friends and family who come to visit to both locations so such a wonderful place to create such memories and i loved hearing that it's so generational too so fun to see that families upon the families continue to go there and and the chicken pilot and the chicken wings and the calamari as i go to the top was there. >> i love it. in addition to the flower market, same thing we send friends and family you know, we

want to go to fisherman's wharf. we want to go to golden gate park. well, they also make sure that the flower market is also on their itinerary and just love to hear the stories. >> you said something about brightening and brightening places and brightening lives and i just wanted to add to that one of the things that a quote that i live by is we have a store we used to have two stores but one of the things that i always like to say is that we don't build stores, we build stories and i think what you do at the flower market and just what we were talking about about families going through and generations of whether it be weddings and birthdays and you know, just event you know, life events that people go there for. i think it's wonderful that you continue to serve san francisco and keep doing what you do. >> thank you. thank you commissioner ortiz katona thank you. it's not cha cha we i can't even i shouldn't even tell all the stories so i've been there like me let's let's start with there but you're institution you brought cuisine you were always welcoming so whatever walk of life and i always hold you special you know it's like

i've grown up with cha cha cha so i appreciate i didn't have kids before i used to go now i have kids and i'll probably be a grandpa one day and will be cha cha cha cha to the flower mart i want to give a special out to our former commissioner kathleen dooley. you know may may she be looking at us and i'm so honored and this is like a privilege that i'm part of this moment something you're a steward of san francisco like it's something special. you're you're in all spectrums of life whether it's a birthday you know, a wedding and even funerals like and you support economies from monterey to half moon bay and i feel honored today it's something special and you're stewards of something that is san francisco to its core and feel honored and we feel privileged. >> so thank you. thank you. commissioner cornett first i

want to start off by congratulate and you guys this is huge and i hope you're all proud of yourselves. >> it's so inspirational to see the strength that you guys bring up bring to today but also like their different generations that you've touched and lives have changed and i think that's very, very important, very empowering actually the flower market that's where i get my lilies all the time and they make me smile every morning. and cha cha cha i've had some nights i remember some nights i don't know the best. >> thank you. so congratulations again and thank you so much for sharing your story, sharing your passion and also inspiring us. >> thank you. vice president, this is dennis . thank you everybody for coming and thank you richard for preparing our legacy businesses so well. >> yeah. congratulations on all your years of service and thank you for your dedication to this city as a south market girl

myself, my family's business, ted's market so i definitely grew up going to flower market and it was it was a staple of of of of our the to environment in south a market and uh yeah thank you for for speaking to your history i think it's so important to mention communities and struggle and how they come out with you know mutual aid to each other and then that creates that creates enterprise and that's really the story of small business. >> so thank you for speaking to that and yeah, look forward to voting on all of you. oh i would if we're going to move i would love to dedicate this vote to a former commissioner kathleen dooley who we went to her services at her memorial at the flower

market and she made it her mission to make sure you all sustained. >> so yeah, that would be my motion. >> can i ask the second i'm going to say one more thing before we vote. okay. i um i just wanted to congratulate all of you. i think all of the commissioners have really um well encapsulated many of the things that i was you know, that i was feeling while listening to your presentations and you know, i just wanted to kind of i guess notice out loud the passion and the commitment that you all have made for like what you do every day which is really so interesting to me because i think like you know, a lot of young people a lot of people in general are kind of asking these big questions like how do i make the world better? you know, all like what do i

do? how do we save things like how do we do you know, i don't know how do we change things right? and i think the answer sometimes is by just doing the thing that you're passionate about and digging into that thing, creating that scrapbook for a charter across you know, over time like creating places that people experience joy and like making friends around that i feel like those kinds of things what you've done is essentially answered many of those big questions by just being yourself and being authentic to the thing that matters to you most. and i couldn't, you know, congratulate you more but i would love to amplify you know, this um this act, this act of just being yourselves and being an amazing legacy business for the city and you know, i commit that, you know, as a commission i will continue to um, think

about how the legacy business says like fit into all of all of what we do. you know you're such an important part of now you're part of you will hopefully after this vote you know be a part of a longstanding club of people who have really committed themselves to san francisco. and i think it's it's a very unique part of our city and our community. and so yeah, i would love to amplify all the things that you do all that just on a daily basis. so thank you very much. um, i think we had a motion as well as a second already. can we preserve those and a motion by commissioners as soon as was the second. i think commissioner ortiz carter now start to hit i thank you i will read the roll this is a motion in support of the resolutions. commissioner benitez yes. >> commissioner cornett that's right. yes.

commissioner dickerson that's right. yes. a commissioner roberts absent president huey yes. >> commissioner ortiz kurt dana yes and vice president is eunice yes. >> motion passes. >> congratulations. congratulations. all right, see item number three, please. >> item three fiscal year 20 2526 and 20 2627 budget priorities. this is a discussion and action item the commission will review and may take action on the office of small business and small business commission strategic priorities for fiscal year 2526 and 2627. i can put it up on the board.

>> all right. well carrie is bringing the document here. >> i'll just kick this item off. so per our city's admin code we are responsible for holding two public hearings by a certain date in february to talk about the budget. this is our second hearing. unfortunately at this point in time though, although there is the date that is set in the admin code we really don't have a whole lot else to share. >> so but what i will share since there has been a change of administration since our first hearing is is relay to all of you the directive from the mayor's office which has really emphasized fiscal discipline in light of a looming budget deficit over the next two fiscal years spanning i think one of the largest deficits that we have seen in recent times. >> and so when mayor breed was

still in office there was a directive given to all city departments that we needed to over the next few years reduce our general fund support by 15% in each year. so mayor lori has indicated to all the department heads that that will continue. so that is the exercise that we are currently undergoing. it is still in progress where we do all the departments need to identify again a reduction in general fund support by 15% and each year over the next few years. in addition to that you probably heard in the news as well that mayor larry has put in place a hiring freeze. and so that has been that took effect immediately. and so we are all the departments are trying to figure out how to continue to offer either same or improved level of service while while living under this hiring freeze for this moment. >> so those are the two updates

given the change in transition of administration or you know, office of small business. just as a reminder, although we are a department, we are also a division within the budget of the office of economic and workforce development. so we're or a bit unique in that way or both the department and a division. >> and so because of that we i will be working very closely and have been and will continue to with our director of sarah dennis phillips and the rest of the divisions that touch upon small business services and resources to figure out how it is that we can holistically again still offer either same or improve service. how can we be more efficient at what we do given fewer resources funding wise as well as potentially personnel wise? so so those are the updates. >> and then also wanted to as you can see on the screen here you can see some updated well it's really the same

essentially in terms of our strategic goals and priorities from the commission that we've applied towards fiscal year 25, 26 and 2627. and i wanted to check in with the commission to see if there's anything from this last fiscal year that you feel needs to be changed or edited amended in any way. if you believe so this would be the opportunity to share with the commission and have an open discussion about what you might want to see different or the same. so wanted to give the commissioners that opportunity and of course available to answer any questions.

i'll just start the conversation. i don't think i don't think i have any particular changes but i do see that like some of the priorities maybe i might have some new ideas on like kind of how to get to those priorities ,you know. and i also feel like with the strategic goals i think all three of those are very important. but i'm starting to see some kind of i'd like to see kind of some delineation in terms of like you know, when people have conversations about small businesses as i think we tend to lump kind of small business priorities into one priority and and that's really not the case. there's there's attracting new small businesses that's a

different i mean i see that they're separated in terms of strategic goals but attracting new small businesses like that is a whole different subset. you know that's a whole different subject than how to support existing small business is and retaining small businesses and then even growing small businesses as a whole and other things. so i kind of feel like right now we kind of like make small business almost like too small in a way like where we kind of just talk about, you know, 1 or 2 measures that will help support small businesses. but what i'm seeing in my community is on the ground is that there are still people who need help with, you know, all different types of things because of the stage in which they're at with their small business. does that kind of make sense

for that? i kind of just feel like um and that doesn't necessarily have to be reflected in the in the goals and priorities those are just kind of thoughts that i had in terms of like how how to think about small small business. well like all of these seem to be titles of i see what you're saying so when you're when we're looking at the priority like when we're looking at the strategic goals support small business retention and growth attract new small business by making the this is their strategic goals but are you looking for like are we trying

to like have the the plan for these subjects? >> is that what you're referring to or try what i'm because i understand what you're saying in the sense of all of these have different directions that they go you can't put them all under just one title okay you know these are just the goal because each one of them are different. i'm trying to i want you to elaborate a little bit on what the expectation would be based on those categories. is it to be more to have more definition of what these goals what it would take for these things to take place or are you just saying in general looking at the priorities these priorities don't align with the goals i, i feel like so i feel like the document itself is is

good for me. like i think that it's reflective of like how i kind of see like in terms of our goals and our priorities. so i don't really have a critique of the document itself . i think mine is just my comment is really more on i think as we use this document as a guiding principle right or as a guiding i don't know as our guidepost right like that we not lump all those goals together or like they are separate right now but i just want to be clear that like because i think for us we understand that because we talk to small business all the time and we are in small business but i don't know if like general public understands like if you've never run a small business before you don't understand that like the things that are important to you on day one are very different than

the things that are important to you 113 years down the line, you know or actually they might be similar at that point but like five years down the line it feels different and so i guess my and then like you know the things that are important in terms of economic vibrancy are going to be different for somebody who's yeah who's starting and versus somebody who's several years been in the neighborhood so certain things i just kind of wanted to note as we start to use this as a as a guiding document and that's less so for our commission because we're in it but more so for the people who may be listening or be part of making legislation based off of what they believe our small business priorities are. does that make sense? does that kind of help if okay, just to make sure i'm hearing this correctly is are you

saying that in terms of the kind of like so these are our strategic goals priorities but then we also have kind of like our work plan how we execute, how we implement some of those ideas you want to make sure that they are kind of separated into appropriate bucket based on business stage? >> i think so based on business stage and other you know, other things that might you know, i, i guess my goal is that okay like right now i see that there are a lot of small businesses who need help for whatever reason. right? there are a lot of people who have cited you know, that they feel like they need assistance and i think there are a lot of people who have ideas as to like how we can help. right. there's like and and there's kind of this like okay, well we got rid of all these permit fees so everything should be okay. like i don't think that's necessarily the case for somebody who isn't applying for

a permit, you know, so i kind of i guess what i'm trying to say is that you know, i think as a commission i like that we have a variety of, you know, several goals. i like that we have a list of priorities and i guess i just want to highlight that all of these things are important all at the same time because our constituents are in different places all the time like they're just not a single type of small business and so for the people that we are giving console to or that we're providing you know for the legislation that we're providing oversight for to know that there isn't necessarily a silver bullet but there are all these different people that you know even though we we are able to do one thing there might be other things and that's why we still have businesses who need help. >> and so i guess that's i don't know if that's makes any more sense.

>> um, vice president as in us you know thank you president hui for for starting this dialog. yeah i think while we have to vote on this as you know for in the record and and we worked hard to develop this and had some good conversations over it last year and the year before i think i think maybe we make an internal document for us and we can continue this conversation to and you know the next agenda item but um i think we can do bullet points under each of these priorities that are relevant to the demographics we work with and the actual tangible issues that we we want to work on because we've been in response mode for for a minute, you know we haven't we

haven't as a commission really you know, come up with with a bottom up policy suggestions. >> i mean our our staff and our our director have been going really hard on that and working with other departments and and electeds on policy. >> and so i think our our commission has been represented well in that priority but i think we're still dealing with a lot of equity issues that we haven't been able to codify into to maybe the mitigation and and you know the policy areas that we wanted to um i think that there's still a lot of work that we can like a work plan like you alluded to that we can develop uh for us as a commission and encourage uh,

you know, our base to come forward with suggestions for those different working items and see what we can move to towards a tangible result. >> and i'm i'm for that conversation if you want to continue at present here we thank you commissioner cornett so i think everything on the presentation is good and it checks out. i just want to make a point just for us to keep in mind that when it comes to i understand what you're saying like you know, trying to meet them where they're at because one year versus five years versus ten years your needs are gonna be very different to continue to thrive. so making sure those tools are there but also to with data and research and developing these tools. let's not forget too that every business is very different so it's kind of a microclimate.

so really like understanding trends in different markets for whether it's a salon or this type of restaurant or experiential retail or um types of hotels if things are going to be looking like for san francisco more like entertainment based with a little bit of like a more ique aroach is just kind of keeping you know that in mind for what trends are looking like and also creating the tools that would fit best for the city. >> mr. benitez yeah, i think hello. i think that the document is pretty straightforward from a tactical perspective and this is just me kind of coming back from my old corporate role but in terms of strategic goals being able to show like from the priorities where do they fall under maybe some of them might overlap, some of them might be very specific to that if that's the way it was meant to be as well. and i think the stretch goal eventually would be you know, are there quantified numbers that you would want to see to make this goal be met? i'm just kind of just throwing

this out there but maybe that's a very long term kind of stretch goal from that. but i agree with the other two commissioners as well that and just in terms of maybe having a constituent facing document versus a internal document that we can speak to, i think you know, would be great and then just really understanding yeah, there's different categories of business and you know it's going to be very you know retail will be very different from a hospitality kind of thing but you know that's very long term overarching but overall i think you know, the points are there and just you know how you can easily, you know, attach the priorities to the goals i think would also just be one way to show how you can continue to support and grow fiscally year by year . >> yeah i mean i think i think for sure i'm in agreement with the document i think yeah i'm

ready for people to be really excited about starting a new business in san francisco. so um, any other commissioner and comments or questions on this? is there anything else? director tang i like so this is an action item should to adopt the there's a draft resolution that formally adopts this document so the motion would be on the resolution. >> okay so would anybody like to make a motion to adopt? oh actually you know what public comment is there anybody here who would like to give public comment on this item? >> no, no pressure. sorry. thank.

>> go ahead. sorry. hello. hello. good afternoon, commissioners. >> my name is carly. i am here on behalf of a5a1c3 based here in san francisco known as fletcher. we primarily assist our many small businesses in san francisco from all the way from the formation to making sure that they have longevity within their business permits licenses getting at locations you know it really is very vast. >> i think that in terms of supporting small businesses in san francisco on the ground floor we see businesses day in, day out like a lot the commissioner says there's a wide variety of issues that we see similar to what commissioner cornett said there are many different types of businesses like you mentioned the salons and restaurants that all have different requirements

and processes. i just want to comment that while there are some many differences, a lot of similarities do lie in the information gathering stage for the small businesses. you know a lot of the ones that we work with while they may be very savvy in their own field, it's really in the compliances and mostly a lot of the taxes that trip up to small businesses those two things are primarily you know, someone once referred to it as like the achilles heel of small businesses. so i think that while you know, it is mostly an idea but for the office small business to consider that that while many businesses do thrive doing the business on the back end that is really what trips up a lot of the businesses and ultimately can force them into closure not understanding the compliances and regulations whether l

state level and you know recently a federal level that

ultimately can make or break a business. so i just wanted that to be noted and you know, thank you for the time. >> thank you. >> thank you. i'm going to assume there is no other public comment seeing no public comment commissioners, anybody want to make a motion? um, i'll go ahead and make a motion to approve the resolution to adopt the uh priorities priorities. i'll second that motion. i motion by president hui seconded by commissioner benitez kushner benitez yes. >> commissioner cornett yes. commissioner dickerson. yes. commissioner roberts absent president huey yes, commissioner. it's cartagena. yes. and vice presidencies in us? yes.

>> motion passes. thank you. let's see. i forgot to thank you guys for for putting everything together . thank you. oh, um, and next item please. >> item for approval of draft meeting minutes as a discussion and action item the commission will discuss and take action to approve the december ninth 2024 draft meeting minutes. >> does somebody want to make a motion to move to approve? okay perfect. take public. i'll start. >> oh do we need to do public comment would anybody like to make public comment on on the draft meeting minutes being no public comment. >> public comment is closed and with some do you like to make a motion i move to approve

our second motion by commissioner dickerson's seconded by vice president's business commissioner buddy this yes commissioner cornett yes. commissioner dickerson yes commissioner what's absent president he you know i was going to ask and do i can i get to vote even though i reviewed them? you can vote on them. yeah. okay. yes. yes. >> commissioner t's cartagena. yes. and vice presidency dizziness. yes. motion passes right. >> next item please. item five general public comment. this is a discussion item allowing members of the public to comment on matters that are within the small business commission's jurisdiction but not on today's calendar and suggest new agenda items for the commission's future consideration. anybody like to make public comment? >> all right. seeing no public comment public comment is closed.

next item please. item six director's report this is a discussion item. this is an update and report on the office of small business programs policy and legislative matters announcements from the mayor and announcements regarding small business activities. >> thank you. all right so i am excited to share with you all today that starting next monday our office is finally going to be able to add a new commercial leasing advisor to our office. so that brings a total to two people in our office who can help people with leasing and i think as kelly mentioned during public comment there are some underlying issues that transcend sectors and business stage and that is especially for many small businesses that do not on the space that they're in is that they are subject to a lot of the challenges that may come from a lease agreement and so what we have been able to do through our amazing commercial leasing specialist where we only had one person so far is empower

small business owners to really understand one what they can negotiate. sometimes you see something that's presented to you as a draft lease and you think that's what i have to agree to but actually there might be room for further negotiation and i think that once we empower our business owners to understand what's in their lease and what and hopefully sign one that's sustainable, we are both preventing vacancies from happening and also allowing these business owners to stay in their space is longer. so in in fiscal year 2324 the first full fiscal year where we had this position our commercial leasing specialist iris works on over 200 cases. that's actually a lot more transactions and just 200 acres is a lot of back and forth or potential variety of different lease drafts that she reviewed and it resulted in 40 approximately 40 signed leases. so i think it was a really great investment and and

fortunately that was recognized and so we were able to add one more because we found the service to be so valuable that we couldn't keep up with just one person. >> so again we're very excited to welcome this person on monday and once they're on board i'm very excited to introduce you to this person as well. so that's good news. and we it was a buzzer beater for the hiring freeze so we're very happy we got that is at the last minute there and then other than that i just want to thank those of you who attended some of the training with regards to the new ethics regulations that came into place. if you have any questions or weren't able to attend some of the scheduled trainings, please reach out to me or carrie and we're happy to set those up for you because we know the material is very dense and there's a lot of a lot of rules and a lot of sections so and everything is case specific. so if there's anything that

comes up, any questions or again you want to go through the training just let us know and i think that is it. >> thank you. great. thank you very much, director, any questions from commissioners? yes. commissioner ortiz i want to definitely give iris her flowers. i mean besides those for like people to understand property owners try to don't like you know if there's a thunderstorm you've got to pay for it you know like just crazy stuff like there's elevators coming out the pipes you got to pay for it like the prevention of cost that she's provided. you can't quantify that like you said sustainable and then the leases that we didn't sign so you're just counting the ones that we sign but the ridiculousness that we told our business owners that no, you know like just that in the prevention is another unquantifiable you know matrix that we can't even quantify but you prevent a small business

owner from wasting their life savings on something that is not sustainable. i've read leases where like you have to have open every single day except thanksgiving, right? like and just the prevention of that because that's unsustainable that'll break the lease on the clause so yeah irish she needs her flowers like so shut out if you're watching you know the millions in the millions that watch the office small business commission you know yeah yeah no no pun right so but thank you thank you seriously like that that is pound for found the best value like torgan would you say kelly like across the boards like people doing releases and sometimes you get stuck with a really bad lease that already puts you behind before day one. >> mm. >> and i was so oh no, go ahead . thank you. >> i was it was time for me to renew my lease and i was

reading over the lease and i know little bit i was reading over lease and i went 10% a year increase out i was like i did for some reason i don't know why i mean when i first negotiated the lease it was no big deal because they had given me like a year free and then after that, you know, it was i mean it was way below market because we had so much work to do to the building so i didn't trip off. >> but when it was time to renew after the fifth year i looked at that and i thought 10% i get after all the work we didn't put in this building you won't ten percent increase a year i went back i said hey, hey, let's talk about this so we you know after you know, going in back and forth, back and forth negotiating they eventually dropped it by 5% which for a small business that was huge, you know, but just knowing that you have you know, you have leverage to negotiate

you know, where you feel like you're trapped because oh please let me use your building so that i can know you have some rights and you have some bargaining tool. so just to have that but i'm pro come on small businesses let's start owning our buildings so that's the next step that i'm going for. i know for me and everyone that i know that has opportunity let's start owning this is crazy. i'm director tank. i am curious whether with so many leases read and like leases negotiated are we recording or seeing patterns or data that we can use to kind of understand like the leasing environment like some of these things where you know like like you said what what can i ask for? i mean not to necessarily like

make public but within the office to understand, you know, what are some of the trends where where some of the areas that you know we can kind of also say to certain groups like these are some of the things that we've noticed and even letting property owners know that because property owners many of them are small businesses themselves. right? they're not all big corporations. i think they oftentimes are the ones who have the ability to kind of make, you know, maybe better lease structures or or change things because they they might own 1 or 2 buildings and just want want that space leased like is this information that we can kind of share with them for best practice? yeah actually in this year we have as part of our goals for 2025 especially with another staff coming on board some recorded videos that give some general information about trends or things to look out for things you can negotiate as

well as some participation in live webinars. so we're trying to do more of that as you can imagine with just one staff it was hard like the priority was on the individual kind of situation and individual business lease review and now with a little bit more capacity we're trying to expand that more broadly so that people have some general knowledge and then if they need that additional support they can of course come for one on one help. yeah but if you're curious about anything else we're happy to connect you with iris on that. but we can also share information about when these webinars are either launched recorded video or life. >> okay that'd be great and can also add or it has like a parallel program with two other brokers like on the side specifically to the mission and outer mission again the same thing like what iris has done like signing leases, negotiating leases, preventing evictions like just this like pound for pound of value in these programs is like is

phenomenal. you know and to your point when we always tell them small businesses the thicker the lease the worse for you to yes i had a quick question director do you feel like i know we've brought up small property owners as kind of also a subset of small businesses in the city. do you feel like we have the opportunity with more capacity in this area to try to engage small property owners in this conversation? >> kind of actually we did so iris and i actually went out and contacted the small property owners institute of san francisco. we went to their general meeting. we've offered our services to also kind of help them fill any vacancies that they have and that we are here to offer support to kind of make that process go faster because i think a lot of them they would like to see their spaces filled more quickly.

>> so we went out there i'm not sure you know how much it led to, you know, additional engagements but we've tried and we'll we'll will continue to try every year. yeah. yeah that's that relationship i think is so important to have a landlord your property owner who's like supportive of what you do that like makes a huge difference for your you know for your business. so yeah anything that we can do to help with that i would recommend like there's a there's a group of attorneys for the small business owners there's not too many regarding landlords and you know property ownership and it's them they're the gatekeepers a lot of these properties are in trusts or you know, families you know, generational and unfortunately you know the stigma in san francisco like the laws are crazy and you know so there's super protective and they go overboard to protect so i think maybe even discussing with

certain attorneys and they're not too many there's about ten in the city that protect most of the smaller landlords in the city and just telling them like let let's let's do something this it's a new day you know what i mean? like and it's commercial like there's no like tenant protections in the sense of besides signing the lease so it's not like rent control. mhm right. great. any other comments or questions . oh any publi comnts and directors report seeing no public comment i think we can move on to the next item. >> thank you very much director tang item seven commissioner discussion and new business. >> this is a discussion item. it allows president vice president and commissioners to report on recent small business activities, make announcements and make inquiries of staff. allows commissioners to introduce new agenda items for

future consideration by the commission. >> all right. i see that commissioner ortiz has an item. you have three items. first, i want to thank mayor louie and his staff. they came out to the automation and did the commercial walkthrough with supervisor chen. so i appreciate that. we visited on when i think the last shoe repair he's a cobbler. i think it's been around since 1925 so it's about you know 1926 is next year 100 years so he visited he walked the corridor and i appreciate that and he was just outside and i appreciate you, mayor, for that to we're working with senator scott wiener regarding sb 295 that's regarding around street vendor retail nothing to do with food retail and i think we've we've worked with the street vendor association and the various organizations

in the mission and we've come to a good place where like it's beneficial because again street vending has never been an issue in our culture. it's it's criminal activity as fencing so i don't want to conflate the two so it gives city agencies a little bit of authority to to help our street vendors not to be harassed by the criminal activity in the neighborhood. and then lastly regarding our our national climate regarding immigration homeland security, ice raids and i've had several discussions with director tang regarding how can we assist our small businesses. now in my community there's a lot of subject matter experts regarding immigration law both for small business it's three factors that have to intersect it's immigration law, criminal law and small business law all at the federal level. so an example in a restaurant you have a public area so

immigration can come to that public area would even without a search warrant as opposed to, you know, a residential or to a like a private sector building where they could just close the door. and if you do have the warrant then kick in the door. right. and please don't call me because obviously this is why i'm asking because we don't know the law but we just want to assure our small business or equipped with the right thing to do right. if you're a small business owner, your manager, what do you do if somebody shows up they're already inside your restaurant. what do you do? i don't want somebody getting an obstruction charge aiding and abetting charge at a federal level. you know, that's one year of top idea for a time. so trust me, i get it. they don't play. we just want to make sure our small business owners have the facts protect us staff within legal confines like nothing extraordinary just comply with the law and protect your staff to the best of your ability

within the confines of the law and it's really complicated because then it trickles into h.r. >> issues right? they can ask you for your i-9 and you should be having your eyes ready on file. >> right. locked up. >> there's fire codes. you know, i've heard businesses like we're going to close the door but you can't because during business hours you're supposed to keep the doors open a not that's a fire, you know so we need help to like mesh those three legal aspects so we could just give our small businesses facts not not activism, not not my ideas, not my thoughts just what's the facts? what's black and white in the line and we've been working that director tang people in the community so and any any of my commissioners if you have any resources the gray lori thomas you know we've been in contact with them because it's it's scary it's scary because our small businesses if they're going for one and the

collateral damages they take out your whole back of the crew a rush or let's say a restaurant that you can train a restaurant overnight the whole back of the stuff that will wipe you out in one shot. so it is a little scary for our small businesses and they have the least resources. >> so if you catch a case of fed case as a small business owner because you didn't know how to interact when this was happening, not only can of course you financially it could cost you your freedom so and i'm not and i'm not trying to scare you either because like if that's not happening i also don't want to like fear mongering all that because that's another portion we don't want to do that. we just want our people in our small businesses to know black and white was the law come commissioner cornett do you

think the city or the office can maybe you know with all these guidelines to educate the businesses at a more like immediate on a more immediate level but also just reach as much as we can reach as many businesses again maybe like your time like they are like a sit down on the news or just whatever omni channel that we can use to kind of just reach them and make sure everyone knows their rights at a faster rate. >> so then we could do yeah, i think i'm sure that all the commissioners and many others have questions about this and i like to, you know, discuss with you all in conjunction with the city attorney's office and our office of civic engagement and immigrant affairs and so just know that those two offices are resources and so i'm happy to answer any specific questions or connect you with those offices so that we can get additional information. i know that interaction with any level of government is scary.

even people pulling up health permit probably you know that's frightening let alone you know, all the way at the federal level for other issues. >> right? so so we are very cognizant of that and we also want to make sure that yeah, like commissioner ortiz said, we don't want to cause alarm and fear as well if if there are things not happening either . so i'm happy to connect with you all outside the commission meeting about that as well. >> and can i just add city attorney chu he did he he was amazing like i said like he came we were five samples of the various like he's been ahead of it is just for our small businesses that have public areas that's where the complexities of law get but like they community has been in front of sale so like i don't want to diminish because they've been in front and they have been providing resources and and guidance it's just us always you know the small business community we have complexities like that are

unique to to our community vice presidents as us thank you for bringing this up commissioner. i think we had an idea in the past to to do some kind of collab with the immigrants right commission they've been holding really important meetings on this topic and have garnered a lot of public attendance so i maybe that's a way that we can get it on have a space for businesses to come and it be televised and we you know like perhaps that's that's an idea yeah i, i think that was i forgot my my other point but thank you for bringing that up i'll also just share that i know there's there are public forums for those who are comfortable with coming to public hearing but for the majority probably a public setting is not quite the most

comfortable for this topic. so we will do our best to engage and if you come across any businesses that have any either experiences directly or just questions please do feel free to refer them to us and we'll try to get the resources to them. the answers yeah. thank you. any other commission report? so one of the things that i wanted to i guess maybe check in on was kind of thinking about you know, the coming year and now that we have a new administration we have a lot of new supervisor powers to still lot of kind of renewed energy and a lot of meetings probably coming up for all of us commissioners as well with people in our communities.

you know, i think oftentimes we're we're kind of asked to to kind of be like well what are the things that we could do to to help small businesses and this may kind of like go back to similarly like the budget priorities and things like that. >> and so i wanted to kind of like make space i think in this portion of i, i think i could just do it now right to just kind of ask like if there are some priorities like i like the way that you know you had like three items to kind of like share with us but just so that we can all kind of be aware of one another's you know, things on on one another's radar and kind of think about what are our priorities as we start to look at the year ahead because there are so many different types of businesses and and i do really want for

people to feel as if you know, they're well supported by the city and not always feeling like well that's what you expect from the city. you know, i think director tang and and carrie you've also you as you've been on so many merchant walks over the many years really trying to work on touching you know touching everyone because business individually and learning about the neighborhoods and understanding what people are facing and i kind of you know, it's kind of like the answer is everything but at the same time like what are some of the things that we can really make change on because i feel like there's an appetite for sure but i think we have the knowledge of what it really feels like to have a business so i you put it out there

and then we can like talk about it another time. we don't need to come up with the ideas right now but um but i thought instead of me being the holder of like information like we can kind of have some time for us to like talk about those things. yeah, that's great. mm yeah. i think we still have some like agenda item. do we still have agenda items from previous meetings and things? i mean i know we've kind of like talked about certain things but um i like our new business list. like i think there's so many things that are um that we can still work on so yeah we can we can resurface things that people have flagged in the past and it sounds like you want to make those so like a formal agenda item for a future meeting potentially or just a good discussion. yeah. okay.

and with the just so i'm clear the like much of the discussion would be sort of individual like individually in each of your communities like what you're experiencing. yeah it doesn't have to be like i don't think we're necessarily looking for or at least for me i don't think there is a singular like silver bullet that's going to like you know, change everything for everyone. but i think if if we could get an understanding of like what are some of the priorities in the in the businesses that we meet and that we talked to um that might be helpful because i think as as i'm having conversations with people you know i, i think it kind of changes right? >> like what what certain priorities are and i want to know from our legislators to like what are their priorities and how do those align with like what we can what we can do with communities because if we're going to be able to give good counsel i have to kind of understand like where where we're all coming from.

so i kind of feel like we starting with a good listening session in some ways might give us some ideas of like where we really align and like and what we can do because i feel like having i feel like everybody right now is saying public safety and small business are our top priorities which i understand our top priorities but those are both very broad topics and they are and they are aligned with each other. you know, i think many of our small businesses like i always think small businesses are an interesting kind of group because you kind of don't ever hear from us unless there's like a problem like we are really self sustaining. >> we are not we are not seeking grants. we are not seeking any sort of like i mean maybe now people are seeking vc funding right? but like i think for the most part we kind of like wake up every day and know that you're

going to hustle all day long until you go to bed and we're not we just don't even have a lot of capacity in our day to think a lot about like all these other things that are happening. like i think it's amazing that we have so many of us sitting here right now spending, you know, three hours to to talk about you know, these things like this is not a common occurrence for small business >> madam president, , first i'd like of vanilla ice first came in like yo we have a problem owners but i think what are the solved. >> that's us. like i don't know that that's things that the city can do the first thing that popped in and it's capacity to really my head straight vanilla ice but like i'm super excited like make some movement and i think you know supervisor chain a lot of that has been done i think through you know, the supervisor fielder. you know their fresh perspective and they're eager easing of many permits changing and i think we should just kind of like the format of how invite them because like they're fresh, you know and they're coming in and they how we do outreach. i think that has been huge just have great ideas. like i've met them both being able to go into businesses individually and they're like, you know, let's do this in less. and talk to people and have a case managers for them to talk let's take advantage of that to at the permit center like so because women are sometimes you know, small business owners. many strides have already been made. we're always used to like our city's not going to help us or

>> so i'm kind of curious as to you know, some you know, we get well what what are some of the into our thing and we got to other things that we can do figure it out. it's always we got to figure it that will actually make an out right. and i think you know, i don't impact on the small business owners life? want to sound naive but i think it's a new day and and i'm and that's where i think i also optimist with new think about you know of course administration at the top. a lot of local supervisors it's a diverse community so everyone's going to have and let's let's ride that wave. different ideas. you know i mean this is the time you ideas fresh ideas you know new set of eyes so i like what you are saying. >> thank you. mm hmm. >> yeah, i agree. i think we should definitely do some reach out as a commission or introduce asians or find ways to meet the new supervisor and new administration staff. like we had a little today meeting greet more of those some some great once we have our priorities and some some roots we want to take them i think that would be make a lot of sense. >> um i guess something that

just comes to there's you know comes to my head as we talk about different small business sectors facing distinct issues and also different neighborhoods facing distinct issues and how the city addresses different neighborhoods in different sectors differently too. and as much as that is going to happen to degree because of the different variables at play, i think that we have kind of an unspoken spoken or barely spoken reality that is some businesses feel like they get it worse than others or some demographics feel like they get it worse than others. some neighborhoods feel like they get the enforcement or the more public safety support or less public safety support. >> and how we can try to feel

like build that camaraderie around in our small business space so that we can better, you know, show them the good sides of of of what the city has to offer and and that there is equal access but also where we can identify where there can be improvements. >> you know, i thi i think a lot about um, you know, business like in the mission for example with um the department of emergency rvices and dpw coming to merchant groups the and saying hey look we wt to do a culturally appropriate enforcement on vendors. >> can you be involved in this? um whereas you know we see in the tenderloin a different type of approach with with dealing with business malpractice um different than what's done in

the excelsior. you know and i feel like we need to make sure business communities and i think one of our priorities is also to help the associations right? >> so how can we support less funded less resourced business communities to organize themselves to be partners to the city and help bridge some of that? >> i mean we have groups like us of new deal and you know, all these well resourced organizations that could help incubate some of these more struggling sectors or neighborhoods or you know, like be we can be more deliberate i think in how we support the small business ecosystem to lead to more equity because i do feel like right now there's a lot of disproportionate enforcement going on in our city when it comes to small businesses. >> um well like like i've said

before, you know we have now downtown is getting a lot of um liberties whereas other neighborhoods are getting their liberties taken. >> so small businesses are not having, you know, an equal experience in this city and i think we need to recognize where maybe we can play a role in that. yeah. >> okay. so should we do we decide later on if how we agenda is this or like how we move forward with it. >> i mean it could it could i think it we'll defer to you. um, you know, as the commission president you could either have a discussion here in the commission reports or you can have a whole separate agenda item or discussion item. >> madam president, if we could at least recommend just to

invite the newly appointed two elected supervisorst like a meet and greet here like an appointment. mm hmm. >> mm hmm. and or mayor, can we add that as an invitation to the supervisors? uh huh. okay. and the mayor? okay. it's a separately i also should say i think we're probably happy to connect people with those offices if oh if you think like a one on one conversation or just maybe a couple of businesses, a couple of commissioners obviously you can't you can't all meet with somebody in private the same time. but i think we're happy to facilitate like smaller conversations if you think those would be more productive than in a public a public setting as well. just something to put on the table. okay. yeah. thank you. agree with that? yes. >> um, i also have a question i guess certain. so you know some of the things

that affect small businesses are not able to be changed on a city or county level when things are the way they are because of, you know, the state or federal kind of legislation. what mechanisms do we have? like what how do we fit into that puzzle as a commission? >> so the in the mayor's office there is a person who coordinates federal and state policy and advocacy. >> so we do act as one city family and in terms of the positions that we would take on certain policies and so we would need to have a conversation with them if you want to have a discussion amongst commissioners again whether formally or or informally and without violating any of the brown act rules, you know, certainly that's possible for us to really flesh out in greater detail what it is that we would

be asking for in terms of advocacy at the state or federal level. >> okay. can i add to that like just my experience as been to notify the mayor's office senator states. it's been an amazing experience. a lot of outreach. just it's great. like the mechanisms there i think sometimes we just don't use the resource. i think like we don't know that we have access to that and it's powerful and it's very collaborative. >> mhm. so as individual businesses you can i mean your oh you're asking us for individual businesses. no i, i mean i think that's how that's how you're interacting with with senator we know it's a coalition you know it's a very eclectic bunch of people we have nonprofits we have supervisors the mayor's office obviously senator scott wiener and and you know, just getting a lot of people in the room in

this particular issue because it's a little bit more complex and nuanced and hallelujahs to it. but what i'm just trying to get at is that it's there like the mechanism is there and the experience has been great. mm hmm. that's that's what i'm trying to get at and i'm not even used to it at the state level so it was pretty cool. >> mm hmm. okay. well, um, i think that's all that i have. does any other commissioner? >> yes. this is for item the last item on the adjournment. if i could request that we do a memorandum of rosa lima. she was the director at beacon. we just went to her funeral today. mission mom. mission mentor like the whole neighborhood was out there today and rest in peace and we're going to miss you and i appreciate all the work you and your family has done like if we could do that at

closing. thank you. >> all right. any other any other new items? oh, you know what i wanted to just acknowledge that is the lunar new year coming up so we just had our flower market in chinatown. um, i and you know, it's been an incredible experience being in chinatown over the past few months and you know, mayor laurie's inauguration celebration and i was crazy. >> those photos are are nuts and you know, i think i, i definitely agree with commissioner ortiz about how i think a lot of people feel very excited and like a sense of renewed energy for this upcoming year. and so i think you know, this lunar new year is going to be

this year's the year of the snake. >> and so you know, i, i don't know what that means for everybody but everybody will tell you something different is what i've learned. so i'm not going to try to tell you what that means. but you know, i i'm excited for for the celebrations. but you know, i encourage everybody to celebrate the new year in some way because i mean we all can and like it's mostly just getting together with people that you care for and like and having a meal together really is like a really simple way to celebrate and so yeah, i wish everybody a happy new year and there's there's probably many other things that i'm forgetting but and i'll just throw one more in here we want to wish our commissioner rachel herbert happy birthday today. >> oh yeah happy birthday am so uh oh vice versa.

>> i i forgot one announcement which also thank you to the office of small business newsletter for sending out the opening of a refrigerant replacement program. very crucial because most of our small businesses are not going to be compliant in a state. >> speaking of state law in five years because of the refrigerators that most people have are, you know, not going to be compliant with air board chemical laws that are going to be in place. so please subscribe to our office the small businesses letters for those kind of opportunities the small businesses that can potentially get help to replace their refrigeration. >> yeah, i do encourage

everybody to read the office of small business newsletter that is really full of really good information and i mean a lot of information that people do not know about so thank you to um i think we have to take public comment on that. >> yes. right. any public comment on commissioners discussion and new business? see no public comment. public comment is closed and today we will be adjourning our meeting in in honor of roselle rosa lema of the mission beacon and thank you. thank you. today's meeting is adjourned. do i need to do anything? okay. just so you until i do this

>> i think a lot of times we get in adult lives we are afraid to

follow our passions and think life can't be that easy. but i truly do believe i followed my heart this time in my journal in city government i did not know that is where my passion lied. i kept following it and ltd. to great opportunity to serve the city. [music] >> i'm katy tang the executive director of the office of small business. >> small business contributes to san francisco's economy. they provide the bulk of employment in the city and employing a million people in san francisco. and roughly 90% of the businesses are defined as small businesses. so, they contribute to the economy but also just the quality of life. small businesses are more then

and there a place of transaction it is a community center. a play where people gather. know each other and form memories about the city. >> at the office of mall business i run a team this helps report all mall businesses in san francisco whether they are looking to stfrt a new business or expand or perhaps they are feeling with issues. our office is here as a point of information for anyone with a business that has 100 or nower employees. >> i was growing up i had many ideas of when i wanted to do. i wanted to being an olympic swimmer. and i wanted to men be an architect, you name it i had many ideas for what i wanted do when i grew up. and i never anticipated entering in politics. this opportunity came along

wh started working for former supervisor carmen chu and she became the district 4 sunset district supervisor. that was my firstent row in politics and government in a different level. and so when i was finishing up my time working for legislative aid i thought, i will go off and do something else. may be explore opportunity outside of city government what was then approached by this opportunity to also serve as a district 4 supervisor. if not the traditional route that many people think of when you enter in politics. a lot know that is manage than i want to do and run for office. that was not part of my culture and upbringing with manage my parents were wondering why i wanted to go in that role this legislation and important because so many women when have it return to work after having a

child feel embarrassed or don't feel comfortable asking their supervisor for will any lactation accommodations. i saw it as an opportunity you could use the position where you have tools creating legislation and pass laws and where people listen to to you help the community and pass cause catharsis important to the city and individuals. my family immigrated to the united states from taiwan. and they came here in pronl probably late 20's almost 30. and so, they came also in the knowing english limp barely read or write but had to quickly understand english to i can't haveigate services and find a job in america. i grew up in the san francisco sunset district i spent most of my childed hoo up until i went off to college.

so when i started working in city government, i think i had mixed reactions about my involvement working government because for some of our parents generation, there is i bit of distrust in government. i think there are questions about why i was entering in this field of work. i think you know when i went in city government i thought about my parents like so many other who is have to navigate city services and resources english first language and help the individuals both navigate, intercept that is on an application approximate signage. it is fulfilling to mow to help people like my parent and feel like government is there to support them and not to harm them. my parents are happy that i retired early from politics and being a district 4 supervisor i could have continued on for a

couple more years approximate decided to leave early. i think that over all they were able to see some of my work appear in the chinese newspaper. through that they were able to see i was able to help communities in a tangible way. >> the member of the board of supervisors. >> transportation authority. for the city and county of san francisco. congratulations. >> i think about one importance when i was worn in as district 4 supervisor. years ago, and someone actually came up to me during the swear nothing ceremony and said, wow, i'm traveling here from canada, and i just i could not believe i saw an asian female worn in in this role a leadership role this meant so much that someone would say that and felt they were inspired by the scene. so -- i hope that as more people

see people that look like them and more women coming in positions of leadership than i feel they can doing the same. person this inpyred me is carmen chu who is our city add administrator but also was district 4 supervisor when i worked with her as a legislative aid. at this point, i too, was skeptical of going in politics. i saw someone who had herself never seen herself in politics. got thrown into it and put her heart and soul and dedication to serve people. and it gave me the confidence to pursue that same job and i honestly would not have either chosen or accepted or considered serving on the board of supervisors were not for carmen. >> if you want to make your business accessible. >> in my role in city government where i have seen the most challenge is people who don't

know you and you are here to serve and help them that they classify you as our city government and here to hurt you. so, people will talk to you and -- and just you know treat you disrespectfully. and sometimes i noticed that they might do more to me as a female compared to my male colleagues. but you know i try to be empathetic. one of the most significant barriers to female empowerment we feel like we have to be 100% meeting all of the qualifications before we think that we are qualified to do a job. if we look at a job description or an opportunity to come your way well is self doubt about whether you can fulfill the obligations of that role. i think that the confidence is huge and sometimes i think we make up for it by trying to gain more experience.

more and more and more in whatever we can put under our belts we'll feel better. that may not be the case. we might be qualified with when we have already accomplished. i started rock climbing indoors a couple years ago as an activity to try to spends time with my husband and also to try something new and i finds that rock climbing there are so many parallels to life. you know when i'm on the wall i'm concentrating and trying to make it to the next piece without falling. there are daying you think i'm not making progress. you come back and wow, i hit another level. and so i feel like in our daily lives and w we think we are not making enough of i change in the city. and sometimes we have to take out time to reflect every day as

long as you try and give it your all and you look back you will have made a significant contribution there is no limit to where you go in terms of rock climbing. i want to reminds myself of that in terms of daily life. >> follow what it is you are interested in, what makes you feel excited about wake up every day. you never know and be open to all the possibilities and opportunity. [music]

>> my name is andrew england the owner and collector at real old paper. i'm a native to the bay areaismt grew up in oakland, spent high school years here and lived in hawaii about 10 years. moved back shortly. been in san francisco proper now for about 8 years. when i realized i wasn't a dealer anymore in san francisco, i found openings and decided to opening my own store in north beach in 2016. north beach was a great place to start. i got a neighborhood feel from it. i got involved in the community, but as far as business turnover,

fisherman's wharf is 2 fold, 3 fold because there are so many more people here. we have been here going on 3 and a half years. i started as a hobbyist. i started collecting movie posters in high school. not originals. just favorite. when i mouved to hawaii there was a gallery that specialized in viptage posters and that taught me about the variables beyond movies and that is where this is my career path and what iment to do. i with irked for them for 8 years, took a portion of pay in store credit so i built a collection basically and turned it into a brz. business. hobby turns business and forch int. i got bitten by the poster bug it spiraled out of control and i needed to a store to outlet my collection. san francisco has always had a

viptage poster dating with 1970 with chicago new york and paris san francisco is a city with a area to buy vintage posters so people appreciate the time capsule and history. all are vintage. most in the store is at least 40 plus years old, some back to the 1800s so we have some 140 years old. they are advertisement,b war propaganda from world war 1 and 2. movie and with travel posters and alcohol and tobaccos. thin pieces of paper meant to last maybe a mujt or 6 weeks. the lowest point was the pandemic. having to close the gallery so i didsant have a web store biltd or outlet and barely a instagram and told all the customers don't buy on line. can't be sure they are authentic or true colors or size or

condition. it was very frustrating. it was a struggle until this opportunity presented itself and when i moved into this location on the wharf, there was still nobody here yet. we hadn't officially reopened but i rolled the dice, spent everything i had left to build this place out, and give it one last shot. it worked out very well. it worked out very well. >> here we have the 1971 for the fight. ali and frazier first meeting. the one first professional loss. there is a lot that appreciate the story and understand the esthetic and message and nuances within the graphic. the champagne [indiscernible] wonderful piece. it carries both styles. it has the [indiscernible] in his garb. he has shoes and fits the earlier periods, but done in the style of art deco and that is what we offer and part of the experience knhing into

the store. we will walk through the purchase and explain how we preserved it, what are the imperfections and what does the imagery mean. you have the older story and the newer story, pasted over the top. we will give you all that information. about everything. it may not be your favorite piece until you heard the story. i are think i always had in the back of my mind a second location outside the state. i dream is tokyo, but i do a lot of consulting in las vegas with pon stars group so thought about opening a shop in las vegas. we like to branch out at some point. we are from here and where the company started and where we'll stay, we may just also open another store. i love being here. this is where my family is, this is where i was raised and not ready to leave that behind cht yes, people are looking for this store and there are fewer and fewer store fronts, brick and mortar like ours that outlet this thing. we offer the experience.

i think it is very desirable collective subject matter because we are less and less acustoms. you can pick it while looking at it. examining the flaws and scale and color. you know what you are getting because you get that exact one. poster art is my area of expertise and i have affinity for. poster art especially they are not meant to last are under appreciateated. real paper, the vintage gallery is 777 beach street, tuesday-saturday 11-5 and monday 12-5.

♪♪ ♪♪ i'm shawn quigley the

founder of paxton gate that's where we are here on ra11sia street. >> it started more of a quirky gardening store. we leaned in this quirky side over the years and started with insects and learned how to hydrate them and symmetrical or natural poses. which then went into small taxidermy. i saw interest in the oddity side and purposely expanded that to more of a natural side oddity store. this is interesting mechanical parts in the beetle. african porcupine is cool. they look at their eyes. i grew up on what many call a farm but it was in the to us. we raised animals it a garden i

was involved with plant. had a rock collection. collection goes from your basic house plants to an air plant. avoid this term people happening they survive on air alone they do need water. i went to school for business here and finishing up at sf state. and this idea fell in my lap and masterfuled my interests and i learned a lot over the years. i like to view it as like a museum experience. rather hahn sales people they might be like dossants they are not hard selling you but more conveying informing or knowledge about the products. teeth, that's the giant shark that would get up to 60 feet long. we are launching class we did

them before the pandemic. a bunch of hand's on learn to do things classes that we are getting around to relaunching. this is our insect spreading kit. inside is a striped needles, forceps, instructions and the other tools you need to take up the hopy of spreading insects. had is a prize to many people is 80% of the stuff we get is from vendors or merchants. people think do you tremendous finding these. i don't get to do this. that is a still born kitten that had one eye. the most common question is, is it real. almost everything is. we have replicas like the sabre tooth tigers and things that

would be present low expensive to procure and sell or illegal we'll do replicas we have, lot of real stuff. ♪♪ start on time and this is our special meeting for the homelessness oversight committee. this is tuesday, january the 28th and is our custom. we will start off