there are a lot of people in san francisco that have really great ideas that have the work ethics, they just don't have those opportunities presented, so this has been huge lifeline i think for entrepreneurs and small businesses. >> this was a great program for us. it has [indiscernible] opening the site. we benefited from it and i think because there is diverse and different [indiscernible] able to be down here that everybody kind of benefits from it. mayor's press

>> what's going on, everyone? good morning, good morning! my name is sealey, nba champion of the warriors and also ambassador to the bay area. we are all excited about this. i'm honored to welcome everyone into the downtown alley here in san francisco. before i get started, i would like to thank everyone from the warriors, everyone from the nba and everyone from the press who is here today. i would also like to recognize our leaders who are present. california state controller, malia cohen, california assembly

member matt haney. you can clap. former san francisco mayor, willie brown. san francisco assessor, joaquin torres. there you go. you really like him. san francisco treasurer, jose cisneros. san francisco sheriff paul miamoto. san francisco supervisor steve, san francisco supervisor tim walter. we are going to have store fronts. the fans will get to experience what we experience every all-star weekend. we are going to have the powell street cable cars, the all-star 2025 branding on them all

weekend long as well. golden state storefront right now, this is an example of how nba all-star alley will come to life. starting today. fans can catch the appearance of warriors talent like yours truly. and we are really excited about them. you can take pictures of trophies and dancing. i hope you brought your dancing shoes. it is in collaboration with golden state entertainment. and will be painting an all live mural with the mural project. then a few blocks up union square, there is going to be a basketball court. it's not going to be a fancy basketball court. we are going to have the golden state warrior academy players

there and bring your jumper. now, i want to get us started. i'm going to walk him up here, warriors president and ceo brandon schneider to the podium. [ applause ] >> the best thing i need is the microphone to be the right height to be perfect. maybe not. the warriors are excited to be here this weekend. this is 25 years from 2000. san francisco is fired up. for those that don't know, this is a sports town. i want to thank you all for being here to celebrate the opening of the nba all-star alley. i would like to thank everybody who had a hand in making this a reality which has taken a village. i certainly want to thank my team that led the warriors,

daniels and straus for the work. i like the applause. i would like to than the universal alliance, my team. [cheers and applause] you can thank lamar too, c'mon. of course i want to thank my good friend, mayor daniel larry for making sure this is going well for the nba. this was a huge priority for us as we began planning a couple years ago. we know this is going to be the epic center of the weekend. we can't wait to experience

chase center to be at the all-star saturday night and sunday. the 11 acres surrounding chase center. we just opened the sports bar this week. senor and if you are hungry before or after events on throughout the weekend, we have you covered at thrive city. it was also important to host across the bay area. to having our teams in our own home in this arena and this classic was really important to us. of course, we are so proud to be here on powell street in union square and making this another central point for the weekend. this event is just the beginning of what's to come. as mentioned, there are numerous celebrations throughout the weekend and the entertainment

that opened may 16. we are very excited about that. beyond this, we are hosting dozens of events throughout the bay area in the next 50 days. this is for fans around the world celebrating with us and the strong connection we have in san francisco and the bay area. we wanted to be sure that everyone had an opportunity to be part of the all-star weekend. we are so grateful for our partners for bringing nba all-star back since 2000. it was mark coming full circle here 25 years later. [ applause ] so in addition to bringing 150,000 fans to the bay area, we are so excited because this marquis event is expected to deliver over $350 million of

economic impact to this san francisco region. we are so excited to get started. thank you all for being here and have an incredible all-star weekend. [ applause ] >> adjustment of the mic. 25 years later, mark tatum. that was a great conference and we are going to appear in the dunk contest this year. [ laughter ] $350 million in revenue, we are expecting coming into the bay area. i would be remiss if i didn't say that the bay area has some of the best food in the world. i would say it rivals new york all right. i only emphasize that because i want to be sure that a lot of the dollars are going to small

businesses that are carrying the bay area on their back. make sure you support the local food vendors as well. next up, i would like to welcome the alliance ceo. marissa. >> hello, everyone. are we alive? i want to hear you? i want to hear you. i have had this smile on my face since yesterday. i'm here boots on the ground in union square. look at powell street. are we feeling this energy? this is so incredible. i want to thank the warriors, i want to thank the nba, i want to thank our mayor, daniel leury for putting union square back in the game, right? right? come up here and talk with me because this is incredible. this is what we are trying to do. sports, the nba, the

warriors, they are telling the world that the heart of san francisco beats strong. that powell, our iconic gateway to union square is alive and well and look at what it could look like and feel like with just a little investment. imagine just a bigger one that is completely transformed and we are back. our community here is ready. arms opened. the hospitality community is receive to received everyone on our all-star weekend. we are ready, we are pumped. we have the food. we have the hotels, we have the experiences and powell street is filled with pop ups for all of you to enjoy, to experience. why san francisco is a world-class city and the perfect backdrop for all of this, all of this. we are a stage for all and all roads lead to union square. you can get here or bart, you

can get here on a bus or drive here. i thought it was $300 million impact, no, $350 million impact, that's what we are talking about. >> absolutely, $350 baby. >> $350. i want to say a huge shout out to gap for dressing me in this blue smurfy thing. i'm excited to represent the warriors dub nation. we are so excited. thank you so much. we are coming off an incredible season holiday. our lights went off, we are rolling and not missing a beat. we are protecting this district. we want to say thank you to law enforcement, thank you to our police officers. you see them, they are everywhere. say hi to them. thank them because we couldn't do this without them.

morgan is great. it's valentine's day. don't forget valentine's day is tomorrow. we have a lot for that too. thank you so much, union square. we have so much to share with all of you. tell your friends that we are back and we are in the game. thank you. >> thank you, energy. [ applause ] i love that. don't forget, iou, if you don't celebrate valentine's day, leave an iou for the all-star. we have the all-star weekend with the dunk contest, the all-star game sunday, we have so many amazing things for fans to experience. one thing i will say, if you want events like this to come to the bay, we want all fans from san francisco, oakland, alameda, south bay, please come to

celebrate these events. it's going to take more to celebrate and come back so we have lots to celebrate. next up, thank you, marissa for all of do with union square alliance. i'm excited to see the fans enjoy all the weekend and what comes with the nba all-star weekend. next, i would like to introduce the mayor of the great city of san francisco, daniel leury. [ applause ] >> let's be crystal clear. i am not participating in the dunk contest. [ laughter ] there is no breaking news. we want people to watch that contest. it's an honor to be here with you to open up all-star alley here on powell street. thank you to the nba, our incredible partners. thank you to brandon and the warriors for just creating energy and

life every day through the team, but also through what you have at thrive. it is majestic over there from but we are in union square, and there is a lot of talk out there. the national media, international media, who has not been to san francisco, they don't know what they are about to see. they are about to see a city on the rise, a city with great food, great art, great entertainment. the best people in the world, the most diverse city in the world. we have so much to offer, and we are so excited to show off this weekend because san francisco is coming back. so, listen, we have our challenges, and we are going to meet those challenges head on. we are cleared eyed about it, but we can do many things all at

once. we can hit those chance and we can celebrate. i want everybody this weekend to be safe and i want them to have fun. sheriff, you and your team are out there every single day. thank you very much to the sheriff's department. i want to thank our police officers, our 911 dispatch office. we have some of the greatest employees in the world here in san francisco, and i am so excited for the world to see that. now, it's a sports weekend. so i just need you to know that i had a little, i had a few moments. my glory days ended when i was 10 years old when i struck out and then people starting getting taller and i had to find another career. i'm so glad and honored to have the honor to be the mayor of the

city and county of san francisco. the greatest city in the world. welcome, everybody. 214 countries are going to be tuning in, $350 million worth of economic impact. san francisco is coming back and it's just the beginning. we have super bowl 60 next year and we have a lot coming up. thank you all and let's have some fun, thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, mayor leury. san francisco is coming back. if you are a stock buying person, a betting person, you ought to be the right now before it gets more expensive. we are excited for the events this weekend, but most importantly, we are excited for the whole world to get to know

san francisco. i was a kid when i came here and came here out of college and got to see what the fans looked like in this area. they propelled us from a team that was young in the nba and i was drafted to the bay area with draymond green and we have these young guys with steph curry and thompson. have you ever heard of those guys? they are the best. that's the love for the power of the bay area and the fans and they started to shout for mvp for steph curry and the rest.

now the ceo mark. >> let me start by thanking brandon schneider, daniel, peter and the entire golden state warriors because they are committed to showcase this great city of san francisco and the greater bay area. also want to thank mayor daniel leury. thank you for your support of us over the last couple of months and we truly appreciate everything that you are doing to bring everybody together and showcase this city for the entire world to see. marissa rodriguez, thank you for your support. as was noted, 25 years ago was my first start at the nba here

in the bay area. it's exciting for me how much this game and this week long activity has grown. the mayor noted 214 countries and territories, 67 different languages, the entire world will be focused on the bay area over the next couple of days. i know the bay area is going to shine. what we want to do on this iconic shopping location, right? this is one of the most historic iconic shopping locations in the world is to want to create a branded destination for the fans and the people from the country to come here to the bay area for this event and wanted to create this nation event and we wanted to do this in this community with san francisco and chamber of commerce and we will have businesses doing pop ups and other events. coming here, i saw lines of people waiting to get in stores

on powell street which is a testament to the impact that we can off not only on the court but off the court as well. i'm excited and i can't wait for the entire world to wait and see that san francisco is back to see the vibrancy here in the bay area and welcome you and encourage you all to enjoy all the activities that are going to be taking place this weekend. thank you very much for support. [ applause ] >> mr. mark, thank you to all of our speakers, thank you for all of your time. we are so excited for the world to enjoy union square and the entire bay area this weekend. if you haven't already, please take a moment to enjoy the store fronts that you see here and the others throughout the weekend. okay. all right. now we are on to the reason why we are all here, the ribbon cutting event. i'm going to welcome everyone to

the all-star alley and welcome our guest to go cut the ribbon right now. >> 3, 2, 1! >> [ applause ] >> my name is steve, i'm the executive director of hol hol city farmers market. i've been with the market for

about 12 years this. market was started in 1991 by a couple of people that knew this was a food desert, there is a lot of liquor stores, and there was a need to be able to buy fresh food. we have a two-part mission. first part is to support small and medium size farmers. the founders had the foresight to put the farmers in charge. most markets are run by associations that make the decisions for the farmers. our farmers make the decisions for the markets and it's very unique to us. the second part is make produce affordable to the people that live in the community and this community as you know is one of the lower income communities in san francisco. you'll find that some of our farmers will sell their produce here than they do at other markets that they go to.

it's special and the neighborhood needs that so much because we provide that service for them. i think rewarding part for me is when i started the market i start today do out reach in the community to try to convince them to eat healthier and visit our farmers market. i would go to the sros and give talks. some of the people that i initially spoke to, i got them to come to the market and i still see them today and it always warms my heart when i feel that i have done some good and affected some other people's lives positively. there is nothing more than reward than that. i want to thank city hall to produce food will come and join our market. this is a city for every one. we should treat each other with kindness and empathy and all of those great things. there is plenty of love, plenty of resource to see go around.

come enjoy downtown. [music] digital literacy is something severely lacking in our world today and it takes a lot to understand that. food water and shelter have basic necessities so long we forget about wifi and connection to the interenet and when you go into communities and realize peep ople are not able to load homework and talk to teachers and out of touch with the world. by providing the network and system we are able to allow them to keep up in the modern age. >> folks still were not served by internet throughout the city and tended to be low income people, people in affordable housing. people of color and limited english and seniors, all those are high concentrations in affordable housing, so we thought given that we had a fiber

network that stretched throughout the city reaching deep into neighborhoods that would be a perfect opportunity to address it in san francisco. >> the infrastructure the city and star help us run are dejtle programs. it played a critical role from the time we opened during covid till now so we were able to collaborate with online services that offer tutoring and school support. it also helped us be able to log the kids on for online school during covid, in addition to like, now that everybody has switched most of their curriculum online we can log kids on to the online homework, check grades in addition to helping parent learn how to use the school system portm >> the office of digital equity

our goal fiber to housing is insure we have all three legs of the 3 legged stool. the first leg is high quality internet connection. we liken the high quality internet connection to the highway. the second leg is high quality devices. this is the car. you want to make sure the specks on the car is up to speed and lastly, it is important to get kind of that driver's education to learn how to navigate the road, to know the signs to watch out for in terms of making sure you are school while you are surfing the internet it is private so that is the digital literacy piece. >> my daily life i need the internet just to do pretty much everything. the internet has taken so much control over people's daily lives including myself that i just need it to get certain jobs done, i need it for my life. i need it.

>> the program really seeks to where ever possible provide a service that's equivalent or higher speed and quality as the best commercial service . >> we serve all of san francisco, but we definitely have to be equitable in our distribution of services. that means everybody gets what they need to be successful. >> actually one of the most gratifying part of my work here at department of technology, it is really bringing city resources to address problems faced with our communities with the highest need. >> i think it is important because i grew up in a low income community without internet access and it is hard. i think it is important for everyone to have internet access no matter their income and maybe one day their kid will have internet access for us and help the school and with their skills.

>> everything we do in the tenderloin, we urban outfit. here, this gives us an opportunity to collaborate with other agencies and we become familiar with how other agencies operate and allow us to be more flexible and get better at what we depo in the line of work in this task. >> sometimes you go down and it's hard to get up. so we see ourselves as providing an opportunity for the unhoused to get up. and so i really believe that when they come here and they've said it, this right here is

absolutely needed. you can't ask for nothing better. >> the tenderloin is the stuff that ain't on the list of remedies, liked the spiritual connection to recovery and why would i? why would i recover? what have i got to live for? things like that. and sharing the stories. like i was homeless and just the team. and some people need that extra connection on why they can change their life or how they could. >> we have a lot of guests that will come in and say i would like -- you know, i need help with shelter, food, and primary care doctor. and so here, that's three rooms down the hall. so if you book them, they get all of their needs taken care of in one go. this is an opportunity for us here in the tenderloin to come together, try out these ideas to see if we can put -- get -- connect people to services in a