first is the garden plots. the plans show approximately 40 garden plots. the proposal is to have a maximum of 75% of those plots available under the community gardens program. at a minimum, 25% of those plots would be reserved for groups or what we are calling teams. this would be groups such as community groups, advocacy groups, school groups, or kitchens. this would increase the number of beneficiaries of food security. another program area proposed is the material distribution. this is an area where there would be open bins that would be filled with art materials, such as smoke -- mulch. that could be available to community gardeners and the general public. we propose to continue certain aspects of the current recycling, specifically the collection of cardboard. it can be used for weed control. we would also collect plastic containers. we have the tool-lending library. this is similar to a standard library. instead of issuing books, we would be issuing garden tools. this was available at one time through the library. that service is not currently availa

as an urban gardener here, we need more community gardens. it's not an issue. i think it's a red herring. i invite all of you to look at this as a multiagency approach. if we lose the ten green jobs, what will happen with the health care? they will not happen. they will not have it. so let's call d.p.h. why is d.p.h. here? we will need them to help take care of some of the loss of health care and not only the ten jobs, but the partial hundreds of jobs that people will lose. i think the important thing is about empowerment. if people feel empowered, they're able to have jobs and they're more likely to make positive health choices and i think we can all make positive health choices in helping support community gardens and recycling centers as well. thank you very much. i oppose the ordinance. >> my name -- >> linda, duncan cavy, carol glausening, linda stark, brian hornbeck, gilbert johnson and kathy belan. >> hi, i'm karen siskin. disclosure, i'm on the hanc board and on the hanc recycling committee. i was going to come in here and talk about integrity but i thi

know the urban gardening movement is united against this garden. that seems very odd. i think you should take note of the testimony today. located within the service area of frederick street is gardens for the internment, which has offered educational garden programs that are successful and have been of great use to almost every garden in san francisco. this plan represents a duplication of the services offered at a garden for the internment. -- environment. we have worked to establish these types of services in this neighborhood. rpd prides itself on world-class garden. thank you. president buell: thank you. >> next speaker. >> greetings, commissioners. thanks for giving me an opportunity to speak. i am with nature in the city. we have had an ongoing relationship with hanc to promote and manage the new plant nursery -- new plant nursery. we promote what is going on there. we get people to go and buy a plant. we even promote a little bit of staff time. we get plants for our projects. our primary concern is for the native plant nursery, an incompara

i also support gardens. we have a garden program at my school. we are excited to have learned in the last couple of days that there are other sites that have been proposed for a community garden park that would be more appropriate in terms of sunshine and clean soil. i fully support the hanc recycling center. i am extremely appalled and concerned about the community outreach, or should i said the lack of community a reach, that has taken place in this process, and i urge you to give more time so that everybody can look to the fact, and also to perhaps meant some of the divisions in our neighborhood that have occurred because of this process. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is richard ivanhoe. i am the current president of the haight ashbury neighborhood council. i was hoping i would be the last speaker said you could breathe a sigh of relief. i am sorry you have another item on your agenda. we support community gardens. maybe i should borrow one of those tags. but the question is why here, why now. it is the wrong location. as

not a garden. everybody pointed out here how unsuitable this place is that was formally an industrial use and now is a d industrial use but it has a parking lot and a rail yard, toxic. apparently, no tests have been made yet. the garden beds will be raised above the toxics. is that really good? so i just hope that you look at the contradictions while you fire recreation directors and close various recreation centers because there is no money, spending $250,000 basically to evict a useful community benefit, self-ue sporting service is immoral. >> next speaker, please. >> hello. i'm a haight-ashbury resident for many years. hanc is an organization that has helped the community, still helps the community. the recycle center extend that. the recycle center has -- makes revenue, but revenue creates grants. the grants help the community. the recycle center taught us 30 years ago how to recycle. we take recycling for granted now but much of the recycling that we do now we learned over the 30 years and han

sargent had fallen asleep in the garden and they thought he was a bum. he recorded vizcaya in the most beautiful watercolors that show the flavor of what it was like when it was alive and when james deering was there, just to the point that the house was finished, the garden was although partly under construction he managed to do the views that made it look dreamy and complete. >> deering's anemia was beginning to slow him down. rumors of all night parties were just fantasies. his depleting energy was spent on entertaining friends and family on his two yachts that were moored in the bay. >> he would take the yachts out on biscayne bay for lunches. he could actually tie them along side each other. thirty six for lunch on the bay like his own floating island. >> in 1918, deering looked sadly at his unfinished gardens. the war had taken its toll on vizcaya leaving its grounds a wasteland. suarez's vision was buried under mounds of dirt and the abandoned shovels of workman called to war. >> well, it would be interesting and probably attractive, a house that

unless there was a community garden. any final thoughts for the viewers? >> i think we are talking about all out food production. we want to expand and do public gardening. whether it's backyards. unutilized public parks. we need to invest to get our communities involved. >> we're here can david from the department of environment. you are a member of a team working with shawn rosen. the slow food nation here in san francisco. tell us about why the department of environment is so active in this area? >> when you look at food and the food system. it has an impact on the environment and on social justice issues and the san francisco economy. so the interesting thing about this, is gives us a wonderful demonstration. once we get them in. we can engage them about the issue and why food beyond the experience of enjoying food has an impact on our lives. there's an average that the piece of feed travels 1500 miles. it begins to reduce the environmental impact. we can grow just about anything we need >> obviously the department o

let's start a garden which is great. lett do this and have a building there and develop the housing there and then our own plan that isn't in place yet to develop a -- develop a -- a -- an anchor institution for that community with a new state-of-the-art as i say but really wonderful school will be limited by just enthusiasm taking us down another road without planning. that's something that we have done many times and we have many examples in our district. we particularly have examples of that related to the use of property which then limits our options for our other commit through multiple policy about developing housing to support our own employees. so if the -- you know, by having this on the record, everybody just -- we have consensus about that, we don't change anything, but just, everybody will know that our intent is that -- we're not going to put these on any equal footing but our own conn commitment and particularly making a plan for teacher and educator housing will come first. that's my only concern. >> respo

all throughout the city, it is being replaced with a native plant gardens and habitat and gardens. just out in front of us, the conservatory -- in front of the arboretum, they are converting someone there recently. like i said, the golden gate park community garden in the expanded native plant opportunities there will really put it at the forefront of this movement. for the department as well as the program that provides opportunities for more collaboration, and provides opportunities for expanded operational programming. finally, something that has been talked about over the years among the environmental community is the movement that is referred to as a backyard habitat. this is something that numerous environmental groups have wanted to promote, that is really trying to get habitat plant growing in people's backyard and promoting wildlife in people's backyards that is an extension backyards that is an extension of what we are trying to do.

we as an organization have to support an interest in starting community garden projects. unlike detroit, we have a lack of space. we're here today skgget board to have a policy that could give us access we feed that could be saved by power and other cleaning members, so we ask you to support in getting the resolution passed. so thank you. >> good evening, board members. i'm a 12th grale grader and a member of power. i'm here to support the school, the public access policy because i think it is important that we ads a community provide for itself and make changes that will benefit the whole community put biputting old school properties to use. policy gives us a space to create a -- a program that address needs that have yet to be made in the neighborhood. no grocery stores in the community where most youth are located. we have a community garden project that can and will empower the committee -- community to makes changes will bin get the community and get everyone involved. the campaign is a perfect example of that, the potential of this policy. -- as organization, we ide

this garden changes the character of this neighborhood and this bill is one of gardens and the front and buildings of the top. there was a streak need -- there in 1860. it was only later that a frontal this 50 killed. -- it was only later that the front of buildings were built. this is a story lower than what they're doing. we had a small house and our agreement, that was all. mr. sanchez said it was only about the access, it was about the porch. this was part of the relationship. the three properties were all owned by the same family. the whole reason for pushing that development and to the back of the lot, even at the sacrifice of the southwestern light was to retain their relationship between the three buildings. the >> can you walk us through which is which? >> this is 1271. they walked up to the building and then there was an opening in the wall that they continued to climb. >> what year was this picture taken? >> this was taken in 1997 when the applications were first made. one would walk up here through this wall and then on up and as someone walked up the stair, you had to go

the garden apartment -- [applause] the garden apartments are open. children run and play. neighbors interact. they say let's have new designs, bring porches and community back. we have a community here. it may need to be improved or upgraded, and i think it can be done, but it should not be destroyed. if you look sometime at the map behind you, where do we go in this city to see a bird? we go to golden gate park. most of this green space is privately held if you are not a member of that golf course. it is a very unique experience, and i just urge you from the decisions you make in the next couple of months or years will impact and effect san francisco for hundreds of years to come and you will not be able to withdraw your decision once it is made. thank you very much for your time. commissioner miguel: [reading names] ." -- >> thank you. i'm part of the pack their coalition. we had to found a sister organization because management took over pro and we were not able to get a voice for residents, but as you see, residents are here, so please recognize us. in the comments and

i will lose my garden and my garden apartment. i think that as the last person said, leaves are very old apartments. these were falling apart and i think that they need to change. ad hoc i think that these people

i have been a garden apartment resident since july 1993. i'm speaking here tonight to oppose any plan to demolish over 1500 beautiful garden apartments in historic parkmerced, including my own. these are my reasons -- one, the current garden apartments are more than adequate to meet san francisco's need for affordable, sustainable housing and urban open spaces. they should be preserved as a historical landmark along with the rest of parkmerced and sold to the tenants as a co-op. [applause] two, any plans to demolish our current garden apartments would interrupt our quiet enjoyment of living in parkmerced and could be legally challenged as a constructive the eviction action, leaving both the owners and city liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in litigation costs from lawsuits. [applause] 3, the owner was a purported plans to relocate tenants is illusory at best. any new units offered to current tenants under this scheme would effectively be controlled by both state and local laws, leaving renters with no protections and no viable hous

i live in a garden apartment. if you asked me to take a new apartment with the same price, why would i say no? no jiggling on my toilet. why would i say no? the reason we are here is because we care about peace and quiet and the community. but we care about is the future of san francisco. this has to do with changing the infrastructure. we're working to put for the public transportation, to make certain that the residents are not affected by the construction. brown was not built in a day. i hope to raise a family in the kind of community that they are having. it is so willing to take a chance on the future. >> i am a resident of park merced. i did not appreciate not being listened -- not having -- not been able to listen to the presentation. how can anyone give an opinion without all the facts. i do not think that this is kind and mature not to allow for a different opinion. i wanted to put this out there. i wanted to say something about the architect. he has put in a lot of energy into this project. but he no lon

i will lose my garden and my garden apartment. i think that as the last person said, leaves are very old apartments. these were falling apart and i think that they need to change. ad hoc i think that these people -- >> i think that these people will have to go to the hassle of having to move all their things. i do not know what to say about this. we have been promised. control and to get to choose between several apartments and we will have new appliances. who would do anything for change without profit? i think that this, they are aiming in the future to sustainable living. they are kinder than people have made them out to be among the sustainability committee. sustainability committee. i get to see some of this

there is a community garden. the drawbacks are, as you can see in the little picture, much of the open space is captured in yards that are not usable. their captor between esplanades and streets. in quantity, it would add up to a lot of free space in terms of usability. not so good. one of the problems is, in the current irrigation system, there are leaks. as you may remember, we have identified there are over 55 million gallons of drinking water used to irrigate the lawns of parkmerced. part of the reduction in water consumption, which is a critical thing facing us in california, is making more efficient kind of landscapes in this new project. so, moving forward, looking at some of the other benefits, existing open space configuration, the community gardens are proposed going forward. playgrounds are proposed in the courtyard. as you may remember, neighborhood parks specifically designed for this place a series of these. there are six parks situated within the community. a large organic farm of almost 3 acres, a

i invite you to come to parkmerced any day and go to the gardens and the apartments. it is just beautiful. i am completely opposed to this. thank you very much. [applause] >> can you hear me? ok, commissioners, i'm on your list. the lady behind me let me go ahead of her because i have to get back to my sick wife. my wife and i are decent residents. we moved in in march. what can i tell you accept i hear all this talk about the environment. let me tell you -- since i moved here, i have lost about 60 pounds. my health and energy has gotten a lot better. same for my wife. one thing i will say is i will just tell you this that i had a conversation with my wife recently, and she did not understand -- i do not know either -- why the plans are to destroy such beautiful, durable places like garden apartments. i will tell you that when we moved here, we sought and we still think this is a little slice of heaven, so i find myself distressed to hear about the project plans to demolish and garden apartments. as we live in 100 block of gonzales, if they go through, we will probabl

in my own garden apartment, i'm able to function. with the twin peaks, we have very clean air. my gas is shut off at my meter, and i'm able to live in my apartment without gas. ceqa should not be suspended for the residence because there can be a substantial environmental impact. it also states no impact physically for the moving. one of the residents told me that if she had to move -- she has lived here 35 years -- that it would kill her husband and. i have two letters from my neighbors, and i'm going to start to read one. "i look at the developer agreement. i'm not an attorney. i also looked at the vision plan. the plans and promises parkmerced -- the developer agreement in no way matches with the plan promises. "i'm a resident of 316 to reynaud. i've lived here 15 years. my life actually started back in 1972. my grandmother moved to parkmerced when i was two years old. i cannot remember a time when parkmerced was not part of my life. when i got married, my husband and i knew this was where we wanted to live. we started our family here. we have two young children who have kno

who showed him our garden was but a jail? humbaba was great and scary, but not so very strong, though no one could ever conquer him as no one would ever try. time and again, when things grew old, humbaba alone believed himself eternal and young, still powerful, able to defeat all. humbaba didn't want to know one fact: that accumulation will lead to eruptive change. but, sadly, when suddenly he realized it after all, he chose to check its power on all, the tall. he crushed all the shrubs and plants leaving them creeping and broken all over. he damaged the flowers and colors, the flowers withered, their leaves all burned and soon they were throwing their seeds every which way and when the whole orchard changed into a dry, gray waste, humbaba, his mind like stone, shouted his horrible cry of fire and burned all that gray and yellow, birds of all kinds were flying away with ashes in their beaks which humbaba couldn't oversee any more or ever set on fire. then, grandfather ended his day and continued closing his big thick yellow b

the community garden is $234,764 and represents a phase one construction of the garden and improvements at the site including demolition. the natural area, to complement the existing boardwalk and provided benches and interpreted cited to explain the flora and fauna and the area -- in the area. the installation of several bike racks. we anticipate some savings from that to provide the bike racks. finally, the last project is pioneer park. the project proposal addresses safety concerns including new fencing and lighting. since the committee has made its recommendations, all of them that were not funded or awarded, we provide all of them with feedback from the committee to facilitate them getting all of their answers and a very specific recommendations. i would also briefly like to recognize commissioner harrison and several of the selection committee members. president buell: thank you. commissioner harrison: one of the things i wanted to do is come and -- commend jake. he met with every one of those people. he offered his time and expertise to do whatever is necessary to bring it forwar

this is garden. the gate to my mother's garden opened always trees flirt with shadows and the grass says my same. asleep in flowered boxes pay for rain. i open always the gate to my mother's garden. i will plant my sum in a clay pot an offering to jealous gods and stretch my arms like branches bearing fruft foregiveness. this was inspired by my mother who likes to sew. always had an old singer sewing machine and i bought her a new one but she never uses it. this is called cloth. her cracked lipped clenched to thread a dulling needle. the folds of my mother's dress are sewn with blody hands. tattered promises and button holes filled with bottomless dreams. her she was held up with borrowed strent. she asked, when will i have a home? one day i uttered. i will plant around my house she said. green ooh vy will grow and the cat will lay to the grass dreaming of snow. >> my mother's dress i folded in the suitcase. what slowly devour the fabric quietly releasing my mother's scent. caught in the decaying clo

endoug a gardener at crocker amazon. endoug joe lee rec center. we've had a successful fundraiser at the herps theater for camp du jour. we have been enormously successful in donations to our scholarship fund which is very important. we had a successful gala with the san francisco parks trust this past october. we had a fantastic series of events that the partnerships and resource development division found funding for around world cup at civic center. we had a fundraiser for the peter pan experience. we've been working very closely with san francisco parks trust on the gear up campaign to provide furniture, fixtures and equipment for our newly renovated recreation facilities. and as phil mentioned today, we've secured a grant for the soccer field at mission. other philanthropic ventures that we're currently working on include additional fundraising for camp lejure. looking for someone to endowing a park and a mission rec center. we are working on a fundraiser in conjunction with hardly strictly blue grass. we are also looking for endowed support

come into olive garden for our two new scaloppini dishes. pan-seared chicken breasts in a lemon-herb glaze. or sauteed pork in a creamy white wine sauce. both served with asiago filled tortelloni. along with our unlimited fresh salad and warm breadsticks. this is like being back at the kids' table. [ laughter ] olive garden. when you're here, you're family. >> dicky: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live!" tonight -- channing tatum. from "off the map," mamie gummer. and music from a day to remember. with cleto and the cletones. ♪ it's "jimmy kimmel live" >> dicky: and now, pay attention! here's jimmy kimmel! [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: i'm jimmy, i'm the host of the show. thank you for coming. thanks for watching. you're about to embark on the thrill ride of your lives, i hope you're aware of that. today is a special day, or, i should say, a special date. today is january 11th, 2011. it's 1/11/11, which, is the -- let me tell you something. my calendar was going nuts this morning. it has been a wild day all around. and i hope you enj

thank you. >> what will little garden do for us? >> thank you. your time is up. >> not interested. do not like it. thank you so much for your time. [applause] >> good evening, commissioners. i am dean preston, director of tenants together for renters' rights. we're shocked by the audacity of this plan to build those over 1500 rent-controlled homes -- bulldoze over those 1500 rent- controlled homes. we're also concerned about the amount of time that they would be concerned to construction and renovation. a 20 to 30-year timeline is unacceptable. i have worked with a lot of tenants who have had construction going on, renovation for four months. it takes a lot to withstand that. there is no question that of this developer -- and we all know that it will not be this developer, it will be whoever they sell to. when the new developer takes over, none of the residents will be left in parkmerced after they are subjected to 30 years of construction. [applause] i would ask each of you to think about in your home, whether you rent or own, if y