i'm john osaki. seeing how the legislation is going to get delayed, i'll represent them. i didn't get a chance to express my views on this last week, so i thought i'd talk a few moments do that here today. i think all of us should be concerned about the so solvencyf the city and finances. if this measure is meant to help address that, then in the months ahead, i urge you and all of you to look at this, not just from the standpoint of how set-asides effect the solvency of the city, but how many factors affect the solvency of the city. i don't think i have to tell you that the projected deficits we're looking at in the future are not because of set-asides. there are many factors contributing to that. if that is the goal, then let's look at this in a holistic manner and not single out specific issues and, in this case, resources that are -- i have to say this, that many of us feel that when times get tough, they're seen as nonessential. they're seen as services that are not critical to people and i think what i feel, and i think what many of the people here feel is that the

my name is john osaki, executive director of the japanese committee youth council. board member of japantown task force and co-chair of peace plaza committee. the history of our community is one where historically we've had individuals or institutions tell us what we could do. we've had people tell us what is good for us. and the japan town task force was specifically put in place so that our community would have a voice on matters related to the preservation of our community and our long-term sustainability. our board members were nominated and selected from a cross section of our community to analyze, deliberate and make decisions about what is in the best, long-term interest of our community. and at this time, our organization overwhelmingly feels it's in the best interest of our community to delay the landmarking of the plaza. and our reasons are very simple. the plaza as it exists right now is not what this community wanted. it was not a design that this community approved. and we have not even begun the process of envisioning what that plaza will look like. so