San Francisco Government SmartTranscripts:

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the 04/29/2025 regular meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, mister president. Supervisor Chan. Present. Chan present. Supervisor Chen. Chen present. Supervisor Dorsey. Dorsey present. Supervisor Engadio. Angadio present, supervisor Fielder. Fielder present, supervisor Mahmood. Mahmood present, supervisor Mandleman?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Present.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Mandleman present, supervisor Melgar. Melgar present. Supervisor Sauter? Present. Sauter present. Supervisor Sheryl? Sheryl, present. And supervisor Walton? Walton present. Mister president, all members are present.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you, madam clerk. The San Francisco board of supervisors acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula. As the indigenous stewards of the this land in accordance with their traditions, the Ramaytush Ohlone 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 Ramaytush Ohlone community and by affirming their sovereign rights as first peoples. Colleagues, will you join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance? On behalf of the board, I want to acknowledge the staff at SFgovTV and today, particularly, Jaime Acheveri, who rec record each of our meetings and make the transcripts available to the public online. Madam Clerk, do you have any communications?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Yes. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors welcomes you all to attend this meeting in the board's legislative chamber within City Hall, 2nd Floor, Room 250. Or if you can't make it down to the chamber, you may watch the proceeding on SFGOV TV's channel 26, or view the livestream at www.sfgovtv.org. If you would like to submit public comment in writing, you can send an email to bos@sfgov.org or use the US postal service, I'll just address your envelope, to the San Francisco board of supervisors, the number one, doctor Carlton b Period Goodlet Place City Hall, Room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. If you need to make a reasonable accommodation request under the Americans with Disability Act or to request request language assistance, please contact the clerk's office two days in advance, business days in advance by calling (415) 554-5184. Thank you, mister president.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you, madam clerk. Let's go to the approval of our meeting minutes.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Yes. We have approval of the 03/25/2025 board meeting minutes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. Colleagues, I don't see anyone in the queue. So can I have a motion to approve the minutes as presented? Moved by Melgar. Can I have a second? Second by Walton. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: On the minutes as presented, supervisor Dorsey? Aye. Dorsey, aye. Supervisor Engadio? Aye. Engadio, aye. Supervisor Fielder? Fielder, aye. Supervisor Mahmoud? Mahmoud, aye. Supervisor Mandelmann?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Mandelmann, aye. Supervisor Melgar? Aye. Melgar, aye. Supervisor Sautter? Aye. Sautter, aye. Supervisor Sheryl? Sheryl, aye. Supervisor Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Supervisor Chan? Aye. Chan, aye. And supervisor Chen? Chen, aye. There are 11 ayes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Without objection, the minutes will be approved after public comment as presented. Madam clerk, let's go to our consent agenda, items one through six.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Items one through six, these items are on consent. They are considered to be routine. If a member objects, an item may be removed and considered separately.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Does anyone want to sever any items from the consent agenda? Seeing none, madam clerk, can you please call the roll?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: On items one through six, supervisor Dorsey. Dorsey aye supervisor Engadio Engadio aye supervisor fielder fielder aye supervisor mahmud magmud aye supervisor mandelmann

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: aye

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: mandelmann aye supervisor Milgar aye Milgar, aye. Supervisor Sautter? Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Sautter, aye. Supervisor Sheryl? Aye. Cheryl, aye. Supervisor Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Supervisor Chan? Aye. Chan, aye. And supervisor Chen? Chen, aye. There are 11 ayes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Without objection, these ordinances are passed on first reading and finally passed. Madam clerk, please go to our regular agenda, unfam unfinished business item number seven.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item seven, this is an ordinance that amends the planning code to require notice of rezoning intended to comply with, housing element law and to affirm the CEQA determination and to make the appropriate findings.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Please call the roll.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: On item seven, supervisor Dorsey. No. Dorsey, no. Supervisor, Envadio? Yes. Envadio, aye. Supervisor, Fielder? Aye. Fielder, aye. Supervisor Mahmood? No. Mahmood, no. Supervisor Mandelmann?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Mandelmann, aye. Supervisor Melgar? No. Melgar, no. Supervisor Sautter? Aye. Salter, aye. Supervisor Sheryl? Aye. Sheryl, aye. Supervisor Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Supervisor Chen? Aye. Chen, aye. And supervisor Chen? Chen, aye. There are eight ayes and three noes, with supervisor Dorsey, McMood, and Melgar voting no.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: The ordinance has finally passed. Madam clerk, let's go to new business. Please call item number eight.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item eight. This is an ordinance to appropriate 8,500,000.0 from projected revenue surplus to deappropriate approximately 3,300,000.0 from building and structure improvement and capital renewal projects at 1235 Mission Street, and to appropriate 11,800,000.0 to interdepartmental services rent paid to real estate and to the Human Services Agency to fund one time tenant improvement and furniture fixes and equipment costs at 1455 Market Street pursuant to the city's new lease for spaces designated for the Human Services Agency in fiscal year 2024 through 2025.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Please call the roll.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: On item eight, supervisor Dorsey. Dorsey, I. Supervisor Engadio? Aye. Engadio, I. Supervisor Fielder? Fielder, aye. Supervisor, Mahmood? Aye. Supervisor, Mandelmann?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Mandelmann, aye. Supervisor, Melgar? Aye. Melgar, aye. Supervisor, Sautter? Aye. Sautter, aye. Supervisor, Sheryl? Aye. Sheryl, aye. Supervisor Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Supervisor Chan? Aye. Chan, aye. And supervisor Chen? Aye. Chen, aye. There are 11 ayes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Without objection, this ordinance is passed on first reading. Madam clerk, can you please call item nine?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item nine is a resolution to approve and authorize the director of property on behalf of the Human Services Agency, the County Transportation Authority, and the library's information technology unit to execute a first amendment to the lease agreement with Hudson fourteen fifty five Market LLC to take an additional approximately 226,000 of rentable square feet of office space and approximately 6,000 rentable square feet of basement storage at 1455 Market Street for the balance of an initial term of twenty one years to expend an amount of approximately 897,000 for rent, parking, and electrical costs in fiscal year twenty twenty four, twenty five with a base rent of approximately 1,900,000.0 for the initial year, plus approximately 42,000 of basement storage for fiscal year twenty twenty five, twenty six with two five year options to extend and rent of approximately 41, dollars 41 and 20¢ per square foot with 3% annual increases thereafter, and to authorize the director of real estate to the extent of available operating budget and to the extent not covered by the tenant improvement allowance to expend an amount not to exceed 15,500,000.0 for digital technology costs, tenant improvements, alternatives, and furniture, fixtures, and equipment, and to authorize the director of property to execute amendments.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Let's take this item, same house, same call without objection. The resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, please call item 10.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 10, this is a resolution to retroactively approve and authorize the director of property in behalf of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing to execute a lease of real property with Roshan Investments LLC for use of the Adonte Hotel located at 610 Geary Street for a non congregate temporary shelter program with 93 units for an initial term of one year to commence 04/01/2025 with one one year option to extend and an annual base rent of 1,500,000.0 with 3% annual increases if the city exercises the option to extend and a maximum final payment of up to 100,000 upon surrender of the property and to affirm the CEQA determination and to make the appropriate findings.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Let's take this item, same house, same call without objection. This resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, please call item 11.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 11. This is a resolution to adopt the city's five year information and community technology plan for fiscal years 2025 through 2026 through 2029 through 2030 pursuant to the administrative code section twenty two eight point six.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we can take this same house, same call without objection. This resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, please call item 12.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 12. This is a resolution to retroactively authorize the planning department to accept and expend a $7,000,000 grant award, 01/22/2025 through 09/30/2030, from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing grant program.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we can take this item, same house, same call without objection. The resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, can you please call items thirteen and fourteen together?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Items thirteen and fourteen together. Item 13 is a resolution to designate the newspapers to be the outreach community based weekly newspaper for outreach advertising for fiscal year 2025 through 2026. The Bay Area Reporter serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, El Reputero for their Bayview, Bernal Heights, and Mission neighborhoods, El Tecolote for the Mission neighborhood, the Henry Society Journal for the Bayview Hunters Point, and Visitation Valley neighborhoods, The Noe Valley Voice for the Noe Valley neighborhoods, Potrero View serving the Dog Patch, Eastern South Of Market, Mission Bay, and Potrero Hill neighborhoods, The San Francisco Bay Times for the Castro, Debose Triangle, and the Noe Valley neighborhoods, Singdao Daily for the Chinatown, Excelsior, Ingleside, Merced Heights, Ocean View, Outer Mission, Portola Valley, Richmond Sunset, and Tenderloin neighborhoods, small business exchange serving the entire city, the wind newspaper for the Chinatown Excelsior, Outer Mission, North Beach, the, Portola, Richmond Sunset, Tenderloin, and Visitation Valley neighborhoods, The world journal serving the Bayview Hunters Point Chinatown Mission South Of Market, Tenderloin, Visitation Valley, and the Western Addition neighborhoods for fiscal year 2025 through 2026. And for item 14, this resolution designates the San Francisco Examiner to be the official newspaper of the city and county, of San Francisco for all official advertising for fiscal year 2025 through 2026.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we can take these items, same house, same call without objection. These resolutions are adopted. Madam clerk, please call item 15.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 15. This is a resolution to authorize the Office of Contract Administration to execute a contract between the city and Circosta Iron and Metal Co Company, Inc, for the as needed sale of city owned scrap metal for pickup and disposal for a five year term, 06/01/2025, through 05/31/2030 for an estimated revenue amount of approximately 1,000,000.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we can take this same house, same call without objection. The resolution's adopted. Madam clerk, please call item sixteen and seventeen together.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item sixteen and seventeen are two resolutions authorizing contract amendments for the city administrator's office through the director of risk management division. Item 16 authorizes a contract for insurance brokerage services with Arthur J. Gallagher and Company, Risk Management Services, LLC, for an amount not to exceed 30,000,000 for a three year term through 06/30/2028 with an option to renew for six additional years. And item 17 authorizes a contract for insurance and brokerage services with Alliant Insurance Services Inc for 85,000,000 for a three year term to commence 07/01/2025 through 06/30/2028 for both items.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we'll take these items, same house, same call without objection. These resolutions are adopted. Madam clerk, can you please call item 18?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 18, resolution to authorize the airport commission to accept and expend an approximate $66,200,000 grant. And any additional amounts up to 15% of the original grant that may be offered from the Federal Aviation Administration for the implementation of the boarding area g gates enhancement project, 10/01/2024 through 09/30/2028, contingent on receipt by the airport commission of an airport infrastructure grant offer from the Federal Aviation Administration.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And, we can take this, same house, same call without objection. The resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, can you please call item 19?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 19. This is a resolution to retroactively authorize the fleet management division to accept and expend an in kind gift of a zero emission passenger vehicle, a Rivian r r one s from Daniel Lurry, retrofitted with appropriate security upgrades with an estimated market value of approximately 134,000 for use of the official city business effective 03/18/2025.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Same house, same call without objection. The resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, can you please call item 20?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 20. This is a resolution to approve and authorize the general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to execute a contract. SFPUC customer administrative services community choice aggregation program with Calpine Community Energy, a division of Calpine Energy Solutions LLC for 17,000,000, a duration of three years to commence 04/30/2025 through 04/30/2028 to provide meter data management, billing, and customer care services.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Let's take this item, same house, same call. Without objection, the resolution is adopted. And madam clerk, can you please call items 21 through 24 together?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Items 21 through 24 are four resolutions that approve and accept and expend grants from the US Department of Housing and Urban Urban Development. Item 21 approves the fiscal year 2025 through 2026 emergency solutions grant program and authorizes the mayor on behalf of the city to apply for, accept, and expend the 2025 through '26 ESG program entitlement from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for approximately one point nine million starting 07/01/2025. Item 22 approves the community development block grant program in the amount of up to approximately 20,100,000.0 and to expend estimated program income in the amount of 5,800,000.0 for a combined total of approximately 26,000,000 through the date when the funds are all expended. Item 23 approves the fiscal year twenty twenty five, twenty six housing opportunities for persons with AIDS program in the amount of 8,000,000, and to expend program income and reprogram funds of 20 of two excuse me, 202,000 for a combined total of 8,200,000.0 through 06/30/2028. And item 24, this resolution approves the Home Investment Partnership HOME program in the amount of approximately 5,300,000.0 and expands program income for 2,000,000 for a combined total of approximately 7,300,000.0 through 06/30/2030.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we can take these items, same house, same call without objection. These resolutions are adopted. Madam clerk, please call item 25.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 25 is an ordinance to amend the planning code to eliminate the 200 foot buffer restriction in the Western SoMa Special Use District for nighttime entertainment and to affirm the CEQA determination and to make the appropriate findings.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we could take this, same house, same call without objection. This ordinance is passed on first reading. Madam clerk, please call item 26.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 26. This is an ordinance to amend the existing building code to assess the city's inventory of seismically vulnerable rigid wall flexible diaphragm and concrete buildings, and to adopt voluntary seismic retrofit standards for such buildings, to adopt findings of local conditions under the California Health and Safety Code to affirm the CEQA determination and to make the appropriate findings.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Same house, same call. Without without objection, this ordinance is passed on first reading. Madam clerk, please call item 27.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 27. This is a resolution to adopt the Sunset Chinese Cultural District's Cultural History, Housing, and Economic Sustainability Strategy. Report under administrative code section one zero seven point five.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Let's take the same house, same call without objection. The resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, please call item number 28.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 28. This is a resolution to declare the city's real property located at 772 Pacific as exempt surplus land and to make the appropriate findings.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: We can take this. Same house, same call. With objection, the resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, can you please call item 29?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 29, this is an ordinance to amend the administrative code to create the Valencia Street entertainment Zone, the Ellis Street entertainment zone, and the Yerba Buena Lane downtown activation location to affirm the secret determination and to make the appropriate findings.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: We'll take this. Same house, same call. Without objection, the ordinance is passed on first reading. Madam clerk, please call item 30.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 30. This is a resolution to accept the annual surveillance reports under administrative code section 19 b point six For the airport, the arts commission, the Asian art museum, child support services, the city administrator's office, the department of elections, the department of emergency management, department of homelessness and supportive housing, Department of Human Resources, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Public Works, the Department of Technology, the Fire Department, the Human Services Agency, Juvenile Probation Department, the Municipal Transportation Agency, the Police Department, the Port Of San Francisco, the public library, the public utilities commission, recreation and park department, the rent stabilization and arbitration board, and the war memorial department.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Let's take this. Same house, same call without objection. This resolution is adopted. Madam clerk, can you please call item 31?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 31. This is a motion to appoint Michael Reed, Irina Ozernoy, terms ending 04/30/2026, and Mikaela Garfinkel, Nicholas Chapman, Dana Sherwood, and Michael Angelo Torres, terms ending 04/30/2027, to the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Same house, same call without objection. This motion is approved. Madam clerk, can you please call item 32, and I will hand the gavel over to supervisor Walton.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 32. This is a motion to reappoint supervisor Rafael Mandelmann to the Association of Bay Area Government's executive board term ending 06/30/2027 or to the conclusion of his term as member of the board of supervisors.

[Shamann Walton, Supervisor (District 10)]: Thank you, madam clerk. And I'd like to make a motion to excuse president Mandelmann from item 32. I see a motion made by Bilal and second supervisor Mike Mood and seconded by supervisor Chen. We'll take a roll call on that.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Most On item 32, supervisor Dorsey. Aye. Dorsey, aye. Supervisor Engadio? Aye. Engadio, aye. Supervisor Fielder? Fielder, aye. Supervisor Mahmood? Mahmood, aye. Supervisor Melgar? Aye. Melgar, aye. Supervisor Sautter?

[Danny Sauter, Supervisor (District 3)]: Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Sautter, aye. Supervisor Sheryl? Cheryl, aye.

[Shamann Walton, Supervisor (District 10)]: Thank you. Motion to excuse president Mandelmann from item 32 carries. And I believe we can we still haven't voted on the item yet. And I believe, we can take the item, same house, same call, madam clerk.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Or item 10, mister president?

[Shamann Walton, Supervisor (District 10)]: 32.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: 32. That's correct. Well, we we we took the roll call vote. So

[Shamann Walton, Supervisor (District 10)]: We took the roll call to excuse Mandelmann.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Oh, my apologies, mister president. I I thought you indicated makmuda. Yes. You're correct. We'll take that same house, same call.

[Shamann Walton, Supervisor (District 10)]: Got it. Same house, same call. Item 32 approved.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you, supervisor Walden. Thank you, colleagues. Madam clerk. Can you please call Eddie? Yep. That would be it. 33.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 33. This is a motion to reappoint supervisor Matt Dorsey as a member to the Association of Bay Area Government's executive board, term ending 06/30/2027 or to the conclusion of his term as member of the Board of Supervisors.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. Can I have a motion to excuse supervisor Dorsey? Moved by Sauter, seconded by Cheryl. And I think without objection, supervisor Dorsey is excused. Then madam

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: well, doubt.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And then, madam clerk, can you please call the roll?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: On item 33, supervisor Engadio? Aye. Engadio, aye. Supervisor Fielder? Fielder, aye. Supervisor Mahmood? Mahmood, aye. Supervisor Mandelmann? Aye. Mandelmann, aye. Supervisor Melgar?

[Myrna Melgar, Supervisor (District 7)]: Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Melgar, aye. Supervisor Sautter? Aye. Sautter, aye. Supervisor Sheryl? Aye. Cheryl, aye. Supervisor Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Supervisor Chan? Chan, aye. And supervisor Chen? Chen, aye. There are 10 ayes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. Without objection, the motion is approved. And madam clerk, let's go to committee reports.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Yes. Committee reports. We have item 42 was considered by the Land Use and Transportation Committee at a regular meeting on Monday, April 28, and was recommended as a committee report with the same title. Item 42 is a resolution to approve an amendment of the Mission Rock housing plan to reduce the minimum percentage of inclusionary affordable housing units per phase of the Mission Rocks project at Seawell Lot 337, bounded by China Basin Channel, 3rd Street, Mission Rock Street, and the San Francisco Bay.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Please call the

[Speaker 7.0]: roll.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: On item 42, supervisor Dorsey. Aye. Dorsey, aye. Supervisor, En Gardio. Aye. En Gardio, aye. Supervisor, Fielder. Fielder, aye. Supervisor, Mahmood. Mahmood, aye. Supervisor Mandelmann?

[Alan Wong, Supervisor (District 4)]: Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Mandelmann, aye. Supervisor Melgar?

[Jesse Lanier]: Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Melgar, aye. Supervisor Sautter? Aye. Sautter, aye. Supervisor, Cheryl? Aye. Cheryl, aye. Supervisor Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Supervisor Chan? Aye. Chan, aye. And supervisor Chen? Chen, aye. There are 11 ayes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Without objection, this resolution is adopted. Madam Clerk, it is almost 02:30. There we go. Thank you. Can you call our two thirty special order?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Our 02:30 special order is the the recognition of commendations for meritorious service to the city and county of San Francisco.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we will start today with, district seven supervisor Melgar.

[Myrna Melgar, Supervisor (District 7)]: Oh, thank you, president Mandelmann. If I could ask, Mark Selby and Angelica Medina Selby to come up, please. All right. Thank you, President Mandelmann. Today, I am honoring two of my constituents, Mark Selby and Angelica Medina Selby, who have been generously dedicating their time to keeping District Seven's public spaces immaculate and beautiful. For more than fifteen years, Mark and Angelica have been cleaning up litter on our streets, in our parks particularly, in their neighborhood, Forest Knolls, and around the reservoir, the Lunahanda Reservoir. Trash picker and bag in hand, Mark and Angelica have routinely cleaned the frequent amalgamation of detritus in Golden Gate Park, Clarendon Heights, and the parking lot behind the Legion of Honor as their own form of civic engagement. However, Mark and Angelica's civic engagement does not just stop at maintaining the cleanliness and beauty of District 7. Mark has deep roots in San Francisco. His maternal grandfather lived through the nineteen oh six earthquake and camped in Dolores Park for a few days after the earthquake. His father was once also recognized for his neighborhood work. Mark is a product of San Francisco public schools and earned his PhD at UCSF, also in District 7. He met Angelica, who immigrated from Chile and was a visiting scholar at UCSF. They raised two sons who also attended San Francisco Public Schools. Prior to their retirement, Mark and Angelica played a significant role, both in biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industries. As a scientist at Novartis vaccines, Angelica played an instrumental role in the development of the hep B vaccine. Thank you, Angelica. Mark played a critical role in the development of the first anti PD-one antibody drug test that initiated a major transformation in cancer treatment in immuno oncology. Their commitment to a community and to making this a better world and to service is admirable and has grown more impactful each year as they start cleaning more areas, making them beautiful. They also volunteer to supply the local reservoir with dog waste bags, keeping our public spaces clean in yet another way. Thank you, Mark and Angelica, for keeping our public spaces clean, for inspiring other residents to be better stewards of the environment, for your long time in community dedication and work. You represent the best of San Francisco. I also want to acknowledge your awesome neighbors who are in the audience. If you could please stand up, I'd appreciate it. Especially Walter Kaplan from Torres Knowles and Nancy from Midtown Terrace who put your name forward, and also always sing your praises. So thank you so much.

[Mark Selby]: Well, thank you very much for that acknowledgment, and it's, much appreciated. You took, some of the wind out of my sails because, I was gonna say a few of those things, in particular, acknowledging Walter, who was our local community activist, who was, highly engaged in the community and, is a wonderful guy. Now speaking for my wife and myself, we typically don't wanna draw attention to the work we do to keep San Francisco clean. Okay? We just do it, on our own. But it's an honor that that is bestowed in us. If we can provoke others to do the same, then, it's a it's a worthwhile endeavor. Now as you heard, my family has a long history, dating in San Francisco dating back to before the nineteen o six earthquake. As such, I consider myself a San Francisco boy, although now an aging senior. But I still have enough energy to do come some more cleaning, and there's still dirt and garbage to be picked up. Now my wife, Angelica, is an is an immigrant from Chile who, after arriving, immediately appreciated the natural beauty of San Francisco. We've been married for some forty three years after meeting at UCSF where we were both studying. We've had decades long careers in biotech and are more or less retired. As an aside, we urge you all to stand up for science in the face of attacks on our institutions of higher learning. As the second largest employer in San Francisco, which has seeded numerous pioneering biotech companies, UCSF requires and merits our support. Now back to cleaning. We are not limited to Clarendon neighborhood where we live. But as you heard, we clean in Gonga Park, since retirement, that is, about three or four times a week. There's always a fair amount of garbage to to pick up. Occasionally in Sigmastern Grove and monthly in the Palace of Leena Legion of Honor. Now why do we do this? Because we hate to see one of the most beautiful cities in the world tarnished by unsightly trash. We are fortunate to live in a municipality where parks are many. Give us a respite from the, if you will, bland concrete, dull asphalt, and rows of stucco structures that abound. Nature's beauty gives us peace of mind, promotes being one with nature, and provides an escape from urban life. And, indeed, you know, these chaotic times, it's a very welcome respite. Now if you see me on the street or my wife with me and we're in the park with a trash bag in one hand and a picker in the other, please don't mistake us for vagrants. It has been done before. So

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Yes, it is.

[Speaker 12.0]: A little odd.

[Mark Selby]: It's rather remarkable that when we are passing folks, while picking up trash, most ignore us or look away. Only a few will venture words of appreciation. But, again, we don't seek appreciation for what we're doing. We'd also like to acknowledge, interestingly enough, the three one one app and the developers thereof. In those cases where there are no trash bins in proximity, we can pull the bags of garbage, take a photo, and submit to 311. The city picks up the trash in a timely manner. Alternatively, one can deposit trash in cans conveniently situated in Gonga Park and and near fire stations, as it were. Thus, there is really no excuse for not picking up, especially if you have the time. Now I don't know how to encourage others to do what we do, except by example. I know there are organized efforts, which is wonderful. But for those who appreciate flexibility and eschew structured groups, it would be great to encourage individual contributors. I'll leave it up to others to find ways to encourage San Franciscans to be good shepherds of our green spaces. In closing, we are among the ranks of anti trash citizens who take this task, upon ourselves, exemplified by the author David Sedaris. Now if you listen to NPR, as we do, you probably will know that David Sedaris trash story. As good urban warriors, we soldier ahead equipped with a trash bag and a picker driven by the goal of a landscape devoid of man's detritus. Let us keep San Francisco clean so visitors and residents alike can revel in its natural beauty and well maintained parks.

[Speaker 13.0]: As I always said, we can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[Mark Selby]: And pick up trash. Pick up trash. Okay.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. Now we will go to District 9, supervisor Fielder.

[Jackie Fielder, Supervisor (District 9)]: Thank you. I would like to welcome LaMaeah to the podium. Please come up, LaMaeah. Today, I am honoring a truly remarkable woman, a pillar of strength, compassion, and resilience, La Moya La Moya Abuelras, the heart and soul behind Temo's Cafe in the Mission District. Outside world fall away. It's a space built on community, connection, and love rooted deeply in LaMeya's Palestinian heritage and woven into the vibrant spirit of the mission. From the beginning, LaMeya made it her mission to serve not just coffee, but humanity. She offers warmth and generosity to everyone who walks through the doors, whether it's a meal for someone in need or a seat at the table to celebrate life's important milestones. Her journey has not been easy. Coming to San Francisco as a young woman from Palestine, she faced cultural barriers, economic hardships, and personal loss. There were times when Middle Eastern food was unfamiliar to the community, and times when grief could have easily overwhelmed her. But LaMea met every challenge with strength, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to move forward. Each day, she rises before dawn, works long hours, and continues to care for her family here and back home in Palestine. Even with so much on her shoulders, she still makes time for herself, showing a quiet strength that inspires everyone around her, including myself. LaMea has created more than a business. She has created a home. Temo's Cafe is a bridge between cultures, Palestinian and Latino, two communities that share values of resilience, warmth, and deep respect for family and tradition. She reminds us that leadership isn't about competition or titles. It's about standing strong in who you are, leading with heart, and building with love. Today, we honor LaMea for the sanctuary she has created, the countless lives she has touched, and the example she sets for all of us in the community. She shows us that real community is built one connection at a time through small acts of kindness, through patience, and through perseverance. On behalf of everyone who has been fortunate to walk through Temo's Cafe, thank you, La Mea.

[Speaker 15.0]: Thank you.

[Jackie Fielder, Supervisor (District 9)]: Your generosity, your strength, and your beautiful spirit inspires us all. Thank you.

[Lamia Aborus]: Oh my God. Thank you so much. Thank you, Jackie. You make me cry. Good afternoon. My name is Lamia Aborus. I'm the proud owner of Timo's Cafe, a Palestinian family owned. We have been part of this community for eleven years. And, in that time, I have learned, that running a small business is about more than just coffee. It's, about connection, bringing people together. Our goal at, at Timo's has always been to make every person feel welcome and, feel home at Timo's. Each cup of coffee has been a chance to build relationship, share stories, and interact with the heartbeat of the Cesar Chavez community. Running a small business has it's a challenge, but it's also deeply rewarding. I hope to continue growing, learning, and serving our neighborhood for many more years to come. And, thank you, Jackie, for all the beautiful, nice support you say. I appreciate it. Thank you.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Next up, we have district four supervisor Engadio.

[Alan Wong, Supervisor (District 4)]: Colleagues, today I would like to honor the late lieutenant colonel Robert Powell. He was the senior army instructor for the JROTC program at Abraham Lincoln High School for twenty eight years. During his tenure, Lincoln's JROTC program was rated as one of the most successful ones in Western United States by the Department of the Army. It was so well run that Colonel Powell also became the director of army instruction for all the JROTC programs in the San Francisco school district. He taught his cadets many leadership skills that prepared them for life, skills such as how to deal with conflicts, with poise and grace, and how to communicate succinctly and efficiently. He was a respected mentor, not just to his own cadets, but to students in the broader community. He did so by opening up the JROTC facilities to students to gather during lunch and after school, and counseling teenagers who were going through challenges. Our own budget and finance clerk, Brent Halepa, served under Colonel Powell as a battalion commander at Lincoln High School in 1994. He credits Colonel Powell for providing guidance and molding him into the effective public servant he is today. Before joining Lincoln High School's JROTC program, Colonel Powell had a twenty three year decorated career in the military. He began at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he attended Airborne Jump School. He was later assigned to Checkpoint Charlie in Germany, which was best known as a crossing between East And West Berlin. He also served and was injured in Vietnam, where he received a Purple Heart. His other awards include a Bronze Star with Valor and Commendation Award with Valor for heroism in combat and a merit service medal. He retired from his military career here in San Francisco at the Presidio in 1982, and that's when he turned to servicing the youth at Lincoln. Lieutenant colonel Powell passed away peacefully April 13 at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife Emily, daughters Robin and Rhonda Powell, and the thousands of cadets at Lincoln High School who he inspired to be their best selves. And colleagues, I'm going to continue today at Lincoln High School. I have the privilege of honoring some of the brightest and most hardworking young people from the sunset, the outstanding students of Abraham Lincoln High School, because they have had an exceptional year, both in academics and athletics. Let's start with academics. I would like the Lincoln mock trial team to stand, please.

[Shamann Walton, Supervisor (District 10)]: So

[Alan Wong, Supervisor (District 4)]: the Lincoln mock trial team won their first ever citywide championship. The Lincoln defense team appeared in the federal courthouse before a United States district court judge and defeated last year's winner, St. Ignatius. And after this historic victory, they went on to compete at the state level. And one of the students won best witness award. So this is the result of hard work. The students practice three hours after school every week, plus practices on weekends and hosting Zoom office hours. Coach Amanda Asowski and Jesse Lanier are full time lawyers who volunteer their time to mentor the students. Congratulations to the team. They have impressed their peers with their deep legal insights, school spirit, and wonderful teamwork. They have made their school proud. And I'd like to invite coach Jesse Lanier, coach Jesse Lanier, to come speak on behalf of the mock trial team. Thank you, coach Lanier.

[Jesse Lanier]: My name is Jesse Lanier, and I'm one of the coaches of Lincoln's, championship mock trial team. My co coach, Amanda Asowski, quite alright, could not be here with us today because a little baby mocker, her first, is due any day. We are so thankful to you, supervisor, for recognizing us and to the city for recognizing the accomplishments of these students today. With us here are some truly extraordinary young people. So often, the attorneys get most of the praise at a mock trial competition. I'm an attorney. I get it. But at Lincoln, our attorneys, our witnesses, and our courtroom staff are all stars. Their winning record speaks for itself. These students are smart, hardworking, and so talented, but they're also funny and silly and kind. What a gift you are to your school, to the city, to your families, and to me. As a coach, I I think often about how our students benefit from undertaking this exercise. What do we learn collectively from our regardless of our roles, from mock trial? It isn't just that we learn to act like an attorney, to act like a bailiff or a clerk or a timekeeper, to act like a defendant on trial for his life. We learn how to use facts to tell a story. We learn the value of sticking to those facts rather than bending them until they break. We learn to be curious about what we do not know, to listen, to watch. We learn to persuade, to advocate. We learn how to develop the facets of our authentic selves that best serve the tasks at hand. We learn how to work around decisions that we think are incorrect or unfair. And we learn empathy with the characters we play and the positions that they're in. We also learned professionalism and precision. We learned that good sportsmanship is a value not limited to losing. And we learned that words are powerful and that the way that we use them matters. I I think we all can agree that these are not just lessons that make us all well rounded individuals. The values derived from these lessons are fundamental to a functioning democracy, and these values are in short supply. But not for long. Not for long. Because these students are on the way. And in fact, they were asking me procedural questions during the proceedings earlier, so I think we're we're in good shape. Another lesson we learned in mock trial is that a captive audience loses interest in a speaker very quickly, so I'm gonna close now with this. Win or lose, I am so proud to be your coach. I am so excited about what's next for you. For the departing seniors, don't forget us when you're famous, please. And for the twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors, rest up folks. Study those objections because the case packets for next year come out in just five months. And then it'll be time once again to lock in. Thank you so much.

[Alan Wong, Supervisor (District 4)]: Alright. We're not done. We have more. We're going to talk about Lincoln's excellence in athletics now. I'd like the boys' varsity basketball team to stand. Boys' varsity basketball team, stand up. All right. So get this. They just won their fourth consecutive San Francisco section championship, four in a row. And then they went on to the state semifinals. Lincoln was the number 15 seed team, and they nearly beat the number three seed team. They fell short just by three points, an incredible achievement. And I also wanna give a special shout out to the team captain, Lutz. He played in all four championship seasons from freshman to senior year, which is a rare achievement at the high school level. And so beyond behind this success, it's not just the players, but an incredible support team, including student managers, coaches, and advisors. They help the team stay prepared and focused. So congratulations to the whole team. Go Mustangs. All right. And I want to invite coach Carl Jacobs. Come up and say a few words. Coach Jacobs. Thank you. And when we're done with the remarks, we'll ask the mock trial team and the basketball team to exit the chambers and go out to the rotunda, and we'll take some group photos.

[Coach Carl Jacobs]: Good afternoon, everyone. To the board of supervisors, supervisor and guardio, I wanna thank you. Thank you, first of all, for recognizing colonel Powell from Lincoln High School. May he rest in peace. Great man. Thank you for showing our young people that you care for them still. It's very important because both teams, these are extracurricular activities that they participate in, which means they stay after school. When a lot of students are going home, they're still there putting in hours of work and they deserve to be commended for that. They make big sacrifices. You know, it's not just even with sports, it's not just fun and games. These young men put in a lot of hard work, and I'm very thankful for that and very proud of them for that. We ask a lot of them. It's on top of everything else they're supposed to do at home and at school. Alright. So they do deserve a thank you for this. And I think they're starting to get used to coming here at 24 in a row. I think this is their motivation. So now I'm a start using this at the beginning of the season. Hey. You guys wanna go to City Hall? You wanna see the board of supervisors? Let's go. And I think this is a motivating factor. I'm thankful for our principal and our LinkedIn community who stands behind us. You know, it's hard at a public school. It's hard at a public school, but we don't consider ourself like that. We compete at the highest level. And these young men, they come out, and all our students, probably the, debate team as well, they all come out and they put in the hard work and they put in the time. And we don't think of ourselves as just a public school. We think of ourselves as just competitors and proud to represent our city. And that's what I'm thankful for these guys. They're proud to represent the city of San Francisco. And thank you again for recognizing us.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. District five, supervisor Mahmoud.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: Thank you, president. Colleagues, today in recognition of the end of Arab American Heritage Month, I'm excited to be honoring Ghazi Shami, the founder and CEO of Empire. Ghazi, you wanna come up here with your family? All your family can join as well.

[Ghazi Shami]: Yeah. My family's not here, but my extended family is here.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: Extended family is

[Ghazi Shami]: coming. Which is my coworkers, who I'm so very proud of. So if they want to come up, you guys can come up with me. Come on up.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: Ghazi is the founder and CEO of Empire, the largest privately held independent record label, distributor, and publisher in The United States. It's founded in 2010 right here in San Francisco. Ghazi built Empire into a global force, An empire, one could even say, ushering in a new era of thriving, independent artists, and reasserting San Francisco as a center for culture and the arts. I first met Gazi early this year, when we were coordinating on, collaborating on a Tenderloin Eats street fair. I felt the security to get in the building was harder than the mayor's. But getting inside, I felt it was like a family. That you had created with all of your coworkers. We talked about your family, your children, your wife, who's given me a lot of wedding advice since then. But also your employees. And I care, I saw how much you cared about bringing people from all over the world, from Palestine even, to the Bay Area to give them a better life, give them the opportunities that I know San Francisco gave you as well. And I saw in that day, Ghazi and I shared a vision where Arabs and Muslims could leverage San Francisco as the birthplace for their dreams, for probability. And he was not only open to partnering as an organizer of the event, but he brought a young Palestinian artist to perform for the community that, honestly, that was what they were most excited for that day we held the street fair. Ghazi himself was born and raised in the city, and used to live and work in the Tenderloin, which I represent as well. And as an exact role model, I know these kids in the Tenderloin, over 30,000 of them, deserve and see every day. He's the son of a Palestinian war refugee, with humble beginnings and a relentless spirit that led him to take night classes at SF State University for audio and video engineering, while working in Burlingame assembling computers. Since then, he followed his passion to develop early stage artists, and worked with award winning artists like Kendrick Lamar and Anderson Paak. I'm I'm sure your diss tracks are pretty good, too. This year is a significant year as Empire celebrates fifteen years of success. Ghazi was recently featured on the cover of Billboard Magazine, which we have a copy of him here, signed by all the Board of Supervisors as well. Over the years, he's been recognized by various leading music and culture publications for his contributions to the music industry, including Billboard Power Players, Indie Power Players, and R and B hip hop Power Players. He made the Rolling Stone Future 25 list, the Variety Dealmaker Impact Report, and was named by Variety Magazine as a top 50 hip hop executive of all time. Ghazi has been featured in press such as New York Times, Forbes, Music Business Worldwide, San Francisco Chronicle, and more, and served as keynote speaker at South by Southwest, Humanex, and Bitcoin Conference. Ghazi provides a unique perspective with his grasp of the creative, business, and technological aspects of the modern music industry. His strong business acumen has scaled empire to a global operation in five continents and 20 countries. And despite that, Ghazi has never forgotten his roots in San Francisco. He recently purchased 1 Montgomery, an iconic San Francisco landmark building, as Empire's new global headquarters. And he continues to be an advocate for human rights and invests in cultural events for our Arab and Muslim community locally to build connections and uplift our city's diversity. Ghazi

[Speaker 20.0]: is

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: the embodiment of San Francisco's values. He is humble, a humanitarian, community builder, champion of the arts, and he's committed to invigorating the very soul of our city. So colleagues, please join me in commending Ghazi Shami on his immense impact in San Francisco and culture worldwide for his relentless hope in our city, and for never forgetting where he came from. I hope we can all see and hear more from his work in the years to come.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: But before but but first but first, supervisor Walton. Thank you, president Mehtleman.

[Shamann Walton, Supervisor (District 10)]: My apologies, supervisor Makmou. But I just wanted to chime in and wanted just to say thank you to Gazi for all of the opportunities that you provide for young people, particularly young people here in San Francisco and and across California. And I also wanna just thank you for the way you represent your culture and your community. It's important that everyone gets the opportunity to see that in the way you carry yourself as a family man and a true leader. Like supervisor Makmoo said, you are a very humble person, with a lot of accolades. And so I'm just proud to have you as a son of San Francisco, and proud that this is happening here at the board of supervisors. And the last thing I would just say is thank you for keeping your business in San Francisco, because we have no record companies, particularly to the to the magnitude and the size of Empire that are based here and and stay at home. So thank you so much for everything that you do. Thank you.

[Ghazi Shami]: Good afternoon, everybody. That was a little overwhelming. So I'm gonna take a second to gather my thoughts. I didn't I didn't prepare a speech. I I prefer to speak from the heart, but, I'm a firm believer in community, and I'm also a firm believer in paying it forward and being the change you wanna see. And, San Francisco is the birthplace of my family. And what I mean by that is, my uncle came to Potrero Hill in the fifties, through Ellis Island, and my whole entire family came through Potrero Hill. I was born in Potrero Hill. My first studio and office was in Potrero Hill. So I'm a firm believer in always bringing everything back to its root, and and San Francisco is the root of who I am as a human. And so I think it would have been a great disservice for me to build this company anywhere else than in a place that gave me the tools, the direction, and certainly the inspiration, to build the company that I've built. I'm definitely a product of my environment, and I think doing this anywhere else wouldn't have felt so special. So you guys mentioned One Montgomery. When we were a kid, my mom would bank at in Westlake at, Crocker Bank. And so we owned a coin operated laundromat. And from the time I was four years old, my dad would let me stuff the coins in the little pouches and wrap up 100 bills and go make the deposits at the merchant window. I got about halfway through the deal of purchasing One Montgomery, and, I realized that it used to be Crocker Bank because I saw a clock on the floor. And I used to sleep with a little dog, a stuffed animal, and it was called a Crocker Spaniel. And they gave it to me at Crocker Bank when I was a little kid. And it was a very surreal moment because, embodies the spirit of three sixty moments where everything that you work for in life makes sense. And I think nothing crystallizes that reality more than being here in the city of San Francisco. So, I'm very honored to stand, before the board of supervisors. Until now, coming into government buildings used to give me uneasy feelings, because I probably had to pay a fine in a different chapter of my life. Now it's giving me an uneasy feeling because I'm nervous to stand before you. But I'm very proud of my staff, of the people I get to call my family. Without them, none none of this is possible. Without my courageous wife who used to sleep on the floor with me in the studio, it's been a long climb, and we got so much further to go. And I I promise to always represent the city, with a certain level of integrity and excellence, because that's all you could do at the end of the day is just be excellent. So thank you so much.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. And last but not least from District 8, Saeed and Hisham Basisu.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Come on. Come on up.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Maybe not yet quite as famous in the world, but certainly famous and beloved in District 8. Yes. Thanks. So also in commemoration of National Arab American Heritage Month, it is my great honor to present a special commendation to Syed and Hesham Basisoo. Saeed and Hesham own Buffalo Whole Foods and Noe Hill Market, two businesses in District Eight's Castro neighborhood. Noe Hill Market has been owned and operated by the family for twenty six years, and Buffalo Whole Foods has been operated by the family, I believe, for twenty five of its fifty years before the family purchased it in 2021. When Syed and Hisham's father, Sammy, died of COVID related complications in 2021, there was an outpouring of grief and support from the Castro community and beyond. Sammy was simply beloved by the neighborhood. The brothers learned to run their stores with the spirit of kindness that their father, embodied. They were both born at Kaiser Hospital on Geary. They grew up in the sunset and went to Westmore High School in Daly City. Hisham went to work in the family business at Noe Hill Market as soon as he was able to work. Like his dad, he is known and much loved in the neighborhood. Saeed took a little detour from the family business. He got his father's blessing to try his hand in the fashion industry, which he studied at City College before starting work as a designer and stylist for brands including Shoe Palace and New Era Hat Company. Saeed has his own brand called Since Birth and has styled photoshoots for the NBA All Star Weekend. Saeed attributes his family's resilience resilience and strength and adversity to their Palestinian heritage. COVID and post COVID the the COVID and post COVID era have not been easy for the family. Their businesses continue to feel the loss in tourism and foot traffic, but Saeed says their people have never been quitters. Said and Hisham, we are grateful for you, and the floor is yours.

[Saeed Basisu]: Thank you, Raphael. Hi, everyone. So I am Said, and this is my brother Hisham, and my mother here. I'd just like to say we're definitely proud owners of a fifty year old business in the city of San Francisco, which we all know is not really easy to do. My brother's store at Noe Hill is going on twenty six years now. And, we've always just took pride in providing a real corner store experience, like offering a book service where people can pay us later, or kids around the neighborhood can come, and their parents will come back later and give us the bill. My father just always built a community space for everyone, even things like they can leave their car keys, and if we're there early enough, we'll move it for street cleaning, because we know how annoying that is. But, yeah, the the stores and our businesses have always been more than just a business. Sometimes, although it is our second home, sometimes it feels like our first home, because of the time we've spent and put hours into. When my father passed away, my brother and I took initiative to keep his legacy living on. I now have a two year old son who's sitting in here. You probably heard him a little bit. But yeah, his name is now Sammy as well. So I've honored him in that space as well, and hope to one day pass these businesses onto him and continue the legacy. Like Rafael said, my main job is being a stylist, and I've worked for companies like Gazi, who just spoke earlier at Empire. And it's been a great experience. Just like Gazi, I'm just as proud as being a Gazi and Palestinian as I am being a San Franciscan. You know, there's not many of us being born and raised and staying and trying to push through and, build a community around fashion or music or, you know, a healthy alternative corner store where we're not selling Coca Colas and Diet Cokes and Cheetos. We're trying to provide a healthy alternative, organic produce, olive pops and things like that. But yeah, I think, that's all I have for you guys and I appreciate everything you guys have done for me as a San Francisco city. Thank you.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. So with that, I think we go to our 3PM special order.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Madam Clerk. Items 34 through 37, And, subsequently, I'll read items 38 through 41.

[Danny Sauter, Supervisor (District 3)]: Yeah.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Items 34 through 37 comprise the hearing of persons interested in the determination of exemption from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act issued as a categorical exemption by the planning department on 04/05/2024 for a proposed project at 1310 Junipero Serra Boulevard at which which proposes the demolition of nine maintenance and facility structures and construction of a 25 foot tall one story maintenance building, approximately 20,000 gross square feet in size. Items 35 through 37 are the motions associated with this CEQA appeal. Items 38 through 41 comprise the hearing of persons interested in the approval of a conditional use authorization for the project at 1310 Junipero Serra Boulevard, for the construction of a 19,100 gross square foot one story accessory maintenance and facility building for an existing open area, recreation area use, a DBA. Items 39 through, 41 comprise the motions associated with that conditional use appeal.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you, madam clerk. And I see, supervisor Melgar in the queue.

[Myrna Melgar, Supervisor (District 7)]: Thank you so much, president Mendelmann, colleagues. This appeal pertains to, a project in District 7. I am hoping to give, the two parties a little more time to come together and find some common ground, hopefully, and, possibly in the appeals. I move, that items 34 through 41 be continued open to a date certain on Tuesday, 05/13/2025.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. Thank you. Thanks, supervisor Melgaard. The motion's been made, and seconded by supervisor Walton. So, I'm gonna look at the city attorney to make sure I don't screw this up. But I think what I would like to do is open, the public hearings on items thirty four and thirty eight. There's a motion to continue those hearings, which has been seconded. But before we can act on that, we need to take public comment on that motion to continue the hearing. So if anybody this is not general public comment. This is this is just public comment on the motion for a continuance of these two hearings. Anybody who wants to talk to us about that, feel free to line

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: up Oh, god.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Or come forward.

[Representative of St. Thomas More (appeal appellant)]: Thank you. Good afternoon, supervisors. I represent St. Thomas More and the appeals for CEQA and conditional use. We're asking for a continuance today to try to negotiate a bit more with the golf club. We have just recently been able to retain counsel to help us in that. We thought we had counsel three weeks ago, and he had a trial come up, so he had to bail on us. So we have a new attorney. Patterson O'Neil is representing us and helping us with our negotiations, so we would greatly appreciate another couple of weeks to get those actions moving. Thank you very much.

[Speaker 23.0]: Good afternoon. For California state law and the three flags that I see, San Francisco state level government and United States of American government, when I see literally construe in the California state law to then with the fine printed word or digital word, environmental. Department of Homeland Security acknowledges Arceli O'Reyvo, FEMA. She is the secretary of Department of Homeland Security.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Sir, I'm I'm gonna pause your time for a moment. This public comment is specifically for these items. It's not general public comment. Okay.

[Speaker 23.0]: Yes, ma'am. So if then board of supervisors in San Francisco with environmental review, so then how far does the environment go? Arizona State University Public Land Management, Sun Devil 1206669889. The Department of Homeland Security, also FEMA, acknowledges Arcelor Rabil via emergency management official transcript twenty sixteen fall semester completed plans, Sun Devil one two zero six six six nine eight eight nine. So the Department of Homeland Security secretary is present is here in San Francisco. And the southern border within how far does the waterway go within the Colorado River is also a source with the Department of California Public Utilities. Environmental review, what then is as a colon within environmental review, and of all the all. I just wish to say that then 11/19/2024, 04/15/2025, and then if then for to then an Environmental Protection Agency on the southern border, if that's the southern border of Mexico, within the waterways at the border being polluted. Thank you, ma'am. That's why I came here today, if it's, it was environmental. Thank you.

[David Greenbaum]: Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is David Greenbaum. I'm the principal of Saint Thomas Morris School. I'm a nearly thirty year educator. Twenty five years, I served in San Francisco Unified School District, the last four at Visitation Valley Middle School. So currently, as the principal, I am in support of the appeal for us to have more opportunities to negotiate with the San Francisco Golf Club, who is who is proposing to build a nearly 20,000 square foot shed about 20 feet away from our preschool, after receiving an exemption from CEQA. Thank you, everyone.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. It appears that that is the end of public comment on the continuance. So public comment is now closed. And colleagues, we have a motion to continue these hearings open to the May 13. On all right. So I'm reopening public comment on on the hearings. Is that right?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Yep. So we can continue it.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And we have a motion to continue these hearings open to the 05/13/2025 board of supervisors meeting, which I think, colleagues, we can take without objection. So without objection, these appeal hearings and motion motions are continued open to 05/13/2025. Alright. Let's go to roll

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: call. Roll call for introductions. Supervisor Dorsey, you're first up to introduce new business.

[Matt Dorsey, Supervisor (District 6)]: Thank you, madam clerk. Hold on a sec. Colleagues, I am today introducing legislation to improve and strengthen San Francisco's Homicide Reward Fund, a critical tool for advancing justice for the victims and their surviving loved ones of these horrific crimes when they occur in our city. When the board of supervisors first established the homicide reward fund in 2016, the goal was straightforward. To incentivize cooperation and solve homicides by offering financial rewards for actionable information. But, as reporting and city records have shown, not a single reward has yet been paid out in more than a decade. Meanwhile, families like that of miss Paulette Brown, whose son Aubrey Abacasa Junior was tragically murdered in 2006, continue to await justice that has been too long denied them. The heartbreaking truth is that our reward program is currently structured is failing to serve the very families it was created for. Restrictive eligibility rules requiring a conviction before any payout, disqualifying anonymous tipsters, and excluding individuals with a criminal record, have created barriers that discourage people from coming coming forward. The legislation I am introducing today proposes updates that would allow rewards to be paid when information leads to the filing of criminal charges, not just convictions. Enable anonymous tipsters to receive rewards while preserving their confidentiality, to end automatic disqualification bay based on a prior criminal history, and to ensure rewards are not paid for knowingly false information. I would not be introducing this ordinance today without the persistent and courageous advocacy of miss Paulette Brown. Miss Brown has attended virtually every police commission meeting for many years, speaking with both vulnerability and unflinching clarity about the pain of losing her son, and the need for change that she shares with so many families who have waited and are too often still waiting for justice to be done. Miss Brown has been relentless in urging our city to do better, not just for her family, but for every family awaiting answers. Today's legislation reflects her extraordinary commitment to justice, and I wanna personally thank her for never giving up. I want to express my gratitude as well to the San Francisco Police Commission for their work on the resolution urging this board to introduce this legislation, in particular, its lead author, former police commission vice president Max Carter Overstone. By modernizing San Francisco's homicide reward policy, we can better protect witnesses, encourage cooperation, improve clearance rates for unsolved murders, and most importantly, honor the memories of those we have lost. I respectfully ask for your support, and the rest I submit.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you. Thank you, supervisor Dorsey. Supervisor Rangardio. Submit.

[Alan Wong, Supervisor (District 4)]: Submit.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Submit. Thank you, supervisor. Supervisor Fielder.

[Jackie Fielder, Supervisor (District 9)]: Thank you, madam clerk. Colleagues, today I'm proud to introduce a resolution in strong support of assembly bill six seven d authored by assembly member Sharon Quirk Silva. This bill is a critical step toward recognizing the full value of preservation within California's affordable housing strategies. In San Francisco, we know that preserving existing affordable housing is just as vital as building new units. Our housing element makes that clear. It explicitly acknowledges preservation as a core strategy for meeting our housing goals, addresses shortages, and preventing displacement. This isn't theoretical for us. Programs like the small sites program have already preserved hundreds of units, stabilizing neighborhoods, and supporting low income tenants who might otherwise be priced out of their homes. While we've had some important successes, including the recent acquisition of 32014 Street in my district by the San Francisco Community Land Trust, we need to continue investing in this important strategy to scale the community ownership movement. AB six seventy aligns with this goal by allowing local governments to count preservation efforts toward their regional housing needs allocation housing targets. That's a smart, effective change, one that strengthens the ecosystem of affordability we've built here through collaboration with nonprofits, land trusts, and tenant serving organizations. I urge your support for this resolution and for AB six seventy, which honors what we've already shown is possible in San Francisco, that preservation is not only practical, it's essential. I wanna thank planning and MOHCD for being in touch with my office, Kyle Smiley with the SF Community Land Trust, Preston Kilgore from my office for his work on this resolution, and supervisors Sauter and Walton for cosponsoring. And the rest, I submit.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, supervisor Felder. Supervisor Mahmut? Submit. Thank you. Supervisor Mandelmann?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you, madam clerk. I have one introduction today, which is a request for a hearing on San Francisco MTA's recently completed EV curbside feasibility study and the path forward for public EV curbside charging stations in San Francisco. Our transportation sector accounts for close to half of San Francisco's emissions. And as I usually point out when discussing this topic, the most important thing we must do to reduce those emissions is to make public transportation green, safe, and reliable. But I continue to believe that making EV ownership and use easier is an essential part of the mix. In July 2023, I asked the San Francisco environment department and MTA to present opportunities for implementing a scalable EV curbside charging program in San Francisco. The departments undertook that work in two phases through the curbside EV charging feasibility study and pilot. The first phase was the feasibility study, to analyze case studies from other cities like LA and New York that have that already have robust EV curbside charging programs. The study also reviewed charging technology and standards, jurisdiction and regulatory considerations, curb management, accessibility requirements, grid capacity, and energy requirements, site suitability, financial feasibility, and equity. San Francisco environment SF environment and MTA engage with community stakeholders, EV companies, public works, and SFPUC to gather feedback on how this program could be rolled out in San Francisco. We anticipated a second phase that was would use the findings and recommendations of the study to begin installation, maintenance, and operation of a pilot curbside network. In March, I introduced a resolution supporting the efforts of the departments to implement the curve curbside EV charging feasibility study and urging the office of the mayor and departments to leverage all available funding sources to implement the curbside EV charging pilot this year. Prior to passage of the resolution, the board held a hearing where environment and MTA presented on their framework for the pilot program, which was informed by what, at the time, were preliminary results of the feasibility study. The study was completed earlier this year and identifies opportunities for and barriers to installation, potential potential installation sites, as well as, recommendations for governance of the program. While the study was in progress, Mayor Breed's office got a Mayor Breed's office got a head start on the second phase. Her team and now Mayor Lurie's have been working with private EV companies to work through barriers toward installing chargers. They were able to successfully install two last week in DeBose Triangle. San Francisco's first. There should be more. Yes. Supervisor Malgar, we agree. Now this now that the study is complete and the pilot is underway, I'm calling for this hearing to highlight the recommendations of the study and determine next steps for the city to implement a long term EV curbside charging program that meaningfully moves us toward our climate action plan and EV roadmap roadmap goals of having 1,760 publicly accessible charging stations by 2030. We'll be asking Esteban Environment, MTA Public Works, and the PUC to present at our hearing on June 2, and the rest I submit.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, mister president. Supervisor Milgar.

[Myrna Melgar, Supervisor (District 7)]: Thank you so much, madam clerk. Colleagues, this morning, I rallied with dozens of San Franciscans who understand that unsafe streets in our city have become a public safety catastrophe. Over five years, San Francisco has seen nearly 100,000 traffic collisions. These collisions have resulted in more than 200 lives lost. And the cost to our city, our drivers, as well as those who walk, bike, and take transit is $2,500,000,000 over the past five years. According to the BLA report that I commissioned last year, each fatal crash cost San Francisco drivers over $1,600,000 But the costs aren't just medical. They're also economic productivity. They're the people who take care of the injured for lost wages, and for any number of things. More than 22% of traffic crash costs stem from lost workplace and household productivity. Another 34% comes from property damage. Yet, it has been more than one hundred days since our city's prior vision zero policy expired. Just this past week, there was another terrible and avoidable traffic incident resulting in a death in District 5. While dangerous driving cost the city billions, efforts to solve these issues make up a minuscule portion of the MTA budget. Due to the extent of this issue, MTA traffic enforcement and safety improvements are stretched very thin, as are SFPDs. Not only will finding effective ways to reduce crashes make our cities and streets safer, but it will save billions of dollars for everyday San Francisco and aid in our economic recovery. We don't have the time or the money to stand by and let this loss of life and loss of taxpayer dollars continue. We need to fully fund safe streets. And we need to reinvest in our Vision Zero goals. This is a public safety issue. This is why today I'm calling for a hearing on the BLA report that we have just received, a hearing on street safety and economic recovery for the city and county of San Francisco. I want to thank my colleagues, supervisor Chen, Mahmoud, and Sauter, as well as supervisor Fielder's staff for joining me earlier at the rally, and for your shared commitment to tackling this challenging issue. The rest I submit.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, supervisor Melgar. Supervisor Sauter.

[Danny Sauter, Supervisor (District 3)]: Colleagues, today I am introducing alongside the mayor a resolution approving the port commission lease for 340 Jefferson Street. This space will soon be Chaska Rio, a Salvadorian restaurant which hopes to be open by the end of the year, serving up stews, soups, buffooses, and fresh fish to tourists and locals alike. This opening will soon join the renowned barbecue space, Everett and Jones, which will be opening soon in the wharf. And it is wonderful to have these two long vacant spaces activated. We know, of course, though, that there's still much work to to do in Fisherman's Wharf. And as fun as it is to visit Fisherman's Wharf, I want us to always remember too that it is a economic hub for our city. So as we speak of the budget and speak of our city's recovery, the wharf needs to be strong as well. Our office will continue to, be focused on all this work of filling up empty storefronts, activating public spaces, investing in infrastructure along the Embarcadero And Wharf amidst rising sea levels, and expanding transit so the wharf is easier to get to. And the rest I submit.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, supervisor Sauter. Supervisor Sherrill.

[Stephen Sherill, Supervisor (District 2)]: Colleagues, on today's agenda is a resolution I authored in support of assembly bill eleven eighty one authored by assembly member Matt Haney. AB eleven eighty one requires the state of California to update its existing safety order regarding firefighters' personal protective equipment, mandating that the state eliminate the use of PFAS forever chemicals in turnouts by 2027. Absorbed into the human body through inhalation or contact, these PFAS synthetic chemicals have been shown to directly increase the risk of cancer for firefighters. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death among firefighters nationwide, amounting to approximately seventy two percent of line of death duties in 2023. Here in San Francisco, our fire department has lost over three hundred firefighters to cancer since 2006. We must do all that we can to better protect our firefighters from long term health implications. And the first step to doing so is ensuring firefighting equipment does not contribute or directly cause higher cancer rates. I'm grateful that assembly member Haney is bringing this change statewide following the lead of San Francisco and supervisor Chan who led our city effort to ban PFAS and, SFFD equipment last year. And I'm additionally grateful for supervisor Chan as well as supervisor Sauter's cosponsorship in supporting bringing this policy to the state level.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: I hope to have all

[Stephen Sherill, Supervisor (District 2)]: of your support in this effort, and the rest, I submit.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, supervisor Cheryl. Supervisor Walton.

[Shamann Walton, Supervisor (District 10)]: Thank you, madam clerk. I would like to be added as a cosponsor to item number 49, and the rest, I submit.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: K. Thank you, supervisor Walton. It shall be done. Supervisor Chan.

[Connie Chan, Supervisor (District 1)]: Thank you, madam clerk. Colleagues, I'm introducing a resolution formally declaring this week as public works week in San Francisco. The tried and true team of 1,400 plus employees, including unions members represented by SEIU, Laborers International Union of North America, two sixty one, IFPTE, Local twenty one, and many members of the building and construction trades. This is really the entire team of that city department that is an integral part of the everyday lives of our city residents, workers, and visitors. We really thank them for their work day in and day out. I think this is one of the city departments outside of our first responders that actually often works 20 fourseven. So when we talk about safe and clean streets, it really is that public works, workers really is part of this work that sustained the hard work for our streets, and all around. So thank you to the staff and the unsung heroes, at the Public Works, who works tirelessly 20 fourseven to support every corner of the city to keep our city clean, safe, resilient, beautiful, and accessible. And the rest, I submit. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, supervisor Chan. Supervisor Chan.

[Chayanne Chen, Supervisor (District 11)]: Thank you, madam clerk. Colleagues, I would like to, join today's meeting in memoriam of Antoinette Jamelle. Miss Jamelle was born on 02/10/1943, and passed on April 23. I wish to honor her 82 and shine a line on her life. Antoinette, also known as Tony, miss Tony, was born on a US Navy ship on the coast of North America during World War two. She grew up in Maine with her mother alongside her younger brother, Gregori. She later married her husband, Ali Jamelle, and on their honeymoon, saw Elvis Elvis Presley life and was quite special for Toni as a lifelong fan. She dedicated her time to her family, volunteering at schools, and she was also a very proud member of her, incontinent church Catholic church in Glendale. In her later years, she moved to Palo Alto to be a closer to her son, Mo, daughter-in-law, Annie, and her grandkids, Oliver and Kate. She enjoyed visiting San Francisco, for a family gathering, and loved having a boat clam in the city to remind her childhood in Maine. May her memory be a blessing. Direct sides, Chau Samit. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, supervisor Chen. And, mister president, seeing no names on the roster, that concludes the introduction of new business. Alright.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Let's go to public comment.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: At this time, you may line up on your right hand side of the chamber. We're taking public comment for two minutes. You may speak to the approval of the board meeting minutes as presented. You may also speak to item 45. That's the conference with the city attorney pertaining to existing litigation on matters in which the city is a party, and that would be whether or not to enter into the closed session with the city attorney. You may also speak to other general matters that are not on the on the agenda today, but must be within the board's subject matter jurisdiction. All other agenda content has been reported out by an appropriate committee where public comment had occurred. We're gonna welcome our first speaker. Welcome.

[Peter Alexander]: Thank you. Peter Alexander. Business as usual is over. Comes now the iron rod of God. The risen living Lord lays down the sword, freezing the West Coast till DC and Wall Street is but toast. The freedom strike of forty nights and forty days, opening the promised land by this almighty command. I am Peter, and I am commanding so. The protected racket of trafficking women and children on San Francisco and Oakland ports is over. The economy now frozen by my warriors are rosin. The organized mega religions have operated as the antichrist, yet the unbeatable power of Jesus, they could never heist. For me, it's the promised land or bust in a warmongering world of bloodlust, which is why the patriarchs of religion never wanted you to hear what the Essene master Jesus stated. Those whose mouths are stained with flesh and blood can never understand the kingdom of heaven and have no authority to teach it. I wanna say I'm really glad to see Paulette Brown, and I had a nice discussion with the supervisor. I'm gonna finish with this. Heroin, fentanyl, and trafficking have always gone together. The same dealers and slavers can only operate with certain city complicity. Green Beret, doctor Jeffrey McDonald has been down for fifty four years after the Bush regime of heroin murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters. American veterans now remember the Battle of Athens, And there is, in fact, a fentanyl lawsuit in Arizona where the former attorney general is involved, and they are taking law enforcement to task because they know who the dealer was. I support law enforcement. Most of them are good people, but there's always been a 5% corruption, and that is now to be erased as well. I am Peter. I say it. You hear it. And so it is done.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comment. Welcome, miss Brown.

[Paulette Brown]: Thank you. I'd like to use the overhead. I'm here concerning my son as always for unsolved homicides as well as other other other unsolved homicides that are here on this paper from decades and decades and decades. I bring these, names with me of the perpetrators who were involved in murdering my son. And then you have the, the other article about, where former mayor Gavin Newsom said, I know who killed her son. The DA know who killed her son. The police know who killed her son, But with no witnesses. So if that's you can bring it back to me. If that's stopping people from coming forth. So I'm so glad that Matt Darcy just implemented this or just brought to roll call this resolution on unsolved homicides and bringing ways for tipsters to come forth. So, back in the day, no one wanted to come forth because people were scared. Their lives were involved. Their lives and their livelihoods were involved because they didn't wanna say anything. So this this resolution will help other people to come forth now. And maybe someone will know something about my son just as well as mayor Gavin Newsom said. He knew. So if he knows, then guess who else knows? So maybe this can be brought forth when this if this and I pray that this resolution passes that, you know, that it get it get broadcast to to tipsters and and people that, can testify even though incarcerated. I live in District 5 and I still have to walk and see where my son was murdered. And I pray that all of all of you supervisors, even, my District 5 Supervisor, understand what I'm saying and help with this resolution. I am so, tired of different people. But

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comment. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Speaker 20.0]: Yeah. I do agree with Peter that, Jeffrey McDonald is innocent. Our judicial system so screwed up. I mean, think about it. The j sixers didn't do anything wrong. They spent four years in prison. That's why they Tucker Carlson got fired. He's releasing all the footage of the cops waving them in. You know, this whole insurrectionist narrative is all it's all lies and deceit. Now I would like to make a a comment about a very interesting statement president Trump made in during Easter, how he said the biggest event in all of history is the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it certainly is. It certainly is. Now, he had no idea, as Cyrus had no idea, that God was moving him, you know, a divine sentence is in the lips of the king, his mouth transgresseth not in judgment. And when Cyrus made this declaration to restore and build Jerusalem, he started off the greatest messianic prophecy in the entire Old Testament, which said in Daniel nine that you had to have seventy seven year cycles or 10 jubilees, four hundred and ninety years until Christ would come into this world. And the reason why most people don't realize that when Trump made this proclamation that it was 50 jubilees from 1995 is we don't adjust our chronology to the baptism of Christ. It's very important to adjust our chronology to the baptism of Christ. In 50 from Cyrus's proclamation, plus three hundred and sixty of our months was when Donald J. Trump made that proclamation. Now, Jesus was about 30 years of age because it was about the thirtieth jubilee. In other words, seven years later, it would be the thirtieth jubilee. That was the fifteenth of Tiberias. K, which corresponds to twenty eight AD on our calendar. He had seven years. It'll bring you to thirty five AD for April.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comment.

[Speaker 20.0]: Hey. Just just think about that.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: We welcome our next speaker.

[Speaker 20.0]: Really amazing. You wanna talk?

[Claire Mable]: Good afternoon, board of supervisors. My name is Claire Mable. I'm the director of advocacy at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. I'm here today on behalf of our thousands of members in the larger biking community to support supervisor Melgar's request for a hearing and for the city to prioritize and fully fund safer street infrastructure. Last year, we had the highest number of traffic fatalities since our city committed to reaching zero in 2014. Traffic fatalities are the most damaging result of unsafe streets, but what gets discussed less are crashes that lead to injuries. This data shows that serious injuries and fatalities on our streets in total cause immeasurable harm and pain and also cost individuals and the city as a whole billions over time. Between 2018 and 2022, 92,799 traffic crashes were reported on San Francisco Streets. That's an average of 18,560 crashes per year. While incomparable to the loss of life, this BLA report shows the shocking financial cost of unsafe streets. The quick build process we created in 2019 was meant to fast track inexpensive safety improvements using paint, post, and signs, and have been proven to post, and signs, and have been proven to reduce collisions by 30%. But we have

[Unidentified public commenter (primary mapping)]: seen many projects delayed

[Claire Mable]: for months, sometimes years, while others are implemented in less than three weeks when there is political support to do them. Eighteen thousand five hundred crashes and forty two people lost their lives on our streets last year. These tragedies are preventable. The city has the tools and the data to prevent them from happening. We need leadership from you all. We ask you all to work collaboratively with city departments to fast track these tools, like quick builds and the biking and rolling plan in your districts, and to collaborate across your districts. We urge you to join supervisor Melgar's call to fully invest in our streets. Doing so will save lives and

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Nadia Raman]: Hello, supervisors. My name is Nadia Raman. I am a District 1 resident. And today, I am here on behalf of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of CARE, the Council on American Islamic Relations. I am here to give comment on the resolution recognizing American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month. CARE SFBA would like to thank you all for recognizing this month and to thank supervisor Bilal Mahmood for introducing this resolution. This is San Francisco's very first time acknowledging this important occasion, and nine other Bay Area cities have already done so this year. The resolution is especially meaningful as our Muslim communities have faced an unprecedented and unrelenting wave of Islamophobia and discrimination over the last eighteen months since the genocide in Gaza began. CARE's 2025 civil rights report documented 8,658 total complaints nationwide in 2024, the highest number of complaints in this organization's thirty year history, up 66% from 2022 pre genocide. I encourage you all to read that report and learn about what the American Muslim community is currently facing and ask you to be publicly vocal in condemning the insidious anti Muslim, anti Arab, and anti Palestinian hate that is driving these complaints. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome to our next speaker.

[Milena Mackey Cabada]: Good afternoon, president Mandelmann and supervisors. My name is Milena Mackey Cabada. I'm a campaign associate with VOC San Francisco. It's been one hundred and twelve days since the city's Vision Zero policy expired. City leaders may want to ignore something that some view as a failure. But a lack of progress on vision zero is not a failure of the policy. It's a collective leadership failure. When agencies work together and solutions are applied at scale and designed with safety as the preeminent goal, vision zero works. Cities around the world are showing this. In fact, San Francisco is showing that vision zero works. Look at the Tenderloin neighborhood, where crash rates and closed calls have dropped significantly because of solutions that have been applied at scale. Every street in the Tenderloin is 20 miles per hour now. Every intersection has no turn on red and daylighting zones. There are pedestrian safety zones at the majority of intersections. The widest streets with the worst speeding problems have had lanes removed to calm traffic and to keep drivers at safe speeds. There's a shiny new speed camera on Turk Street. That's what Vision Zero looks like. That's what we need everywhere. It's up to you as our board of supervisors, together with mayor Lurie and the heads of every key agency, transportation, fire, police, public health, and public works, to make Vision Zero a success story. But it can be more. In fact, Vision Zero can be part of our city's comeback story, because safe streets don't just save lives. Safe streets make San Francisco stronger. A strong San Francisco is one where people get around their neighborhood, supporting their local businesses and being part of their community, and are safe doing so. So please use your leadership to get the city to adopt a bold new vision zero policy and plan now, and then work relentlessly to make it real with the funding, accountability, and focus needed to succeed. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome.

[Mahana Zibadi]: My name is Mahana Zibadi, and I'm here on behalf of item 47. And I wanted to personally thank supervisor Mahmood for introducing this deeply meaningful resolution. As the only Muslim legislative aide in City Hall, standing here today feels both humbling and profound. This moment is not just personal. It's a long awaited recognition of a community whose presence in this city is enduring, beautiful, and essential. American Muslims have long contributed to the vitality of the city, both visible and unseen, but often they do so without acknowledgment. Today, we begin to change that. Recognizing April as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month is more than a symbolic act. It is a gesture of healing, of belonging, and of justice. It is a simple but powerful promise that our stories, our labor, and our identities matter. San Francisco is home to Muslim educators, doctors, lawyers, organizers, and most importantly, small business owners. People who love the city deeply even when it hasn't always loved us back. This resolution is a step towards repairing that disconnect. It is a reminder that visibility isn't about performance. It's about presence and the power of being seen as a whole. To my community, this is for you, For the elders who've laid the foundation, for the youth who are daring to dream bigger, and for everyone who has ever questioned whether there was space for them in places like this, there is. I carry you with me in every room that I enter, in every policy that I help shape, and I promise to continue pushing until the halls of power not only make room for us, but reflect us fully. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you, Mohanis, for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for everyone that is in this place today. I'm Edwin Palacios. I work for Homebridge. You know, Homebridge is a company. They care for many people in the city, and I would like to express myself today to get this we need additional funding for better benefit. We need, many programs to complete for our workers. So as a member for union, I see that we need many things that we like to see getting for every single member for this company. I would like to give you an example for what we do. As a caregiver, we not only do a simple job. We are more than that. And without funding, we can make possible many things for our community. I would like to thank you for the space and remember that you are the people for the people. We need you, and thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Jessica Rodriguez]: Good afternoon, board. My name is Jessica Rodriguez, and I've been a home care provider for over two years. I'm here today to speak in support of the home home bridge program and tell you about the important services we provide. I provide care to the most vulnerable residents in San Francisco, including those dealing with complex medical issues, including substance use and mental health issues. Without my care, my clients would not be able to live independently in their own homes. It would be

[Speaker 20.0]: a

[Jessica Rodriguez]: disaster. They wouldn't have anyone to pick up after them when they fall over or help take care of their personal hygiene. We are essential, but our current rate wages don't reflect the valuable work that we do. I shouldn't have to pay live paycheck to paycheck. We do work that no one else wants to do, and we need higher pay. In order to make sure San Franciscans most in need continue receiving adequate care, we need better wages. Our program needs additional funding, and that funding needs to be invested in the workforce so we can continue to live and work in this area. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Next speaker.

[Chris Ward Klein]: Good afternoon, board of supervisors. For the record, my name is Chris Ward Klein, and I also go by Sergeant Klein, the United States Marine Corps. Earlier today, I attended the Safe Streets Vision Zero rally. Some of we some of you were there, and I ask that we make this a key strategy going forward. Looking at the agenda today, there was funding, a lot of funding for HUD starting in July. There is one issue, that that housing may place this funding in jeopardy as they continue inappropriately to charge veterans disability as housing income, which is not allowed. However, that brings me to the next point. The city and the city attorney can present a claim for unclaimed funds for $5,000,000,000 That will cover most of your budgets for the next three years. That will cover most of the cuts that you have for all your non profits. That would give you money for your Vision Zero funding. Just about everything. Plus, a lot of citizens in the city will have 10 to 15,000 paychecks that were owed to them because if we, as citizens and the city and county of San Francisco was victimized by state sponsored terrorism. So I urge each of you to get with the mayor, the city attorney to present this claim. This is not three years down the road. This is as soon as you put the claim in, there's a judge waiting to give this money to San Francisco. It's not any strings attached. It's unclaimed damages. This isn't money that you have to follow a certain president, former president, current president. It will be San Francisco money. $5,000,000,000 that you could have within days or weeks. So again, I urge everyone in this chamber to reach out to the mayor and the city attorney. They know exactly what I'm talking about. They're hesitant, and I don't understand why. Thank you. Have a great day, everyone.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Next speaker.

[Mohammed Yasser]: Hi. My name is Mohammed Yasser. I'm a proud Muslim junior leader, public servant, and a community organizer. Let me provide some details about it. I'm an only Muslim in my bureau. In fact, an only Muslim on the whole floor, 49 South Sudanese. And I'm an only Muslim elected chapter president for the labor unions in San Francisco. It's not easy to make your way and rise if you belong to an immigrant, especially a Muslim immigrant family. We Muslims are contributing to this beautiful city on every level. People who know me, they know me and my team work day and night out in the field to make the city safer and cleaner. I wanna thank you supervisor Bilal Mahmood, for introducing the resolution for American Muslim Appreciation Awareness Month with the help of Council on American Islamic Relations. And I wanna say thank you to Board of Supervisors for supporting it. It really matters for the marginalized communities like us to get acknowledged and recognized. Thank you very much.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Next speaker.

[Nail Shakur]: Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is Nail Shakur. I'm a resident imam of San Francisco Muslim Community Center. We're located in District 11 on Mission Street, Supervisor Chan District, and I'm here to lend my voice to the voices that have come before me and also those who will follow me on the adoption of this resolution as introduced by supervisor Bilal Mahmood. Thank you, supervisor Mahmood. As a member of a class of people who have actually been Muslims of the indigenous Muslims who were in this country since the Atlantic slave trade and those who have been in the city of San Francisco since the early nineteen thirties, Our our resolute the resolution today, the consideration for this resolution is very important. We've had a presence in the city for a long, long time, and we've also helped deal with many, many issues going back to the days of the civil rights struggle. Even Muslims then were joining people then to fight for rights for people who had gone unrecognized for so long because of their, quote, unquote, second class citizenry. Now as Muslims, we do not think or even dare to think that we are or hold any position that's less than anyone else. And we would like to ask and then give you and thank you for your consideration for this to adopt this resolution. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Rekhaia]: Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Rekhaia, and I'm here to give a public comment. Being American and Muslim in San Francisco is not shy of a disappointment. Growing up in mosques around the city, specifically the ones down the street, Jones, Noor, Taheed, places of religion, love, and community are dirty. They are run down and oftentimes have not have oftentimes extra security measures just to get into the building. This is not how I wanna view the house of God. Growing up and attending Abraham Lincoln High School over in the Sunset District, my hijab was pulled off, and I was bullied alongside other peers for wearing clothing that are considered modest. In a city so welcoming and open to embracing diversity and each other's differences, being Muslim is still something to be feared. Even when I made the decision to wear hijab, I was discouraged and I was shamed, asked if I wanted to wait until I was more established in the workforce to put it back on. Be the and these are words from Muslims themselves. In this country, we are shamed to be Muslim, and that's not how I want future generations to feel. I want them to feel proud and to feel included by their city, not to be bullied, not to be shamed, or have difficulty in the workforce. I stand in support of the American appreciation and awareness. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Radwa (community member and educator)]: Salam Alaikum, and good afternoon, everyone. My name is Radwa, and I'm here today as a proud Muslim woman, a mother, someone who has spent years serving San Francisco's family as an educator, an advocate, and a neighbor. I want to thank supervisor Mahmoud and this board for introducing the American Muslim Appreciation Awareness Month resolution. It's not just a recognition. It's a statement that we, as American Muslim, belong in this city and that our contribution matter. I want to speak from heart. As a Muslim woman, I have experienced discrimination firsthand. I have been threatened at my own workplace, my place for of service, simply because I wear this. I wear my hijab. And perhaps the hardest part of all is this. I had to teach my children how to respond when someone calls them a terrorist. Think about it. And instead of teaching just teaching your son or your kids how to ride a bike or they have to do their homework, I have to prepare them to defend to defend their humanity. But still, we show up. We give back. We build our community, and we keep going because of our faith. Our faith teaches us to stand for justice. Our love for this city runs deep. This resolution doesn't erase the blame, but it matters. It tells us, our children, that they are not alone. They don't need to hide who they are to be accepted, that San Francisco sees them, honor them, and respect them, and protect them. Thank you for this moment of truth and hope. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you. My name is. I am immigrants rights commissioner, but I'm speaking on my behalf. And, I'm a resident service supervisor as well, from Chinatown Community Development Center. I'm representing, not less than 300 families in the Tenderloin, but as a mother, and a community advocate, and a and a Muslim woman. I strongly support the resolution to officially recognize April 2025 as an American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month in San Francisco. Thank you, supervisor Platt, for introducing this. Every day, our community wakes up to the new executive orders that often echo the fear and the trauma we experienced during Trump's first term. When we were called every name in the book simply for being Muslim. These actions reopen once and remind us that our visibility and dignity are still on the line. California, and especially the Bay Area, is home to over a million Muslims from diverse backgrounds. Like so many immigrants community who are hardworking, dedicated, and deeply invested in well-being of the state. But we want more than just hard work. We want to be seen, heard, and valued. Thank goodness, under the leadership of advocates, of dedicated advocates, supervisors like Bilal, nine Bay Area adopted this resolution. Now San Francisco had the opportunity to become the tenth city to stand with us. Thank you. And if you don't mind, another colleague was here before, but she miss it. Can I say her words?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: I'm sorry, ma'am. I'll pause your time. Can you repeat that? I had a hard time hearing what you said.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Someone was here before, and she had, like, two lines to say, but she got to leave for her work. Can I say it on behalf of her?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: You you have twenty eight seconds left. Absolutely.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: I have room. So it's my good morning. My name my name is, Jahin Cheikh, and I am proudly served, the people of San Francisco for twenty eight years, currently as a security operation intelligence manager at SFMTA. I wanted to express my deep gratitude for this resolution recognizing Muslim appreciation and awareness month. As a Muslim public servant, this acknowledgment means a great deal. It affirms the contribution of Muslim employees across city department and the vibrant, Muslim communities that helped shape San Francisco. Thank you for taking this opportunity.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you kindly. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Samin Shaikh]: Hello, everybody. My name is Samin Shaikh. I reside in District 7, and I'd like to thank the board of supervisors for for, adopting the resolution, hopefully, to recognize the Muslim appreciation and awareness month. It serves as an opportunity to increase, understanding and address the challenges faced by American Muslims, including discrimination and hate crimes. As we observe this month, we invite our San Francisco community to learn more about the rich heritage, culture, and faith of American Muslims. Let this be a time to celebrate diversity, to stand firmly against discrimination, and continue building bridges rooted in respect, unity, and shared humanity. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Board President, San Francisco Islamic School]: Good evening, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk. I'd like to be speak in support of the resolution for the Muslim appreciation and Awareness Month. This is a very much appreciated resolution, and I really like to thank the sponsors of this resolution, which I hope will be adopted. It speaks volumes for us, our, our Muslim committee. I am, the board president of the San Francisco Islamic School. We had our students coming, they were here earlier on. Unfortunately, they had to go back to school because it was a pickup time to go back home. But, they all were excited, happy, and encouraged to see this such a resolution being, being, put on the table. And, it has two major impacts. The first one is that it shows that the city, the higher ups, are like to take a stand against bigotry, hateful speech, and acts, and, deter any anything of that sort, coming in the future. The second thing is for our students, you know, to feel they're safe, they're empowered, they are motivated, and they, like, really feel they're safe and, and and have a bright future in, in the city and in this country. So thank you so much. Please adopt it. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome. Next speaker.

[Jason Ross Brown]: My name is Jason Ross Brown. I'm a District 9 resident. Also, I have a small business in District 9 in the Redstone Building. I do fundraising for nonprofits in this city. Oh my gosh. I was so happy when I got the call last night to come to this building to celebrate something positive for Muslims. Extremely happy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I really don't have that much to say other than to get you all ready. You are in the Bay Area. We have an amazing Muslim population here. I invite you all to really get to know us. We have 250,000 Muslims in the Bay Area. And I really need you to know about this one organization called Alif dot Build. The young Muslims are here in San Francisco. They had a startup found like a founders conference with 600 young Muslims in San Francisco at Fort Mason in September 2025. They didn't ask permission. They came. They take up space. They are building companies. They are, like I don't know. I'm completely amazed. Supervisor Mahmoud, I'm amazed that you're here. I'm just hopeful. I'm a New Yorker that has been in this very anti black, anti Muslim place for about twenty something years and the tide is changing. And I'm really happy. Supervisor Walton, thank you for your work. Supervisor Mike Mood, supervisor Fielder, all of you. I don't know everybody's name, but I was really on the other side of, like, feeling kind of pessimistic about this city, about it being a cultural brand, but not a cultural reality. It seems like it's changing now. Really, really, thank you so much. Have a great day.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you so much for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Speaker 13.0]: Hello. Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is Nancy Yu Law. I am on behalf of Chinatown History and Culture Association and the Chinese Railroad Workers History Centre, to thank you for supporting for for for doing this for us. So, I extend my deepest gratitude to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for this pop profound recognition. Today, we stand in honor of the thousands of Chinese railroad workers who labor tirelessly to build the transcontinental railroad, an achievement that transformed the structure of the nation and united country from coast to coast. This recognition is more than a tribute to their preservation, but hard work, and it is affirmation that their contributions are an essential part of American history. To recognize their effort is to acknowledge acknowledge that labor, dedication, and resilience shaped the destiny of the nations. Their journey was filled with challenges, hot harsh conditions, little pay and discrimination, yet their determination never wavered. Their contribution should not just be remembered, but they should ex inspire future generations. This motion stands as a powerful test testimony that dedicate dedication and perseverance of never be forgotten. It sends a message to young people, to young generation across our community. Your met your contribution matters. Your history matters. And the work you have done to build a better America matters and be honored. Thank you, supervisor Chen, and all supervisors. Hopefully, you can adapt this resolution. Thank you very much. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome, commissioner Steven Lee.

[Steven Lee]: Thank god. I was gonna say that. I wanna support and thank you for the resolution for Chinese railroad workers. I am the founder of the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial Project. In 2015, at the anniversary of the hundred and fifty year transcontinental railroad, we built a statue, a monument for Chinese railroad workers. And that was because we wanted a visual symbol so that the the little kids can remember who helped built this country with the Irish and everybody all the other immigrants. And so these resolutions do help continue with the, with the education of their youth to, let people remember who the Chinese railroad workers were and of course, standing behind all the immigrants that are working in Chinatown and all the districts in, San Francisco. Thank you very much. All you supervisors, thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Welcome to the next speaker.

[Peter Warfield]: Good afternoon, supervisors. I'm Peter Warfield, executive director, Library Users Association, libraryusers2004@yahoo.com, and PO Box 170544, San Francisco, California 94117 Dash 0544. In these days, it's important to appreciate and support all the good that public libraries provide our society and individuals. And we certainly want to support and urge you to fully support our public library and others as necessary. Tonight is the, premiere of a documentary called Free for All on KQED channel nine at 10:00, and it's, got a lot of very good material about the history of libraries, and, well worth watching. Unfortunately, not all libraries are in all ways living up to library ideals and principles. For example, in San Francisco, the privacy of patrons and their confidentiality of their records has been more and more eroded, including in ways that were strongly opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and Electronic Frontier Foundation. It has also cut off after hours Wi Fi at a single branch because the neighbors and a supervisor were, concerned about the gathering of one particular population, homeless people, after hours. These are just a few examples of library our library not following the ideals and basically principles and ethical considerations of libraries that are supposed to serve the public. I would also say more and more materials are only available to people who have certain technological access. We want excellent libraries everywhere and when necessary, improvement when the performance falls short. Thank you.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Before the next speaker, if you are here to provide general public comment, please step forward. Otherwise, this gentleman will be the last speaker. Welcome, sir.

[Richard S. D. Peterson]: Good evening. My name is Richard SD Peterson. I'm here to briefly talk about the ironies with the city and the onus that is placed on small businessmen. Going through the roles of the city to find out the address of the owner of certain property, mainly the properties owned by Johnny Ive, who's probably more famous in San Francisco than anyone except mayor Lurie and certain others. And I mailed something to him and was returned undelivered. It was just simply a couple of card decks that had been created, that I created through my company, and it was returned with no forwarding address provided by the postal service. I looked up the postal service, and the postal service does have a addressee only, service that you can pay for. But how does a small business pay for it? It's basically good for a large magazines and subscriptions or people with a lot of entities with lots of money to be able to provide, whatever they need to provide. Does this come up, as a shop in taking of the the the desk here? Yes. Oh, I gotta move it down. So but the owners of small business, if you pay the post office a fee, they will provide certain numbers to you, zone numbers, and it's very, very expensive. How does a small businessman get it? There is a data San Francisco which provides a lot of data about the city and their services, but there's nothing, that would help, provide the small businessman to get these things without paying. Sorry.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Thank you for your comments. Alright, mister president.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. Public comment is now closed. Madam Clerk, let's skip over the closed session for now and call it at the end of the agenda. Let's go to our for adoption of that committee reference agenda, items 46 through 52.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Items 46 through 52 were introduced for adoption without reference to committee. A unanimous vote a unanimous vote is required for adoption of a resolution on first reading today. Alternatively, a member may require a resolution on first reading to go to committee.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Supervisor Mahamud.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: President, I'd like to request to sever item 47. Great.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Supervisor Melgar.

[Myrna Melgar, Supervisor (District 7)]: Thank you. I'd like to request to sever item 50, and also, be added as a cosponsor to item 47.

[Speaker 20.0]: Great.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. Oh, don't see anyone else. So, Madam Supervisor Chen. Oh, supervisor Chen.

[Chayanne Chen, Supervisor (District 11)]: Can can I also request to be added as a cosponsor to, item two five zero four three five for the firefighters.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: 49.

[Chayanne Chen, Supervisor (District 11)]: Yeah. Thank you. Number 49.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Thanks. Great.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I think I've been added to that, but add me too

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: if I have. 46.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Sorry. 49.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: 49. You're on it, mister president.

[Ghazi Shami]: Alright. Great.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: So that leaves 46484951, 52.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. So on those items, madam clerk, can you please call the roll?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Supervisor Dorsey. Aye. Dorsey, aye. Supervisor Engadio? Aye. Angadio, aye. Supervisor Fielder? Fielder, aye. Supervisor Mahmoud? Mahmoud, I. Supervisor Mandelmann?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Aye.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Mandelmann, I. Supervisor Melgar? Melgar, I. Supervisor Sauter? Aye. Sauter, I. Supervisor Sheryl? Aye. Cheryl, I. Supervisor Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Supervisor Chan? Aye. Chan, aye. And supervisor Chen? Chen, aye. There are 11 ayes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you, madam clerk. Without objection, the resolutions are adopted and the motions are approved. And then can you please call item 47?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 47, this is a resolution to recognize the month of April 2025 as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month in the city and county of San Francisco.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: Supervisor Mahmoud. Colleagues, as a Muslim American, I wanted to speak on the resolution of the city and county of San Francisco celebrating American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month. Enriched by the unparalleled diversity of its residents, San Francisco County takes great pride in supporting individual religious freedoms, and is strengthened by the many varied religious, political, and cultural traditions, and contributions of its diverse populations, including those that practice Islam. California alone is home to nearly 1,000,000 American Muslims. And today, millions of American Muslims, both immigrants and native born, represent a wide range of ethnicities, languages, and beliefs, united by their shared faith and civic engagement. Our city is home to Muslim institutions that teach values of compassion, dignity, and love, such as the Islamic Center of San Francisco, Masjid al Tawhid, Al Sabeel Masjid Nur al Islam, and San Francisco Muslim Community Center, which also provide educational enrichment services, programs for youth, and foster principles of equality, justice, and peace. We know that under this climate, our diverse communities are under attack. The Council on American Islamic Relations received 8,658 complaints of anti Muslim bias nationwide, the highest in its thirty year history. It is our duty as elected officials to uplift our diverse communities and to fight against discrimination, xenophobia, and hate, and continue to show that we will support our first amendment rights to practice religion freely. San Francisco has always been a hub for immigrants and refugees, a beacon of diversity. So thank you to all the community members who came out today to demonstrate by speaking during public comment on this important ice item. And thank you to my colleagues for your support as well. Thank you, supervisor Mahmood.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I think we can take this item, same house, same call. Without objection, the resolution is adopted. And madam clerk, please call item 50.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 50. This is a resolution to recognize April 2025 as Parkinson's Awareness Month in the city and county of San Francisco to raise awareness and support for those affected by Parkinson's disease.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Supervisor Melgar.

[Myrna Melgar, Supervisor (District 7)]: Thank you, president Mendelmann. And, thank you to supervisor Sauter and Cheryl for your cosponsorship. April is at Parkinson's awareness month. As many of us know, especially those of us who have loved ones who are suffering from this terrible disease, Parkinson's is a chronic neurodegenerative, disorder. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world after Alzheimer's. Parkinson's disease now affects almost a million people in The United States and more than ten million people across the world. Almost ninety thousand people in The US are diagnosed, every year. And by 2030, it is expected that the number of people with this disease in The US will rise to one point two million. This disease can severely affect a person's quality of life, which puts incredible strain on both those affected by the disease and their loved ones. Currently, there's no definitive lab or imaging test that can diagnose this disease. And symptoms can vary from person to person, which makes getting an accurate diagnosis critical. Given the widespread nature of the disease and the increasing number of cases, it is essential that we educate the public about the symptoms and the diagnosis methods. We are so fortunate to have one of the best institutions here in San Francisco, UCSF, at the forefront of this research. Now more than ever, we should support our medical professional professionals, our scientists, and our researchers. I also wanna acknowledge the world the work of caregivers and volunteers that are working tirelessly to improve the life of people living with Parkinson's. There are treatments that can help symptoms, but unfortunately, as of now, not a cure yet. I wanna emphasize that there's no easy screening process for raising awareness, education, and support, so it is critical that people get early diagnosis and treatment. I must, apologize that there was one word missing from the resolution, which I must now correct. The word not was, missing, in the whereas clause, on page two to, lines three and four. It should read, whereas a specific lab or imaging test can not diagnose a Parkinson disease. And I will be making, an, an addition to clarify that. Making it essential for patients to know about existing diagnosis methods. So I would like to make a motion to make that amendment, madam clerk. And a colleague will second. And again, thank you for your support.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. So we have a motion from supervisor Melgar, and a second from supervisor Fielder. And I think, colleagues, we can take that, motion without objection. And then, madam clerk, can you please call the roll on the amended item? Or, actually, you don't need to call the roll. We can take the amended item, same house, same call. Without objection, the resolution is adopted. Okay. And, madam Clerk, I think that takes us to our closed session. Please call item 45.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Item 45 is the board of supervisors to convene in closed session for a conference with the office of the city attorney, with the city attorney, for the purpose of conferring with or receiving advice pertaining to existing litigation matters in which the city is a party. There are various titles here, but pertaining to anticipated litigation, the city may initiate as plaintiff to challenge accent actions by the federal government.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you, madam clerk. We're going into closed session.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: So, mister president, we will ask the public to leave the chamber, and we will prepare the chamber for the closed session.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Great.

[Speaker 48.0]: SF GovTV, San Francisco government television.

[Representative of St. Thomas More (appeal appellant)]: You're watching San Francisco Rising with Chris Manners. Today's special guest is Ivar Sotero.

[Speaker 49.0]: Hi. I'm Chris Manors, and you're watching San Francisco Rising, the show that's about restarting, rebuilding, and reimagining our city. Our guest today is Ivar Sotero. He's the director of airport operations at San Francisco International Airport. Mister Stero, welcome to the show. Good to be

[Speaker 50.0]: with you, Chris. Thank you for coming out to SFL and joining us today.

[Speaker 49.0]: Well, it's nice to see you. Let's start by talking about how the airport has recovered post pandemic, both in terms of passenger traffic and the number of carriers here and, actually, the number of destinations that you're serving as well.

[Speaker 50.0]: Yeah. It's really exciting. You know, we've come out strong out of, the crisis, and now we're back in full swing. New carriers, Air Premier, Starlux, Porter, great new destinations. So we have a lot more to our mix now. Good to see our legacy carriers returning as well to some really wonderful destinations that are now returning, and and people are loving it. You know, we are at a 110% of our pre COVID international level now, which is exciting. And that is even without the full recovery of China yet. So we're anticipating more flights to China, but, the recovery is well underway, and it's exciting to see how busy our terminals are these days.

[Speaker 49.0]: That's great. So now what renovation or expansion plans are currently underway or slated for the near future for SFO?

[Speaker 50.0]: Right. A lot of exciting programs. We did suspend some of the work, because of COVID, and now we're back at full swing in our capital program and recently finished the final phase of Harvey Milk Terminal 1. And I'll tell you, talk about setting a standard in passenger experience. It is amazing, and it's, exceeded all my expectations. And so finishing Harvey Milk Terminal 1 was a priority for us, and now we're working on Terminal 3 West. And, you know, that's one of the last terminals that has yet to receive, the SFO touch with that, really focus on the passenger experience. So Terminal 3 West, incredibly exciting. That project, has kicked off and, will take, the next four and a half years to complete. And then we have a lot of infrastructure investment as well that we're doing. It's all part of an $11,000,000,000 investment over the next five to seven years, 8,000,000,000 in our facilities and our terminals, and then 3,000,000,000 in our infrastructure. Really exciting also to, implement projects like our our new wastewater system and our reclaimed water, most importantly, where we'll be able to reuse a lot of the water that we're treated here at SFO.

[Speaker 49.0]: That, actually brings me right on to my next question, which is, you know, the San Francisco International Airport's pretty globally well known for both the environmental and sustainability initiatives. Could you elaborate on those a little for us?

[Speaker 50.0]: Yeah. You know, we set really aggressive goals. You know, we set a triple zero goal, and this is zero net energy, zero greenhouse gas emissions, and zero waste. And, you know, we have had that as one of our primary values for, you know, over a decade now, and we've made great progress. Exciting to see our our energy use has gone down by 15% from our 2013 baseline. Our water use is down 20%, and our greenhouse gas emissions down 38%, from our 1990 baseline. And that is about the investment we make and the quality of facilities we build and really helps reduce, energy consumption and heating and cooling loads. And so all of those things go into it when we make these decisions to do these major investments is what is that quality that benefits the environment, when we would design and plan these buildings? And so it's really exciting, and, it's, wonderful to see the success we're having. And then I think about the future and sustainable aviation fuel. And we've leaned in since 2018 to show leadership in the advancement of sustainable aviation fuel. SFO will be the airport to deliver the most sustainable aviation fuel of any airport in the world this year and next year. So we're incredibly excited about that as well.

[Speaker 49.0]: So now there's a huge workforce at SFO that undoubtedly has an impact on both the local and regional economies. Can you just address that for me for a second?

[Speaker 50.0]: Yes. You know, we are the largest job center in San Mateo County, and we employ 40,000 people at SFO. And we contribute about $40,000,000,000 to the regional economy in terms of of business revenues. You know, there's about a 150,000 jobs that rely upon the successful, operations of our airport. So it is really a tremendous contributor to our economy. It's about our operations, but it's also about our construction programs. And Mike talked a little bit about the investment we've made, and we've been investing in our facilities, for so many years. You know, I've been here three decades, and we've been under construction that whole time almost. And the the job creation through the construction programs has been really meaningful, for well paying, trades, trades work. And internships has always been a priority for ours. And this year, I met with our interns yesterday, and we had over a 100 interns this year, supporting the SFO team. So we're really appreciative of the support we get and the the labor that's available to SFO.

[Speaker 49.0]: That's great. So finally, what technological advancements are sort of on the cards that will enhance both the passenger experience and airport operations?

[Speaker 50.0]: You know, and many people don't know. You know, the the history of innovation is long at SFO. In fact, 1959, we were the first airport to actually have jet bridges. And then you think about kind of the disruption that's happened, particularly with Uber and Lyft, and we were the first airport to permit their operations. And now we're making $50,000,000 a year off of Uber and Lyft operations. And when you experience our terminals, we're advancing technologies like automated screening lanes. And what a different experience that is now for people going through the checkpoint. And then our independent carrier system, our bag system, that is also the latest technology and the first in The US to have an independent carrier system. And now if you travel through Harvey Milk Terminal 1 when you're exiting, we have our new exit portals. So, yeah, the innovation has just really been tremendous, particularly as we develop, new facilities. But, you know, for us too, it's about our operation and, you know, for the future. There's, exciting new developments happening. We have recently implemented a ground based augmentation system called our GBAS system. And this is technology that improves, the arrival rate of aircrafted SFO, and it allows for development of arrivals that benefit communities by higher elevations, by offsetting out over the water. And so we invested in that for a community benefit, for noise and, quality of life, but also, you know, for delays because delays are also a, community benefit. As people know, when we get poor weather and traffic, starts coming in after midnight, it's it's an impact to our community. And so, you know, we're investing, in our facilities and investing in our operations. We now have our airport integrated operations center underway that is this aggregation of a lot of technologies to give us much better real time, situational awareness on our operation and, being able to adjust, adjust, our operation to address congestion. You know, roadside congestion, checkpoint congestion, gate congestion gives us much better awareness of of where we are and, and other things we could talk about that, that are exciting as well. What about the air taxis? It's an exciting innovation. We are involved and we are, working with the industry on what that might look like into SFO, and, we're preparing for the the future of air taxis. And one of our big initiatives is to engage the broader region in the development. You know, we all have to have policies, that address the air taxi innovation. And so we're conducting a study with UC Berkeley's Transportation Center and engaging the industry, engaging decision makers and the region in helping develop policies that will give us a framework for addressing the air taxi innovation as it starts to come online in

[Speaker 49.0]: the next several years. Well, thank you, mister Sotero, for sharing your vision and your creative ideas for San Francisco International Airport. We really appreciate the time you've given us here today.

[Speaker 50.0]: Thanks, Chris. It's been my pleasure.

[Speaker 49.0]: And that's it for this episode we'll be back with another one shortly. For SFGOVTV I'm Chris Mannes thanks for watching.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: You're watching Golden Gate Adventures with Michael Baltazar. In this episode, he's exploring Golden Gate Park. Hi. I'm Michael Baltazar, and you're watching Golden Gate Adventures, a show that highlights San Francisco's urban outdoors. Today, we're in Golden Gate Park. We're gonna highlight a few of the activities they have here.

[Speaker 12.0]: First up, archery.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Let's shoot some arrows. We're here at 47th And Fulton, the archery range here at Golden Gate Park. And I'm here with my friend, Jim, who's an expert at archery. He's gonna give us a few tips. First off, let's see. I think safety is really important.

[Speaker 7.0]: That's an excellent idea. So, number one, just, with anything like archery, you wanna make sure that everything is pointed at the target. So once we have an arrow on the bow, we wouldn't want to point it at somebody. We would always wanna make sure that what we're doing is pointed down range toward the target. So number two is, you know, the number one is for mostly for protecting other people. Protecting yourself is important too. So you always want to use a tab or a glove like the one you're wearing for, finger protection when drawing and releasing the string. Also, our arm guards keep the string from hitting our arms on the release. What we're using today is a very modern and contemporary recurve bow. So compounds, long bows, recurves, they're Asian, Asiatic bows, Mongolian, Japanese, Turkish, Syrian, very distinctive, shapes, totally different flavors of archery just

[Nail Shakur]: based on

[Speaker 7.0]: Let's try this. Alright.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Archery is all about accuracy as you try to hit the target. The sports roots go way back to hunting and battlefields, but today it's evolved into something recreational and competitive. This range is in a chill spot tucked into a peaceful wooded area on the west end of the park. This is a lot of fun, guys. Whether you're just starting out or already a pro, it's the perfect place to practice. There are well maintained target bales at different distances, all surrounded by tall trees and lush greenery, creating a calm atmosphere. That was awesome. I well, you can't get better than that. Right? Am I getting too close? The range is run by volunteers and it's totally free to use, but you'll need to bring your own gear or rent some more bags. Locals and tourists love it, whether they're honing their skills or just wanting to try something different outdoors in the city. Oh, that was a bad one. Archery can be very humbling. Not too bad. This one was a little high because that was my second shot. I couldn't really I I didn't really feel that one as well, but once I got it honed in, I think, yeah, I got one in the 10.

[Speaker 7.0]: So let's go that way.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Oh, wow. Farler back.

[Paulette Brown]: Oh, left again.

[Speaker 7.0]: Just left.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: Oh, just to the left. That's the right elevation of yours. I saw that. You got it. Okay.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Last arrow. I visualize it. Yeah. Go

[Rekhaia]: on. Right

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: at the last second. Oh. So close. I look so good in the air. It's alright. Next time. That's why I gotta come out here. Practicing. That was very exhilarating. I love archery. Man. Tim, why do you love archery?

[Speaker 7.0]: What's not to like? You can do what we just did, which was spend time together exploring it and working on it. You can also have a blast going off into the woods by yourself. So all of the, you know, this range, any range, you can do it with friends, you can do it by yourself, you can get the experience you want from it.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: That was a lot

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: of fun, and I thank you for being my buddy on this archery.

[Speaker 7.0]: That's my pleasure. It's good to see you, Mike. That's great.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Now, we're gonna go rowing. Now, we're at the Blue Heron Boathouse.

[Speaker 49.0]: We can rent two different kinds of boats.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: There's actually a pedal boat and a rowboat. I think we're gonna go get a rowboat. Let's go get on the lake. Time to row a boat. Row a boat. Boat. Boat. Boat. Surrounded by greenery, this man made lake is a nice little escape from the busy city. The key thing is to get into a rhythm and move and sink with the water and your boat. It can have a calming, meditative feel while still giving you a serious workout. All right. Oh, how cool is this? Woah. Look how big that tree is. It's like nice and peaceful out here. I'm the only one. That means I think people really need to come out here. It's actually really calm out here. As you navigate the lake, you'll pass by Strawberry Hill, an island in the middle of the lake with a waterfall, trails, and tons of wildlife like ducks, turtles, and birds. Strawberry Hill is connected by two bridges to the park, and it's the highest point in Golden Gate Park. It includes Huntington Falls, a 110 foot tall artificial waterfall that feeds into the lake. There's also the Chinese Pavilion, a gift from San Francisco's sister city, Taipei, Taiwan. It's a charming place to rest and take in the views.

[Danny Sauter, Supervisor (District 3)]: That was a workout for the arms.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: I love boating. That was a lot of fun getting out on the lake. But now I gotta work at the legs. Let's go skating. We're here at the skating place on 6th And Fulton. Beautiful day. I think I'm gonna rent some roller blades. Let's get rolling.

[Speaker 50.0]: If you're looking for a

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon, check out the Skating Place. It's near 6th Avenue in Kennedy Drive and has a great surface that's perfect for practicing or hanging out with fellow skaters. Oh, man. This is, this is very nostalgic for the millennial in me. Nineties, playing with my boys, some street hockey. I haven't ridden Blades in a while, but it's gonna be like riding a bike. Alright. Let's go. I'm here at the Freezed Sunday Roller Disco Party from noon to 5PM. The Godfather Escape brings his mobile DJ unit and plays groovy tunes for you to skate to.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: And if

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: you need skates, no worries. Rentals are available nearby from 11AM to 6PM on the weekends, starting at just $12 an hour for kids and 20 for everyone else. The Skating Place has been here since 1986, and it got a fresh makeover in 2022 with new pavement and a stunning mural by local artist Amy Stedlin. The mural called Psychedelic Golden Gate Skate features a colorful design that celebrates the park's roller skating history. What? Plus, it was created in collaboration with the Church of Eight Wheels, which is all about keeping the skating spirit alive. This is fun. I had no idea this was over here. San Francisco has everything. Oh, it's so nostalgic getting back on some rollerblade just like being a little kid. This is Golden Gate Adventures, and I'm Michael Baltazar from SFGIV TV. Thanks for watching.

[Speaker 51.0]: Maybe what we'll do is just bring up a session that's not the

[Rekhaia]: there you go.

[Speaker 51.0]: Dizzy. Oh, dizzy stuff. For me, it was I we had neighbors growing up that were told my dad, like, he's raising me wrong for having me pursue these things that aren't traditionally female roles. I think the biggest barrier just to anyone in general is when you have cultural norms that make you feel like you can't do something, that make you doubt yourself, that make you feel like you shouldn't be there. I don't belong. I mean, those are those to me are the biggest barriers. And so I think that's the thing to focus on the most is belonging. Everyone should belong here. We women's audio mission, we train women, girls, gender expansive folks in music production and the recording arts. And so we have everything from girls in the micro classes for middle and high school girls and gender expansive youth. And then we have, certification, our WAM Academy certification program. So that would be for women and gender expansive adults entering this industry. Then they progress into the internship programs. And then there's the job placement component of that. Most of the time, we're hiring interns as our instructors in our programs and then as engineers in our studios here. We also have conferences we do all over the country, and we also have concerts called Local Siren that we feature, Bay Area women and gender expensive artists.

[Speaker 52.0]: WAM is an education forward organization. And so that that's an advocacy organization dedicated to closing the gender gap that's pretty egregious in the audio and production industries.

[Speaker 51.0]: So WAM started out of the need to answer that question of why is there such a critical gender gap in this industry. So women

[Speaker 53.0]: students in my program.

[Speaker 51.0]: Why are there so few of us in this class? And I was honestly ashamed that I didn't have the answer being such a feminist myself. I was like, why have I never thought of this?

[Speaker 20.0]: I've been in this industry for decades, and why have I accepted it?

[Speaker 51.0]: Of all people. Right? So, you know, I'm decades, and why have I accepted it of all people? Right? So it was mostly out of that, and then it was just unraveling it.

[Speaker 53.0]: I actually started with the internship last fall and just fell in love with, like, all the things about women's audio mission just because it's so diverse. There's just so many different aspects of audio that I did not know about, and I feel like my whole eyes opened up. And then also, I just gained a lot of confidence in myself and other femmes and queer people in the industry. I felt like there was more solidarity of connection and community.

[Speaker 51.0]: Ironically, my time in the industry has all been pretty good. So I think what happened is I was raised by a father who was an engineer. So I was comfortable being surrounded by men all the time in his lab. I was very accustomed to technology. So when I got into industry, all of my mentors were men. But I also, at the same time, saw I had a very unique experience that got me into that place where I could be fluent in that and navigate something that was difficult, and it was the norm for me. What if it wasn't? Essentially, WAM was created to provide that for everybody. Like, you have this environment. You're surrounded by technology. You're surrounded by people that are gonna support you and get you into this industry in a good way.

[Rekhaia]: This is too high. Oh, now it's

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: too high.

[Speaker 53.0]: I've always been interested in audio. I never was trained in music, took piano lessons when I was a kid. I never really pursued it when I grew up because, you know, there's not a lot of women around me who were doing that, and my family is not really musically inclined family. So when I went to Davis, I think the first time that I took a music class, I was one of the only few females in the class.

[Speaker 52.0]: Yeah. I used to, like, was, like, a roadie for my dad. I would, like, load up the mixer, the monitors, and the the giant speakers to gigs, and I would help, like, run out the XLR cables and take things down, setting up mics. I used to do all of that growing up, and it never even occurred to me that that was a field that I could that at all, and then one that I could pursue because I didn't nobody else was doing it. It was, like, my dad, and then I would go with him to studio sometimes and see all of the men in the studio.

[Speaker 53.0]: I've been DJing for five years now. There's a lot of comments you'll get just like, oh, wow. Like, you're a girl DJ. Like, that's crazy. Like, that's so wild. And I've definitely had, like, great moments where it doesn't happen. Like, I've had coworkers who are males, and they treat me, like, super equal, telling me what to do, but they don't correct me in ways that make me feel, like, less. I've definitely experienced the opposite. So I do always notice when I get get mistreated. Just hands on, like, you don't know what you're doing rather than just asking me what I'm doing. The amount of consistent times that it happens, it's like and then when I talk to other females, they, like, say the same things and, like, it's just kind of, like, funny because I I know that most men don't experience it. And I think that's, like, the main thing that triggers me, like, when I experience different treatment, and I think that happens a lot in the audio world. Because we didn't finish base for a moment. Right?

[Speaker 51.0]: I think the industry is changing. I think it's changing slowly. There's still that issue. Are we making these places that are places of belonging for everybody? I don't think so.

[Speaker 52.0]: Having a studio where it's not all run by cis white

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: men, which is like

[Speaker 51.0]: most studios. These studios are the only ones in the world built and run entirely by women and gender diverse folks.

[Speaker 53.0]: It's still not, like, super normalized that there's opportunities for girls and femme and non binary people.

[Speaker 52.0]: We go into schools, and so so middle schoolers and high schoolers know that this is a field, that this is a thing. There are many different jobs you can have in this field from producing podcasts to, like, setting up live shows. There's so many things you can do.

[Speaker 53.0]: We get to go in there and and teach them all these audio skills and actually give them equipment like iPads and then teach them how to make music and then they actually get to come in here and record stuff. Giving the tools to people who don't have it, that's like really important to me. So that's kinda why I was, like, wow, like, I wanna be there for other femmes and queer people who don't have the opportunity and, like, also just to be, like, a mentor for them to really push them to just, like, experiment, like, mess up, and, like, you're not gonna break it or, like, it doesn't matter if it sounds bad. Like, that's kinda, like, the point is just to, like, try it. So I think, like, my ultimate goal is for them to just be confident in what they're doing and passionate and wanting to ask for help and just really excited about learning and excited about making music and expressing themselves. I really changed my life to just realize that I'm actually, like, really talented in this field. I can make music without being classically trained.

[Speaker 52.0]: It's really amazing to be able to be a part of that process and and assuring women into the field.

[Speaker 51.0]: We can entirely transform how the technology part of what you hear every day. We can put somebody and have women's perspectives and points of view in that every time. It affects the story. It affects the messaging. I think our best example is how we've transformed an entire city. I mean, it's really to a place where a pretty major artist that was on tour, one of the men in the band was like, I don't get it. There's women everywhere I go. And then the person was like, but you're in San Francisco. He was like, oh, you're right. It's here. Most venues now have our graduates. We're very grateful to the city of San Francisco for that reason because they supported us at the very beginning. Follow your curiosity and interest, and don't let anybody get in the way of that. Whatever is presented to you, go for it, no matter what.

[Speaker 52.0]: We're here for a reason. Find what it is. You deserve to find what it is, and don't let somebody else tell you what it is. You're the only one that can know what you're supposed to

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: do. Go do it.

[Speaker 54.0]: Wanted to say hello and welcome everyone as we celebrate Arab American Heritage Month here in San Francisco at City Hall. Yay. That's where we can applause. And I just want to also introduce myself. My name is Angelina. I am with the mayor's office of community affairs, and I am one of the liaisons who are helping work with the Arab American community. So any issues you ever have, please come find me. I try and be everywhere all at once as much as possible. And with that, I wanna hand it over to the mayor.

[Danny Sauter, Supervisor (District 3)]: Hi, everybody. Thank you for coming out. It's good to see everybody. I wanna thank all of the community members who are here today. I wanna thank supervisor Mahmoud's office for helping organize this event as we commemorate Arab heritage month. Before we get started, I want to acknowledge an incident that happened right here at City Hall last week. I wanna be clear with everybody that hate speech and hate crimes anywhere have no place in San Francisco. And so I wanted to start by saying that they agree. My team and I are working diligently to make sure San Francisco is safe for everyone, and that no one experiences hate based on their identity. As a city, we must do better. During Arab Heritage Month, I've been grateful to experience the rich culture, history, and contributions of Arab Americans to this great city. We celebrate on the streets of the Tenderloin, with Sam San Francisco's first ever Eid Street Festival, which was great. And you did a great job, supervisor. We also recently broke fast together here at City Hall, sharing a meal and a moment with community. And it's inspire inspiring to see not just our elected leaders here today, but our fearless community organizers and advocates, the people who do so much for San Francisco each and every day. As we mark Arab American Heritage Month here in San Francisco and across the nation, I hope this month serves as a reminder of the contributions the Arab community has made and continues to make to our city and to our country. From arts and culture to small businesses, civic leadership, and community building, Arab Americans have strengthened the fabric of San Francisco in every corner of the city. I look forward to continuing to celebrate, to stand alongside our Arab and Muslim communities. And with that, I would like to present this proclamation declaring April 2025 Arab American Heritage Month. Thank you. All right. And I would like to call up, and before I call you up, supervisor Mukmoud, I want to enter also say a welcome to supervisor Cheyenne Chen. Thank you for being here.

[Bilal Mahmood, Supervisor (District 5)]: Assalamu alaikum, everyone. Wanted to acknowledge, as we are in Arab American Heritage Month, this is a month where a lot of things are going on globally, nationally, and locally here in San Francisco. When we recognized Arab American Heritage Month at the board of supervisors last week, I think one of the first times in many time, thanks to Menaz and supervisor Dorsey's office who wrote the resolution, declaring it for the first time. So let's give her a round of applause as well. I think until me, she was the only Muslim on the 2nd Floor. So, but about Arab American Heritage Month, it's a recognition, I think, of both our commitment as a city to ensure safety, but also joy for the community. On the issue of safety, we've heard loud and clear from many people who are here gathered of the drug crisis, of the homelessness crisis that is in the Tenderloin where so many of our Arab families live. I know we have a lot of representatives here from 201 Turk here today, Soha Radwa from the Tenderloin Community School, and we've heard from them so many times, not just those issues, but also about harassment and racist attacks. And we heard that for several years, and I know over the last year has been the highest documented increase over the last six months, I believe, of continued attacks against Arab Americans. And the mayor alluded to it as well just last week when we were actually introducing and voting on the Arab American Heritage Month. One of the members of the audience who came and spoke was a victim to that same type of attack, who was told to go back to her own country. Who here has been told before to go back to their own country? Raise their hand. It's something that we're all too familiar with and unfortunately should not continue. Similarly, I wanna acknowledge at the national level, we've seen an administration that is weaponizing Arab identity to target political enemies. And we're here today to say as well that this has no place. Even organizations here in this room have been targeted online and told to be arrested. That's not what we stand for in San Francisco, and that's not the type of language and or the language of the Democratic Party. And as a Democratic party member and as a board of supervisors member, we are here to stand with those organizations to say that does not stand in San Francisco as well. But amidst that doom and gloom, like the mayor alluded to, we have a lot of joy, and we're seeing things bounce back. For the first time in years, drug dealing arrests are down in the Tenderloin. For the first time in years, we've had a street fair that was driven by the community, by organizers here, by them to bring joy to our neighborhood. And that is done because of our new mayor, because of the new board of supervisors working together to prioritize these issues. And I want to again acknowledge this administration and our board of supervisors and the community here for making that possible, for having your voices heard. So thank you again to the community that made that possible. And lastly, to end on that note of joy, I want to bring up Laura from Redding, who asked to sing for all of us, as we end on that note of what the future of this city represents. So I think I'm gonna get your stool back. One second.

[Speaker 55.0]: Hi. My name is Laura. I'm in already down at Menchie School, and my dress in in Jordan, and I'm gonna sing a song about the body part.

[Speaker 54.0]: Next, I would like to introduce to trustee Chistiak to give some remarks.

[Speaker 56.0]: Alright. Good afternoon. That was amazing. Can we give another round of applause for Laura? That's a hard act to follow. Thank you so much for all of you for being here today. I want to thank you, supervisor Mahoud, and mayor Lurie for putting this amazing event on, and I want to also give a big shout out to Angelina. And so thank you, mayor Lurie, for hiring Angelina, an Arab American, on his team and staff. My name is Alia Chisti. I'm a trustee at City College of San Francisco, and it is incredible to stand before you today. After years of tireless advocacy by Arab American leaders, to have this month recognized. We finally have it here. So thank you, former president Biden. Thank you for holding this event. And so but at the same time, we now have someone in the White House who once again views Arab Americans through a lens of fear and suspicion, a reminder of how much of the work remains. Arab Americans are racially diverse, religiously diverse, and culturally rich. Yet too often, they are misunderstood, stereotyped, and villainized. This month is not just a celebration. It's an opportunity to challenge those harmful narratives. Arab Americans are a vital part of this nation's social fabric and absolutely a vital part of San Francisco. They've opened businesses, led movements, raised families, and built communities that welcome everyone. And on a side note, if you have not tried Yemeni coffee or been to Old Jerusalem, you have not lived life. So strongly recommend checking that out. City College of San Francisco is proud to have produced leaders like Ahmed al Ahmed al Khatib, a Palestinian American activist. And through programs like Critical Middle East, Southwest, and North African studies North Africa studies. City College is committed to lifting up these histories, cultures, and voices that are too often marginalized. And now it is my great pleasure to introduce someone who is a force to be reckoned with, Lara Lara Kiswani, who is the executive director of AROC. So please join me in giving her a very warm welcome.

[Speaker 15.0]: Good afternoon. My name is Lara Salim Yousef Isliman Musa Al Kiswani, and I am a proud daughter of Palestinian refugees. I start by saying that because it's important to name as we celebrate Arab American Heritage Month, we are celebrating the totality of our identities, our cultures, our traditions, and our histories. As the executive director of AROC, I am proud to stand here today to celebrate our county's leadership in recognizing Arab American Heritage Month. And I wanna appreciate mayor Daniel Lurie and supervisor Mahmoud and also Mahanaz in her office and supervisor Chen for really demonstrating what it looks like to offer courageous, principled leadership in these times of precariousness and danger and fear. This month is a celebration of our resilience and a reminder that standing with the Arab and Southwest Asian North African communities is essential in the fight against bigotry and repression across the entire United States. Arab Americans have contributed to this country for nearly one hundred and fifty years, and yet our history is often too often erased by racism and xenophobia, narratives now fueled by the federal administration. Today, Arab communities across the Bay Area are facing rise in repression, discrimination, hate violence, both for who they are, who we are as people, and for speaking out for peace and justice. Over the past year and a half, we have endured immense trauma, watching our ongoing genocide in Gaza while facing growing attacks right here at home. Through our Arab youth program and through our legal immigration services, we are hearing stories each day of young people who are terrified, who are being discriminated against, and even targeted by ICE simply for speaking out for human rights. In this climate, this celebration matters. It sends a powerful message that our communities are not only seen, our communities are not only valued, but our communities are also defended. We thank you for standing with us, and we look forward to building a future where all people in this city can live in dignity, with justice, and liberation for all. Thank you. I have the pleasure of introducing a Tenderloin community leader, Rata Hussein. Raghwa will be speaking, representing the Tenderloin Community School and the work of the city in this city. So thank you for joining us.

[Unidentified public commenter (primary mapping)]: And everyone. Peace be upon you all, and hello. My name is Radwa Hussain, and I work at Denderloin Community School as an Arabic speaking family liaison. I want to start today by thanking mayor Lawrie and supervisor Bilal Mahmood for giving Arab Americans a space, a space to be seen here and and truly celebrated. Today isn't just a celebration. It's a tribute to resilience, to the hopes that cross the ocean and deserts, to the dreams that live on no matter what. For generations, the Arab community has been part of and has been part of the heart of this city, Working, serving, building, and loving, sometimes quietly, but always with deep pride. Across every field, in education, health care, business, public service, and arts, Arab has given their best to this city with love, dedication, and excellence. And across the country, Arab Americans have helped it shape history. Leaders like Ralph Nader, who fought for consumer rights, Helen Thomas, who broke barriers in journalists, doctor Michael DeBakey, who reshaped heart surgery, and Rami Malek, who showed the world the power of our stories through Phelps. And Negi Daifullah, the young Yemeni immigrant who marched with Cesar Chavez and gave his life fighting for justice. And when we give in the chance, Arab Americans lead with brilliance, like Mary Alexander Basta, the first Egyptian born woman to become a mayor in The United States. We also honor those who built our community right here at home. Nabila Mango, a Palestinian activist, therapist, and delight in our community who healed and uplifted so many. Ibtisem Dahdoo, a registered nurse at the General Hospital, who was our fearless advocate for decades and was the only Arabic speaking person during COVID at DBH. And Hani Farag, California's first certified Arabic translator at San Francisco Supreme Court. We come from 22 countries, each with our own stories and struggles, but we all are united by one heart. A heart had been tested by war, by exile, by loss, but has never been broken. Many of us carry stories of pain, but we also carry stories of strengths and strengths of family and of dreams. We're still here. We are proud, and we are only getting stronger. As we honor our past, we must also invest in our future, our youth and children. When we open our doors to for them and give them real chances to lead, we ensure that our stories doesn't just continue its source. This includes our Arabic students in schools. They need to feel included, valued, and their culture is honored just as we celebrate and recognize all our beloved community heritage months. We must ensure Arab American culture and history are also woven into the fabric of our education. Every young American deserves to see themselves reflected, respected, and the proud of who they are. To every Arab mother raising the next generation, to every young dream archaising their future, to every family who came here seeking for new beginning, this moment is for us. This city is our home too. And together, we will keep building it with love, with pride, and with unstoppable hope. And as we're speaking for future, I am proud to introduce an American an Arab American youth leader and also district fire youth youth commissioner, Isar Al Emari, a voice for our youth.

[Speaker 57.0]: Good evening, everybody. Thank you for having me here today. I am truly honored and thankful to be speaking here today. Growing up, I didn't see a lot of Arab or Muslim leaders to look up to in my classrooms or to see as a role model. This absence left the silence, one that made many of us feel unseen. That's why celebrating Arab American Heritage Month is so important. It is about making future generations to being proud of where they come from, knowing their roots, and a source of strength, leadership, and inspiration. This month not only is a time to honor Arab American contributions to our country, but it is a time to speak up at a time, at a time of injustices and sufferings to many of our brothers and sisters in The Middle East. When we celebrate our American heritage month, we are not just recognizing the past, we are shaping the future, a future where every child knows they are seen, heard, and valued. Thank you for thank you so much for having me speak here today. And now I'd like to introduce a fellow Yemeni city worker, Asil, to give his speech.

[Speaker 58.0]: Thank you so much. How are we doing today? Good. Good. Peace and blessings be upon you all. First, I just wanna thank our honorable mayor, for letting us, and Angelina for letting us be here at this beautiful balcony. Our supervisor, Bilal Mahmood, for being a champion for us and introducing a resolution declaring this month as Arab Heritage Month. My name is Asil Farah, and I'm a proud Yemeni American. I'm also a member of San Francisco's Immigrant Rights Commission, and I stand before you all today because of a sacrifice that my father made. My father brought me and my family into The United States in hope for a better life and better opportunities. After we fled Yemen, you know, we came into the great city of San Francisco, went into the Tenderloin lured by the city's possible, cheapest rent. And if if he had not made that choice, I might have found myself in the chaos and the calamities that my brothers and sisters in Yemen suffer today in the chaos of war and humanitarian crisis. So with that being said, I just want us to think about the luxuries that are in front of us each and every single day that we often overlook. I wanna talk about a little bit why Arab American Heritage Month matters now more than ever. I think it's a time for Arab Americans to reclaim our story. For far too long, there have been narratives, that have been stereotypical and have been harmful towards the community, when in light, we have made profound contributions to our our nation and to our society. People like Al Khawarizmi, who gave us algebra, laying the the groundwork of modern mathematics and science. Ibn Nasina, whose medical texts are pillars to medical advancements till this day. And with all of that said, we are still unaccounted for when it comes to data or being represented. So I just want to take this opportunity to say that there is a Middle Eastern, North African act on at the state assembly, and I wanna thank the city state legislation legislation commute the state legislation committee for basically approving that the city, support this bill. This will make sure that we're represented, and and I'll pass it to Angelina.

[Speaker 54.0]: I'm just here to close this out. So thank you everyone again for making time and coming out and celebrating this important month with us. To echo what everyone says, right, oftentimes we are invisible, but we are the backbone of San Francisco. We run all the corner stores that you go get your late night snacks at. We run all the amazing restaurants that you go get your hummus and your falafel at. I grew up with Arab American parents, and I am very proud to be here celebrating with you. I also wanna give a shout out to Ted's Market wherever you are in the back. They brought some delicious food for us to enjoy. So thank you everyone again. Thanks. Do you wanna keep this?

[Speaker 48.0]: SF GOVTV, San Francisco government television. SFGOV TV, San Francisco government television.

[Speaker 12.0]: Hello, everyone. Welcome to SF SFgovTV's Meet Your District Supervisor Series. My name is Franco Fidd. I'm a first generation San Francisco born and raised in this great city, very active in this community. I've been an auctioneer for nearly two plus decades, helping to raise lots of money for many local schools in the area, also nonprofits. But I'm also very known as the voice and hype man, if you will, in arena host for your Golden State Warriors for the last two plus decades as well. But I'm also a proud member of the San Francisco Film Commission here in San Francisco. But today, I have the pleasure to interview our board of supervisors president from District 8, Rafael Mendelmann. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thanks for having me.

[Speaker 12.0]: Well, District 8, 1st off, includes the Castro, Glen Park, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, Mission Dolores, and also Coal Valley. We'll dive into your district a little bit, you know, down the road here, but let's talk about you, for instance. I wanna know more about you. A lot of people wanna know about your history. Where did you grow up, your family background, and then, obviously, how did you end up in San Francisco?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Yep. Well, I was born in Southern California, Southern California kid. Grew up in Laguna Beach till I was 11 years old. Was living with my mom, who sort of was deteriorating as I was growing up. She had mental health issues. I had a grandmother in San Francisco, and so I moved up here when I was 11

[Speaker 12.0]: Okay.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: To live with her. She was getting on in years, but I was fortunate. I was at a couple of small independent schools, Brandeis.

[Speaker 12.0]: At the

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: time, it was Brandeis All Day School

[Speaker 20.0]: Yes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And then Lick Wilmerding High School. And I sort of arranged these sort of informal, like, do it yourself foster care arrangements with families at those schools. Ended up living for three years with an English teacher at Lick and her husband. Wow. And, that was my growing up, and then went away for school.

[Speaker 12.0]: I went away for school. And then, you know, now, you know, you're, you know, the president of the board of supervisors, which, congratulations, I know is a big role in our city, but we're gonna we're gonna peel the onions and the we'll have layers in the onions because there's so many layers to our supervisors, and getting to know your background is super important.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Yeah.

[Speaker 12.0]: But why politics? Why did you get your career? Why what what made you kind of decide I'm gonna follow this career in politics? When how long ago was that?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I've always thought government was really important and interesting. When other little boys were, like, collecting baseball cards, I was interested in, you know, who was gonna get the Democratic nomination in 1984. And, I have these scrapbooks from when I was growing up, and I would cut up these Time magazines and, like, do, like, you know, keep track of Really? Of different politicians. Yeah. It was pretty nuts. But that was kind of my obsession as a kid. And, actually, after that first year at Lick, the the summer after that that first year, I spent that summer, interning on the board of supervisors Wow. For a supervisor at the time. Her name was Doris Ward. Okay. So remained interested and kept my passion for politics through college and, went to law school, got a master's in public policy. Most of my professional work was representing local governments

[Speaker 12.0]: I see.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Okay. Doing transactional lawyering and giving advice to city councils and planning commissions and planning directors. And in my spare time, I was getting involved in, you know, San Francisco nonprofits and serving on a couple city commissions.

[Speaker 12.0]: And then you just it's it's been that ever since.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: That ever since.

[Speaker 12.0]: Labor of love and passion.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Yeah.

[Speaker 12.0]: It's been

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: a lot

[Speaker 12.0]: of long nights and a lot of thoughts go into, obviously, your job and your current role at the moment. Yeah. Let let's ask about the you know, basically, what do you hope to bring as board president? I mean, that is a huge responsibility. Is this something that you've always envisioned? Is this something that you've thought about before? Like, when did that actually click and say, oh my gosh. Let let's let's let's go for this. Yeah.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Well, I think we're in, I guess every moment is important, but we're in a pretty, challenging moment with a lot of opportunities in San Francisco and in City Hall. We got a new mayor. We have five new supervisors. Mhmm. I've been I'm the longest serving member of the Board of Supervisors, which is a little troubling to me. Time goes by way too fast. You're

[Speaker 12.0]: now the veteran.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I'm now the veteran. And I think, you know, I'm and the reason for me to be doing this right now is that I am a consensus builder. I'm someone who's kind of in the middle of the board. Mhmm. Ideologically, I I think I get along well with everyone. I think people see me as a straight shooter. And I really wanna see, you know, Daniel Leary be successful as mayor. I think we, the city has enormous challenges still. I worked well with the prior mayor. Yeah. But there's an opportunity now because I think, particularly with this new cast of characters, people willing to give each other, a a fair break and try to work together and be collaborative. And we need to, because we have these challenges from enormous challenges, budget, federal government. There's a lot that, you know, we're up against, but I think the fact that we do have this potential for collaboration in city hall, and an opportunity to look at some of the challenges that, you know, we've been struggling with for a long time and maybe approach them in a different way.

[Speaker 12.0]: This is a very pivotal moment in our city, and I I like to say on the rise, for sure. I mean, you know, pandemic was one thing. Mhmm. We've gone through a lot as a city. And now it's time to kind of bring that back up. Mhmm. Right? Bring that gold that we know this gold has been here forever. Right? And so we're gonna do that. Let's talk about your your your district Mhmm. In particular. District 8.

[Speaker 20.0]: Yeah.

[Speaker 12.0]: What are your main priorities in your district, and and and what has been your priority, and what do you want to do in your district?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: District like, you know, like all districts, District 8 has many different neighborhoods, and they're they're all different. They all have different needs. We have been quite focused in the time that I've been in office on the street conditions and behavior health and homelessness challenges that we see, particularly, in, in the Castro and the part of the district that's

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: that's

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: that's the mission. Although it impacts us no way, it it impacts Glen Park. I mean, there's not a neighborhood in San Francisco that is not impacted by these challenges. But we're really focused on trying to get help to severely mentally ill people, people with serious substance use disorders, who are, you know, disintegrating in plain sight and also causing enormous challenges for small businesses, for for, resident residents. And, I think we've had some progress, actually. I mean, I do think things are better now in that regard than they were certainly during the pandemic and, you know, even even before. But there's still a ton of work to do.

[Speaker 12.0]: There is a lot of work to do. But how do you ensure the underrepresented communities in your district are are heard and and also included in some of the decision making process that we have to go through.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Yeah. I actually think, San Francisco, you know, has, I think, a culture of public participation and a real makes a real effort to engage people who are being impacted by decisions to I personally wanna hear all sides of an issue, hear from the people who are actually gonna be impacted by the decisions we're making. I think that's part of our culture as a city, and it's also part of, you know, what I think is important as an elected official.

[Speaker 12.0]: And as an elected official, you have to balance a lot of things, especially in your role as board president. You have to do balance. How do you navigate balancing competing interests, especially when it's time to make those decisions in the city? How do you balance that? How do you find that perfect nothing's perfect. We all know that. But

[Speaker 20.0]: one of

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: the things I try to do is get people to talk to each other.

[Speaker 20.0]: Okay.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: People love yelling at their elected officials. But in some ways, your elected officials are are a stand in for a set of people in your community who may not agree with the position that you have. People get very frustrated when the city doesn't pursue policies that seem self evidently correct to them. I think it's useful to make people grapple with the, you know, with the perspectives of people who don't see it the same way. And in this city Right. Even though, you know, we're we don't have that many, you know, conservatives say, there's a lot of room in the middle and the left to disagree. Yeah. And people do disagree. And I think it's good for people to hear each other out and actually start pressing against the the areas where, you know, those disagreements Right. Maybe are keeping the city from moving forward. And so that's, you know, kinda my style in in my district around particular issues, and it's also my style on the board of supervisors. Okay. See if we can get people who don't agree necessarily or think they disagree to sort of work out the actual details. And sometimes we don't agree as much we don't disagree as much as we think we do.

[Speaker 12.0]: Yeah. And and it's it's it's hard to have the same opinion for everything all the time. You're gonna have differences. But navigating through that is very challenging and tough, but you everybody has valid points. You just gotta listen to them all, right, and put them all together.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I think it's good for people to remember that and try try to live by that.

[Speaker 12.0]: That's true. On a lighter side, you know, San Francisco, we know, is a beautiful backdrop. So many things to do, places to see, lots of great food. I mean, we've got it all. I I personally feel a lot of us do. Mhmm. What would you normally do? I'm just curious on a like, a Sunday, let's say, if you didn't have any work to do and you just had some free time Sunday. Who has no free time? Right? But what what would you do? What what's something that that Rafael would say, you know, this would be my kind of day in San Francisco, ideal day?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I love getting outside. I love seeing my friends. Good. So if I do have it is rare that I have an unscheduled Sunday. But if I do have an an unscheduled Sunday, you know, getting out and seeing some we we have amazing natural areas and parks in the city, whether it's, you know, Ocean Beach, or Land's End, or the the Northwest Waterfront or Christie Field or Glen Canyon in my district or Buena Vista Park or, you know, we just we are so and I haven't gotten you know, I've left out most of the parks that are amazing in the city. But there's so many

[Speaker 12.0]: There's so many.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Amazing spaces to get outdoors and walk around. And I love, you know, I love an urban hike.

[Speaker 12.0]: Okay. An urban hike is always fun. And I I rediscovered my own city doing that as well. Yeah. Walk through all these neighborhoods and backdrops. They're so beautiful. You know, the the city has so many gems. I know that it's hard to pick favorites and whatnot. But what is a bright light that you can highlight that, you know, since you've been in office, that your district has highlighted, demonstrated, and shown just a perfect example. Like, this is this is what my district is. Like, this is, like that's a win for District 8. What what what is that moment? Is there one?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I mean, there's so many neighborhoods that are a win for the whole city. I you know, Dolores Park is right in in the heart of

[Speaker 12.0]: Love It. Part of the district.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And it's definitely been through some challenges. Right. And during the pandemic, there were, you know, tents pretty much all the way along Dolores Street and lots of people camping in the park, and a lot actually, some concerns about safety, shootings, and, you know, not to say that those problems are all gone, because they're not, and there is violence still, and there are still occasional horrible events, and, but I do think that that area has become safer, more pleasant

[Speaker 20.0]: Yeah.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And better. And it's just such a great I mean, it brings people from all walks of life and all parts of the city. So Dolores Park is great.

[Speaker 12.0]: Dolores Park is great. And you know what's lovely about our city is probably within ten minutes, you can find some park, some outdoor public space that can be used for a variety of things.

[Speaker 20.0]: Yeah.

[Speaker 12.0]: And and I think we're very lucky. We can walk. It's a true walking city.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Yeah.

[Speaker 12.0]: Absolutely. And so talking about your district, we talked about a highlight there. What is something that you wanna do in this kind of short term future, but then also the long term future of, like, the legacy, especially when it comes to your particular district? Kind of, like, the three to five and then like that five to 10 and beyond. Uh-huh. Start with the kind of the shorter immediate future. What what do you hope to see?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I think as as I look at my my district, the the neighborhood that kinda means the most to the world Mhmm. And also has the greatest challenges is the Castro. Okay. It, means the most to the world because it's where, you know, LGBT politics in a lot of ways were born. Harvey Milk's Camera Shoppe

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Yes.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: You know, is there. So many of the marches that were, critical for the queer community, for the fight against HIV, all these I mean, that you know, it's it's a neighborhood with incredible history. It does. And it is also, of the neighborhoods in my district, the one that's been most impacted by degraded street conditions Uh-huh. Where there are the highest level of vacancies, where small businesses and residents are really struggling with our inability to deal, effectively with mental health challenges we we have. So for me, with these last two years that I have in office, I really wanna make some progress on having places that are appropriate for people with severe mental illness.

[Lamia Aborus]: Okay.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I've worked on, expanding, our our inventory of beds for people with behavioral health issues in the time that I've been on the board, and I'm proud of the work that we've done. But we still have an acute shortage of the kind of beds you would use for someone who needs to be conserved. And that's a a facility that has a lock on the front door. Mhmm. You you don't get to leave unless, you know, people decide that, you know, you can go out. And, you know, you're losing a level of autonomy, but you're also getting the care that you need. And I as I as you go out in San Francisco, probably much more in neighborhoods that I don't represent, but even in some of the neighborhoods I do represent, you see folks who who need that that level of care. We have a 140, of those beds. We've submitted applications to the state for funding for a 100 more of those beds. So you get

[Speaker 12.0]: to increase that.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: And I wanna work on trying to make that happen over these last Try to double that. Basically coming coming close to doubling it. Yeah. I co chaired a a task force on this problem over the, you know, the through the last year of the Breed administration. We put out a report the day before her last day in office. But basically, it was talking about the need for this kind of bed and also for more board and care facilities for people who maybe don't need to be in a locked facility, but do need something that has a higher level of care than you're gonna get, say, thrown into a permanent supportive housing unit.

[Speaker 12.0]: I see. Okay.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: This is not you know, we don't I don't think we need these types of beds for most unhoused people. I don't think we need them to deal with our encamp most of our encampment challenges, but there's a set of folks who really do need that higher level of care. The state of California went out of the business in the twentieth century. No one's really gotten, you know, stepped up. And we can't do it all in San Francisco, but we can do more than what we're doing, and we should.

[Speaker 12.0]: Okay. Well, thanks for sharing that. And I wanna highlight a little something different on on the Castro District. It's one of my favorite districts in in areas in San Francisco. I live literally minutes away. I'm a big movie and film buff. Yeah. Milk is one of my most favorite favorite movies of all time Yeah. About San Francisco based about San Francisco. Right? I I would love you know, I have to throw in a film commission

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Yes.

[Speaker 12.0]: Question in there. I mean, we have some iconic places to shoot from Yeah. In the city. Yeah. Castro's got a lot of history. Yeah. I want to get another movie. What what would be another movie coming out of the Castro be like? Like, because there's so much history that Castro Theater. What about that? Yeah. Is there any you know, what an iconic place.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Yeah. Well, Castro Theater is a great place to open movies and, you know, the theater and they have had great openings there. And how fun it was to have milk get shot largely Yeah. The movie, get shot in in in the Castro.

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Yeah. I mean,

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: thank you for your work on the film commission to try and get more films made in One more. In in San Francisco. It's

[Speaker 12.0]: good marketing for us. Yeah. And people remember those movies and say, that was shot here. Milk, blah, blah, blah. You know, Pursuit of Happiness, all those. But yeah.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Well, I'm hoping the castor theater will be open soon. They've, you know

[Speaker 20.0]: Oh, I

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: can't wait. Like all projects, it's going more slowly than we would we would like. But Yeah. Have you seen the inside? Did you get to tour

[Speaker 12.0]: the inside? I I'll tell you something. I actually painted a little slab of paint at the top. I did a little behind the scenes feature

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Yeah.

[Speaker 12.0]: When it was gutted out.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Yeah. Have

[Speaker 12.0]: you been to the top? Yeah. That thing has not been touched for nearly a hundred plus years. Right. And they were refurbished, and it looks beautiful.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: With this amazing detail Unbelievable. When they, you know to to Timothy Pfluger, I think.

[Speaker 12.0]: Yeah.

[Speaker 20.0]: But, you

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: know, the detail they put into that building

[Speaker 12.0]: Every little detail Most

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: people are never gonna see it. Those of us who were lucky enough to, like, get up to the The heart,

[Speaker 12.0]: which is pretty high. I'm not Goodwin Heights. Yeah. But did you get a chance to, like

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I didn't get to paint anything. I don't know why.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: I just got to paint it. Little

[Speaker 12.0]: piece of history.

[Speaker 20.0]: One little

[Speaker 12.0]: thing. And I asked my permission. They said, okay. Because this is a historic building. Okay? But no one's been up there for so long. But what a bright gem. Like, that's just a just a great Yeah.

[Speaker 20.0]: You know,

[Speaker 12.0]: I'm into film

[Speaker 52.0]: and all that. So

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: important that it keeps showing film.

[Speaker 12.0]: It is. Yeah. And and and that's that's it's a beautiful part of our city. It's great. Well, let's talk about this. I'm gonna close out with this. Thank you for sharing. There's so much to talk about, but such little time. But I do have these rapid fire questions to get to know you a little bit.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Oh my gosh.

[Speaker 12.0]: One word answers. Now some of your other supervisors, they were kinda going, I wanna just fast pace what comes to mind when I throw in some questions. Theory. Either this or that. You ready?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I'm concerned.

[Speaker 12.0]: Okay. Alright. I'll make it easy for you. How about this? Let's start with the easy first one. How about this? Giants or Dodgers? Giants. You said SoCal. Oh, I hear crowds in the back over there. Yeah. Good answer. Giants. See, the kids are excited. Yeah. I always ask and give, you know, SoCal folks. I said, okay. You know, you have your SoCal, NorCal rivalries, but you're in Nor Cal, San Francisco all the way. Yeah. Good answer. I love it. Okay. Hiking or biking? Hiking. Okay. Cable car or bus? Cable car. Okay. Best view in the city?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: That's Twin Peaks. I have Twin Peaks.

[Speaker 12.0]: I I do love Twin Peaks. Okay. Can you tell me public park or a private garden? Public park. Of course. How about this? Golden Gate Bridge or Bay Bridge? Golden Gate Bridge. For sure. Coffee or tea? Coffee. Okay. Cats or dogs? Dogs. Middle, window, or aisle seat when flying? Aisle. Okay. I'm an aisle guy too. Yes. Yes. That means easy exits, bathroom, and we

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Just I don't wanna be crawling over people. For some reason, it's finding people have to crawl over me, but I don't wanna, like

[Speaker 12.0]: That's an important question, especially when you're traveling with other people.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: What do

[Speaker 12.0]: you want? Right?

[Chayanne Chen, Supervisor (District 11)]: Okay.

[Speaker 12.0]: Just a handful more. Sunset or sunrise?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Sunrise. BART or Muni?

[Speaker 12.0]: Muni. Okay. Tech or the arts?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: The sorry, tech, but the arts. The arts? Okay.

[Speaker 12.0]: I'm I'm I'm with you on that. Couple more. Foggy mornings in San Francisco, or would you want those clear skies? The very few that we do. At least in my what do you mean?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: It took me till I was, like, 16 years old to realize the whole city was not living in fog all the time. But I but I think I like I I I don't love I grew up in the fog. I don't love the fog. So I so the clear skies.

[Speaker 12.0]: The clear sky. Okay. Karl the Fog, if you're listening Sorry,

[Speaker 20.0]: Karl.

[Speaker 12.0]: Rafael said he's gonna go with clear skies. Okay. One last thing. If you had to pick between four flavors, I'm I'm gonna give you chocolate, vanilla

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Yeah.

[Speaker 12.0]: Strawberry

[Danny Sauter, Supervisor (District 3)]: Yeah.

[Speaker 12.0]: Or green tea. Chocolate. Chocolate. Well, I got a little something here to close out our interview. What? Surprises, surprises. You've heard of the Yeah. Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Cutter. Amazing. You said chocolate. So Chocolate. Pick one. Okay. Yeah. Shoot that one. Alright. Now read the fortune, and let's see if you can answer this question. See how it can read it out loud and then tell us kinda how it relates to who you are and maybe what you're doing, obviously, your current role. What does it say?

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Acutely sensitive to your environment.

[Speaker 12.0]: Acutely sensitive to your environment. Okay. How would you apply that as we close out this interview segment? Well As you reflect do

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: a lot of environmental work in my office. So Okay. I'm gonna choose I'm gonna choose to read it as, you know, we're we're trying to do work for the environment.

[Speaker 12.0]: That that's a very good answer. Yeah. Well, thank you for making our area district Yeah. So nice, and it was great really great to talk to you. This is amazing. I wanna eat that cookie now. You could eat it.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: I'm I'm eating the cookie.

[Speaker 12.0]: There eat the cookie.

[Speaker 20.0]: Eat the cookie?

[Speaker 12.0]: There you go.

[Speaker 23.0]: Ready for this?

[Speaker 12.0]: It's all good. Well, thank you so much, District eight board of supervisors president Rafael Mendelmann. Thank you so much for joining us. If you wanna find out more about our city, we have a great programming. Also, if you wanna see your meetings live, you can also tune in on sfgovtv.org. We'll see you next time.

[Speaker 55.0]: SFGovTV,

[Speaker 48.0]: San Francisco government television.

[Unidentified (brief dais interjections)]: Nope.

[Saeed Basisu]: Okay. Okay.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Alright. Are we ready? Yes. Okay. Alright, folks. We are back into open session. No action was taken in closed session. May I have a motion that the board finds that it is in the best interest of the public that the board elect not to disclose its closed session deliberations? So moved. Moved, by Chan, seconded by Cheryl. Madam clerk, will you please call the roll?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Mister president, you can do that without objection.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: We will do that without objection. The motion passes. And then, I guess, we see there's no other names on the roster, so this closed session has been held and is now filed. Madam Clerk, do we have any imperative agenda items?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: I have none to report, mister president.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Can you read the in memoriams?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: Today will today's meeting will be adjourned in memory of the following beloved individuals, on behalf of supervisor and guardio, for the late Lieutenant Colonel Robert l Powell, and on behalf of supervisor Chen, for the late miss Antoinette Jamille.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you, madam clerk. I think that brings us to the end of our agenda. Do we have any further business before us today?

[Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board]: I have nothing. There's no further business.

[Rafael Mandelman, Board President (District 8)]: Thank you. As there's no further business, we are adjourned.