That motion passes 60. Item 12. 3989 17th street conditional use authorization. Good evening. Brigitte hicks Planning Department staff. I cant speak like an auctioneer but ill try and be fast. Its a conditional use authorization for change of use from retail sales and service to Cannabis Retail project site is located within the boundaries of the castro street neighborhood commercial district which requires a conditional use authorization for any project. The subject property is located in a mixed use building on 17 street at the intersection with castro street. The subject tenant space is currently vacant and was previously occupied by a retail store wildcard. Ten apartment space is 940 square feet in size. Theres one dwelling unit on the second floor which will be retained and occupied by the Business Owners. And there are no schools, youth establishments or other Cannabis Retail establishments within 60t property. And there are currently no cannabis establishments within the castro neighborhood. The project sponsors are equity applicants with the citys office of cannabis, the district permits hours of operations from 6 00 a. M. To 2 00 a. M. And the sponsors have designed the space to have a lobby and security checkpoint at the front of the space to limit the visibility of products and the project is subject to the regulations of the office of cannabis and the department of publichealth. To date, the department has received 52 letters of support for the project which members of the public, local merchants, organizations, and neighborhoods associations have expressed support for the proposed tenant and the revitallation of a vacant storefront and the beneficial service to the community. The department received one letter of opposition to the project which opposed the potential for on site consumption and the Cannabis Retail establishment in general. Sponsors have two open houses with the Community Prior to this hearingment staff recommending approval as noted in the executive summary and its a new and active use to an existing vacant storefront and the district is well served by transit. The project meets all applicable requirements to the planning code and the castro neighborhood commercial zoning district. This concludes my presentation. We have the project sponsors to present. Thank you. Thank you. This is the planning commission. My speech is abou about three minutes. Before i begin i would just like to thank our family. My friends, my daughter, members of the community and members of the cannabis industry for being here today. I would like to thank the office of cannabis. Our former director nicole and marissa and thank you for answering all of our questions many times over and thank you for the help. It means the word. Im Chris Calloway the c. E. O. And equity applicant of eureka sky. The path that led can we get the overhead. There we go. The path that led me here today has been challenging, full of set backs, failures, somesments but no regrets. 20 years ago i arrived in the bay area from detroit. I collected all the necessary paperwork from my doctors and issued an i. D. Card and began working with gy jim. I was a kid way dream and meaningful purpose and doctors note and medical cannabis i. D. Card. It turns out just short of everything. Early one morning i was greeted by the Sheriffs Department who claimed there was a strong outsider of cannabis coming from my home. I said dont worry up your paperwork and paid extra money for the cultivation certificate. I presented these documents and showed them the small number of plants in my closet, they tore the paperwork in happen and took we away in handcuffs. Looking back this may be where my confidence was lost in doctors notes. I was arrested and charged with three felonies and after a stressful year, negotiated a deal that avoided a lengthy prison sentence. Oddly enough, one of the conditions of my deal in terms of my probation granted me the ability to cultivate and possess and consume cannabis. The things i was just arrested for. I can assure you the irony was not lost on myself or the judge or the courtroom. I can look back and laugh and Equity Program is creating an opportunity to transform the worst experience of my life into one of the best opportunities ive had. For this i am forever grateful, humbled and honored. The program has a part of much more in my opinion and not only has the power to change the lives of verified its important the cannabis business are are not only blended well with the characters of the neighborhood but support the community in meaningful ways. I founded a Nonprofit Organization and they transform storefronts into temporary Art Galleries until the permanent businesses move in. The project began in detroit 25 years ago, a city familiar with abandoned buildings. The castro is a neighborhood experiencing a high Retail Vacancy rate. Through our arts project we will work closely with the Castro Community to get art in as many storefronts as possible. Through the retail landscape of our society and along with it retail cannabis. Unfortunately, most properties cannot meet the various demands needed to fill all the requirements of a sub category of retail category permit. For the record [ please stand by ] and enabled her to function daily without headaches and tremors. Rae, chris, and i are committed to reinvesting back into the community. We act locally, but the lope the impact is global. We are going to do more for our community. I am an ad hoc member of the neighborhood association. Rae is a board member of the castro merchant association. Today together we will be living in the castro neighborhood and we want to make it a great place to visit and to live. Standing in front of you today thank you, sir. We may have questions. With that, will take Public Comment on this item. I have two speaker cards. [calling names] good evening, commissioners. I am a Small Business owner on castro street and im speaking to you at the request of the rig executive director of the benefit district. The c. B. D. Voted overwhelmingly in favor of this project. The c. B. D. Are the stewards of the plaza. I am sure is commissioner richards knows we have various issues with bad street behavior in the plaza. We come with the addition of security cameras, Security Guard in a viable business on the strip will be a benefit to the neighborhood and i urge your support. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Commissioners, i stand here as the president of the valley neighborhood association. I will keep it short. We have voted unanimously in support of this project and hope you will do, too. It will be a great addition to the neighborhood. It will fill a vacant spot and provide a necessary service. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Commissioners, i am the president of the merchants. Im here for any questions you may have. I also have a personal statement i am a resident of 17th street in close proximity to the proposed site. Im also a Business Owner. Im personally acquainted with desmond morgan, the sponsors of this. I have the highest regard for their integrity and entrepreneurial endeavors. I strongly support the proposed venture in our neighborhood. It is clear that cannabis is and will continue to be a strong market in our community. The proposed bill will bring added business and foot traffic to the area which would benefit neighboring businesses as well. The proposed the proposal by the press includes security by the way of designated staff with benefits to the area as well. Thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is brian springfield. I have lived in the castro for over 21 years. This is the first time i have come to speak at one of these hearings. I am doing so because i think it is important. I feel like an approval of this application will be of great benefit to the neighborhood. I am on the board of castro merchants. Im also on the board as Vice President of the friends of harvey milk plaza going on three years now, i have been really impressed with the generosity of both desmond and desmond and ray in contributing as volunteers to both organizations as mentioned, restoring the board of both of these organizations and serves as our fundraising chair. I am here tonight to strongly support this project. This business of the cannabis dispensary can provide a lot of benefits to a neighborhood. It could create a lot of problems for the neighborhood. The difference between benefit and problems is really the way that the business is operated, and it comes down to does the Neighborhood Trust the people that will operate it . And the gentleman who are the project sponsors have done an exemplary job on this project of neighborhood outreach, transparency, communication with the various neighborhood groups, and taking important work from the neighborhood. We have come to trust and believe that they are going to do just an exemplary of a job of running this business. We hope that you will join us in supporting the application and lets see it open. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is charles. Im here to support my very dear friend in opening this business. I had the privilege of working with desmond 35 years ago in the hospitality and retail business. They are both very committed to what they do. In addition to that, they are honest individuals and very industrious individuals that i have seen in the past. I see them in seattle and i now see them in San Francisco doing very, very good things. In addition to that, they have a positive attitude in the spirit of aloha that they carried from hawaii. It is very important. I think they are bringing their family over there to the castro area and i think it will be awesome. I hope you approve them. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Okay. Public comment is closed. Commissioner fong . I would move to approve, but i would add that i would like to codify the prohibition of onsite mac usage. Commissioner, just to add to that consideration, staff did receive comments from one member of the public expressing concern with onsite. In this case, given that there is a rental unit above that has only been occupied by the project sponsor, we were slightly less concerned, and the castro is a destination district , unlike many other districts, but so many people, it is a place to go out, myself included, even though i have never lived there. So the general concern was that we would create a condition where people could consume cannabis in the castro but not have a legal, safe place where they could not have a legal and safe place to consume it, and the possibility that that might cause people to consume it on the street or in the back of the bars of the castro where it is not permitted under the code. Okay. Commissioner richards . Im not sure i accept that comment, but okay. We can chat later. I have been in the neighborhood 27 years. I think this is a needed Retail Service offering for the neighborhood. I originally thought from 6 00 a. M. To 2 00 a. M. , it is really i would actually hope you were open 6 00 a. M. To 2 00 a. M. , to be honest with you i originally had the same thought about the onsite consumption, but if you actually walk out of the business, you will be in a park where you can smoke, and you can go behind the castro theatre parking lot. It will create issues for the neighbors. I would encourage onsite consumption, even though you are not applying for it because there is no legal place for folks to smoke, and if you dont do it onsite, you will do it somewhere where it is not appropriate. If they do it, they need all the Health Department regulations for containing the smoke in the odours. I cannot think of a better place to consume it rather than onsite. If you dont have an onsite permit, how are you going to monitor the plaza when somebody comes into the store, buys something, and decides they want to try it out front . During the open houses that we have, we shared at this point of time in time, that we are asking for onsite consumption, but we have room to grow on the premise, and it is our policy that we are going to be able to monitor with the six cameras that we are going to install on the side of the building, and so we would be able to see if anybody is going out and consuming in public spaces, and then we will have to address it with them because of the fact that it is not one of our policies to consume in public spaces. It would be like me going into a liquor store, buying a bottle of bourbon, and not having a place for a bottle of wine in a once directed taste it , which is not allowed, either i think i am trying to look at this as just like an alcohol consumption. I think if i could add one thing, when we are giving one property cannabis entitlement that involves multiple subcategories, that property may not be the best use of this category, there may be another property within 600 feet that is more suited for those purposes. It seems like the zoning law is a little restricted. I know this isnt the hearing for that, but i do think we have plans and ideas that add consumption to the castro in the way that fits the neighborhood really well, and i know that as if anybody we find is consuming it out there, they would not be allowed to come back in and purchase from our store. That area is something that needs some sort of work. Do you have the Legal Authority to tell someone in the plaza, which is a city park, that they cant smoke . It is not their legal right to do that. We are going to have notices inside the store that there is no consumption of public space in public spaces, and when they come in, they need to show their i. D. If we get a complaint, or if we see them, then we will take them outside. That also goes for members of the community that are in the plaza. [indiscernible] commissioner moore . Why not then leave the application for consumption for later . I believe for the time being, it will set a precedent where we take exceptions for one group, but not allowing anyplace else in the city. We have their own Business Model , and i am supporting what they are asking for this moment. Thank you. I will just chime in that i also support that. With all due respect, commissioner fong, i think that the castro is the destination. There are lots of folks who come to the castro for the first time folks to come back and back again, who dont live there, and , you know, i really wonder about your ability to ban someone from your store and have that be enough of a deterrent not to do it. I no longer live in a neighborhood that i lived a block away from them, many, many years, so it is like disneyland for adults for some folks, and i think that is great. We want to support that. I also want folks to have a safe place. I dont want them to consume marijuana with alcohol. I dont think it is a safe thing , that is the other alternative. When folks dont have a safe place to consume it, they might try to do it where there is open public spaces, and it is usually in a place where they serve alcohol. I dont want that to happen either. I support what other commissioners have said and i will allow this to go on as planned. Someone has to make a motion, not me. Commissioner richards . I moved to approve what is outlined by staff. Second. Very good, commissioners. We have a motion and a second to approve this item with conditions. On that motion. [roll call] so moved. That motion passes 51. [applause]. Thank you. Warriors just took the lead a 7270. Item 13, 1398 california street. Good evening, commissioners. Department staff. I haight standing between you or dinner and the game. I will be brief. If you could pass out the additional comment letters here. Four Additional Support letters, and then the nearly 200 letters in support to save a few trees. I did not print those, but they are available for commissioners. And the summary, it is a northwest california, and this is the ground floor, 100 Corner Retail space for the cable car. There is no onsite consumption. The location is well outside the area for schools and or other schools. The project is supported by community members. The department is very supportive of the project. I will conclude with that. Ill hand it over to the project sponsor. Thank you. Thank thank you. Hello, project sponsor. Good evening, commissioners. I am the registered equity applicant of the california street Cannabis Company. I will be working alongside ben and duncan, handling the daytoday opposition operations of the business. I am a San Francisco native and a product of the San Francisco Public School system. I was born in the potrero hill section eight project and moved to the north beach second section eight apartment when i was ten. And now i currently live on the corner of pacific and larkin. I have lived in San Francisco my entire life, with the exception of four and a half years that i was in college i graduated with a degree in business management. I was also given the opportunity to study abroad of course, i was the reluctant to go abroad. I live on my own and live on my own on the other side of the world, the been pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and go experience something new, something different. The experience changed my life, it changed my outlook on the world, and he gave me a greater appreciation for different cultures. I have worked closely with ben and duncan for eight years. My relationship with these guys goes far deeper than business. Since then, then has ben has been a regular fixture in my life, attending football games, graduation, and even family events. During the same time, i also met duncan. Being raised by a single mother with three kids, i looked to ben and duncan for mentorship, and later on, employment. At the age of 15, they started to bring me in as a dishwasher at one of their establishments. From the age of 15, i worked my way up through every position available. During summers, and all throughout my college career. At the age of 21, they decided to make me a bartender, and shortly after, they trusted me to manage and run two of their businesses. Because of my hard work, creativity and perseverance, they recently decided to make me managing partner at tonic. You may be thinking, he is too young, or he lacks experience, but because of the experience i have gained over the last eight years working with and around a controlled substance and because of the mentorship and guidance that they have provided to me, i can confidently say that i am ready for this next endeavour. As a young man of color, i know as much as anyone that i must work harder, keep my nose cleaner clean her, and be better our vision for the california street Cannabis Company is authentically San Francisco. From the logo, as you can see, sorry. The logo represents knob hill and the cable car system. To its owners, myself being born and raised here, and living four blocks from the project site, another business partner, born and raised in the richmond district, as well as ben and duncan, although we are not born and raised here, they moved here 15 years ago and have become integral parts of the community where they live and work. Both of them are native raising native san franciscan daughters in the outer richmond. The Equity Program goes well beyond me as a c. E. O. We will hire other equity applicant his staff, carry equity owned product, and are committed to donating 500 a month to local organizations that further the goals and spirit of the Equity Program. Now i will turn it over to my partner, duncan, to discuss security and Community Outreach. Thank you, commissioners. This is in a very a very impressive young man we have here. Im proud to call my friend and a business partner. Do i have 30 seconds . I will make it very quick. My name is duncan, i have owned and operated businesses in San Francisco for over a decade, controlled substances, and have also worked in the cannabis industry. We are we have presented our security plan which is very robust. I think he details very much how we will take care of our neighborhood community. I think the most important thing is the Community Outreach. We have been significant. I will hopefully answer more questions about that. Thank you. Okay. With that, well take Public Comment on this item. Come on up. I do have two speaker cards. [calling names] i am andrea. I sat here since 1 00 p. M. I will be very quick. I have reached out to dray and duncan. I find this story very charming and important, however, i am a 26 year resident, less than 200 feet from the proposed site, and we follow through a crack between district three and district one. I had to even ask aaron if it is actually in our district, and the Reading Elementary School is less than 600 feet from this proposed site. I know it is probably a done deal, and i have to live with it , and im not against pot being legalized, im not against any of that, when i have gone online to express my other concerns, i have been coloured as a narrowminded name be, but i do want to express that, in my other life, im a writer, but i am also a pizza lady, and i serve people all day long in the streets between all the alleys, and i have seen what the dispensary has done on post and poke. They have armed guards and long lines, and a bad smell right across from the shelter where a lot of people are really struggling to turn their lives around. I know nobody really cares about knob hill, we dont even have an association except for one that does barbecues in huntington park, but i thought i would i would have been disappointed if i didnt go on record as saying that i am somebody would like to see anything else. I find that space a microcosm of what has gone on in the city. The rent was tripled. As a result, they were forced out. Now the only people who can move into all these anti storefronts are high or i would love to see anything go in there, a soup kitchen, a Doggy Daycare center, anything, but my biggest concern is that they didnt actually it is actually within 600 feet. The last thing, i would like to say is when i have approached them at meetings about what they want to give back to the community, i said, yeah, that is great, and they said, it wont be an empty storefront for highend retail. And i said great. Anything else and they said, yeah, people your age and 70 yearolds will have closer access to buying their dope. Is already do one bar and across the street from another. Okay. Thank you. Any other Public Comment on this item . My name is ray. I am a Business Owner and ive had the Great Fortune of working alongside duncan and his colleagues for a long time. As the previous gentleman was earlier for the last around, he said it could be great, they could not be great, the difference is the ownership. I am here to say that this ownership is excellent and i think it should be approved for all the great things that they do for the community all the time. Thank you. Thank you. Next Public Comment, please. Good evening, commissioners. I am the longterm resident of San Francisco in the castro neighborhood, and im currently the president of the Democratic Club of San Francisco of cannabis policy advocacy organization. Im confident after having talked to terence allen, who ran the San Francisco Cannabis Legalization Task force, that the Leadership Team of california street Cannabis Company will provide an excellent dispensary from the upper polk area of San Francisco , which currently does not have a brickandmortar dispensary. I urge you to support his application. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening, commissioners. My name is kenneth michael, and i am a longtime resident and homeowner of San Francisco of over 30 years. I let used to live in that area over there. I do not have a car, and i realize that when you have access to things that you need and you can walk, particularly as a senior, it is a big difference in a persons life. I urge you to approve this application. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hello, commissioners. I am the current g. M. Into the microphone, please. I am over in mission. Without duncans help and his team, we would not have been able to get through it. Their knowledge in staffing, in h. R. , in ordering, in everything , we could not have gotten through without them, and we have nothing but positivity when it comes to our interactions with them over the last few years. When the opportunity came to speak on their behalf, there was zero hesitation. We couldnt be happier for them to actually open their own dispensary and we really want them, we want you guys to approve it. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker place please. Name is mitchell. Im here to express my support for the approval on the conditional use 41398 california street. I have been a resident Business Owner for over 25 years. They are people i have worked with for years on community projects. They invest in their community and care about all stakeholders, not just their own agenda. Any community would be lucky to have them and their involvement in maintaining or creating healthy, safe, and vibrant spheres. A few days ago, i went into a store on polk street. It was two doors away from bullet, and the woman who owns it has been by herself, running her store all the time, i asked her how things are going, and she said she mentioned that she feels extra secure and good because she has such a great neighbor looking out for everyone on the street. She was referring to duncan, bend, and drapy or that is a pretty good indication of what you can expect from these guys opening shop in your neighborhood. They are present, they are engaged, in the care about their community. You couldnt ask for a better operator. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is elizabeth and i am the mother i am a mother. I have never done this before. It is a little nerveracking. My son was raised by me, a single mother at the time. He comes from an immigrant family, and immigrant family with financial disadvantages. He is the eldest of four siblings. Growing up, he has managed to persevere through a lot of obstacles, and he has learned to value hard work and dedication. Bypassing this condition, you are not only investing in the neighborhood, you are investing in a person of color and investing in the future of his siblings. Thank you and i hope you can approve it. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening, commissioners. I am a San Francisco resident. I met your colleague i met him when in 2014 at the San Francisco playground. We always got along great, as he did with everyone else. I think it is because he always made sure everyone came and was accounted for. He made sure we were pushing ourselves to be better and helping those who maybe struggling. When i see him now, he brings those same qualities do his work he is an example of hard work, determination, compassion. He is respected and respectful. I am happy to call him a friend. Thank you. Thank you. Any other Public Comment on this item . Hello. My name is alexa. I am a cannabis educator and an activist and got introduced to duncan by a friend. I wanted to get into the industry after having a lifethreatening injury that cannabis really helped me through. I appreciate what the neighbor was saying. I feel like we need to have more Community Outreach and education around cannabis, which is why i am excited about this project because i think it is missing from a lot of dispensaries. I work closely with duncan. He has been a great mentor of mine. Im excited to be part of this space because i think it is really needed to have a more Community Focused space. I hope you give us that opportunity. Thank you, any other Public Comment on this item . With that, Public Comment is now closed. Could you please clarify the question about the school . On page 2 of the executive summary, you will see i noted in terms of the 600foot radius, there were receptor sites starting with number 1. It is 692 feet from the subject property. I analyse this using our database. It is very much on the cusp. By definition the other sites are 84, 923 and 1300. I would also add that the school his to the southwest of the subject property and it is behind a very large trader joes there was a large amount of massing between the subject property and the subject school. Thank you for saying that. I knew you would have found the work. Reading it into Public Record acknowledges the Public Comment. I hope the person who mentioned it is satisfied with the answer provided. I live in the neighborhood, i know the location quite well, i am delighted to see you without much with that much strength and that much support, and i commend you for speaking as openly and as trustingly about your own background. I look forward to seeing you when i walked down the street that is a motion. I moved to approve this condition. Second. Im sorry. I just want to echo everything commissioner moore said. It is clear that you have worked really hard to Garner Community support, and i also cant not take the opportunity to think the pizza lady for what you have done in the neighborhood. I actually think there is some sort of creative way to give back to the community. Thank you. Commissioner fong . I will bring up the same issue of consumption on site. What is steph saying about that here . They did not ask for it. Consumption has not been requested at this time. The conditions of approval would not prohibit them from adding that later to the building permit. Staff has recognized that staff has a lot more residential units above it. It is somewhat less of a National Destination then the caster would be. We did not feel the condition was necessary based on the process for reviewing this. It certainly could be added by the commission. I would like to add that so we dont create a potential problem later. Commissioner richards . Im open to adding that. The question is, dont we need the approval of the Health Department . If the condition isnt added then, if the sponsor were wanting to add consumption on sight in the future, they can file a burling permit and it would be reviewed with consistency for their standards. If the condition was added by the commission, they would be prevented from doing so unless they came back to the commission to amend the conditions of approval. What are you feeling in the neighborhood . I would like to ask the applicant, in terms of his Business Model, that would be, for me, the right level of dialogue here. We are not seeking it at this time, but this industry changes so rapidly. Consumers are different now that they were a while ago. We would like to not have that precluded from the application, but literally right now, we dont see it happening, but just as the industry changes, i would like to leave the option open. We would seek it and giving people a safe place to consume would be something, down the road, if available, we would seek, but at this time, it is not part of our Business Model or plan. Again, they change the regulations in this business daily. In this particular location, if i may, we do not have the same situation. This is not a plaza, is a very busy intersection, a very wide street. California is very wide at that particular location. Across the street is trader joes, and it is very heavily granted very heavily frequented. There are two additional bars which try tried to corral their clientele to stay inside. Every so often when you walk by, you see some kind of standing in the doorway, but the bar owner is pulling them back in because they cant stand on the street consuming alcohol. Further down the street, there two locations with corner restaurants with outdoor seen him. So if it is not in the Business Model, they will figure out what they need to do. At this moment, i i would say it is not a location for onsite consumption, given it is heavily residential in all directions. I have to assume that they will know what to do when that situation arises. I just have trust that they need to figure out what to do, even if the industry changes in the next couple of years. I just have to leave that up to them. So you are not accepting that as an amendment . I am not, no. Okay. If theres nothing further, there is a motion that has been seconded to approve this matter with conditions. On that motion. [roll call] so moved. That motion passes 41. We are adjourned. Good morning everyone. Welcome to the home of your San Francisco giants. Applausthis is your official we. I am your pa announcer and i am happy to serve as your mc today. We are here to officially kickoff the first class of opportunities for all. [applause. ] now our first jobs and our first paid internships are so important. For me as a graduate of Mills College in oakland. Thank you for that. Oakland is in the house. Mills is in the house. My first job upon graduation a million years ago, 1981, was an entry level job at k cbs news radio. I worked there four years and learned the business. I got my first on the air job. Thank you. The kids dont know. I was there before sauna. Let mesa that. I spent 11 years there and hosted my own show on kiss fm. I say that to say that first job at k cbs led me to my radio career which led me to upstairs in the pa booth for the team i grew uprooting for at Candlestick Park as a little girl. You never know where your first job is going to take you. This is my 20th season with the giants and 34th year as a broadcaster. Thank you for your support and listening and having my back for all of these years. Kids, i am living proof your first job or internship can lead to a successful career. Enough about me. I could go on and on about myself. I bet some of you today may be interning with us. Anybody with us at oracle park as an intern this season . In my 20 years we have had some remarkable interns in the Entertainment Department that have gone on to careers here at the ballpark and for other teams and the nfl and a lot more. I want to give a shout out to our 2019 intern rena. Thank you baby girl. Everybody on with the show. We have a wonderful line up of performers and speakers today. Lets play ball. To kick things off i will bring up the woman behind this initiative. I am proud to call her my friend. I have known her since early on in her career when she was working one of her first jobs. Look at her now. She is working hard every day as mayor to make sure every young person in San Francisco can achieve their wildest dreams. Please put your hands together for the 45th mayor of the city and county of San Francisco, the honorable london breed, ladies and gentlemen. [applause. ] mayor breed thank you. I love those boots, girl. Thank you so much for being here today. I have to tell you i am so excited about this program, and i am excited about the future of San Francisco because of all of you who are participating in this program. Some of you might know you grew up in San Francisco, born and raised in Public Housing in the city under the most challenging of circumstances with a lot of the violence and crime and frustration and hopelessness. I still cant believe after living over 20 years of my life in the kinds of conditions that i am working hard to change every single day that i am standing here as your mayor. Had it not been for an opportunity, had it not been for my first internship at age 14 working through the mayors Youth Employment and Training Program at the Family School where i learned some simple basic skills. Now, i know technology has you more advanced than what i was back then. We actually typed letters on a typewriter. I learned how to speed up my typing, answer the phone. I got to tell you this is how i answered the phone the first day. Hello. Who are you looking for . They were like, no, london, you need to answer like this. Hello, this is london breed, how may i help you. Thank you for calling the Family School. Okay. So i had to write it down and repeat it or and over. It was stuck in my head. Basic skills what it is like to work in an Office Environment and to change my attitude and improve my Customer Service skills. This organization because of my work in the summer only had enough money to pay for me to work during the summer and because i basically worked hard and stuck with it, they kept me see in this internship year around and paid for me to be there directly. That was really how i was able to make money in order to afford the basic things the basic things people take for granted to buy School Clothes and help my grandmother with bills and allow me to focus on school and go on to higher education. I ended up going to uc davis and graduating. I got my masters from the university of San Francisco. Let me tell you why this program is so important because the neighborhood you grew up in, not everyone had a chance to participate in the mayors Youth Employment and Training Program. There wasnt enough funding to make sure everyone got a slot, and so, sadly, i have been to far more funerals than i can count because of gun violence in my community. Sadly, i still have friends and family members behind bars and many suffering from addiction and other challenges. When i think about even my own family losing my sister to a Drug Overdose and having my brother still locked up in jail, i think what if . What if an opportunity was available to them, too . Why wasnt there an opportunity available to them . I dont want to operate in what ifs. I want to operate in a way that prevents something that happened to my community, something that happened to my family from ever happening to any other young person in the first place. That is why i started opportunities for all. Because i wanted to make sure that kids in San Francisco no matter what part of the city you live in, no matter who your family is, no matter what school you go to, money should never be a barrier to your ability to succeed in life. That is what this program is about. I want to make sure that when we have all of these incredible opportunities in San Francisco to work in so many different industries, when people are looking for folks to about, they are looking right here in San Francisco. When people are looking to make sure we are investing dollars in preparing you all for the work force, they are preparing and spending their money on all of you to make sure that you are successful. I want you to have amazing lives, amazing careers, and i want you to be able to afford in the city you might have been born and raised in. [applause. ] this is about creating a new normal, breaking the cycle sometimes of poverty that has existed in too many of our neighborhoods. This is my dream. When i have the opportunity to basically be mayor and run this city, this was the first thing i thought about. I am so excited to be here today. We launched the program in october, we are doing it this summer. We have 3700 participants so far. As i said, no one is turned away. I will speak to some of the companies here. We need you to accept more students, to work with us to make sure kids have more opportunities. When we have someone with an interest in working in a particular field, we have a place for them to go to learn about that particular field. That is what this program is about. I want to thank the major sponsor of this program, Alaska Airlines and at and t for making a significant investment along with so many other people. The department of children, youth and families, of course, through my budget we committed 8 million to this program. I am dedicated to making this work and providing you with all of the opportunities possible. I also want to thank a couple of city agencies that basically answered the call. I want to start with the department of public works. They have hundreds of internship opportunities available as well as the San Francisco police department. Thank you, chief, for being here and the opportunitying you provide to our young people and the San Francisco airport. When i think about the San Francisco airport, they are taking on 200 young people. There are so many layers, administrative, human resources, security, luggage. There are all of these Different Things that happen in the airport, and i am just so excited about what you all are going to discover this summer. I used to listen to kmdl. I remember when renel got engaged to tommy moon and the first africanamerican woman announcer in baseball. What is the baseball thing called again . The hall of fame. You were in the hall of fame . Never mind. She is here. She is making moves. I want you all to be prepared to make moves. When you show up late and you are criticized, take it in and learn from it. When you have one trying to teach you to do something better, be open minded. Put aside your sometimes i am not saying all of you. I know i had a really bad attitude. I had to basically get an attitude adjustment to keep my job. The people working with you, they want to support you. They want be to grow and succeed. Please show them respect and appreciate and work hard taking in every minute of the opportunity. Advance, grow and do whatever your hearts desire. Have a good time this summer. When you are at work roll up your sleeves and get the job done. We are counting on you all to be the next generation of you folk to take over the city. One of you can be a mayor. I will not be here forever. Thank you for your support. Keep that applause going for our wonderful mayor, london breed. [applause. ] the kid referenced something known as a typewriter. It is similar to the keep board on your laptops and phones. If you want to know what a typewriter is, google that on your phone. Thank you, mayor breed for your leadership. I know you inspire the young people here with us today. I know they see possibilities in themselves that they may not have seen before as they watch you run this great city. Thank you for sharing your experiences today. Now to entertainment. How does that sound everybody . applause . We cant have a kickoff without performances. Please enjoy the f
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