Transcripts For SFGTV Government Access Programming 20240714

Clerk okay. All commissioners in favor . Opposed . No . We are now adjourned. It is 11 18 a. M. Good morning. Welcome to Life Learning Academy. My name is craig miller. I am a founder and the chief operating officer at the school. We are so thrilled to have everybody here today to celebrate this milestone event for the school, to provide a home for the kids who need us the most. Terry and i and the entire Life Learning Community could not be more grateful to all of you for everything youve done. Id like to thank the sponsors for todays event. Bear with me, it is a very healthy list. The Northern California carpenters regional council, ey, lows, jamel and tom perkins, linkedin, Russell Reynolds first bank, Community Vision and capital consulting, rubicon, kayhill construction, and oliver and company. I also want to recognize a few donors who have made the dorm possible. Tipping point. Valerie powder, the zeler box foundation, the louis r. Laura foundation and linkedin. This group, along with the city, and sfusd exemplify a Publicprivate Partnership model that has come together to meet the needs of young people in San Francisco. We are honored to have mayor breed with us here today and to have mayor Willie Browns daughter, susan brown, here with us as well. Without question, it is because of the support of mayor breed and mayor brown that we are standing here today about to open this beautiful dormitory for kids. [ applause ]. Its pretty cool. I would like to begin our program by introducing susan brown, who is going to comment on her fathers longterm commitment to Life Learning Academy. Susan. [ applause ]. Thank you very much, craig, for that very warm introduction. Im susan brown and my father is willie brown, former mayor of San Francisco. He was unhappy because he could not be here today, but he asked me to see what i could possibly say. So im here to give you a few words. So our family is extremely proud and extremely happy and extremely excited for these dormitories. In 1998 when my father was mayor, he formed a partnership. And because of that partnership, Life Learning Academy exists. What began with that partnership would culminate into what you see here today Life Learning Academy, an organization which not only provides excellent Educational Excellence and experience for students but has acted as a catalyst for change for so many people who have walked through the doors. Hundreds of lives have been positively impacted by through their programs over the years. And the dormitories today is a goal that they set, which is basically their Mission Statement at Life Learning Academy. So it is my great honor to introduce to you today the principal of Life Learning Academy dr. Terry delane. [ applause ]. Okay. Some people out there who really know me know that i dont need a microphone, but im going to do what im told to do today. Number two, i left my notes at home. So what im going to have to do is just go from what i know. I have been here from day one for 20 years i have witnessed kids come through these doors and in this school and commit to change and commit to nonviolence. I am really lucky because i am somebody that has never forgotten where i come from. When i was 16 years old what stands out in my mind as a runaway and heroin addicted, i was with a boyfriend who was really violent. One night he beat me up, threw me out of the apartment we were in, in the middle of the night. What stands out for me is i was sitting on the Street Corner crying and alone and trying to figure out who to call. Everyone needs to have somebody to call. Not too long after that i got a chance a Second Chance at my life and i went to delancy street foundation, where my life was saved. I met mimi and i learned about community and i learned about fami family. And it has been my mission because i know that i owe for the rest of my life to right whats wrong for our kids. And especially those that dont have a safe place to live. [ applause ]. This building which you will all see is not a dorm. Its a home. What it represents is love and support where these students that live here will be able to thrive and grow and have the best of what they deserve. To build a circle of support of which you all are now a part of. When we go through this dorm, you will see how covered we are. We have the willie brown memorial mayor willie brown memorial family room. We have mayor london breeds beautiful baskets that she sent to us yesterday for every kid thats going to be living in there. We have mayor ed lees legacy in our Memorial Garden named after him. We cant be better covered than that. [ applause ]. I am managing not to break into sobs because this is such an amazing day and i am thrilled because it is now our mission to make this a model so that other schools know what is possible when you can no longer go home each night knowing that you have kids that you love every day that dont have safety, not okay. And can nobody tell you what cant be done. Now im tired of yelling at you all. Its not your fault. Sorry, craig is used to that. He said, no, thats not you yelling. Thats you talking. So i have here with me a young woman named lynnie. I call her lynnie and ive known her since she was 16. She knows what its like not to have a safe place to live and she found herself a family. And then after being in a few high schools, she came to Life Learning Academy and thrived. I want her just to tell you a little bit about herself and she came here from long beach to be with us. She is family for ever family. Our life learning family has been going on for 20 and our kids never forget us. So id like to introduce lynn ward. [ applause ]. Good morning and thank you so much for having me. My name is lynn ward and im a proud alumni of Life Learning Academy. I was raised in a Housing Project by my grandmother. Im the youngest of five sisters born to parents struggling with addiction and mental illness. I found comfort in books early on and excelled academically. I earned scholarships. I was always seemingly good on the surface, but my life home was very chaotic. The environment was making it hard to succeed and my neighborhood was filled with the enticing entrapments of the street lifestyle. This all came to a head in my junior year in high school where i was incarcerated for a robbery with a group of girls. This was a culmination of a longtime struggle for me on two diverging paths the school or the streets. I had a choice to make and it grappled internally with this decision. I had a hard time believing in myself and could not see that there was a life different than the one i was born into. So there i was facing serious charges, kicked out of high school. I needed a change in my life and my best friends dad asked if i was ready and to make a phone call. That phone call was to terry, the principal of Life Learning Academy. I interviewed with her, and during my conversation i realized my life was not a game, that turning my life around was important to her, to the school, and that i had a community that was willing to support me. I knew this because terry told me herself that she would be on me like white on rice. Those were literally her words, and she was. So was my college councilor, the vice principal. I knew the schools number and terrys cellphone number by heart because if i missed school or was late, they were calling me and asking me where i was at. A kid like me, thats what i needed. I needed caring and constant adults who noticed when i missed class, provided me with the resources to earn money and the environment to self reflect. I needed real conversations about the struggles i faced and opportunities for future success. I graduated this past june from Cal State University long beach with a masters degree in political science. [ cheering and applause ]. I am a senior employee with a Small Business in long beach, having been with the company for four years. Im a mentor. I volunteer. I like to travel. I like yoga. I live a positive life. Without Life Learning Academy, i would not be where im at today. Sorry. Life Learning Academy helps give you the Building Blocks to build my life to Something Better than i thought i could be. Because of the impact on me, i was invited to speak about Life Learning Academy at a conference this past october in San Francisco. Mayor breed gave the keynote address at the conference and i was fortunate enough to meet her. She took time to talk to me. She offered me an unpaid internship upon graduation. Like me, mayor breed was raised by her grandmother and the Housing Projects of San Francisco and was able to fight her way out through the support of her community and educational opportunities. I admire her because shes charted a path for herself, rising above the obstacles to become the first africanamerican woman mayor of San Francisco. [ applause ]. She never forgets where she comes from, where we come from, and continues to advocate for more equitable society, especially for youth, evidenced by, among other things, her ongoing support for l. L. A. That is why i am so honored to introduce her today. Ladies and gentlemen, mayor london breed. [ cheering and applause ]. Mayor breed thank you so much. Thank you so much. It really is an honor to be here and let me just say thank you to lynn. We are so proud of you and this is what this school represents. I got to tell you, when i was growing up, we didnt have Life Learning Academy. In fact, the very same kind of circumstances that lynn experienced was the same kind of circumstances that i experienced. The reason why i was raised by my grandmother had a lot to do with challenges with my family. And unfortunately, it didnt end up so well for my brother, whos still incarcerated, and my sister who i lost to a drug overdose. So im one of six siblings who was really fortunate to have supportive people in my life. Thats why the work that i do is so important to support young people, because i know the difference that it can make. So when i worked here at the Treasure Island Development Authority many, many years ago some of you probably didnt know that i remember the day that mimi silver came to the Treasure Island Development Authority, building 1, and someone said, well, mimi is downstairs and they called upstairs. Theyre like mimi silver, send her up right away. People lost it because of the fact she was there because they knew how hard she worked for the community. She along with others were really putting together under the leadership of the former mayor willie brown this incredible Life Learning Academy and i had the pleasure of working on the lease to get this thing done. Im really proud of the work that i did. I made the mistake of attending the first graduation 20 years ago. For those of you who go to this graduation, you make sure you have your tissue because i was i think i was sitting next to mike delane, terrys husband, and i was boohookiing the whole time. These people couldnt believe they made it through. I remember the story of one of the young men who said he wasnt going to school that day when the delancy van showed up to pick him up. And the guy who was driving said ill be right here waiting until you get into the van. They would not take no for an answer. They were on those kids like white on rice. They were not going to let one of those kids fail. So thats why today is so incredible. Its long overdue. Its long overdue to have a place for kids who may not have the best environment at home, where we know the challenges of sometimes living in poverty can take you in the wrong direction. Where we have seen too many of our kids cycle in and out of the criminal justice system, when we know they have so much indecreed potential to do Amazing Things. Providing a safe place for them to be, a safe place to call home and be amongst one another and a supportive environment where they are part of a real family, because delancy street is a loving family, they provide love and good food and hugs. Terry hugs everybody. That is what you need to grow and to thrive. Theyve been doing it for 20 ye years. Over the years i worked with young people at the africanamerican culture complex and as soon as i had a child that was in and out one of the schools like, ive had kids who sadly went to almost every high school sometimes in San Francisco. The person i would call and ask, can you please take my baby because he needs structure, he needs support, terry without hesitation always tried to make a way for any kid at the Life Learning Academy because she knew if she got her hooks on them they were going to graduate and they were going to go on and succeed in life. Now shes probably going to move into this dormitory because this is going to be an incredible place so that we can make sure that despite the circumstances that some of our young people are facing in their home environment, they have a home right here at the delancy street Life Learning Academy. This is one of the most and im not crying. My allergies are killing me. But this is one of the most Amazing Things that we can do. This example that were setting today by opening up this dormitory will be a model for other schools throughout the country. This is how we make sure that our kids succeed. This is how we make sure that despite the obstacles theyre facing, that we provide that wraparound support which includes a place that is safe, that is secure, and provides the love and the support that they need to succeed. In San Francisco we know we have some major challenges with homelessness. When im walking the streets in the tenderloin in particular, i see a lot of folks who i grew up with who fell through the cracks. And i cant help but think if we as a city can do better by all of our young people, we will prevent that from happening to them in the first place. Part of the investments that we have been making to End Youth Homelessness in San Francisco, including the rising up campaign, has led to although the homeless point in time count has gone up for the city as a whole, for Youth Homelessness weve seen that decrease by 10 . We need to get that to 0. Because we have an obligation. I believe as folks who have been fortunate to succeed in whatever capacity, it doesnt matter if youre rich or poor or what have you, we all can give time and of ourselves to invest in young people to make sure that they grow and they thrive. Thats what im committed to, not only with the rising up campaign, but with the opportunities for all programs where we will make sure that every High School Student in this city has access, lynn, to a paid internship if they desire. So today is an incredible day of celebration. We have waited so long for this, and i cant thank all of you enough, especially the people who have contributed to making this possible. Yes, the city was able to provide some support and we should provide support and i will continue to make sure that we make investments to support this incredible institution. But the people who really contributed and continue to support the Life Learning Academy and making this dormitory a reality for our kids, thank you so much. This is absolutely amazing. Its really an honor to be your mayor and really great to see projects like this happen because this is going to save and change lives for future generations here in our great city. Thank you all so much for being here today. [ applause ]. Okay. So, i mean, mayor breed said she the city put in some, but the truth of the matter is without mayor london breed we wouldnt be standing here. The city came to our what we asked for, the city gave us. The belief in us and the support from mayor breed, the vision and leadership from mayor willie brown is why were standing here right now. So again, i want to really thank them and thank susan so much for coming. She took pictures of Willie Browns beautiful plaque when youll see as we do tours of the dorm. Now, what were going to do first is take some pictures well, were going to take some pictures up here for a few minutes. Im going to have my kids come up. You can mingle around and have a bite to eat. Our chef derrek is amazing. We eat like this every day. Food is so important to us. Then well come back and have tours of the dorm. Thank you all so much. [ applause ] [ ] hello, everybody. I am london breed, mayor of the city and county of San Francisco , and im really excited to join you here today, but i tell you that no one is more excited than the parents of the kids who will be returning to school on monday. And today is an opportunity to us to really get the word out to people all over San Francisco that we have thousands of kids who are returning to school on monday. We will see kids walking, we will see them by king, we will see them on buses and yes, some of them will get dropped off by parents in their car. But ultimately, we want everyone will get around this city safely because there will be more people out on the streets now than ever before as a school began on monday. So a part of today is really about highlighting the awareness that we need people to slow down we need people to be aware. We need people to do better. We have had sadly a number of tragedies that have occurred on our city streets and we know, unfortunately, that has a lot to do sometimes with speed. We need to slow down. Yes, i have asked the chief to increase citations, and to be aware in this high injury corridors, the need to make sure that there are consequences for people who are speeding, which sadly can cause tragedy. If a pedestrian is hit by a driver at 20 Miles Per Hour, their risk of fatality is 5 , but if that is 30 Miles Per Hour , their risk jumps to 45 . What we dont want to continue is sadly what we see happening on our streets where we are losing far too many lives, and our most precious assets are our children, so we want to make sure that when they are moving around San Francisco, going back to school, that they are safe. When i was a kid, i went to School Across the street from where i lived. It used to be called but the name is now rosa parks elementary school. What was so cool about that is we would all just walk to school someone would walk up to my window, yell my name, there would already be three or four kids. We would get to the corner on eddie and buchanan, and then there was a crossing guard right there to make sure that all cars stopped so we could safely get across the streets and move on our way to get to school. I never realized how valuable that was until i became an adult and i see so many kids that are out there trying to get to school. We were also taught to look both ways before crossing the street. We also have to get back to some basics. This year we have hired more crossing guards and we want to thank the folks who are joining us here today for your service and for your commitment to making sure that people get around our streets safely. We also, as i said, we have the chief here. We will be placing additional enforcement in certain areas, and so i just want to also ask drivers to do better to stop texting, to stop making phone calls, to stop making looking at your phones when youre driving on our streets, to slow down, and to look both ways and to be very careful when you are navigating the streets of San Francisco to follow the laws. The stop signs, the crosswalks, and all of those things are there for a reason. It is to keep all of us safe. The protected bike lanes are there to make sure that by his bicyclists are safe, the people walking across the streets are safe, that people are moving. This is all about safety. This is all about highlighting the need for us as a safety to do much more than we have in the past so that we can truly realize the goals of vision zero , and that is no fatalities of any kind in this city because of traffic or cars or what have you. At this time, i would like to introduce the supervisor that represents this district, represents marine at middle school where there will be a lot of kids here first thing monday. Supervisor catherine stefani. Thank you. I love the middle school. It is so beautiful. I want to thank everyone, especially mayor breed and the students, parents, and city leadership who were able to make it out today as well as crossing guards. The most important people in the morning when were dropping our kids off at school who really did the important work of making sure our students are safe in our communities. My son just started high school on wednesday and my daughter is starting fifthgrade next week and i dropped dominic off at high school on his first day. I insisted i did it. And besides saying to me, mom, dont say anything weird when you dropped me off, this people around, i said to him, look both ways. It is on a busy street. He is still 14 years old and still telling my child, be careful when his crossing the street considering how dangerous our streets can be. As we kick off the new school year, as we all know, hit and runs and collisions between pedestrians and bicyclists and be at vehicles are way too common in San Francisco. Nearly every Community Meeting i have been to recently, neighbors have voiced support force crating safer streets and sidewalks and i definitely share this goal. It is our collective responsibility to make sure our streets and sidewalks are safe and secure for families who are walking, for those who are driving, and for those who are riding their bikes to school. We know we all have work to do when it comes to making sure our kids are safe. I know i can always do better out there when you get to a stop sign, count to three, dont open a door before looking before for a bicycle and always be aware, dont take calls when you were driving, just like mayor breed said. We can all do much better. I am so proud to join chief scott and his department who performed a Traffic Safety enforcement list earlier this month. I am grat glad i didnt get a ticket. Interim director mcguire who continues to work with their communities and crating safe and Sustainable Transportation options, and marine, who has been an advocate for students and pedestrians across our city. And of course, again, mayor breed was continue to shine a light on transit safety and has worked towards creating a safer San Francisco for all of our students. As we begin our school year, lets all recommit ourselves to making our commute to and from school safer. I look forward to working with mayor breed and my colleagues on the board of supervisors, our department heads, and families and all of our School Communities to further our shared vision for a safer San Francisco. Thank you so much. [applause]. Thank you, supervisor. At this time, i would like to introduce our police chief, bill scott. [applause]. Thank you, mayor. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. First of all, let me say thank you to the mayor and supervisor stefani for their leadership on traffic and pedestrian safety. Backtoschool is an exciting time. It is exciting, it is a lot of work and we want to start with this. Slow down a little bit. Slow down. The mayor mentioned it earlier. Speed kills. In terms of the focus of the violations that we concentrate on the most, we are trying to get people to slow down. As the mayor stated and supervisor stefani stated, we are going to be out doing enforcement. I want to also think the mayor and the supervisor because what allows us to get better at this is the generous support of our budget this year. Last year the mayor signed a budget, and this year she signed a budget that included continuing our hiring plan. What that has allowed us to do is increase the size of our Traffic Company and our motorcycle officers. We have at least ten more motorcycle officers then we do this time last year thanks to the mayors leadership on the budget and the supervisor stefanis leadership on the budget. What that means is we are able to do more enforcement and get people to slow down and save lives. What that looks like in the First Six Months of 2019, we have had 19 light armed forces operations, we have head sting and decoy operations, pedestrian sting and decoy operations, we have had a bike lane enforcement operation, we have initiated over 2301 vehicle traffic stops through the office of Traffic Safety grant operations, we have issued almost 100 citations just for holding a cell phone in your hand. I mentioned this at last years press conference, that is a big issue for us. People driving in our city while theyre talking on the cell phone or texting or distracted otherwise, and that is a big issue. Will be focusing on that as well we sighted almost 75 of these operations just for citations for texting while driving, which is very dangerous. The bottom line on this is enforcement is only one part of the puzzle. We have tom maguire up here with this with us, we have crossing guards, this is really a Community Effort and a community event. We really need the communitys support and your support to get the message out. Slow down, pay attention, be careful because our kids mean so much to us. Save lives. Thank you very much, mayor and supervisor stefani for your leadership, and thank you all for being here. [applause] thank you, chief. Another important part of making our streets safer is improving our infrastructure. Now i know that sometimes this can be a bit of a tugofwar because we have protected bike lanes that we need to install, and sometimes that would require the removal of parking, and we have changes to the way that we need to develop our city moving forward to because because when you think about it, you know, 20 years ago, you didnt see as many people cycling, and now you have people using that as a primary mode of transportation. That is not only protecting our environment, but it is also keeping people healthy and it is also making sure that the buses are less crowded and less people are driving. So as we make these improvements to our infrastructure, the goal is safety. It is about making sure that everyone knows where they should be when theyre on the road in order to keep people safe. So the m. T. A. Is charged with the responsibility of helping us to reconfigure San Francisco as a place that used to focus mostly on developing our streets for cars, and now it is time to develop the streets for the future and that includes cars, walking, busing, and biking in all of those things in between, his the person who is leading the m. T. A. At this time is the acting director, tom mcguire. [applause] thank you for drawing the connection between the changes we see on our streets and the choices that all of us make every day about how we get around San Francisco. Our goal is to make everyone feel like it is safe for kids to be able to walk to school or bike to school or get to school on the bus. The 190 crossing guards will be out on the street this week. They are here with one thing in mind, that is the safety of the children of San Francisco. We have been doing a lot of work this summer to prepare the city for a safe start to the school year. We read striped 90 of the crosswalks around schools around the city. Weve got troopers, we got transit assistance staff who ride the bus with her high school and medicals middle School Students to make sure they are safe as they navigate the city, and we are ready for a safe start to the school year however you get around. The m. T. A. Has got something for you to keep you safe. We are grateful for the support of the mayor and supervisor stefani. All the citys elected officials for the goal of vision zero to end traffic fatalities in the city. Thank you. [applause]. Thank you. We have a very special guest. The ladies of the westside waves are here today and speaking on behalf of the team is maureen. [applause] hi. My name is maureen and i am here today because five months ago on march 15th, my friend was struck by a car and died ten days later, so i have normal memories of eighth grade. I remember my eighth grade play, spending iron hours on my science fair project and studding from a big math test, but i also remember coming in late to my homeroom when i saw my teacher crying. I remember my team and i knew madeline was in the hospital because she was 14 and of course, she was going to wake up i clearly remember spending my eighth grade graduation holding in my tears after her memorial because i didnt want to ruin my mascara. When someone dies, especially such a bright light like mandelman, a community suffers. And knowing she died in a way that is utterly human and utterly preventable makes it so much more heartbreaking. Our city has a problem and it is killing people. With all the statistics and initiatives going around, this is easily the site of the real impact madelyns parents, or siblings, your parents and her teammates were left behind, trying and failing to move on. I am so grateful we have the support of so many of our city leaders. We got some of the change we asked for, but it is not enough. It will not be enough until this stops happening. We cannot lose sight of what happens of what matters. We have to remember what we as a city lose. We can end this. We will end this. Thank you. [applause] thank you for really putting it into perspective of why we need to do better. So thank you to everyone who is here today. Please keep in mind this is a changing city, it is a growing city. We have a lot more people who are out there on the streets, on the roads walking, so please be careful. So we also will be out there and enforcing the rules of the road, and just keep in mind that there are a lot of people out there on the streets and your kids are out there, your mother is out there, your family members are out there, so just think about that when you are out there driving around and you get distracted by a phone call. That phone call can wait. What is so what is so pressing that you have to reach for your phone, which could risk the possibility of an accident, and the importance of today is really to shine a light on our need to be back here in San Francisco, to make sure that not one more tragedy happens on the streets of our city. Thank you all for getting the word out, thank you for being here, lets do better so that kids that are going to school on monday can have a great day and they can enjoy themselves and laugh, and play, and smile, and make it home safely to tell their parents about what an amazing first day of school they had. Thank you so much for being here [applause] welcome, everybody. It is such a pleasure to be able to welcome you to our event to commemorate not only the acquisition of 270 turk street and the barcelona apartments, but to recognize the Partnership Among the mayor and city, the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund and others. The barcelona apartment is important, not only because of the accomplishment itself in this building, but also because it represents an important policy direction, and a bigger attempt to address the housing crisis in San Francisco. Please join me in welcoming our mayor and partner, london breed. [applause] thank you, don, and thank you for being an amazing partner in the effort to acquire welding his all over the safety to keep them permanently affordable. Because we know that having Affordable Housing isnt just about new construction, it is about making sure that we preserve existing Affordable Housing, whether its property that we built under the old redevelopment agency, that are in disrepair, or its buildings like this where we are able to acquire it through our small sight Acquisition Program so that we can keep it permanently affordable. Those are the things that are necessary to make sure that San Francisco is a more affordable place for all san franciscans of all income levels. We have work to do, folks. The good news is that in this particular efforts, they basically kept their eyes open and saw that this was an Incredible Opportunity for the small sight Acquisition Program. In fact, even though we are celebrating 86 units here, we know that number one, we have almost we have acquired almost 300 unit so far through this program, theres another 110 in the pipeline, which is absolutely incredible. I am really excited about the future of this program, but a more excited about the 600 milliondollar Affordable Housing bond on the ballot this november. [applause] because it also provides us with an opportunity to acquire more property. I see randy shot in the back. Thank you for coming. We just open the doors to the bristol hotel. Another incredible site here in the tenderloin, and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our residents have a safe, affordable place to come home call home. Nothing makes you feel better than to have a roof over your head, to have that kind of security, to know that you will be able to afford to pay your rent. This is not just about acquiring this building, this is about providing a new home for formerly homeless families, it is about providing wraparound supportive services, because we want to not only house them, we want to keep them housed. We want to make sure that they have a thriving existence while they are living in their homes, so sometimes it is just more than a home, it involves making the place feel like home and creating the kind of community that we know we can when we acquire sites like this. So i am very excited because this is like my favorite thing to do, and i think that we need to spread the word more about so many great things that we are doing to ensure affordability for all of our residents in San Francisco, and so i would like to invite you up to say a few words. He is one of the new residents of this incredible establishment come on up and say a few words. [applause] okay, hello, everyone. My name is richard, and i live here at 270 turk street in this building. It is really nice, yeah. I come from cambodia, and i came here quickly and settled down in this building with my family and i feel comfortable. I am happy in this building. I have some people who are from cambodia that live here in the tenderloin, and i am so grateful for this building, for the new owners, for the tndc. Everything, you know, is close, everything. Im so happy, and i will i am comfortable to live in this building. Thank you for everyone coming for today. Thats all i have today. [applause] thank you so much. Thank you. Rebecca foster from the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund. Thank you. Thank you so much. Stories like yours are why we all do this work. My name is rebecca foster, im the c. E. O. Of the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund and we are a nonprofit housing fund that was formed by the Mayors Office and Community Stakeholders like many of you who are in the room. Our job is to innovate smart approaches to Housing Finance that put public, private and philanthropic money to work to fund Affordable Housing. We were created to support important and ambitious projects just like this one. We are a nonprofit developer like our awesome partners at tndc. We are working every day to protect Affordable Housing, but they dont always have the right funding when they need it. When tndc approached us with this project, we immediately understood its importance. A chance to save 86 units and protect 72 current residents in the heart of the tenderloin in an old, beautiful historic building. We knew that if these residents would be displaced, and many of them are longterm teachers, nurses assistance, technicians, restaurant workers, they would likely not find another home that they could afford in San Francisco. To purchase 270 turk, tndc needed 24 million. About 18 million to buy the building, which is still a lot, and about 6 million for improvements to ensure that the building continues to provide a very safe and healthy place for all of the residents to call home. Our partners in the Mayors Office and the great team there will be able to come through with a longterm with the longterm funding for this building, but they didnt have the funds ready in 60 days at tndc needed to compete with market rate buyers to save this building. Deals that are over 10 million are often nonstarters for most lenders, but at the Housing Accelerator Fund, we pride ourselves in being a creative and flexible lender, and even for us, 24 million is very significant, but we knew how important this was, his we rolled up our sleeves and sprinted to raise 50 million in Additional Capital in a few months, working with the Mayors Office, and then working with the Mayors Office tndc and the department for housing for homelessness and Supportive Housing where we structure the partnership that the mayor referenced that is really the first of its kind so that we cannot only prevent the displacement of the current residents here, would also open up 24 units over the next few years so that individuals currently experiencing homelessness can also have really Quality Homes in this building. And not only is that the right thing to do and an amazing way to use the money, it also helped be the piece of the puzzle that helps the financial issue work. We are thrilled that we could step into support tndc and work with the Mayors Office of housing and Community Development to get this project across the finish line. This is really hard work. Deals like this happened really quickly and other small sights projects and they require very significant Capital Resources and a high level of collaboration and creativity and persistence, which is exactly why mayor breed continues to bring together such diverse coalitions of funders like ours to support muchneeded preservation of Affordable Housing. Some of those partners are here. Partners lake city Community Development, thank you, dignity health, the San Francisco foundation, just recently the Betty Ferguson foundation, and Tipping Point communities. We cant do this work without all of those partners, and that we have been able to over the last two years deploy 100 million to enable the preservation and construction of 417 permanently affordable deals permanently affordable units. A very complicated transaction, but like this one at the barcelona apartment projects that are way too important to walk away from. To keep it critical, we are working with the mayor to raise 50 million more in philanthropic and mission aligned capital so when Nonprofit Developers like tndc and the city need a trusted partner for the comp looks project like this, we can continue to stand at the ready. Thank you. [applause] think, rebecca. Thank you, mayor, for your partnership. I want to close with a few observations about why this is so important to tndc and to our community and the tenderloin. The tenderloin, like so much of San Francisco, is gentrifying, and there has been a longstanding fear dating back to the seventies that the tenderloin would someday not to be affordable to people with low incomes. When we buy a property like 270 turk street, one of the things that is really important about it is the fact that it is no longer owned by a forprofit. I want to break that down a little bit in terms of the way rent control works in San Francisco. Of course, under rent control, rent can only go up so much for an existing tenant, however, when a tenant voluntarily vacates, not is displaced, voluntarily vacates, that units rent can float up to market. That means that the next occupant will be higher income household. One can see that when one looks at the rent roll of barcelona apartments, and 80 or so people who live here, the people who moved in recently are paying a lot more rent than the people who moved in ten or 15 or 20 years ago. The key for us is that, number one, tndc can consider we consider ourselves forever owners, so we intend to own this property in perpetuity, and when somebody moves out voluntarily, we wont raise the rent to market. We will essentially freeze the rents and the incomes of the People Living here now for future occupants for generations so over time, this will become more and more and more Affordable Housing. It is a key part of the strategy of the tenderloin housing clinic , the tndc, and a lot of groups here to keep the tenderloin affordable for a group of people with low income. With that, we have a unit open on the seventh floor and i want to welcome people to go open go up to see it. I dont know if you want to take questions, mayor, or if anyone wants to comment. No. Okay. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your being here. Thank you for joining us, mayor. [applause]