I started the o was with a financing and had a Business Partner all ended up wanting to start the business and retire and i did was very important to me so i bought them oust and two weeks later the pandemic h4 one of the moments i thought to myself we have to have the worse business in a lifetime or the best. We created the oasis out of a need basically so other people bars and turning them into a space and when the last place we were performing wasnt used turned those buildings into condos so we decided to have a space. What the pandemic did for us is made us on of that we felt we had to do this immediately and created this. unintelligible . Where we would offer Food Delivery Services with a curbside professionalism live music to bring spectacular to lives we are going through and as well as employ on the caterers and the performers and drivers very for that i think also for everyone to do something. We had ordinary on the roof and life performances and with a restaurant to support the system where we are and even with that had terribly initiative and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt had to pay our rent we decided to have an oldfashioned one we created club hours where you can watch to online and or be on the phone and raised over one quarter of a Million Dollar that of incredible and something that northbound thought we could do. We got ourselves back and made me realize how for that people will show up if i was blown away but also had the courage but the commitment now i cant let anyone down i have to make the space serviceable so while this is a full process business it became much more about a space that was used by the community. And it became less about starting up a business and more about the heart of what were doing. This building used to be a and one of the first one we started working on had we came out what a mural to wrap the building and took a while but able to raise the money and pay 5 artists to make a design around many this to represent what is happening on the side and also important this is who we are this is us putting it out there because satisfies other people we dont realize how much we affect the Community Around there when he i want to put that out there and show up and show ourselves outside of those walls more fabulous. And inspires other people to be more fabulous and everyone want to be more fabulous and less hatred and hostility and that is how we change the [music] office of Initiative Start in the 2017 and started as a result of community advocacy. Our transgender Nonbinary Community advocates were really letting our government know that we needed to be heard. We needed to be considered and policy and budget decision and so, then the mayor lee and founding director of spark created officeof initiative that allow us to advocate for equity for transgender and nonbinary communitiful we focus on 4 areas. Training, education for the city employees. We focus on civic and Community Engagement making sure our leaders have a voice and are heard by our elected officials. We work on policies and programs to make sure our city is responsive to transand Nonbinary Community and add voice to departments to integrate transinclusion in policies, procedures and practice. We still have, lot of work to do to improve and address equity in san fran for our Community Upon i feel that we are on the right track and seeing how peoples lives are improving thanks to those changes. I do think it is unique that our local government is sponsive to transgender communities so i hope that people can remember that despite the work we had, we seat progress. We seat change and there is hope for transpeople in San Francisco and wherever we come together and organize to improve our lives. [music] good morning, everyone. Andne. D thank you for beingr beingr bei. I wa to, on behalf ofhalf ofhaly and county of san of san of san, offer my condolencesdolencesdole family of our of our of our of r mayor, Dianne Dianne dianne diae all knew and lovednd lovednd lod away thisay thisay thisay thi me take a moment to pause andause u reflectreflectreflectreflect oni want to make to make to make tot talk about, especiallypeciallype extraordinary workary workary w to lead our cityour cityour city years during during during veryg times. Today, we have lowered ld the flags in ours in ours in ouy departmentpartmentpartmentpartmo stationsstationsstationsstat ane mass mass mass mass mass in her honor. We will have a book of condolences for her, for the public to come and to sign. It will be located in San Francisco city hall on the fourth floor for visitors and others to come by to take a moment to reflect and to pay their respects and i just want to take us back to a very challenging time in our citys history. Many of us remember in the 1970s, in 1978, in particular, when we were still struggling with what was happening in during the massacre of jonestown, when senator Dianne Feinstein was at that time president of the board of supervisors, and the city was hit hard with the loss of over 800 people and less than a little bit after ten days, then when we had unfortunately, the assassination of mayor George Moscone and supervisor harvey milk, and instantly our the then president of the board of supervisors became the mayor. And at that time helping to the city to deal with these two extraordinary challenges, you know, the loss of such life, such tremendous life, the loss of our leadership, she stepped up. She led with courage. She worked hard for this city. She was a beacon of hope and inspiration during a very dark and tragic time, which cemented so cemented her legacy as an extraordinary leader for our city and for our country. Dianne feinstein never stopped being mayor. She was mayor in San Francisco for about ten years before she became our senator. And i want to just talk about what she meant to San Francisco as a mayor, leading us through tragedy during a dark time, focusing on the important things that mattered to communities, that mattered to our city, mored fast transport systems, Dianne Feinstein wanted to make sure that we showed tremendous support and respect for an iconic mode of transportation in San Francisco and worked with both the public and private sector to raise the necessary funds to save our cable cars, which so many visitors continue to enjoy. In San Francisco. You cant think about San Francisco without thinking about Dianne Feinstein and how she has consistently been a champion for people all for neighborhoods, for bridge building, for all the things that have made our city such an incredible city over the years. And i want to just also take us back to when i was a kid and when i was excited about about playing for Dianne Feinstein, the mayor of San Francisco, the first woman mayor of San Francisco. I was in the Ben Franklin Middle School band. I played french horn and we worked so hard, hard to get ready to play for her right here at city hall. We were known as Dianne Feinsteins band. Any time there was any event activity, city or what have you, we basically were chosen in as the band to perform for any occasion. And i remember begging my grandmother, begging her to get me some new pantyhose. I remember begging my grandmother for something new to look nice for the mayor. And she in fact bought the band sweaters that we wore that day, the band sweaters that we wore so proudly. And there was a level of pride to be in front of the mayor, to watch the mayor witness us play and to be. She was so proud of us. And she said so. And she took the time to talk to us. Express how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band, jack martins was our conductor. He was our teacher. He was our friend. He loved her. So and in fact, when the 49 ers won the super bowl and she loved the San Francisco 49 ers, they had a big celebration at the fairmont hotel. And, you know that the Ben Franklin Middle School band was right there to play for her. She stopped by to say hi to us. She made sure she brought over joe montana. And let me tell you, that was one of the best moments of my life. I still remember it today growing up in San Francisco, she was always someone we looked up to. So much so that when she ran for senator, we helped out in her campaign. I remember doing the envelopes and doing whatever it took. She was the first woman to really step out and to do this extraordinary work. Both as president of the board of supervisors, as as mayor of San Francisco, as the senator for the state of california. And just last night, she was on the senate floor casting votes because she truly believed in doing her duty and being an extraordinary public servant. And it is clear that she cared about making a difference in the lives of so many. One of the first things that she did when she was on the air when she began to serve as a us senator, we were experiencing in 1992 the tragic city of what happened with 101 california and the work that she did to get an Assault Rifle ban in place was extraordinary, especially at that time. Um, she did it because she knew how important it was. She was constantly courageous and she continued to push the envelope, build relationships across the aisle. She worked hard to work with other people because ultimately she wanted to accomplish things. She is truly a role model. She is an amazing individual. And so many of us, especially in the city and county of San Francisco , will miss her dearly. It wasnt just because of the work she did, it was because of the love and the compassion that she shared for so many people. And before i open it up to questions, ill just say you know, Dianne Feinstein never stopped being mayor. Whether she was calling me to ask for something to be done or calling my chief of staff, sean ellsberg, who used to work for her at and any little thing was not too little for Dianne Feinstein. If there was something wrong with a sidewalk , a corner, an issue, it did not matter. She took the time because because she cared so deeply me about seeing San Francisco look and feel good and wanted to make sure that what we were doing here on the local level was a great example of how to make significant changes. And she wanted us to make those changes and make San Francisco look and feel good for everyone who was a part of the fabric of San Francisco. I also want to say that she built so many extraordinary relationships in our national relationships. She made San Francisco a international destination. In fact, the shanghai sister city relationship, senator Dianne Feinstein developed that along with other sister city relationships, to recognize the diverse city and how important it is to bridge the gap between communities and our city. I can go on and on about how so many of the things that she did here locally as mayor set the tone for what San Francisco has become and will continue to be a beacon of hope for. So many people for years to come. And so i want to again, thank you all for being here to recognize us. Senator Dianne Feinstein and her legacy in San Francisco, we are again honoring her by lowering the flags at half mass. We will have a condolence book on the fourth floor at noon for people who want to visit and sign the book and pay their respects. We will share that book with the public and we will share that book with her family. And we are not aware of the specifics as it relates to her services. But we will definitely provide that information as soon as it is made available to us. So again, thank you all for being here today. Its not lost on me that on the wall behind you are the two Women Leaders of the city amongst so many men, can you talk a little bit about her inspiration to you, perhaps to be a leader as as a woman in San Francisco and in california . Well, i remember when i was president of the board of supervisors and sadly, ed lee passed away. And one of the first calls i got was from senator Dianne Feinstein. And we had a very long discussion on about just what she went through, how she made decisions, how difficult it was. And she she provided that support and that mentorship to make sure here that i was prepared to step up at a difficult time for our city. And so we build it there was a bond that we established because of that, me being the second woman and what that meant. And, you know, she was very proud and very happy to see me in this role. She supported me wholeheartedly and we had regular discussions over the years about Different Things related to San Francisco. Of course, many of her ideas of what could be done, but it was not ever lost on me. I you know, becoming mayor for me was just just incredible. I never thought someone like me from Public Housing could could be mayor. And we talked about even the work she did across the street from the projects. I grew up in the pink palace was a notorious even more so at the time than where i live. And even though they both were pretty challenged thing and what she did to turn that Public Housing development into senior homes, which it is still to this very day and has made parts of that area a lot safer. So we had a great relationship. We talked about how hard her it could be for a woman and some of those, you know, very private and intimate moments around the differences and what that would entail, including how people might treat you and she she just offered some really great advice to just stay the course and focus on the work you know, be courageous, do the best you can, take care of the city. She was always focused on the city and she was also focused on me. She in terms of a person and saying to make sure that i take care of myself, too. So i always appreciated her guidance, her support, and more importantly, you know, the fact that i follow in her footsteps. And as i said earlier, her legacy, because of what she did for San Francisco during such a very challenging time, is cemented in our history. And again, when the pandemic occurred, she immediately made reached out to me before i could reach out to her. There was immediate phone call directly to talk about what the hard decisions that needed to be made, what it takes, do the right thing, do whats necessary for the city, because as you can remember, during the beginning of the pandemic, when we first declared a state of emergency, there was so much pushback when we moved forward to be the first major city in this country to go shelter in place. There was major pushback. And she said that use the experts, use the data, focus on the science and do whats right for San Francisco. And so ill always remember that during the most difficult times when things were challenging, i never had to pick up the phone and call her. She always immediately picked up the phone. She always had San Francisco top of mind. And i know that her legacy is what she did for the city, what she did for this country, and how she was a constant inspiration and strength for so many of us, especially women who are looking to seek office. Women who are moving forward in this political world or who are too often challenged in other ways. I mean, she stayed the course. And can you imagine in the 1970s, i mean, she first became a member of the board of supervisors in 1969. The work that she did and had to do to get to any place, she she even even when she lost a campaign that was a source of inspiration. When she lost when she ran for mayor, when she lost, when she ran for governor, she did not give up. She did not walk away. She stayed the course. And look at all the extraordinary work that we benefited from because of her commitment and her courage. That is what i look to when i think about Dianne Feinstein, especially the fact that shes a woman and she was an incredible source of strength for me. And i know for so many women around the world what was the last thing that the senator called you about . You said she called you about things in San Francisco all the time. Do you recall one of the last few things that she called your office to ask about or to or to push . Well, she she talked about, you know, what was going on and what aipac would mean for San Francisco. So, you know, she really she had an extraordinary commitment to our International Regional presence and relationship. And so the conversation around, you know, whatever she can do, how she can be supportive, she agreed to be a part of our host committee. She was committed to making sure that San Francisco looked and felt good and for all of these foreign leaders who were coming to our city and just also discussed even some of her own