The union square alliance. Thank you and briefly this group come to make suggestions to get on the same page at the same table to understand our needs for San Francisco. Make recommendations to the Mayors Office the Mayors Office is listen to many requests. And that is part of where we are going today. Thank you for coming and i want to turn it over to mayor breed. [applause]. All right. Is it still morning . Okay. I have been at a few things fwrit to be here with all you have. Is this working. Testing 1, 2. You guys dont have a microphone . First, thank you all so much for being here temperature is has been a long road to recovery and i want to take us back a bit because San Francisco needs to be reminded of who we are. And many of you were at this state of address where i talked about challenges we over come and consistent low whether it is after the gold rush. After the quake. After the various pandemics, upon often times people consistent low have tried to write a different narrative about San Francisco. And when we are. Now, like any major city, we know we have problems. We know we need to combat the issues around crime and Public Safety. And afford at. Im optimistic about the future when we are see nothing San Francisco is Something Like nothing else. We have the poltd to be when we want to be and to reminds us what we used to be. Think about mission bay and had mission bay used to be. Mission bay was nothing but railroad tracks. Golf shooting range and an e spree outlet now the newest, hottest neighborhood in San Francisco. Concerts occur and so many things helping. Testifies flooded with people overnight weekend had the grateful dead did the second or third final concert. And the fact is people want to be here they are excite body San Francisco and im sure you spent time out and about at events and activities and enjoying park and open space and neighborhoods and seeing a revitalization of our neighborhoods. With, let of new businesses. A let of places to eat. And excitement. The excitement in the air where do we go. Thank you for the work on the chamber and comments about recommendation its is add vo kaes. We need your support more than ever because often time what is is happening, policy are being made without an understanding of the impacts it is creating on businesses. I have been talking to companies all over the San Francisco. I have been meeting with mall Business Owners trying to get at the heart what are their issues. And, let of their issues center around uncertainty about Economic Future and the ability to survive in San Francisco. Especially for our start ups and for our new businesses that are all over our neighborhoods and community. What do we need. Of course, we need revitalize downtown and push upon the various strategies we plan, in fact, in my state of the city this february, i made it clear that our economic recovery, specific low relating it downtown needs to center around a number of things which Sarah Phillips will highlight and talk about today. Not just when i said we would do but when we have been doing. Im excite body the progress we made around supporting businesses and removing barriers around taxes to create economic certainty and my hope working with this group well take real tax reform measures to the ballot next year. Im excite body when we have done about first year free. Almost 5,000 new Small Businesses have opened their doors all over San Francisco because of first year free and the investments we make it to make it easier for people to do business in San Francisco. And so we have we know a lot of work to do, i gotta just highlight a couple before i turn it over to sarah. Many of us talked about the deficit. How are we going to provide incentives taxes and how are we going to transform Public Safety and close a 780 Million Dollars budget deficit. Guesses what . We d. Did it with maintaining the promise, prosecute voiding tax incentives and investing in Public Safety like never before. We saw recently one of the Largest PoliceAcademy Classes since before the pandemic. My hope is we will begin to see the numbers increase with our increase in pay, Retention Bonus and other incentives we saw less officers retire. And we are looking forward to continuing to do our recruitment in order to increase our Law Enforcement agency because the end of the day with ambassador and programs and having eyes and ears on streets; there is a need for Police Officers. To be out there but also to dot investigations and the work necessary to keep the people of San Francisco safe. You hear about a lot of the incidents that occur. Oftentimes what you dont hear is the hard work this go in overing merchandise and making the arrests. And making sure this people understand they will not be able to get, way with the crimes that i have committed in our city. From a learning are perspective we upon this a lot of Violent Crimes and other things are done compared to other major cities in the country row. We have, let of work to do around burglars in the staechl my hope is working with increasing the police force. The cameras we will be implementing all over the city and some of the great work and tell help to transfwhorm we need to do around Public Safety. Im looking forward to that. So when we are see nothing terms of of a change with this new hope and optimism and the great weather. We are seeing an increase in Office Attendance by 42 . We are looking forward to folks returning i think people are tired of work home in pajamace they may not want to come back 5 days a week but they are fear of missing out. Missing out on the great things helping in the city. We are no longer a financial district downtown. Wore activating downtown with events and creating entertainment zones. Where people are able to the have great events and not deal with show much bureaucracy with the city. Supporting downtown mall businesses and react have aing our plaza, trance forming them and think burglar what is possible. And look, i get temperature people want something nouchl they want fast, instant and so tuck burglar for example, a soccer stadium in the future does not seem like within reach. Electric at chase center. It was talked about years before it was built and now it is home to the initial champions the golden state warriors. They won before. Dont worry well be back. So not only that, concerts and other activities. We are seeing an increase in office demand. Artificial intelligence is ticking flight in San Francisco like no nothing else and it is in the happening anywhere in the world. In fact, of the top 20 companies of Artificial Intelligence the top 20, 13 in the bay your and 8 in know front. Will and all of the investments are happening here in San Francisco in the First Quarter of this year over 15 billion dollars of investment of ai they are on the hunts for 800,000 square feet. Open the doors and be willing to be creative on the other hand how we use space in downtown San Francisco. Speaking of using spaces, we made it easier for people to convert. So office space may be the ceilings are low to do a building like this. But lap space and office space requests housing on the rise in downtown. So we have you know a 30 vaccance we office space but for the Life Sciences and biotech and the folks creating the now alternative medicines and foods and the other things, 3. Upon 7 vacancy rate. We than if we make adjustments and we allow our new are buildings to be adapted there could be possibilities. And im looking forward to easier and sarah will talk about the changes we already made for conversion to housing and lap space. More importantly the victory changing the inclusionary numbers to get more housing built in San Francisco. We expect 23. 3 million visitor in 2023 up 6. 2 from 2022. I believe next year we will be back to prepandemic levels we have conventions and activities planned. Including dream force a hit in San Francisco. Nothing will be like apeck the Asian Pacific economic collaborative this event is going to be a significant can event. And just to help you understand the magnitude of apeck. Now about 40,000 people number San Francisco that is the same for dream force butt difference is we have 21 heads of state. We are about 1200 ceos who are committed. We have thousands of delegate and others from countries all over the world. And in fact, will this is the most Significant International event San Francisco has ever seen no event of this magnitude ever exist instead city since 1945 when the United Nations was established. That is the other global significant we had heads of state and International Events but not of this magnitude with 21 heads of state what this means for San Francisco is significant. When you been it and when that will do to drive the economy. When it will do to open the businesses especially frequently arab enthusiasm asia is a place where many visitors when you electric at the tourism numbers hotels this are from my understanding close to the 80 occupancy rate it was before the pandemic. Think about if the doors were open from asia what that would mean for conventions and visit sxors all the things necessary to get San Francisco on the road to recovery. Our head of state our president as well as the president of china plan to do a meeting here that will happen with many other great things and opportunity around growth and develop and want business. It is our opportunity to shine as a city. We will have over a thousand foreign press. Our opportunity to present San Francisco in a way had demonstrate when is we are capable of and get people excite body coming to San Francisco. You have been hearing from visitors who said San Francisco is in the what people are saying it is. Lets be clear we have problems. They are like this is like other cities i have been to. Than i have the same problem in some case worse i will not put a city down and use an example. The fact is like any major stele we have challenges but people are surprise when than i are coming to San Francisco and they are having the great experience. So. Im excite body had we are doing and what we will continue to do to improve San Francisco for the future. I want to touch a bit on transportation. And muni. We are seeing increasing in the number of people riding mount tow 33,000. Bart up 25,000 daily riders. More people rely on Public Transportation it get to the downtown your temperature is why we brought back the one california and creating easy options for people to use Public Transportation to come downtown because i think people want reliable transportation. They want to make sure the bus are safe and clone and those are things we are working of the people have better experiences Public Transportation system with our plans to do a number of Public Safety initiatives. Quick build where we are able to do bulb outs. More important low the red bus listens to move people from the west side of the city and dun town your, quick and efficient so than i dont use their vehicles. Im excited about that. I want to touch on the most pressing issues this seem to get, lot of attention in the city that is the open air drug deal and using. The fact again i go back to this is in the a problem unique to San Francisco. There are other cities all over the country dealing with this. And i have been in touch with mayors to figure out way in which we can collaborateerate through the u. S. Conference of mires i got cosponsors for resolution asking the Biden Administration to do more to help with us this problem temperature is in the a San Francisco problem. It is a world problem. It involves a number of other countries and involves our verse federal, state and local Law Enforcement agencies. Who have been working very heard to help us combat temperature im grateful to Speaker Pelosi who has been really incredible in providing support with drug Enforcement Agency and support from the u. S. Attorneys office and they have been working hand in hundred with the california Highway Patrol and San FranciscoPolice Department. Their efforts have been amation. And just to give you a few numbers this is the prepare. Year to date. 502 arrests for drug possession of sales. That number has exceed left years numbers in total. So year to date numbers now for arrests for possession and also for public into beingcasion increased. We are arresting pep for committing illegal actos street whether selling or using what have you, with a goal of getting people in treatment of the but accountsability. Because that is a big piece. Puzzle missing. And when i appreciate about the department is all the w they have done to really get us to a place where the chp and seizing fentanyl and drugs and weapons with the w they do. Specific low targeted to the south of market area and tenderloin community. Made a world of difference. Police are doing incredible work as well. We are grateful to the dea because a lot of their work leads to rests that involve the federal court system. Of rather than the local court system it has been challenge to get accountability introduced in the foeldz that hen a game changer. We believe with that along with un plaza and investments we make to credit a skate park. A carnival starting thursday will be amazing. Activating a luing fells to not just come to a Farmers Market but twice a week but do more every day in the your this is when will be a game changer for when we need to do to turn the plaza around and deal with the crisis this challenged our streets significantly. I can go on and talk about so many great things happening in the staechl i know sarah wants to talk about our progress on our recovery. So our progress really is this is what i said we would do this is when we have done and how much more we still have to do. And the reason why this was important to in to the San Francisco chamber it talk about it especially with so many of you who represent the various agencies is we need more than a letter of support. For policy this is we try to push through. We need advocacy. We need it in a very aggressive way. Because i do think that it is important that not only you as a leader had understand when is going on but you as leaders you have a number of people you represent. And those people should be made away in how easy it is for them to sends an e mail or call the members of the board of supervisor when is we try to push things through. When we fought for the over time budget for the Police Department before the budget, we got support from community. And a number of Community Organizations rallied folks to get people to submit letter and advocate and that was notteen for it was to keep had we had at the very basic level and my goal to get us to a better place. Of course. We need advocacy and support and people to write letters and send e mails and need them to show up to board meetings and make sure people understand the impacts of the decision this is we are trying to push through and what not just means for downtown but for the city as a whole. If downtown does in the recover, all the programs that the board is approve andment to pay for, those programs dont happen. We have to cut, cut, cut. This year we balanced the budget next year tell be harder to balanceful cuts will hurt more. My hope we work to get city on the right path and make sure that the Business Community is at the foreupon front of helping us not only craft the decisions but get those decisions through. We will have to take a number of things to the bell on the and a number of things to the board of supervisors and my goal again is to work to help them understand the significance of this. I think than i are starting some get it more than others. I think they are starting to get it buzz this was a struggle for them to make a decision around the budget this past year. My hope is we will move forward. And as i said t