Miser. Its like saying goodbye to the tin man. Weve been working on 6 years of working on this museum. Perkins and wills contribution. The number of the architecture and design. I do want to call them out. And, [ cheers and applause ] i didnt forget that. There was a series of architects who were working the set and this had to do it during a construction period was matsushida. You did all the the stress work. Thank you very much. [ applause ] and then of course we had to have someone supervise construction. And everyone knows contractor stories and people have the Horror Stories from their house and wherever you go when you go a people have that story. We dont have that story because we use webcor. You cannot believe the professionalism, the quality. Eric was sending emails multiple times seven 7 days a week. The organization of this project could never happen without webcors pro bono support and the dedication of those individuals. We want to call them out and thank them. [ applause ] is rodrigo sanity santos here. I asked him to give us a price on engineering and he said im not giving you a price. Im doing it for free and he did. [ applause ] our favorite designer is rob duncan here . I saw rob earlier. I know rob is here. All the great designs all the great retail stuff was all designed by rob. Rob would occasionally ask for a very small check which no where near covered his cost. It covered the Museum Design and we got at the elite international firm. Thank you, rob. [ applause ] i also want to thank our great hero, my hero john burton for coming. Great hero for coming. John and i took a driving tour back in 2010 where he pointed out to me all the places he used to gamble and drink in the tenderloin. [ laughter ] and he remembered them. And also i want to thank tom and ron at pbi for going far beyond the call of duty. Thank you very much, both of you. [ applause ] so again, im not thanking everyone else as well but i want to get to the presentation. A lot of things happened on the morning i mayorals watch. It happened because of mayor lees watch. People asked me who supports this museum. If i said our biggest supporter is mayor lee. Hes been with us the entire time and he believes in the tenderloin. Whats interesting is all of us who you see here, we all have a long history, but what i learned in researching my book and for this museum is that mayors havent done very much for the tenderloin in history. They talk a good game and come down for ribbon cutings and they give a lot to nonprofit housing but when it comes to this its been 15 years. We got lucky that mayor lee became mayor. I have to say when you look at the help we got from the Mayors Office and when steve comes, he never comes to an event. Steve came to this event and the support he gave to us. Of course amy cohen and joaquin and someone who gave as much help, jeremy. I wish we had a closed circuit so jeremy knows all the help he gave us. That happens with mayors in the title. That doesnt happen if you dont have a mayor who says i want all the staff to help the tenderloin. Ed lee did that. Wow further a do, mayor, thank you very much. [ applause ] randy, thank you for the introduction. Mayor edwin m. Lee this is what a sizzlers restaurant looks like. [ laughter ] you have to know that part of the history in order to appreciate that line. We certainly do. And those who have been in the tenderloin for many years serving the residents here. I think you are all to be congratulated. I know there is an abundant list of people. But i also want to acknowledge those that maybe do not have a big name but are the Small Business owners within two or 3 blocks from here that said we want this to happen. Every Police Officer that has served this district wanted this to happen. Firefighters who have come through here wanted this to happen. Nurses, i have a lot of nurses and medical Health Professionals wanted something here to happen. It shouldnt surprise all of you that when it comes to the tenderloin, when it comes to revitalizing areas in the Central Market, historically depressed areas, it takes not only the great ground leadership that randy has provided for many years. You have to give randy a huge huge [ applause ] here. [ applause ] talk about this. If i had anything do with it is only because he convinced, he was there and you have a reading. This is our history. This is why we came to study law and do civil rights and work in the communities like this. No different way i feel about chinatown and north beach and some areas we worked historically together. But i will also say beyond kind of taking care of our own roots and the people we believe in and giving them the level of respect, i enjoy working with the people you just named. We are working together now today to house what is on the front pages of Homeless Population and they are doing a terrific job and they are freeing up master leasing with as many units as they can. They are finding us to be more incredible partners on these very challenge populations that have a lot of issues and they are centered in Central Market and tenderloin and we want to help them. I also want to say that in addition to them and the volunteers, there is just an incredible number of people that go unnamed and the staff. I want to also give another shout out to a group of people that continue i think to help revitalize all of San Francisco but particularly the most challenging are artist. This museum is part of art. It doesnt surprise me that the museum is the idea that has now come forward to attract investor confidence, to bring people together. And im looking at karen from the arts and naomi, the city administrator who was in my previous role in trying to figure out what joaquin and amy and others and how we continue to work with the arts to revitalize and bring forward life because when you have nothing, you still got art. You got a history to talk about. So when we had all of those meetings at the wonderful hasteings college, they did a Great Partnership community and it was neat to tell those stories of what we needed others to do to get people involved. Thats why im not surprised to explaining the idea of the uptown in the tenderloin in this fashion to be so sustainable that a larger fate is happening particularly in the tenderloin area and we celebrated those milestones on a basin which is more and more to come. But there is investor competence that is also there. There will be companies that will i think appreciate this even more. Thats why there is neighbor nest. Thats created for low income families that are part of the technologies contribution. There will be more of that as the cbas get more life into the Community Benefit agreements and all the technology employees. They will not just go down larkin street. They are going to chairman and the bistro and they will say where is this museum and they will discover that and hopefully get into the jazz and Cadillac Hotel again and hopefully into more jazz. As 400 mayors discovered in one of their most enlightening sessions ever to join our memorial in that session. So there is to say a lot of things happening and its just a matter of us linking it up, talking about it, and introducing more people to it. When we get the lighting down with the harlans leadership on the lighting, the pathways are going to be better lit and you see people at the park providing for all the people that we want our parts to reflect. On valencia, thats going to sprout. You see ice cream in the middle of the tunnel coming. I cant wait for the day we serve free ice cream in the tenderloin. They deserve it. That will be a lot of fun. There is a lot of new things happening and i think this is a moment to an attribute all the spirit of the people that have come here to make this happen. Engineers, there is a reason why they are the most successful and good reputable contractor in the city. They are building the big downtown buildings but also help rehab lead with many others with this incredible museum. I cant wait when they start counting the numbers of people that come through here. Because when they come through here, all the other shops you have to be exposed to. This is part of uptown tenderloin. It is part of the story, the history to arm themselves with so they will know what they are looking at and appreciate this entire part of our city that now is going to become an even bigger contributor. They have contributed. We just havent recognized it. And i know that muhammad and others, we struggled in our capacities for public works to allow pathways for more people to come here will continue doing that, but all the agencies are working together now in a much better rhythm because we appreciate the investments that are made here because this is going to cause more investments especially the investment in people and we are going to see more of that from our administration. The tenderloin is going to be a great story, but so is Church Street and bodega and Central Market and so much more of an investment for people who want to create a better place and time for a chance to celebrate and have this sharing for a lot more people. Thank you for this milestone, but i am excited to see this cause even more excitement in this entire community and randy, your leadership, your unfettered commitment to this. I want to say thank you from the entire district. [ applause ] i do want to mention that kevin louis is sitting in the third row. He and my paint job, we opened an art gallery for art a half block down 236 leavenworth street. And so many people said to me, who did this museum, its so great. If you need someone to do a museum for you. Steve is right there and give him your card and hell get a hold of you. So im very honored by the presence. We have the history on the walls and the history sitting here and reverend cecil williams. One thing i want to say about reverend williams i have been in the tenderloin, i know him. I didnt know in 1963 there were only 35 families as members. He had a remarkable organizing strategy. I dont think anyone would have thought of it. He said we are going to hire a minister for youth who has no money. Thats what he did. He led the power grass roots and organized this. How many knew that . How many read my books . [ laughter ] the legacy is so much more powerful in the tenderloin. We are so glad you are here. Do you want to say a few words . Greetings, everybody. Thank you men and ladies. Thank you the people who put the time and effort and money. This is the most important thing thats happened in the city and county of San Francisco. No matter what you are looking at and how you see it. This place certainly is something that is vital and will continue for years and years to come. And having said that, janis, i could not have done it without you. Im telling the truth. [ laughter ] in fact she did before i did. We did. What you dont know i will tell you. Every inch of this, every group that came to San Francisco, we had something to do with them in what they did in this city. You name it. We saw at nighttimes what you can probably see on television because we felt very strongly that the voice of those folks who came through San Francisco, that led me to be here. We never gave in to their philosophy. We have philosophy and a commitment and an unconditional love as a base. There were moments where it was getting pretty tight at times. Actively came here. Secondly, we had also to begin to relate closely and openly with gay and lesbian groups. We could find ways in this community, Large Population of gays and lesbians. That was very important. So we identified with whatever the movement was. So as a leader to the nation we responded to the gay and lesbian community. The third thing is i dont know if you know this or not but we have 10,000 volunteers who come through every year. That is something that is very critical. Lastly but not least, you need to know this, there is no doubt about it, right in the block from where we are located there are large groups of African Americans. There is a large number of African Americans in the tenderloin. Large numbers. Some of them they have problems and confront issues. They are ours and we are theirs. We will always be theirs and they will be ours, always. I want to hear him say, janis without your time, i dont know where i would be without you. [ cheers and applause ] [ laughter ] talking about all people well generally i was going to open the first office in 1980. Ed glide raised it to 75 a month and we said we cant afford that and right next door was a Vietnamese CommunityDevelopment Center which started my work with do. Remember we had some refugees who came to the tenderloin and started to transform the neighborhood and i worked with toe for 10 years until local 2 which is in the tenderloin. I thought the coincidence that you and i met in glide. Toddo. [ applause ] being here just feels like so much coming home. Although i never really left the tenderloin. I came just a little bit from a personal perspective. I came to the lend lion when i was 18 and im 56 now and im still working on the tenderloin. Working as the vietnamese youth Development Center what is under the leadership of lamb do you and the Memorial Church where we do a lot of community outreach. We provide after school. I was one of those youth that benefited from the program and north of market plan and coalition. I think we have one of our first Southeast AsianHousing Committee in the city because of the diversity of the members who live in here which is vietnamese laotian and cambodia. We do our best effort to incorporated ourselves to learn about our right as a tenant and also we want to learn about being a part of the Bigger Picture of passing rent control. We have a lot of memories where we have our first picket line to protest one of the evictions. One of the buildings right here but we have a sad moment where i dont know if you remember where there was a person that died in the building. The cause because of the space between the floor and elevator and the space was too small. As a community we overcome a lot. The unite Development Center is providing youth with a different focus with technology and recreation that we when you are growing up poor you dont have the opportunity but now growing up and you have the location. That is what we do and we also survive a lot of turmoil and thats what you do with us. And reverend i have to remember his name. When our community was going through a lot of turmoil with whats going on in our homeland we continued to be able to be about and provide the best service we can regardless of whether or not you are supporting the republican or supporting the reunification of vietnam today. I feel very much at home and thank you for all the work that everybody had done to continue to work the community forward. One thing i have to mention is that because a lot of our members in local two become more self sufficient as working in the hotel because of the effort of you and randy from the Planning Coalition after making sure that these hotels when they build they are sure she hire a resident from this area. [ applause ] so some of our members graduated from here and able to provide a home and live better. I know they have a much better life. The tenderloin is a lot of memories for me and a lot of struggles and a lot of cobwebs as well. [ applause ] i should mention the Cultural Center used to be the waitresses union. Its the largest waitresses unit union in the united states. We are a big union area. Many of you know kathy looper from here friday concerts. I worked with her as long as i have known lee roy and shes 79. Everyday when we have our tours, which is really important for this museum because we want people to go out to the community and get to know the tenderloin. We have pam coats, one of our tour guided. Kathy is also a tour guide. The first time i take everyone is through the Cadillac Hotel they are blown away because they hear negative things about the sros. They see it and they say is this the sro . Because of kathy is the unsung hero in the tenderloin. Kathy . [ cheers and applause ] that was all fully sweet. Its night to be in a room full of people who love the tenderloin. I have to tell you its heart warming to be here and see this with this out pouring of support. When lee and i built this, it failed because it was an isolation. There wasnt enough around it to draw people in even just for a meal. If anybody knows me, you know i will get to the point. We need your continued support. We need you to support serve every business. We need you to go to the museums, then go to one of our restaurants. Randy has done an incredible job of bringing investment into this community. Its not just his job, its our job. We have to do the same. We have to encourage people to come in and spend their dollars in our community, help support this community and this museum is a great entry way for people to do that. So, thats it. Bring your pocket books. [ cheers and applause ] to continue on that theme because we dont have philanthropic support, we have all kinds of items for sale that are sold in a museum. If you havent bought any before, buy some today. Getting people to come to the museum and pay the admission fee and to have them take the tours which we have on thursday nights. That could help. All of you who are inspired by this and talk the language by mayor lee and doddo is to talk about it. We need to you do that you cant just walk away and say that was fun, where is lunch and its all forgotten. I have told people the story about how sitting down with gratsdz wealthy people and when they are with me it was a great idea but they didnt give any money. When you are here you are excited and back home you are in another environment. If you just give to momma. We are working very hard to raise every dollar in the tenderloin. When you do that, its great to be here. We have word of mouth and otherwise you have ways to go to the museum. Our Opening Night event at 6 30. We have a rare extraordinarily rare assistance. If you see sierra strike and mark. Susan striker and victor hernandez. Victor the co director will both be here along with marching and veronica, the activist and if you want to know the gay and lesbian history of San Francisco and where it began, it began here right in the tenderloin. Cover charge covers the free wine. See you all here and in the future. Thank you. [ applause