Transcripts For SFGTV 20121225

That street artist displays cannot be within 5 feet of each other. So if you increase each space around the plaza rail, if you can picture this, then instead of there being 5 feet between the spaces, there would be 3 feet between the spaces. You did this historically speaking about nearly 30 years ago when you exempted 12 spaces around bart plaza at market and maupblt montgomery street. There is precedent here. In fact, youve granted exemptions in no less than 40 resolutions over the years for the street Artist Spaces so long as there wasnt a Public Safety problem, of course. That really is it. I wanted to stress it would be a oneyear pilot program. Your exemption would be for a year and wed see what would happen after that, whether id be before you again or just let it sunset. Im perfectly happen to answer any questions if i may. Thank you, i see no questions, so lets open this up for Public Comment. Is there anyone from the public that would like to speak . I have one card of francisco decasa. Supervisors, the gentleman here has presented to you something he wants to be put in place for a year. I have no problem with the gentleman proposing something unique. I am open to it. What i want to impress upon this gentleman, who has a lot of power, believe me, and it comes from matters with this, he has been approached by the veterans, we have some veterans, its a very sad sight to see our veterans when they are on the street. But then you have some veterans who want a stall or who want some help so that they can sell their wares, this gentleman has brought hurdles in the past. I have been approached by the veterans, i myself am working with these veterans and i have asked one of the veterans to go and see the mayor personally. But now that this issue has come here before this board and this gentleman has other ideas to have more stalls i am going to request the gentleman that the only two veterans that sell their wares by 5th and market that he have a meeting with them and he accommodate the veterans, the veterans who put their lives on the line who come here, many a time they cannot get a job, they become creative, they want to sell their wares and this city and county of San Francisco who should be helping our veterans, i am requesting the gentleman to accommodate the veterans. If he does not then i will take it to the highest level. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker. singing aint no valley high, aint no valley low, aint no space wide enough can stop us. If you need an artist well find a space for you, you dont need to worry, aint no city space wide enough, aint no city space low enough can keep me from spaces to you, remember the day you made a space, you made so free and i know i thanked you for what you did and i know now that im glad and make it better, dont make it sad. And there are spaces i remember all my life i got an artist space and these spaces have some meaning and now its up to you too. Thank you, walter. Next speaker. Good afternoon, im donna figarota with the Union Square Business district. I just wanted to talk a little bit about the background for this project. It grew out of a larger vision for Hallidie Plaza that was developed by the bid Streetscapes Committee that would create better access from the top to the bottom with a inaudible approach that would allow for a larger range of activities like flower stands, and the street artists being a very important part of Hallidie Plaza were folded into that. Right now the artists when they exist, they are lost in the confusion of people, street performers and tourists in line buying muni tickets around the cable car. We want to increase the visibility of the street artists as an asset and promote them as an asset in an attraction for both tourists living and working in the area. The display table which weve got here, i dont know if you can put on the overhead, if you can see it, anyway, what that does was it really allows a better exposure, a greater visibility of the artist with colorful and professionally designed display tables. It distinguishes the artist as members of a city program and will provide a convenient checkout process. Well be partnering with our mjn management. Steven chula designed this professionally and we want to help the artists look better. Thank you. Thank you. If theres no other member s of the public that would like to speak, lets close Public Comment. Colleagues, i know that mr. De costa raised questions about artist access. Thank you for the opportunity of responding, i really wanted to. Many years ago i sought special exemptions for the veterans in the street artist program. We have i believe at least a dozen veterans in our program who do not pay any fees. This is the exemption, the legislation it wasnt legislation, it was a clarification from the City Attorneys Office that we could waive the fees for any honorablely discharged veteran. However, the veteran must comply with all the regulations. Street artists ordinance. They could not be given a license just because they are a veteran. In other words, they do have to come in like anybody else and demonstrate that they make their own hand made wares in front of us and they have to comply with all the regulations that you have granted for all street artists to be subject to them. But, yes, the Art Commission has definited stepped forward many years ago to accommodate the veterans. Thank you so much, mr. Lazar colleagues, if there are no objections can we move this forward without objection . Without objection. Miss miller, please call item 3. Item no. 3 is an ordinance designating sam jordans bar from 4006 to 4006 as a landmark. Sam joerd dans bar has been an institution in the bayview neighborhood for many many years and sam jordan himself was truly an inspirational figure. He was the first African American to run for mayor in San Francisco in 1963, he was a longshore man, a Golden Globes boxer and a staunch Community Activist and his legacy continues to live on and you see it in his children and his grandchildren. Sam jordans bar has served as an important Gathering Place for the citys working class and the African American community. I believe land marking this place is long overdue. We have planning staff here to provide the committee with an overview of this legislation and landmarking request and with that id like to invite you to come up and make a presentation. Thank you. I did have an image for the overhead. It takes a second. Overhead, please. Can we zoom out a little bit . Im not sure if you need to do it from the machine there or not. I think you should just continue. Good afternoon, supervisors, mary brown, Planning Department staff to present the proposed designation for sam jordans bar as an individual poland lark under article 10 of the planning code. At the request of the land owner the project was added to the land mark work program in 2011. At both the june and july hearing the Historic Commission voted unanimously in favor of the building based on its historical significance. To summarize, the build is significant for its association with the life of a person significant in our past. It is a physical location and geographic locus of the life work of sam jordan. Jordan was a prominent business, political, social and cultural leader in the bayview neighborhood through the middle decades of the 20th century. Sam jordans support of African American entrepreneurship, civil rights and political involvement began before 1958 when he took ownership of the bar and remained constant until his death in 2003. His influence extended far beyond the neighborhood to include the larger sphere of San Francisco. In 1963, jordan became the first African American to campaign for mayor of San Francisco, running on a progressive platform of social justice and racial equality. The bar was a centerpiece of jordans Neighborhood Community Building Activities and he reviedd in the upstairs unit for nearly 50 years. Jordan was known locally as the mayor of butcher town, which was the historic name for the area immediately surrounding the bar. His efforts to establish a place of community and legacy within the bayview area continues for which he is known to this day. The bar continues to be operated by the jordan family, who are here today, who support the land mark designation. This concludes my presentation, if you have any questions. Thank you. Supervisor cohen . I think thats it. Lets open this up for Public Comment. Did you want to acknowledge the family members . Yes. Lets open this up for Public Comment. Is there anyone from the public that would like to speak . I went to the chase bank to give me a lollipop. Sam jordans bar, theres a new bar and its gonna be a land mark, gonna give it a good big start, gonna have a big lolli pop heart. Lollipop, oh, land mark, city landmark. And drink, drink, let the toasts start. Drink, drink, to this landmark. Drink, drink, drink and were gonna have a great city landmark and drink, drink and let the toasts start. Were gonna have a new city landmark. Let every city make it and weve got lots of heart. Next speaker. How you doing, my name is clyde, speaking on behalf of the family sam jordans bar, 4004 third street. This has been a long effort, everybody has been involved in this. We really appreciate what you guys are doing and the efforts being brought forth for this institution because so many people have come through that door. Recently i found out legendary mayor jordan used to come and tend bar, move all the bartenders out, it was such a social Gathering Place, any and everybody was welcome. Today we still make those efforts, feeding the homeless, picking up cards within the community, everybody is welcome there. Everybody. We turn away nobody. If you come there youll see we never turn away anybody. We really just pushing forward and hopefully this thing will come through and we can make the land mark status. I know sam jordan would be very proud, i mean just smiling in his grave to this day to know this legacy continues and we are still prosperous and keeping the efforts in the community alive, the activism, the charity work, the philanthropy, we would appreciate if you would put this through to the committee so we can have this thing done. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next speaker. Prior to sam jordans being named what it is, it used to be a franks restaurant. So sam jordan was well known by the community, was a longshoreman, was a boxer, and as has been stated here, he ran as the first African American for mayor. So i worked for the presidio and i understand the department of interiors standards when it comes to a building. In this case i think the Planning Department and all of us who are listening and those who have come here to Say Something about this place is more what happens within the 4 walls of this building. So as has been stated, the compassion, feeding the poor, nobodys turned away, the other thing is that anybody who goes to this place gets large portions of the meals prepared, well prepared. So sam jordan was well respected. He always encouraged people who wanted to do something because he had the backing, Diane Feinstein has been there, willy brown has been there, some i think sammy davis junior went there once. So its not famous people havent visited it and its not that sam jordan was very well known. I think in this case its what has been happening and how his spirit has been kept alive by serving the poor. Thats what we need, thats what we need in the bayview. We need people who are compassionate, people who do not forget their roots. People say they represent, if you represent and you know your people, especially the people who came from the south, im talking to the people at home, then your representatives should be those that represent the poor, much like Phillip Burton did, much like other good representatives did that you respect in city hall. So if sam jordan was here i think he would have said that his work was something for the community, that working for the community, that working for uplifting somebody, that would bring joy to his heart. I think thats what he would have said and i am glad there are a few members, i dont know his family members personally but i do know that there is a woman now who feeds the poor and continues the legacy of sam jordan. Sam jordan has left the best legacy in the bayview. Thank you very much. Next speaker. Good evening, supervisors and San Francisco, my name is ace and im here for other business but i just happened to see sam jordans name here for the histostorial land mark in the valley. I had the honor and luxury of working there employing my company some years ago that i was able to employ people that were there for security. That is a known spot for our security, the African American, black, negro, however you want to call us, been there for a number of years. There should be more people here, saying more things for the historical situation, im here to add my thoughts for this historical spot in San Francisco. We need more spots like this. Im here to support this becoming a historical spot in the southeast of San Francisco. My name is Randell Evans and im a long time resident of San Francisco and i also too support this without a doubt. I just want to bring it to everyones attention that people forget real easy that San Francisco is just one city. Its one city with one black community. When you talk about things thats great like this and then you look at the whole significant things that are happening not for us as a people, we need to really revisit that. I know you guys are going to be talking about is soon. I just get scared and lonely when i hear our folks being mentioned toward historical things because it almost sounds like something that is gone and never to be again. Our names on the ground up there in the fillmore and thats supposed to be historical, but its on the ground. The point im making, i think we all as a people need to realize does not know significant black leadership in San Francisco and its time for us to really take a real deep look at what it is going to be for our childrens childrens children. Thank you. Is there any more for Public Comment on this item . Okay, well close Public Comment and just in closing i want to say again thank you to the sam jordan family, thank you for your kind words and your hard work. I also want to acknowledge the planning staff that helped make this designation possible, thank you very much. And, colleagues, id like to ask for your support on this item today. Thank you. Thank you, supervisor cohen. So, colleagues, can we pass this with a positive recommendation without objection . Thank you. Miss miller, please call item no. 5 or item no. 4. Item no. 4 is an ordinance designating twin peaks tavern as 401 castro street as a land mark. Sponsor scott wiener. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Today before us is an ordinance to landmark the twin peaks tavern at 401 castro street right at the corner of castro and market. Twin peaks is truly one of the gems of the castro and of the San Francisco Lgbt Community and has been since it opened 40 years ago in 1972. And perhaps most unique about twin peaks is that it was the very first gay bar with large visible windows so that anyone walking by would see who was inside. Until then and in a lot of areas of the world we still have this, you have gay bars with windows that are hidden so people can sneak in because they are not comfortable or even safe doing so. So twin peaks was a trail blazer in that respect. The bar symbolizes the Lgbt Communitys coming out in San Francisco, that our community would no longer be in the shadows and we see since then the Great Strides we have made as an Lgbt Community and around the world. I will say on a personal note i recall the very first time i came to the castro, which was in 1993 as a 23yearold gay man and coming out of castro station and the very first thing i saw was twin peaks, even before i saw the castro theater marquis. So it has personal significance as well. Twin peaks also is a bar that caters to a real diversity of ages. We have a challenge sometimes in the Lgbt Community where young people particularly in bars and cultural representations, theres a real dominance of young people and conceptions of beauty and sometimes older lgbt people can feel marginalized. Twin peaks right at castro market helps reverse that marginalization because it is working with all people, young and old. The Planning Department, i want to thank staff, particularly mr. Barett, who is here, for doing good outreach around this proposed landmarking and for meeting with the Property Owners and the bar owners, both of all of whom support the landmarking and i will say that i was at the 40th Birthday Party for twin peaks and the owners of the bar actually came up it me to thank us all for doing this. So with that said, mr. Chairman, if there are no other remarks, mr. Barett from planning can give us an update. Good afternoon, supervisors moses barett, Planning Department. The hpc program looks not only for significance but also underrepresented property types. Oral history interviews with several patrons with long associations with the twin peaks were conducted by planning staff. This forms the basis for the research and documentation of the history and importance of the resource. Both on the september 19th twebt 12 and the october 17th recommendation hearings, the Historic Preservation Commission Voted unanimously for Historic Preservation, both the exterior and the interior of the bar based on its significance. The bar first opened in 1975. The bar was opened in 1972 by two lesbians as a fern bar. The twin peaks tavern, housed in an intact 20th century building, the bar retains its expansive windows and other characterdefining windows and continues to serve the Lgbt Community. Only two other inaudible have been designated based for their association with lgbt history. Planning staff has met with both the owners of the building and the owners of the business and reviewed the process for permanent review and explained the benefits and responsibilities associated with local land mark designation. As supervisor wiener said, both the owners of the property and the bar support this designation. Is there anyone from the public that would like to speak . I was just talking to somebody about this bar. Tom woodell used to go to this bar quite a bit, thats what they told me. Yes, we need this land mark, yes, you know its true. One thing i can say about this bar, no, its not very new. Hold this bar, love it, hold it and we need it, yes, we need it, eight days twin peaks a week. Eight days a week. We need to land mark twin peaks. Thank you, next speaker. If theres anyone else that would like to speak, please line up along the side of the room. My name is douglas yapp and ive lived in San Francisco for 60 years. Im not taking an official position on this ordinance but i would like