Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Local Businesses:  Mayor Announce $2.5 Million Funding to Support Legacy Businesses

San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Allen Nance today cut the ribbon on a new Merit Center at Juvenile Hall. This new onsite recreation center represents a shift to a new model for detained youth that emphasizes positive reinforcement and behavior management. The new center was made possible due to a significant reduction in average daily population from a high of 123 in April 2008, to the current population of 45 youth, more than a 60% reduction.

“For the past decade, San Francisco has implemented new ideas and approaches to reduce the number of youth at Juvenile Hall, and those strategies have produced incredible results that today allow us to launch the next phase of our juvenile justice efforts with the opening of this new Merit Center,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. “I applaud Chief Nance and his team for thinking outside the box and finding ways to move away from confinement and work with youth to change their behavior so they don’t reoffend.”

Thursday, November 10, 2016
Mayor Lee Announces New Housing for Chronically Homeless Veterans

Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Jeff Kositsky, Director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) announced today the City’s plan to end chronic homelessness for veterans in San Francisco. 
 
“No one who has served our country should be homeless in our City and these 75 new units will bring us one step closer to eradicating this situation,” said Mayor Lee. “Over the last two years we have housed over 700 chronically homeless vets and we are committed to continuing this work. Chronic veteran homelessness has no place in San Francisco.”

Thursday, November 3, 2016
Public Health: Mayor Announces New HIV/AIDS Initiative

Mayor Edwin M. Lee announced the completion of the historic transfer of ownership of all 29 public housing sites and nearly 3,500 units from the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) to community-based affordable housing teams as part of the Mayor’s 2013 Re-Envisioning Public Housing Plan and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD). 

With the transfer of ownership and management now complete, all 29 buildings and units can begin repairs to address critical life safety issues such as seismic deficiencies, pervasive mold and mildew, dry rot, deficient elevators, water intrusion, fire alarm systems, fire damaged units, missing sprinkler systems.

“Once again San Francisco is at the forefront of creating innovative solutions to make government programs work better and benefit our most vulnerable residents,” said Mayor Lee. “For decades, San Francisco’s public housing has been under-funded, but today we take a significant step towards revitalizing and rebuilding distressed public housing for our extremely low-income families and residents. This milestone marks the end of many months of hard work by the City and our many partners.”

Thursday, October 13, 2016
Urban Revitalization: Mayor Announces New Living Innovation Zone

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) for awarding $11 million to San Francisco to fund six innovative projects aimed at reducing traffic congestion and creating a safer and more efficient transportation system. The award was announced today by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx at The White House Frontiers Conference, a national convening hosted by President Barack Obama to explore the future of innovation.

“Moving people and goods safely and efficiently throughout our City and region is a top priority for me. With this funding, San Francisco can move forward with a number of pioneering projects across the City that will utilize advanced transportation technology to address traffic congestion on our streets and allow for a smarter and more equitable transportation system for all San Franciscans,” said Mayor Lee. “I thank Secretary Anthony Foxx, Leader Nancy Pelosi, and all of our federal partners for their leadership, and for rewarding San Francisco’s innovative proposals with important federal support.”

Tuesday, October 4, 2016
MAYOR LEE, SUPERVISORS KIM & WIENER, METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION & TRANSBAY JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY ANNOUNCE NEW TRANSBAY TRANSIT CENTER FINANCING PLAN

San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee joined San Francisco Police Department Interim Police Chief Toney Chaplin and the Department of Public Health Director Barbara Garcia to announce that San Francisco will deploy licensed mental health professionals to the scene of police encounters with troubled individuals as part of a partnership between the Department of Public Health and the San Francisco Police Department.

 

The new Crisis Intervention Specialists will support the de-escalation of conflict situations when police officers respond to individuals who may be mentally ill or under the influence of drugs or alcohol and pose a potential danger to themselves or others. The team will bring behavioral health expertise to critical incidents, support police at the scene, and assist with debriefing and crisis intervention trainings.