Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Disaster Planning:  Mayor Unveils City Resilience Strategy

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced the release a citywide resiliency strategy created as part of a grant from 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation (100RC). One of the recommendations of the City’s Resilient San Francisco – Stronger Today, Stronger Tomorrow – is the launch of the new Office of Resilience and Recovery.

“San Francisco has a history of solving our challenges through bold action,” said Mayor Lee. “On the anniversary of the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire, we remember our City’s past and look to the future. This new office will oversee the implementation of the resilience strategy and continue to work alongside City departments and work with our communities to ensure we are taking the steps necessary to make sure San Francisco rapidly recovers from any emergency.”

Thursday, April 14, 2016
MAYOR LEE, SUPERVISORS KIM & WIENER, METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION & TRANSBAY JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY ANNOUNCE NEW TRANSBAY TRANSIT CENTER FINANCING PLAN

Mayor Edwin M. Lee along with Supervisor and Metropolitan Transportation Commissioner Scott Wiener, Supervisor and Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) Director Jane Kim, and TJPA Board Chair Greg Harper today announced a proposed financing package to allow completion of the Transbay Transit Center, Phase One. The Transbay Transit Center is a key to the Bay Area’s continued economic vitality for the coming century, acting as the future northern terminus for Caltrain and the California High Speed Rail system within the multi-modal facility that will accommodate 11 transit operators and serve more than 45 million passengers a year.


“Working together, we have developed a new financing plan to keep the Transbay Transit Center on schedule while protecting taxpayers,” said Mayor Lee. “The Transbay Transit Center will be a nationally renowned, 21st Century transportation hub that will serve our growing City and the region for generations. It is an investment in our infrastructure, in good paying construction jobs and in the future of transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area.”


“The Transbay Transit Center is an absolutely critical part of the future of our regional transportation system, and we need this project to succeed,” said Supervisor Scott Wiener, who is also a MTC Commissioner. “The City and the MTC are stepping in with this loan because if we allow this project to fail, we will pay a far higher price in the long-term. This funding comes with much stricter oversight, due to past mismanagement, and I’m confident that working together, we can deliver a Transbay Transit Center that will be the heart of the Bay Area’s transportation system.”
"This is an investment in a transit-friendly future. It's been a long hard road but we're nearing the finish line and I think that we're going to look back with pride when this is done," said Supervisor Jane Kim, who is also a TJPA Director and former Chair.


“This support from San Francisco and the MTC will ensure the completion of the first phase of the project on time, so combined attention can now focus to getting the trains into the station,” said TJPA Board Chair Greg Harper.

Thursday, April 14, 2016
Mayor Lee and U.S. Mayors Unite Against Discrimination

Mayor Edwin M. Lee joined by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski today announced the formation of a coalition group called Mayors Against Discrimination in the wake of recent discriminatory laws enacted against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. Mayors Against Discrimination are initially joined in barring official travel to states with discriminatory laws such as those enacted in North Carolina and, most recently, Mississippi, but will work together to examine prohibitions on contracting and purchasing from companies in these states, develop model resolutions that can be adopted by city councils and other legislative bodies, and other measures that Mayors and cities can take individually and collectively.

“I believe strongly that we should add more protections to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the United States, not diminish them and deny people their constitutional rights,” said Mayor Lee. “We as Mayors must stand up together and call out discrimination when we see it, and I believe working together we can create change to ensure the rights of all Americans.”

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Housing Assistance: Mayor Announces New Homeless Services

San Francisco, CA—Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced that the City will open a new Navigation Center and lease an additional 200 units of housing for the homeless. The new Navigation Center, which will begin accepting clients in two months, will be located at the Civic Center Hotel, which will be expanded with additional supportive services. Mayor Lee also announced the addition of 200 new units to the City’s supportive housing portfolio to provide additional exits to clients of the Navigation Center system.

“Living on our City’s streets is unhealthy and unsafe, and we are helping people stabilize their lives and end their homelessness through our Navigation Centers,” said Mayor Lee. “In the last year alone, we have helped nearly 400 homeless San Franciscans leave the streets by removing barriers that prevent people from accessing the services they need to turn their lives around. Working together with the Board of Supervisors and partners like the Interfaith Council and Community Housing Partnership, we are doubling down on homeless programs and services we know work to improve the lives of people in need.”

Monday, February 22, 2016
Police Reforms

Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee joined by Police Commission President Suzy Loftus, Police Chief Greg Suhr and community leaders announced a comprehensive package of police reforms to increase public safety, build greater trust between police officers and the community and make the department more responsive, transparent and accountable. These efforts to fundamentally re-engineer the way that police officers use force include are wide-ranging, and include the creation of a new Bureau of Professional Standards & Principled Policing, major expansions to the Crisis Intervention Team network, new prohibitions on the use of firearms in specific circumstances, and a new Community Safety Initiative to recruit young people from San Francisco neighborhoods most impacted by violence to work with the Department to improve community trust.

 

“This comprehensive package of police reforms will help our sworn officers strengthen their ties with the community and keep our City safe through a culture change in how we handle conflicts on our streets,” said Mayor Lee. “Reforms include a review by the U.S. Department of Justice, our nation’s highest law enforcement authority, to improve upon policies, procedures and training related to use-of-force. These type of sweeping changes will need all of us – advocates, City officials, community members and police officers alike – to work together to rebuild community trust, and that’s what will help San Francisco remain one of the safest big cities in the nation. I want to thank Commission President Suzy Loftus for her hours upon hours of work with the community in the past few months, and Chief Suhr’s leadership in instituting reforms so quickly.”