Friday, May 20, 2016
Quality of Life:  Mayor Announces Safe & Clean Neighborhoods Initiatives

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today launched the Safe and Clean Neighborhoods Promise, a new initiative to improve the quality of life in all of San Francisco’s neighborhoods with a new comprehensive and coordinated approach to delivering City services better and faster to neighborhoods. The Mayor issued an Executive Directive to Department Heads that are responsible for neighborhood quality of life issues directing them to prioritize and focus on programs and services so that all residents feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods and that all residents have access to clean, well maintained public spaces and facilities, such as parks, public transportation, sidewalks, and streets. To ensure success, Mayor Lee also announced a series of Neighborhoods Promise new funding including expanded street cleaning and Pit Stops and the hiring of more police officers to walk beats in the neighborhoods.

“In times of great prosperity, City government can do more to improve the quality of life and sense of personal safety in the neighborhoods, and to make our City more livable for residents and visitors,” said Mayor Lee. “We make this promise to the residents of San Francisco to ensure that your neighborhood is safe and clean. This Safe and Clean Neighborhoods Promise will be more than words – it will be the organizing principle for the thousands of City employees who work every day on the streets, in our parks, and with our businesses. If we identify something that needs fixing, we ought to fix it right then and there.”

Thursday, May 19, 2016
Local Businesses:  Mayor Announce $2.5 Million Funding to Support Legacy Businesses

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced more than $2.5 million in new funding in his proposed Fiscal Years 2016-17 and 2017-18 budget to create, develop and implement the San Francisco Legacy Business Program, which was approved by voters last November. The goals of the San Francisco Legacy Business Program are to stabilize, strengthen and sustain longtime San Francisco small businesses, especially those which have played a big part in the City’s local economy, diversity and history.

“Our longtime businesses are a vital part of what makes our neighborhoods unique and vibrant,” said Mayor Lee. “I am proud to invest over $2.5 million in new funding through my budget to help San Francisco legacy businesses succeed.”

Thursday, May 12, 2016
Youth Jobs: Mayor Launches Initiative to Create Jobs for SF Youth

Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee and the United Way of the Bay Area, along with City Departments and private sector employers, kicked off the Mayor’s Youth Jobs+ 2016 initiative, challenging employers of both large and small companies to create jobs, internships and paid job training for San Francisco youth (ages 14-24 years old). Now in its fifth year, the initiative connects young people, particularly low-income and disconnected San Francisco youth with San Francisco employers so they can share in the City’s economic prosperity.

“Everyone remembers their first job and its impact on their lives,” said Mayor Lee. “That’s why Youth Jobs+ is so important; it is an investment in the success of San Francisco’s young people. We will continue to support programs that strengthen our youth workforce, especially for our low-income and disadvantaged youth. Once again, I am calling upon employers, in all business sectors, across San Francisco to join us in supporting the future of our young people by creating meaningful employment opportunities this summer and beyond. Providing a job today for a young person is an investment in the future of San Francisco.”

Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Homeless Services: Mayor Announces new Department of Homeleness

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced the Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing the City will launch on July 1st and appointed Hamilton Family Center Executive Director Jeff Kositsky to lead the new Department that will help homeless residents permanently exit the streets and move into housing and services. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing will help achieve Mayor Lee’s goal to help at least 8,000 people out of homelessness forever through strategies that stabilize people’s lives through the City’s nationally recognized housing and support services and building a system that ends a person’s homelessness before it becomes chronic.

“Moving forward with progressive approaches on mental health, expanding the successful Navigation Center program, creating a Department to coordinate these and other efforts, with the nation’s best minds working with us, we can make homelessness rare, brief and one-time here in the City of Saint Francis,” said Mayor Lee. “All of the ingredients for success on ending homelessness for thousands of our fellow San Franciscans are already here, but it will require cooperation like never before. I am confident that Jeff will provide the stewardship to bring all the passion and energy from our service providers, advocates, national experts and our City departments and work together to end homelessness for at least 8,000 residents in the next four years.”

Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Public Safety: Mayor Announces $17 Million Investment in Police Reforms

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced a $17.5 million police reform package to fund comprehensive police reforms to increase public safety and build greater trust between police officers and the community including increased oversight, transparency and accountability and including violence prevention programming as part of the Mayor’s Fiscal Years 2016-17 and 2017-18 proposed balanced budget.

“These critical investments in funding police department reform, rebuilding community trust, and bringing a culture change in how we handle conflicts on our streets will help keep San Francisco one of the safest big cities in the nation,” said Mayor Lee. “We are working collaboratively with the community to develop a 21st Century approach to policing in San Francisco, improving leadership, transparency and accountability within the San Francisco Police Department and strengthening policies, procedures, training and equipment to keep both residents and police officers safe. We are working under the full review of the United States Department of Justice, the nation’s highest law enforcement authority.”