WEBVTT - San Francisco's New Mayor on Homelessness, Unaffordability, and AI 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:16.400 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:22.480 Hello and welcome to another episode of The Odd Laws podcast. 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:23.880 I'm Jill Wisenthal and. 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:24.799 I'm Tracy Alloway. 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:28.080 Tracy, we have a mayoral election coming up here in 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:31.400 New York City, very exciting. I think when this comes out, 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:34.920 it'll be literally tomorrow. We're recording this October twenty eighth. 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:37.080 No one knows for sure what's going to happen, but 0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:38.879 I think it'll be like the day after this episode 0:00:38.880 --> 0:00:39.279 comes out. 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:43.880 Absolutely and obviously a very heated mayoral election, I think 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:47.760 one that's kind of taking national attention as well, which 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:51.360 you know, New York is always important, but maybe maybe 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:52.519 it's important. 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.880 It's always very important to the media. That's definitely the case. 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:58.400 But you know what, I think there's obvious reasons why 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:01.000 there's a lot of national interest. Besides the fact that 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.679 as reporters we like to report on our hometown. A 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.040 lot of cities are dealing with the same challenges that 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:09.720 New York is. New York City is a very expensive 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:12.200 city to live in. There are a lot of cities 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:14.720 that are very expensive, particularly any city that is some 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:18.720 sort of economic dynamism. Right now, New York City has 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.880 a number of quality of life issues that frustrate voters. 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.640 Whether it's a crime which has come down with a lot, 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.399 but you know, safety on public transportation, homelessness, et cetera, 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.720 public drug use, which in my opinion, has gotten a 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:34.520 lot better over the last few years, but it was 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:36.560 very prevalent. I saw a lot in the parks in 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:39.560 twenty one twenty two. These are not, by no means 0:01:40.000 --> 0:01:42.280 these issues that are sort of New York oh, dealing 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.200 with the Trump administration and the detentions they're in. These 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:47.520 are not New York City specific issues at all. 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:47.680 No. 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:51.040 And it's funny as we sat down to record this 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:53.920 particular episode. Right when we sat down, I got an 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:57.720 email the data behind Chicago's city wide housing shortage. 0:01:57.840 --> 0:01:58.680 Chicago's another one. 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:01.720 Yeah, And I mean, there are so many commonalities between 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:05.880 these cities. It's definitely worth comparing and contrasting. One thing 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.040 I got to ask, just for the New York collection, 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:11.280 are you still a single issue voter on rats? 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.240 Well, if I were my candidate, would no longer. I know, 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:18.200 I have to find a number two issue. 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:18.760 I'll do. 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:20.880 I'll start to do some research over the weekend. Good 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:25.000 idea anyway you know when obviously one of the cities. 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:28.200 I've always been more a southern California guy. But I'm 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.120 really coming around on San Francisco. We were there last November. 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:33.600 We had a great time. I loved using the waimos. 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.880 It's a stunning city. And it's not just the Bay Area. 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:39.680 It's San Francisco specific that is the beating heart of 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:42.840 the AI boom right now, so the most important industry 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:47.360 in the world is there. It's truly a lovely city. However, 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:50.359 has many of the same quality of life and affordability 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.040 questions that we face anywhere else. In fact, maybe and 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:56.320 some would say, for at least a time, arguably worse. 0:02:56.560 --> 0:02:59.440 Yeah, I mean I remember from visiting. It also has 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:04.240 some very very beautiful neighborhood with historic buildings, very very 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:07.240 cute neighborhoods in many respects, and so you can imagine 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:12.160 that efforts to boost housing affordability immediately run into that 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:14.320 whole neighborhood vibe. 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:16.680 A few years ago, I was visiting a friend and 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.079 I said, I love this neighborhood. I love where you lived, 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:21.080 and he's like a Gimbi's like, Joe, You're not supposed 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.359 to say that this is the neighborhood. He's a renter though, 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:25.000 so of course he doesn't mind if his house gets 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:28.280 torn down for new buildings. Anyway, we really do have 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:30.960 the perfect guest to talk about big city governance, all 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.080 of these things. We are going to be speaking with 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.000 literally the perfect guest, Daniel Lurry. He is the new 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:38.880 mayor of San Francisco Or. He came into office earlier 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:41.760 this year, so he's been in an office less than 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:44.240 a year. So Mayor Luriy, thank you so much for 0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:46.200 coming on the Odd Lots podcast. 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:49.320 Joe Tracy, it's good to be with you. I feel 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:51.640 like you were selling our city better than I could. 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:54.800 So you two could just keep going. And Joe your 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:58.640 love of Southern California. Yeah, we'll get you. We'll get 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.280 you going on northern California in San Francisco by the 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:02.080 end of this podcast. 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:05.000 Okay, well that's a good goal for you. Could could 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.360 fully flip me over to be Northern California pill. No, 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:10.680 I really, I really, I did love it. You know, 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:13.520 there's so many different angles that we could start with. 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:17.279 People have talked about the homelessness challenge in San Francisco 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:22.520 for a long time, setting aside solving it, whatever that means. 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.640 What is it about San Francisco that, in your view, 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:28.919 has made the What are the underlying conditions that the 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:31.120 city has faced for a long time such that it 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:33.920 has been a fairly acute problem facing the city. How 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:35.760 should we understand the causes of it? 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.279 Well, I think it's been going on for three or 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:42.520 four decades now. I think we have not built enough housing, 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:45.839 not only here in the city but across the state. 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.760 So it really is a regional and a state issue. 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:53.760 I would argue right now, it's not just a homelessness crisis. 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:58.320 It's a fentanyl crisis. We have a real crisis on 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:00.800 our streets. I go up and talk to people that 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:04.839 are suffering on our streets every single day, most mornings, 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:08.000 I spend forty five minutes to an hour talking to people, 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:10.560 trying to get people off the street and into shelter, 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:15.160 into treatment, into the right kind of beds. We kind 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:18.359 of had to live and let live attitude for a 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:22.039 while in this city, and that has changed. We have 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:24.040 changed that attitude over the last year. We want to 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:27.080 get people off the street and into help. But of 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:30.840 course it is an affordability issue statewide, and we need 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.960 to build more housing statewide. We're in the midst right 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:38.400 now of getting a family zoning plan, a new map 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:42.240 passed here because the state has mandated that of all 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.000 counties in the state, and San Francisco is going to 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:47.200 do its part, and we need more housing. 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:51.400 Definitely want to talk about the family zoning project, for sure, 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:55.159 but just on the homeless issue. I guess one area 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:58.919 of commonality between New York and San Francisco is you 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.920 do have this debate over mental health, and I guess 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:07.920 how to balance compassionate outreach with stricter enforcement or stricter policing. 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:10.760 What are you doing on that front when you say 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:13.760 you need to get people help, what's actually happening? 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:14.640 Yeah? 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:17.839 First off, I don't believe it's compassionate to allow someone 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:20.600 to be passed out on the sidewalk. I don't believe 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:24.320 we should allow people to smoke ventanyl in our bus stops. 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:27.359 We have to put an end to that, and we 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:30.960 have to then get people into the right kind of bed, 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:35.040 the right kind of treatment. For example, we opened up 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:38.599 a sixteen bed center at a place called a twenty 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.760 two gear. It is a place that someone can walk in. 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:45.720 It is voluntary it's police friendly, it's fire friendly. So 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:48.880 they can bring somebody in, they can stay for twenty 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:53.360 four hours, they can get onto medication, they can take 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.880 a moment to relax, and we have staff there then 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:59.279 then gets them out to the right recovery bed, to 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.440 the right treatment bed, of which we have stood up 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:06.480 four hundred new beds just this year alone. That are 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:11.320 you know, ninety day, six month treatment programs. That's what 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:12.960 we need to do. What we were doing as a 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.880 city before was we were just building lots of permanent 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:18.920 supportive housing, which I believe in. But if you are 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:22.400 struggling with a fentanyl addiction and you are put into 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:26.200 housing without services, without support, it is. 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:27.440 Not a good fit. 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:30.760 And we have really come to understand that in a 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:34.360 really important way this year, and so we are doing 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:37.120 a much better job of getting people off the street 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:40.640 into a short term care and then into long term care. 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:43.240 But we have a long way to go. But that 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.920 a twenty two Gary twenty four hours is an example 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:51.000 of a new approach. One other thing that we've done 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.320 since I came into office. In the first month, we 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:58.160 readjusted how we do neighborhood outreach or a street outreach 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:02.520 we had seven different apartments prior to us ME coming 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:07.160 into office. Now those seven different departments are put together 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:08.760 in what we call a team of teams. 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:10.000 They meet each. 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:14.120 Morning as those seven departments in one mission outreach team, 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:18.040 one tenderloin outreach team. They go out together. They know 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:21.480 who their target population is, they know the names of 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:23.200 the people, and they try to get them off the 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:25.840 street and into those right kind of bets. 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:29.080 You know, there was an incident in New York City recently. 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.040 I probably should have looked up the details a little 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.040 bit more, but I think there was some sort of 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:37.959 an influencer took some photos of people selling knockoff bags 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.760 on Canal Street, which they've been doing, which they've been 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:44.000 which they've been doing for decades. And then I think 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.800 ICE came in and I was actually on Canal Street 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:50.199 two nights ago, they were back, et cetera. So whatever 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:53.080 they supposedly saw looks like it was just for the 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:56.679 cameras for one day. But there is this argument that 0:08:56.800 --> 0:08:58.599 I've heard which is like, you know what, if you 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.760 don't want ICE to come in and quote clean up 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:04.200 your streets, you should have done it yourself. And I 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:07.400 don't really have a strong opinion on like the optimal 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:11.360 level of enforcement or the optimal level of like how 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:13.760 extreme you want to get to enforce certain quality of 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:17.400 life things. But I have some sympathy for this view 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:19.679 that like, well, you know, there's all this sort of 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:24.079 public disorder, et cetera. And where were the politicians prior 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:28.120 to the Trump administration taking some of these things seriously? 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:30.840 Do you think it's fair to say that the Democratic 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:34.000 Party in a number of big cities have not taken 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:37.520 what people call quality of life seriously enough in the past. 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:40.959 I'm not going to speak for the Democratic Party. I'm 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:45.080 I was never in politics. I ran because of the 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:48.120 disorder on the streets of San Francisco. I ran. My 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.000 number one issue is public safety. My number two issue 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.679 was the behavioral health crisis that we were just talking about. 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:56.040 And my number three issue was I want to tell 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:58.720 the world and let them know that San Francisco's open 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:00.719 for business. We're getting cut the dow Red tape so 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:04.280 our small businesses can flourish. And so I've been saying 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:06.679 the same thing for about two and a half years now, 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.520 from the time I ran to right now on this 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:12.319 great podcast, I'm going. 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:13.920 To say we need, thank you. 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:18.120 We need police officers walking the beat along commercial corridors. 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:22.080 Our families that are taking their kids to public school 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:26.360 and using MUNI deserve IMMUNI stop that is free of 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:31.480 people using drugs. It's unacceptable and it was two and 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.960 a half years ago for me. It's unacceptable to me. 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:38.199 So local law enforcement can do the job. We are 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:41.560 short a number of officers. We have the first net 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:45.800 increase in police and shares deputies in ten years, a 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.440 net increase for the first time in ten years, and 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.080 so we need to get back to full staffing and 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:51.920 we can handle it. 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:55.160 So just real quick follow up, Like I agree, I 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:58.680 would like to have public transportation stops everywhere where there's 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:02.040 not public drug use, public drugs for sale, etc. Where 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:05.440 do you encounter the opposition to that? Like, what have 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:10.080 you discovered about where the roadblocks are, because again seems 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:12.840 really sensible that you shouldn't be using drugs in public, 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:14.559 and so where's the opposition? Oh? 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:16.920 Well, I you know, it's funny, I disagree with that. 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:19.960 There are people and I talk to them every day. 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:22.560 I dropped my kid off, my son off in the mission, 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:25.280 and I walked the streets from the mission to Hayes 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:29.959 Valley most mornings and there's a bike route and there 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:32.640 was four people, four of whom were either in the 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.400 midst of using drugs or had used drugs, and I 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.040 was telling them they needed to move, and they we 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:40.600 would give them help, we would give them offer of support. 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:44.040 And someone came by, literally in the bike lane, and 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:47.040 someone stopped and said, what are you doing? They live here, 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.679 And I said, this is a bike lane that parents 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:52.599 are taking their kids to school on the back of 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.240 their bikes. They're walking their kids to school. So there 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:58.320 is opposition, but I would also tell you that the 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:02.600 vast majority of San Francisco and want public safety. They 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:07.280 want clean streets, they want safe sidewalks, and we are 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:11.920 delivering on that. Crime is down thirty percent in our 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:15.520 city crime and Union Square, our financial district, because of 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:18.680 the staffing increase that we put together through something we 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:22.360 call the Hospitality Zone Task Force for Union Square, Moscone 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:25.360 're Babuena, which is our downtown hub. Crime is down 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:29.000 forty percent. Violent crime in our city. We haven't seen 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:33.480 these type of rates since the nineteen fifties. So what 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:36.720 we are doing is working, and the vast majority of 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.360 people are very excited. This's the first time in a 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.640 very long time that San Franciscan's the majority of them 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:45.520 feel like our city's heading in the right direction, and 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:47.400 we are a city on the rise and it's a 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:48.400 great time to be here. 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.360 Well, tell us more about what exactly you're doing. And 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:53.560 one thing I'm very curious about is I guess the 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:58.280 division of labor or division of responsibility between the mayor's 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.760 office or the police force and things like that. 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:05.040 Well, I think the police officers have a responsibility obviously 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:08.440 to keep safety, and our District Attorney has done a 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:12.440 great job prosecuting and really going after these fentanyl dealers. 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:15.040 So you know, I mean, I think your audience you 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:17.520 all told me before coming on, is the. 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:18.840 Smartest audience there is. 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:20.000 That's right. 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:22.040 So I don't think I need to explain the difference. 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:23.959 Always say you're the smartest out there. 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:29.440 But you know, listen, our SFPD, they're incredible. They are 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:33.000 driving crime down. We have a great partnership with our DA, 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:37.040 with our city attorney, with our sheriffs. Our park rangers 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.280 are doing a great job in our parks as well. 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.640 It's a team effort and we are united in making 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:46.280 sure that everyone here in San Francisco knows. Every visitor 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.800 to San Francisco knows, every convention goer knows that public 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.120 safety is our number one priority. We pulled off the 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.199 NBA All Star Game. We had the Chinese New Year 0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:58.000 Parade on the same weekend. It went off without a hitch. 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:00.440 We just had a conference with fifty thousand and people 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.880 last week in San Francisco. We had a demonstration on 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:08.199 a Saturday with fifty thousand people marching, zero arrests. We 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:10.760 know how to keep people safe, and we're proving it. 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:28.720 You mentioned that you know you want to be a 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:32.920 dynamic place for business. We're also talking about homelessness. Should 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:36.360 San Francisco keep prop sees? So I understand that on 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:39.840 big companies with over revenue of over fifty million dollars, 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:43.480 that there's this tiny gross revenue tax. Some speculate that 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:45.080 was not confirmed. I don't know if they've said it, 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:47.400 that that is one reason that Stripe does not have 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:52.880 its headquarters in San Francisco. Should that be revisited so 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:57.160 as to bring more corporate activity into the city itself. 0:14:57.480 --> 0:14:59.400 What I've always said is that we need to be 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.400 compactitive on the tax front. We're out of whack with 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:07.280 San Jose and Santa Clara County. So actually every candidate 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.480 for mayor last year supported what was called Prop M, 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:14.360 which kind of realigned our tax structure, got it more competitive. 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:17.200 That was an important step for our city. I think 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:21.280 it's signaled to everybody that we were serious about being 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:23.200 in the ball bark. I think we probably still have 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:26.120 more work to do. The thing that I think companies 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:30.840 really look at is the quality of life, and they 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:33.760 look at the street conditions, they look at public safety. 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:36.320 I think that is without question the most important thing, 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:38.560 and they are seeing that they have a mayor that 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.680 is delivering on that front that I am focused on 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:46.240 creating the conditions so that they can succeed. That's our mantra. 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:49.280 We want to create the conditions so that small businesses 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:52.440 can succeed and that big business is welcome back here. 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:56.040 What I always say, though you two, is I want 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.080 these companies to be part of the community. Though like 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:01.560 I want them invest in our public transit, I want 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.080 them investing in our public schools. I want them investing 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:08.600 in our arts and cultural institutions. I would say for 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.680 a long time, and I ran Tipping Point Community, which 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:14.480 is similar to robin Hood and New York City. Tipping 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:18.840 Point was always focused on bringing individuals and companies to 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:22.720 help support those that were living in povery, those around 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:25.840 job training and housing. But we need to see more. 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:28.560 We need to see more out of our business community. 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.280 We're going to do our part at the administration to 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.080 create the conditions for their success, but I need them 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.320 to help us make sure that San Francisco regains its 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:39.640 status as the greatest city in the world. We're not 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.760 far off. We're closer than most people think. We are 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:46.200 the most beautiful city in the world right now, and 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.160 we are soon going to be the greatest city in 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:48.440 the world. 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:49.240 Again, I was going to. 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.800 Say New York might take an issue with the greatest city. 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:51.920 In the world. 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:55.760 I know who I'm talking to, Okay, since. 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:58.360 We are talking about companies, one of the reasons we 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:00.440 wanted to talk to you is, as Joe mentioned in 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:04.840 the intro, San Francisco obviously a massive tech hub, and 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.879 what we're seeing at the moment in markets and the economy. 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:12.160 It's kind of weird because AI related stocks keep going up. 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:14.600 Everyone's very excited, but on the other hand, you have 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.399 a lot of layoffs happening in the tech industry, So 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:20.600 I think more than one hundred thousand job cuts at 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:24.720 places like Microsoft and Meta. When you look at San 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:29.400 Francisco's labor market right now or overall economy, what are 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:32.920 you seeing. Is there a net benefit from AI or 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.359 are you seeing increased unemployment? No? 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.919 I mean right now we're seeing absolutely We're seeing people 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:41.919 from Texas and New York and other parts of the 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:46.200 globe buying buildings in San Francisco, betting on real estate, 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.800 understanding that it's not just about AI though, it's really 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:54.199 about the ecosystem that is growing up around a company 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:58.000 like Open AI or Anthropic or data bricks. These are 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:03.240 enabling companies and startups and entrepreneurs in the healthcare space 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.560 and others like It is booming in that respect. 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:08.960 But I also want to. 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.360 Create the conditions so that we have a durable trajectory, 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:16.120 not one that is just reliant on just tech or 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:19.320 on AI. But because you know, we did that in 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:22.840 the twenty tents, we were so solely focused just on tech, 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:25.080 and I think what you're seeing here is that we 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:29.280 are seeing up broad based recovery, arts and culture. We're 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:33.240 seeing new restaurants, We're seeing healthcare really take off also, 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:36.119 and so we wanted to be durable, We wanted to 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:40.280 be broad. But there's no question that AI is driving 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:42.800 and is a major force, and it's a force for 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:44.360 good in terms of jobs. 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:47.960 You know, you can deal with all these CEOs of 0:18:48.400 --> 0:18:50.560 startups and they go on Twitter and they yap and 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:52.760 they threaten to move to Austin, or they threatened to 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:55.000 move to Miami, et cetera. I think a bunch of 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.200 them moved back, but they said they're saying the same 0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.720 thing here. Some of them are like, oh, I'm gonna 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:02.199 you know, moved to Nashville or whatever, so and so 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:04.960 get selected. What should the next mayor of New York 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:09.359 City know about having a productive relationship with a significant 0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:10.200 part of the tax base. 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:14.760 Well, I would say to any next mayor of any city, 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:18.800 don't listen to me, don't listen to I'm ten months in. 0:19:19.359 --> 0:19:22.440 I am solely focused on San Francisco. I get asked 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:23.800 a lot of questions, But you must have. 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:25.040 Learned something, That's what I'm saying. 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:28.320 I'm asking you're asking him to advise his competitors. 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:31.399 But you've learned stuff right in the ten months or whatever, 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:33.080 nine months since you've been on the job, what have 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:37.680 you learned about, Yeah, interacting with very powerful, wealthy interests. 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:40.840 Well, listen. I think what I've learned throughout my career 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:43.800 is that you have to have an open door. You 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:47.840 have to have conversations with people. Most importantly, you have 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:50.639 to listen to people, whether you know you're trying to 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:54.639 get family zoning. Our housing plan passed, and I'm in 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:57.280 neighborhoods that you all were describing before who are like, 0:19:57.680 --> 0:19:59.959 I'm worried and I'm scared, and there are a lot 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:03.679 of people fearful about new housing. And you have to 0:20:03.720 --> 0:20:05.840 go listen, and you have to work with them, and 0:20:05.880 --> 0:20:08.640 you have to invest. And I think the same goes 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:12.359 with our immigrant community, goes with our arts and culture communities, 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:14.600 It goes with our restaurant tours, who I sit down 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:16.960 and meet with and listen to the struggles that they 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:20.240 have with their power bills going up thirty forty percent 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:24.040 over the last two years. I pride myself on listening 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:27.960 to people, working with people, and then getting to the 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:31.440 right solution that's going to benefit as many San Franciscans 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:32.080 as possible. 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:36.639 So on zoning, since it keeps coming up One thing 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:39.680 you hear a lot, especially in the case of San Francisco, 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:44.639 is that the housing shortage is mostly about restrictive zoning 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:48.000 and regulation and things like that. Is that it how 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:52.040 restrictive is the regulation and are there other factors I 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:53.399 suppose that are playing into this. 0:20:54.040 --> 0:20:54.720 Absolutely. 0:20:54.760 --> 0:20:58.760 I mean, listen, it's been restrictive, but the state has 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:01.520 loosened those restricts is quite a bit. We are doing 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:04.160 everything we can to make it easier to build more 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:07.359