san francisco parks alliance corruption

We are happy to invest in their learning and morale, which helps them deliver great services every single day, the department said in a statement. It also isn't the first time the Parks Alliance and Supervisor Chan have clashed in public. "We will implement any additional common-sense policies that provide greater transparency and allow us to continue to support and improve San Franciscos parks and public spaces," the organization said in a statement. Parks Alliance spokesperson Juliana Bunim said in a statement Thursday that the group appreciates "all ongoing efforts to strengthen transparency and collaboration between nonprofit. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Wednesday announced that his office issued eight new subpoenas as part of the corruption investigation in the wake of the criminal charges filed . People thought that what they're donating to is a scholarship fund, she said, but the money instead allowed Parks Alliance to create a slush-fund account to allow the executive staff of the Recreation and Parks Department to use and tap into those funds for whatever it is, at their leisure.. A Recreation and Parks Department spokesperson told the supervisors that the agency follows all codes and laws. Last year, a report by the City Controller's Office into ongoing corruption within city departments revealed that departments like Public Works engaged in relationships with nonprofit organizations to encourage large donations by contractors seeking lucrative city contracts. Just who has influence in renovating parks, and where, is a chief concern, said Supervisor Connie Chan, the lawmaker who requested the subpoena during a hearing of the board's Government Audit and Oversight Committee. Joe Kukura is an SFist staff asst. A memorandum of understanding between the city and the Parks Alliance lays down some requirements for how they operate, and was retooled to strengthen some reporting requirements in 2020 in the wake of the citywide corruption scandal, but the Budget and Legislative Analyst still recommended it be strengthened. The idea is to avoid arrangements like the one Nuru and other Public Works employees had with the nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance and Recology, the trash-hauling giant that holds a monopoly on garbage collection in San Francisco. Much of that spending from the subaccounts were related to staff appreciation, including department initiatives with volunteers and merchandise, generally at Public Works direction. Thats great, said Chan. They say they are awaiting a complete review by the City Controllers office of the data turned over so far to determine next steps. Those same contractors were awarded more than $570 million in city contracts by the Public Works Department, according to the report. We are zooming in to really look at a very problematic relationship that a non-profit named San Francisco Parks Alliance has with our city departments, but specifically with our Recreation and Park Department, said District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, who called for the hearing. The audit found the alliance took in $44 million overall, $3.5 million of which was donated anonymously, so about 8% of the money they rake in is donated anonymously. The City Controller's Office and City Attorney's Office report into city ethics is the second to be released this year. Chan says she hopes to ask more about the cash flow for the non-profit at a hearing she will hold on Thursday. The SF Parks Alliance is a Friends of-type outside nonprofit that raises money or provides philanthropic services on park-related matters, donating money back to the city's Parks and Public Works departments for various projects. It will be interesting to see what information is uncovered. Big shift in weather is headed to California. The sell off and privatization of Golden Gate Park is escalating at the same time of a massive corruption scandal of top officials of the City and County of San Francisco. Some of the concerns have already been addressed after the two entities created a memorandum of understanding earlier this year to safeguard against potential corruption, but that agreement needs to be strengthened, the report said. To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) - City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced on Wednesday that several subpoenas were issued as part of a joint public corruption investigation. In a statement, Recreation and Parks officials denied wrongdoing. The lack of transparency may also allow the Parks Alliance to circumvent good government practices developed by the city, the Budget and Legislative Analyst wrote, including compliance with prevailing wage requirements for contractors and competitive bidding to find lower costs. An auditor with the City Controllers Office, Amanda Sobrepena, told the Committee that from 2015 through 2020, the SF Parks Alliance received $11.9 million from multiple city departments and serves in this role for both SF Public Works and Rec. As a result, city leaders have inspected departments relationships with philanthropic organizations. One example investigators have given of the sort of transparent but still somewhat wink-wink emails and letters they're looking for is one from 2015 in which Public Works Deputy Director for Operations Larry Stringer wrote to Recology inviting them to a department picnic in McLaren Park and asking for the company's "support" in making the event a "success." And that wheel, apparently, is still going round and round. The Parks Alliance has said it didnt know it was being used unscrupulously by city officials. The money is used to renovate the city's treasured green spaces large and small for example, erecting a towering Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park and laying down AstroTurf at Merced Heights Playground. That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. But recent revelations have demonstrated that the opaque nature of several organizations, including the SF Parks Alliance, has aided and abetted corruption within San Francisco government.". But its more of a potentially problematic relationship, as the report found no smoking gun, and the alliance has since agreed to not accept anonymous gifts of $100 or more. We are a trusted partner to many community groups and city departments and welcome any and all actions that bring more transparency and oversight to ensure the publics trust.. and Park Department, and I have identified that the subaccount practice is not appropriate and problematic, you have not asked for that information from Rec. The nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance is being scrutinized again in the wake of the citys corruption investigation, and a supervisor whos criticized the group in the past now wants to look more closely at its operations. That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. Federal investigators say the alliance maintained a $1 million off-the-books fund that then Public Works director Mohammed Nuru frequently tapped to pay for employee parties, events and swag. The Bay Area will have some live sports to look at for the first time in four months starting next Monday, July 20! Although last week the Recreation and Park Commission approved the contract with SkyStar to continue operating the Ferris wheel at the park for four more years, the Historic Preservation Commission has the final say around whether the wheel will stay up. Those undisclosed donations, the analysis found, raise questions about potential conflicts of interest. The analysis found that the problem of not knowing who contributed is that there is no way to determine if the contracts were being awarded ethically. The Parks Alliance non-profit said in a statement that it has cooperated and turned over all documents sought by the citys subpoena, but Chan and Peskin are skeptical that the city has all the documents. While philanthropic organizations provide tangible benefits to all of our residents, abuses in these relationships undermine the important role they play," said Controller Ben Rosenfield, in a statement. The Planning Department, Department of Public Health, and the City Administrator's Office have all been hit with subpoenas stemming from the sprawling federal investigation into corruption in San Francisco government. A report issued just this month from the San Francisco Budget and Legislative Analyst, an arm of the city tasked with researching questions posed by the Board of Supervisors, took a look at the Parks Alliance's financial relationship with SF Rec and Parks. SAN FRANCISCO - As a discussion by city officials around whether to keep a 150-foot tall Ferris wheel at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park continues to go in circles, two city supervisors on. And Parks Alliance Board Chair Liz Farrell said, "I want to also just to be clear on the record, and say that the Parks Alliance has not been accused or found to be involved in any wrongdoing as part of the investigation into the government corruption.". It's the breakdown of the sources of the money siphoned into the funds Nuru controlled at the Parks Alliance. While no formal accusations have been made, Chan's subpoena comes in the wake of an ever-unfolding corruption scandal that has ensnared four city department heads since early 2020. Although the wheel was eventually able to open in the fall at limited capacity, a surge in cases halted operations after just five weeks. The report criticized the park department for picking a vendor for the wheel without a competitive process and giving the Parks Alliance a cut of ticket sales to help cover the cost of the celebration, which totaled more than $1 million. Often these organizations are called "friends" organizations, like Friends of the Library, or Friends of City Planning. The San Francisco city attorney's office issued subpoenas for eight companies and nonprofit organizations Wednesday as part of the ongoing government corruption scandal launched in the wake. During this same period, these entities donated $966,000 to the Public Works subaccounts at the Parks Alliance, she elaborated. The San Francisco Parks Alliance has declined several interview requests from NBC Bay Area but said in a statement it was cooperating with investigators. How does the group use city funding it's granted? Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay. Other agreements lack prohibitions against conflicts of interest. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. The report further alleged the San Francisco Parks Alliance accepted some $1 million in donations from contractors under investigation by the City Attorney's Office and the money was then funneled back to DPW to pay for lavish parties. We are putting a stop to it, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said, in a statement. "In this case, are we now setting ourselves up for a two-tier parks system for those who can pay to play, literally, and for those who cannot afford access to our public space?". A memo from the park department sent Thursday to the report author said staff appreciate the need for transparency and already follow the city controllers guidance on accepting grants and gifts. The Controller's Office found at least one of these organizations, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, took roughly $1 million in donations from a number of city contractors which were under investigation by the City Attorney's Office for funneling money to the Public Works department for lavish parties, at the behest of former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, who was arrested by the FBI in January on corruption charges. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Call (415) 706-6428 for information about advertising online and in the printed versions of the Richmond Review and the Sunset Beacon newspapers. The nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance directed $66,000 to entities whose figureheads were arrested by the FBI in connection with disgraced former Public Works director Mohammed Nuru's corruption scandal, a new report has found. And what about the Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park? Im looking forward to the follow up. This program looks at the "non-profits" that are being used to facilitate the transfer of public lands at the park to privatizers. This corruption is part and parcel of the sell off of Golden Gate Park. She is already co-sponsoring a measure that would prohibit city officials and employees from soliciting payments from people who could benefit from business. Let'sPlaySF! For a Richmond neighborhood playground, for instance, the $3 million budget was completely opaque, said Fred Brousseau, from the Budget and Legislative Analyst's office. Financial transaction records between the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the non-profit San Francisco Parks Alliance are now the focus of a subpoena, after a unanimous vote by the Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The audit says those contracts need to adhere to basic city contract standards to prevent conflicts of interest. The development of the tennis courts went over $400,000 which the City has to pick up. Sobrepena could not give an immediate answer but said she could come back with that information. Chan, who commissioned the report, said the results demanded reform. Speakers who discuss this are David Romano, Harry Parisner and Steve Hill. The 33-page report follows sprawling investigations into corruption across the city. Previously: Feds Charge Three More People Linked to Mohammed Nuru and City Hall Corruption Probe. wine startup leaves customers with thousands of Steph Curry adds to his Warriors legend by lighting up Kings for 50. Supervisor Chan was bullied by the Parks Alliance for calling for an audit of this corrupt agency which is privatizing Golden Gate Park. The audit tracked the money going in and out of the Alliance over a five year period. They have very similar names, but the SF Recreation and Parks Department and the SF Parks Alliance are two different entities. Nuru and others would direct staff to pay for goods and services for staff appreciation, volunteer programs, merchandise, community support and events from specific vendors, "circumventing city purchasing controls," the report found. That was at the behest of former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, who was arrested by the FBI in 2020 on corruption charges. We will implement any additional common-sense policies that provide greater transparency and allow us to continue to support and improve San Franciscos parks and public spaces., Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Feb. 23, 2021 SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) As a discussion by city officials around whether to keep a 150-foot tall Ferris wheel at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park continues to go in circles, two.

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