Haney argued this also showed a clear need for his ballot measure Proposition B in San Francisco, which would create an oversight body for Public Works, and place some of its street maintenance duties with a new Department of Sanitation and Streets. "We have issue with the way the vendor was selected. She is already co-sponsoring a measure that would prohibit city officials and employees from soliciting payments from people who could benefit from business. That is correct, Sobrepena said. The Parks Alliance, a major non-profit dedicated to bettering the citys parks, became ensnared in the citys ongoing corruption scandal involving Public Works. 9 of the 13 playgrounds are now completed, and the last 4 will be transformed by the end The sell off of Golden Gate Park by privatizers is a danger to the future of the public park according to those who have been fighting to protect the park. Near the end of the hearing, Chan said the driving force behind her line of questioning was to ensure that anyone, regardless of the amount of money they can donate to a nonprofit, gets their say in how parks across San Francisco are shaped. Big shift in weather is headed to California. The Parks Alliance is a major philanthropic backer for the parks and other city departments. Golden Gate Park officials and members of the Parks and Recreation commission are getting tickets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Lands End Festival as a payoff for their take-over of large parts of the Park. Money was deposited into the account by Recology executives as part of a bribery scheme and was allegedly used to fund lavish parties. A bicyclist passes the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. It also isn't the first time the Parks Alliance and Supervisor Chan have clashed in public. The Parks Alliance has not been accused of or found to be involved in any wrongdoing as part of the investigation into the government corruption, said its Board Chair Liz Farrell. The Alliance has not been accused of wrongdoing in the city corruption scandal and did not get paid for its account management. And yet there is lack of equity, lack of access for those who cannot pay. Previously: Feds Charge Three More People Linked to Mohammed Nuru and City Hall Corruption Probe. The closure of a growing number of spaces at the park for private corporate events is pushed by Mayor London Breed and the Park director who say they don't have enough money to fund the park. Chan explained that she thought it worthwhile to get this information in the hope of avoiding the possibility of continuing practices with the potential to encourage corruption. The audit tracked the money going in and out of the Alliance over a five year period. and Park to see if they actually have subaccounts with Parks Alliance or not, Chan said. 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. The subpoenas request information related to any donations or payments the companies made to charities affiliated with Bovis, to the San Francisco Parks Alliance or the San Francisco Clean City . . and Park Department as well and I also have yet to receive that information.. Your email address will not be published. It was Chan who called for the city supervisors budget analysts audit amid lingering questions about the Alliances management of the $1 million account that federal prosecutors said served as a slush fund for Public Works director Mohammed Nuru. Community gardens in San Francisco For 40 community gardens run by the city, the city's park department has developed detailed guidelines for the size of plots, waste removal and organization structure. Chan blasted the agreement, saying it perpetuates inequity by creating another paid attraction in a public park. She joined The San Francisco Chronicle in 2019 to report on business and has also written about wildfires, transportation and the coronavirus pandemic. City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued subpoenas investigating those same city contractors in February, in connection with the ongoing corruption scandal that first ensnared Nuru, but has only grown in the following months. The report's authors came away with more questions than answers. Thats great, said Chan. 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. Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. 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. Im looking forward to the follow up. That general fund had paid more than $5,000 in costs associated with the parks department staff retreat held in 2018 at Cavallo Point, The Lodge at the Golden Gate. 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. It often pays to have friends in high places. 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. Those city contractors include the SF Clean City Coalition, Recology, PG&E, Clark Construction, Webcor Construction and Pankow Construction. This corruption of these officials is being covered up by the SF City Attorney and other officials. As a result, city leaders have inspected departments relationships with philanthropic organizations. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. The City Controller's Office and City Attorney's Office report into city ethics is the second to be released this year. City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Wednesday announced. 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. "Like everyone, we were outraged to learn of the public corruption in our local government, Becher said, in a statement. has aided and abetted corruption within San Francisco government." In September 2020, in responding to the Board of Supervisors' hearing request on public corruption, the Controller's Office presented before the Government Audit and Oversight . How long has it been since May started off this cold in Bay Area? 1 in its park investments in the nation, dollars per capita," Chan said. A new report from the San Francisco City Controller's Office, in conjunction with the City Attorney's Office, skewers a system where city departments like Public Works form relationships with nonprofit organizations that raise philanthropic dollars for issues related to that department, saying it's rife with opportunity for corruption. It concluded, Adequate controls against the possibility of corruption and financial transparency were found lacking in our review of key agreements between the two organizations from recent years.. Stay in touch. 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. and Park. Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay. "Certainly, some of these groups are operating above board. is a partnership between the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department and SF Parks Alliance to transform 13 of San Francisco's most timeworn playgrounds into dynamic hubs for creativity and family life. The San Francisco Parks Alliance was subpoenaed by the City Attorney's Office last year as part of the city's corruption probe. Newly disclosed documents sought under subpoena by city supervisors critical of the Alliance -- detail transactions involving a different fund related to the Parks Alliances annual Crab Fest event. 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 Parks Alliance, a major non-profit dedicated to bettering the city's parks, became ensnared in the city's ongoing corruption scandal involving Public Works. Flower Moon, a lunar eclipse and a meteor shower unfold this week. Explosion of joy in Warriors' world comes with newfound respect for Kings, Political chaos has erupted in this Peninsula city over one issue: Housing, Beneath Michelin-starred restaurants success, landlord dispute is boiling. 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 Tuesday called for an investigation into the San Francisco Parks Alliance -- the nonprofit group that oversees the Ferris wheel's contract. 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.". "This is a city of riches," she said during Thursday's committee hearing. Before that, she freelanced with a focus on the Yemeni diaspora while studying at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. Spokesperson Tamara Aparton pointed out the department was the only one to complete a memorandum of understanding with an outside organization as mandated by the mayor last year. That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. The ongoing federal investigation into corruption at San Francisco City Hall has reached into the City Administrator's Office, the Planning Department and the Department of Public Health,. In an aerial view, the SkyStar Wheel in the Music Concourse carries riders at Golden Gate Park on June 14, 2021, in San Francisco. Call (415) 706-6428 for information about advertising online and in the printed versions of the Richmond Review and the Sunset Beacon newspapers. 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. This raised a lot of questions, said City Supervisor Connie Chan, who has been a vocal critic of the Parks Alliances role in city politics. We have put forward actionable recommendations to correct loopholes that seemingly normalize unethical practices that undermine faith in public actions.. They have long operated in a largely unregulated behind-the-scenes capacity as power brokers controlling the purse strings to the pet projects of their donors," Peskin said. 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 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts! The recent report delved into inadequate controls in multiple areas, including an agreement to run the Conservatory of Flowers that expired in 2012 and hasnt been renewed. Contractors and building permit holders made donations to the Public Works subaccounts at the SF Parks Alliance, Sobrepena explained. This program looks at the "non-profits" that are being used to facilitate the transfer of public lands at the park to privatizers. During a hearing Thursday, Supervisor Connie Chan issued a subpoena to the Parks Alliance to find out how many, if any, similar accounts the Recreation and Park Department has. Downtown S.F. is the city's financial engine and it is sputtering. If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us. Although the wheel was eventually able to open in the fall at limited capacity, a surge in cases halted operations after just five weeks. Since the FBI arrested and charged Nuru for allegedly attempting to bribe an airport commissioner in January 2020, the investigation has also indicted the former director of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, two heads of trash company Recology, a former senior building inspector and a city building commissioner. We have complied with every rule in the book about this and will continue to, and welcome, frankly, any increased efforts at transparency, because that helps all of us, Sarah Madland responded, representing Rec. 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. How does the group use city funding it's granted? Our track record is clear. She ordered a budget analysts office audit into the organization, which NBC Bay Area reports found $3.5 million in anonymous donations to the group, which is not proof of wrongdoing, but raises questions about potential conflicts of interest, according to the audit. It was one of more than 20 firms. Supervisors Connie Chan and Aaron Peskin Call for Investigation on SF Parks Alliance . 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.". This report has validated our suspicion all along that Parks Alliance has a problematic relationship with our city departments, she said. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco City Hall reporter. However, it has since agreed to new restrictions on fundraising activities that require it to disclose all contributions of more than $100. 2023 FOX Television Stations, High Stakes: Sports Betting in California, American children missing in Mexico: State Department 'aware of reports of 2 missing US citizens', TikTok CEO to tell Congress video-sharing app is safe, urge against ban, Man survives shark attack off Hawaiis Big Island, officials say, Woman lucky to be alive after 2 trees fall on her Oakland home, America's first-ever tornado forecast issued 75 years ago at Oklahoma's Tinker Air Force Base. Fallout from the arrest of former SF Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru on allegations leading to a federal charge of wire fraud after he was caught up in a wide criminal corruption investigation by the FBI has put the SF Parks Alliance in the spotlight after revelations that it was among the friends of type of non-profits involved in moving money around for Nurus department. At the same time, the non-profit reaped $11.9 million in city payments. A total of 10 subpoenas . Stay in touch. 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. As a result, they were not subject to the same review and control that would otherwise exist to comply with the Citys accounting and procurement policies and procedures, Sobrepena said. So I defer to the city attorney who oversees those contracts, Farrell said. and Park. editor / reporter who has been published in almost every San Francisco publication, including Hoodline, SF Weekly, Thrillist, and Broke Ass Stuart. These payments either went to vendors for the purchase of goods and/or services, or were payments to individuals, primarily city employees, who were reimbursed for costs they had incurred, she said. While the Parks Alliance raises money to build park infrastructure across the city in a private-public partnership, it's usually primarily interested in one type of green planting trees, for instance. In a statement, Recreation and Parks officials denied wrongdoing. "Adequate controls against the possibility of corruption and financial transparency were found lacking in our review of key agreements between the two organizations from recent years," the report reads. SF supervisor subpoenas parks nonprofit in wake of report that calls for stronger controls, S.F. The non-profits running large parts of the park are now directing the development without public participation and their privatization agenda is supported by Mayor London Breed and her Parks and Recreation Director Phil Ginsberg. It's a large amount of money coming to the city, she said. The development of the tennis courts went over $400,000 which the City has to pick up. Meet the team of park lovers and advocates who work to ensure that all parks and public spaces in San Francisco are vibrant, welcoming, and accessible to all, from Little Hollywood to Lands End. Supervisor Matt Haney also plans to introduce legislation next week that will go further than the mayor's order, explicitly banning department heads from asking any person or party doing business with their department for donations, among other changes. That's a standard practice governments use to ensure they get the best deal. The Parks Alliance has said it didnt know it was being used unscrupulously by city officials. Nuru was arrested by the FBI in January and accused of attempting to bribe an airport official. Of the $720,000 that (SF) Parks Alliance paid to vendors, more than half went to just five vendors. During the Thursday hearing, Farrell from the Parks Alliance said they have already apologized for that spat. Jay C. Barmann is a fiction writer and web editor who's lived in San Francisco for 20+ years. Chan then called on the Committee to issue a subpoena to the SF Parks Alliance for more information, including the number of subaccounts they have with Rec. No Parks Alliance officials have been implicated in the probe. "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. Since then, the organization has eliminated anonymous donations above $100, listed all donors on its public website and upgraded its customer management tools to collect and track all disclosure information, Bunim said. Now after nearly a year, the wheel is scheduled to be removed at the end of March, but a proposal seeking to extend the wheel's stay for four more years in order to help SkyStar "offset financial hardship" has yet to be decided by the city's Historic Preservation Commission. 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. For over 50 years, we've been partnering with communities and public agencies to create, sustain, and advocate for parks and public spaces that welcome and belong to everyone. investigation into public corruption has led to a new round of subpoenas. Supervisor Connie Chan is not done snooping into the finances of the San Francisco Parks Alliance, with an audit she ordered finding millions in anonymous donations, but no smoking gun. That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. The park departments memo said, For the most part we welcome the recommendations in the report and many of them are generally in place through the (memorandum of understanding) or existing policy.. 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. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Those nonprofits have looser transparency requirements, creating a "pay-to-play" environment where city department heads could potentially ask city contractors they oversee to donate to the nonprofit, creating a risk that department head would be influenced by that spending when deciding to award multi-million-dollar city contracts. "San Francisco ranks No. But the memo said the regulations on selecting contractors may not be fully in the best interests of the City, since many people who work on projects donate their services. The City controls the contracts and we follow the terms of the contracts, so there is a lot of information that came out that is really a City issue. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crab Fest had been a major affair in the city, drawing top city officials, community leaders and contractors, raising more than $100,000 annually for parks scholarships.. 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. A new audit calls for greater controls over the San Francisco Parks Alliance, the major non-profit group named by federal prosecutors last year as helping to foster the citys public corruption scandal by managing an off-the-books contractor fund that Public Works officials tapped to pay for employee parties and swag for city workers. 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 . The SkyStar Observation Wheel was installed last year as part of the park's 150th anniversary just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Those scholarships pay the fees or other costs for low-income youth and seniors to enjoy summer programs and other activities at city parks. 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. And what about the Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park? Chan says she hopes to ask more about the cash flow for the non-profit at a hearing she will hold on Thursday. It's unclear what, if any, cooperation has been ongoing between Naomi Kelly and the feds but the Chronicle reveals that it was Kelly herself who called and alerted the FBI when Nuru contacted her in January to tip her off about the federal probe. SF Rec and Parks is a city department that manages and maintains our parks. The organization said Friday that its books are totally open and available, and it would gladly provide park department records, which the city hasnt requested previously. As the Chronicle reports, Bovis's foundation is named along with Recology and the San Francisco Parks Alliance as entities the feds are seeking mentions of in all meeting notes, minutes, and communications from these city departments. Breed's order also requires more transparency from city officers in accepting gifts. This arrangement ultimately created the opportunity for unethical steering of purchases to occur.. No budget was presented to the commission providing the details of what would be spent before the agreement got commission approval, Brousseau said. "Instead of going directly to our city's general fund, the revenue generated from SkyStar is going to a non-profit that is still under FBI and public corruption investigations," said Chan, whose supervisorial district includes Golden Gate Park. The net encircling former Public Works director Mohammed Nuru has now ensnared more entities in The City's ever-growing corruption scandal. It was previously unclear how federal investigators knew about the tipoff Nuru was re-arrested and the complaint against him and Bovis made public in late January after he initially had likely entered into a cooperation agreement with the feds. During this same period, these entities donated $966,000 to the Public Works subaccounts at the Parks Alliance, she elaborated. That meant it wasnt clear who donated dollars that ended up in city coffers. That was at the behest of former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, who was arrested by the FBI in 2020 on corruption charges. and Park since 2003, starting with the Conservatory of Flowers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDZ81rocak0, https://48hills.org/2021/03/more-parks-privatization-the-horses-of-golden-gate-park/, https://48hills.org/2021/06/walton-calls-out-breed-for-her-attacks-on-the-board-of-supes/?fbclid=IwAR1fqYoEFKiLQR8oErNMlVic0SUey_THzGSkPAptYeA35jG-pqiBreqavDk, https://48hills.org/2021/06/supes-clash-with-parks-director-over-role-in-private-organizations-threats/?fbclid=IwAR0GYRhvV1WhjAvyzFEk1EHZZ9vJKLLCTiXUTQKdEOWAjnE7glS9RFKq74E, https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/opposition-forces-postponement-of-vote-on-skystar-wheel/, https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/SF-supervisor-subpoenas-parks-nonprofit-in-wake-16635626.php. But the board says more transparency is necessary to ensure another type of green money isn't changing hands improperly. And that is precisely the sort of structure that allowed Mohammed Nuru to bilk a $1 million slush fund out of the Parks Alliance, as the City Controller discovered in September 2020. Efforts to keep the wheel up received yet another setback during Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, when both supervisors Aaron Peskin and Connie Chan called on the city controller and Budget Analyst's Office to conduct an investigation into the San Francisco Parks Alliance's contract with the city's Recreation and Parks Department, which allows profits generated by vendors like SkyStar to be directed to the San Francisco Parks Alliance. 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. 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. As approved in 2000 by the public, $150,000 is allocated annually for a period of thirty years toward community gardens. DPH was tasked with signing off on the health and safety of the facility, as its permits moved through the city. This report makes it clear that pay-to-play has been happening in our city. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors issued a subpoena Thursday to obtain financial records between a parks-supporting nonprofit, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. Stay up to date! 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. 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." The Parks Alliance wrote a letter to Chan earlier this year threatening to pull $2 million in funding for a Richmond District playground in response to her statements about their alleged wrongdoing. The audit says those contracts need to adhere to basic city contract standards to prevent conflicts of interest. City officials studied the nonprofit last year after it came to light that former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, now charged with fraud, funneled donations from would-be city contractors into an account at the organization that he used to pay for staff perks. Musical Helps Lafayette Bounce Back After COVID, Richmond Review Crossword Puzzle #12, May, 2023, (Spiral): Solution, Richmond Review Crossword Puzzle #12, May, 2023 (Spiral), Designer, Builder Creates Comfortable Works of Public Art, https://richmondsf.salsalabs.org/froghop2023/index.html. A new audit calls for greater controls over the San Francisco Parks Alliance, the major non-profit group named by federal prosecutors last year as helping to foster the city's public. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench. The Parks Alliance is also a contractor that runs the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, which left a lot of opportunity for conflict of interests, the report author said Thursday in the hearing. Supervisor Chan was bullied by the Parks Alliance for calling for an audit of this corrupt agency which is privatizing Golden Gate Park. 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. The latest subpoenas also reflect the ongoing probe into the city's dealings with two businesses run by city contractor Florence Kong, who was charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office in early June with lying to investigators about gifts she allegedly gave to Nuru. Abrupt closure of S.F. 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..