The city's corruption scandal investigation is ongoing. The probe stems from federal criminal charges . Stay up to date! 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. 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. The Alliance has not been accused of wrongdoing in the city corruption scandal and did not get paid for its account management. 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.. 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. 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. We did collect a lot of information from all the departments, including Rec. Nuru was arrested by the FBI in January and accused of attempting to bribe an airport official. 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. 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. I also wanted to say that, throughout this whole process, we are committed to being transparent. 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.". In a statement, Recreation and Parks officials denied wrongdoing. 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. The 33-page report follows sprawling investigations into corruption across the city. 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.". Chan blasted the agreement, saying it perpetuates inequity by creating another paid attraction in a public park. 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. All told, the report found that 33 out of 56 San Francisco city departments benefit from these kinds of nonprofit organizations, which between them have 588 accounts spent on city activities. 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.. Required fields are marked *. She is already co-sponsoring a measure that would prohibit city officials and employees from soliciting payments from people who could benefit from business. 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. Those same contractors were awarded more than $570 million in city contracts by the Public Works Department, according to the report. The parks department said in a statement that its integrity and transparencyis unimpeachable., We are proud of our conduct as public servants and our adherence to all city laws and ethical guidelines. As approved in 2000 by the public, $150,000 is allocated annually for a period of thirty years toward community gardens. "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?". That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. The SkyStar Observation Wheel was installed last year as part of the park's 150th anniversary just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. 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. No Parks Alliance officials have been implicated in the probe. 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. These purchases would then be reimbursed through Public Works accounts held by the Parks Alliance "outside of city purchasing rules." The nonprofit could then disburse those funds to be used for city staff appreciation parties in ways that would have otherwise violated city law if done transparently or on pet projects of that department head. 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. "These so-called 'friends' groups don't have an entirely friendly history. $20.00 donatedin the past month. Parks Alliance spokesperson Juliana Bunim said in a statement Thursday that the group appreciates "all ongoing efforts to strengthen transparency and collaboration between nonprofit. SF Parks Alliance is the only city-wide parks nonprofit in San Francisco. While the city, of course, appreciates donations, it is also our responsibility to know where the money is coming from, and most importantly, is to prevent the pay to play culture and that it is our responsibility and the reason why I called for this audit.. 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 San Francisco Parks Alliance has threatened to pull just over $2 million in funding for a playground in the city's Richmond District if the district's supervisor, Connie Chan, doesn . These funds were largely spent on staff appreciation and events that benefited City employees.. 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. A California man is forced to live in a country hes never known, Warriors lean into championship DNA, beat Kings behind sublime Curry, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Back in March, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Connie Chan said they smelled a rat with this arrangement, though they never really found the rat, so the Ferris wheel was extended another four years, with the Parks Alliance still managing the attraction. 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. 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. The audit has confirmed a very problematic relationship between the San Francisco Parks Alliance and city departments, Chan told NBC Bay Area, particularly with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.. 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. 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. The SkyStar Observation Wheel was installed last year as part of the park's 150th anniversary just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. 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. At the behest of Nuru, the Parks Alliance also directed $66,000 to entities whose figureheads were also arrested by the FBI in connection with Nuru's corruption scandal, permit expediter Walter Wong and Nick Bovis, the owner of Lefty O'Doul's. "Like everyone, we were outraged to learn of the public corruption in our local government, Becher said, in a statement. 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. If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us. 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. Get all the latest & greatest posts delivered straight to your inbox, Audit Finds $3.5 Million In Anonymous Donations to SF Parks Alliance, Calls Out 'Potential Conflicts of Interest', Ferris wheel was extended another four years, Parks Alliance Pushes Back On Accusations, Tells Supervisor Chan to Kiss Richmond Playground Goodbye [SFist], Big-Money SF Tech Groups Hoping To Steer Friendlier Policy Toward Big Money and Tech, Board of Appeals Weighs In on Saga of Vacant, Apparently Unclaimed Mission District Lot, Tells Supes to Act, SF Supes Overturn Their Own Ban On Doing Business With States With Discriminatory Laws. 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. "When it comes to equity in our public parks, San Francisco doesn't even rank top ten. This story has been updated to include a statement provided by the San Francisco Parks Alliance on Sept. 25. Often these organizations are called "friends" organizations, like Friends of the Library, or Friends of City Planning. The Parks Alliance is a major philanthropic backer for the parks and other city departments. Looking to get in touch with our The San Francisco Parks Alliance has declined several interview requests from NBC Bay Area but said in a statement it was cooperating with investigators. In this arrangement, the non-city organization serves as an intermediary between the City and the contractor or building permit applicant or holder who donates money to the organization in the hopes of influencing the Citys contractor permit approval process. In an aerial view, the SkyStar Wheel in the Music Concourse carries riders at Golden Gate Park on June 14, 2021, in San Francisco. During our review period, Parks Alliance made payments totaling $978,000 to support Public Works activities and as directed by Public Works. "Along with many other nonprofit groups, we continue to work with city departments to meet or exceed these good government controls.". 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. 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 Parks Alliance is a major philanthropic backer for the parks and other city departments. and Park Department.. 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.. Are we now setting ourselves up for a two-tier system for those who can pay to play, literally, and for those who cannot afford access to our public space? Chan asked. During a hearing Thursday, Supervisor Connie Chan with the support of two other supervisors issued a subpoena to the Parks Alliance to find out how many, if any, similar accounts the Recreation and Park Department has, and to report expenses and transactions dating back five years. "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. All rights reserved, Union Lawsuit Alleges Retaliation for Whistleblowing in SF City Hall Corruption Probe, Former San Francisco Public Works Head Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charge. 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. SF supervisor subpoenas parks nonprofit in wake of report that calls for stronger controls, S.F. necessarily endorsed by the SF Bay Area IMC. 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. The San Francisco Parks Alliance was subpoenaed by the City Attorney's Office last year as part of the city's corruption probe. Copyright 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Every year, millions of dollars flow into the San Francisco Parks Alliance. 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. All rights reserved. We did not benefit in any way nor had any control over the donations that Nuru and Public Works solicited and directed to the sub-account, as the report states. 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." Argue all you want about how much fun the Ferris Wheel can be. Records reviewed by NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit show that thousands of dollars raised by the San Francisco Parks Alliance scholarship fund, ended up paying for the city's Recreation and Parks staff retreats instead. 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. Before that, she freelanced with a focus on the Yemeni diaspora while studying at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. The lack of transparency in the deal to bring the Ferris wheel to Golden Gate Park exposed the growing corruption by the Park managers and the Mayor with private contractors. This S.F. but even at the lower levels it can lead to more of a culture of corruption where contractors have cozy . But they're also rife with opportunity for abuse, the report found. DPH was tasked with signing off on the health and safety of the facility, as its permits moved through the city. needs these 5 sites to thrive so the city can recover. 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.. Although the wheel was eventually able to open in the fall at limited capacity, a surge in cases halted operations after just five weeks. A city controller report last year called out the connection between the Parks Alliance and the park department after discovering Nurus $1 million slush fund. The new ferris wheel at Golden Gate Park. A widening S.F. 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,. Now it looks like the feds are following up on this pattern and trying to see if there are more examples of city vendors possibly disguising bribes that benefited city employees as charitable gifts. The recent report recommended the park department establish a new conservatory agreement, report the budget for the anniversary celebration, and require the Parks Alliance to competitively select contractors and prohibit picking those who have a personal relationship or who have donated to the department or the organization. This program looks at the "non-profits" that are being used to facilitate the transfer of public lands at the park to privatizers. 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. That meant it wasnt clear who donated dollars that ended up in city coffers. We are committed to working with the City so that we can continue to improve our parks and public spaces. Downtown S.F. Those scholarships pay the fees or other costs for low-income youth and seniors to enjoy summer programs and other activities at city parks. Chan is exploring every legislative tool possible to implement recommendations. Much of that spending from the subaccounts were related to staff appreciation, including department initiatives with volunteers and merchandise, generally at Public Works direction. 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. The report says that the network of kickbacks and benefits involved former Public Works boss Mohammed Nuru, the nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance and a range of entities benefiting from their . During this same period, these entities donated $966,000 to the Public Works subaccounts at the Parks Alliance, she elaborated. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco City Hall reporter. 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. However, all of this occurred outside of the Citys established financial and procurement systems. Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay. 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. Photo: Keith Crook. 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. How long has it been since May started off this cold in Bay Area? These subaccounts really operated like a city account, she said, because invoices were directed and approved by Public Works employees and tracked by both Public Works and the Parks Alliance. 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. "It raises the question of whether this is a good government practice and whether such practices contribute to the 'pay-to-play' culture among city agencies. While it's gotten a lot of love for its glowing lights at night, the contract to build it wasn't issued competitively, Brousseau said. San Francisco's Parks Alliance and Recreation and Park Department are both facing scrutiny from District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan about their use of donations, after subpoenaed records were made public in an NBC Bay Area news report. Drew Becher, CEO of the San Francisco Parks Alliance, expressed shock at the city's findings. Haney called Public Works actions "inappropriate behavior" and said the department "is clearly out of control." A bicyclist passes the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. The San Francisco City Controller's Office found, in a September 2020 report, that the San Francisco Parks Alliance took roughly $1 million in donations from a number of city contractors that were under investigation by the City Attorney's Office for funneling money to the Public Works Department for lavish parties. 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. It's the breakdown of the sources of the money siphoned into the funds Nuru controlled at the Parks Alliance. elsewhere. This is just confirming all of the suspicions that Ive had for a number of years.. In San Francisco, that goes double for nonprofits that call themselves "friends.". 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. 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. So, knowing that it actually does have a close relationship with the Rec. The organizations employees havent been charged with any crimes, and the recent report found no evidence of wrongdoing, although the report author said the purpose wasnt to investigate corruption but the processes in place to minimize its possibility. . That's the problem we are talking about here.". "These so-called 'friends' groups don't have an entirely friendly history. Her businesses, Kwan Wo Ironworks and SFR Recovery, are among several businesses that do lots of business with the city including PG&E and Recology about which the feds are seeking a decade's worth of documents and correspondence. 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They collectively donated $966,000 to the Parks Alliance into a Public Works-specific account funds Nuru was able to freely direct, and sometimes himself was paid from according to the report. Let'sPlaySF! The audit has confirmed a very problematic relationship between the San Francisco Parks Alliance and city departments, said city Supervisor Connie Chan about the findings of the review, particularly with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.. No problem, Chan said. No trains were going in or out of BART's SFO Station for about an hour Wednesday morning due to an unspecified "police matter" that has yet to be made public. Here are five key structures that need to bounce back to help the city recover. Our track record is clear. 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. One of the subpoenas, sent to the citys custodian of records in early May, for instance, is seeking any and all "invitations, posters, fliers, announcements and programs" pertaining to any "holiday party, picnic, breakfast, award or recognition ceremony" for the City Administrators Office or Public Works over the last 10 years. 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. 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 .
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