san francisco parks alliance corruption

At the same time, the non-profit reaped $11.9 million in city payments. In a statement, Recreation and Parks officials denied wrongdoing. They say they are awaiting a complete review by the City Controllers office of the data turned over so far to determine next steps. 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. Chan blasted the agreement, saying it perpetuates inequity by creating another paid attraction in a public park. The Bay Area will have some live sports to look at for the first time in four months starting next Monday, July 20! Former City Attorney Dennis Herrera first issued subpoenas investigating the Parks Alliance in early 2020, also in connection with the ongoing corruption scandal. 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 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.. She said from July 2015 through January 2020, we found that Public Works paid eight contractors a total of $572 million through contract purchase orders or other voucher payments. 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. SF supervisor subpoenas parks nonprofit in wake of report that calls for stronger controls, S.F. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench. Prosecutors say Nuru used the fund to pay for everything from T-shirts to gift bags, from funeral expenses for a worker to event entry fees for public works teams. The Historic Preservation Commission is expected to vote on whether to extend the contract through 2025 at its next meeting on March 3. "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. It's a large amount of money coming to the city, she said. Probe also leads to cancellation of $171,000 portable toilet contract with company tied to restaurateur Nick Bovis; more contracts are under review SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 12, 2020) City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced today that he has issued eight subpoenas as part of a joint public corruption investigation with City Controller Ben Rosenfield. That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. It was one of more than 20 firms. They report on how this privatization is taking place and the threat this is to public access and the need to stop the transfer of the park into a commercial profit center for developers with non-union workers and a lack of health and safety protection. Your email address will not be published. Big shift in weather is headed to California. A bulk of the report focused on the Parks Alliance agreement to fund the Golden Gate Park 150th anniversary celebration and get some revenue from the Ferris wheel, which came under fire this spring from Chan. Nuru would solicit those funds from contractors whose city contracts Nuru oversaw. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. 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. . 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. Im relieved to know Supervisor Chan and others are requiring transparency from our City agencies, especially SF Rec and Park. The audit tracked the money going in and out of the Alliance over a five year period. "What we found is that the [memorandum of understanding] had a high-level preliminary budget but no detail as to what the costs were going to be for the design contractor, for example, that was being paid for by the Parks Alliance," he told the supervisors at Thursday's hearing. I also wanted to say that, throughout this whole process, we are committed to being transparent. 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. 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. 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. "Like everyone, we were outraged to learn of the public corruption in our local government, Becher said, in a statement. 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. 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. 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. 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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. 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. is the city's financial engine and it is sputtering. The probe stems from federal. 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 . 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. "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. 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. 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. . So, knowing that it actually does have a close relationship with the Rec. SF Parks Alliance is the only city-wide parks nonprofit in San Francisco. 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. As approved in 2000 by the public, $150,000 is allocated annually for a period of thirty years toward community gardens. 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 . . Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. We did not dive deeper with Rec. All rights reserved. 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. 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. 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 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. Much of that spending from the subaccounts were related to staff appreciation, including department initiatives with volunteers and merchandise, generally at Public Works direction. In a statement to NBC Bay Area, the Alliance played up how willing they are to accept any new ethics rules, while not acknowledging any potential for wrongdoing. Those same contractors were awarded more than $570 million in city contracts by the Public Works Department, according to the report. 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 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. 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 . 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. 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. 20002023 San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center. Nuru recently pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing. The Parks Alliance, a major non-profit dedicated to bettering the citys parks, became ensnared in the citys ongoing corruption scandal involving Public Works. Breed's order also requires more transparency from city officers in accepting gifts. 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. The Parks Alliance serves a unique role in this, raising money for some projects and selecting contractors, a role often served by government agencies. 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. Another issue was anonymous donations, with up to $3 million from unnamed sources going to the Parks Alliance during the same time period the organization gave $1.9 million to the park department. Joe Kukura is an SFist staff asst. Other agreements lack prohibitions against conflicts of interest. We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts! The Parks Alliance was subpoenaed last year alongside a host of other firms as part of the City Hall probe. Before that, she freelanced with a focus on the Yemeni diaspora while studying at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. 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.. 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. Ongoing FBI Corruption Probe Hits Three More SF City Departments With Subpoenas The Planning Department, Department of Public Health, and the City Administrator's Office have all been hit with. 1 in its park investments in the nation, dollars per capita," Chan said. The city's corruption scandal investigation is ongoing. needs these 5 sites to thrive so the city can recover. 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. and Park has a similar practice with subaccounts involving the SF Parks Alliance. No problem, Chan said. 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. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) - City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced on Wednesday that several subpoenas were issued as part of a joint public corruption investigation. Parks Alliance threatens to pull funding for Richmond District playground, S.F.s deal for the Golden Gate Park Ferris wheel may be investigated amid neighborhood fight, Downtown S.F. The San Francisco Parks Alliance. 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. and Park Department and Parks Alliance, it seems to me that General Manager, Phil Ginsburg, had decided to double down.. 9 of the 13 playgrounds are now completed, and the last 4 will be transformed by the end 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. but even at the lower levels it can lead to more of a culture of corruption where contractors have cozy . Often these organizations are called "friends" organizations, like Friends of the Library, or Friends of City Planning. 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. The BLA (Budget and Legislative Analyst) report that you will see later today will actually validate what we thought all along; that there was a lack of adequate controls against the possibility of corruption and financial transparency between the Parks Alliance and the Rec. the San Francisco Parks Alliance and the San Francisco Clean City Coalition. We have put forward actionable recommendations to correct loopholes that seemingly normalize unethical practices that undermine faith in public actions.. The letter goes on to spell out that Recology can do this by making a donation to the department's "fiscal sponsor," the non-profit SF Parks Alliance. City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Wednesday announced. 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. A total of 10 subpoenas . By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. However, it has since agreed to new restrictions on fundraising activities that require it to disclose all contributions of more than $100. Previously: Feds Charge Three More People Linked to Mohammed Nuru and City Hall Corruption Probe. 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. While the city appreciates and wants the donations the public deserves to know where the money is coming from and whether or not someone is buying influence in our city government.. Despite the progress, the audit found there remains a lack of adequate controls on the contracts the Alliance makes to provide services for the city. Haney called Public Works actions "inappropriate behavior" and said the department "is clearly out of control." 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. Fighting Fentanyl: CHP, Cal Guard Get to Work in San Francisco, Oakland Teachers to Begin Strike on May 4 if Agreement With District Isn't Reached, Bride Killed and Groom Injured by Speeding DUI Driver After Wedding in South Carolina, Police Say, 25-Year-Old Makes $200/Hour Without a Bachelor's Degree: I Work Less Than 6 Hours a Day', San Jose Police Arrest 3 Suspects in Robberies Targeting AAPI Community, Malik Monk's Old Comments Motivated Warriors to Game 7 Win Vs. Kings. 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. "These so-called 'friends' groups don't have an entirely friendly history. Supervisor Chan was bullied by the Parks Alliance for calling for an audit of this corrupt agency which is privatizing Golden Gate Park. in the wake of an ever-unfolding corruption scandal that has ensnared four city department heads since early 2020, a new subpoena power the board crafted for itself in 2020, first issued subpoenas investigating the Parks Alliance in early 2020, threatening to pull $2 million in funding for a Richmond District playground. This report makes it clear that pay-to-play has been happening in our city. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. 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. I just want you to know that I have asked for that information directly to the Rec. These funds were largely spent on staff appreciation and events that benefited City employees.. Abrupt closure of S.F. The nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance is being scrutinized again in the wake of the city's corruption investigation, and a supervisor who's criticized the group in the past now wants to look more closely at its operations. These sweet heart deals without any competitive bidding or public hearings is part and parcel of the corruption of City officials who run SF City Hall. City department heads will now be required to reveal when they solicit donations to nonprofits like the "friends of" organizations and for city departments to formalize their relationships with these nonprofits, which would legally require those groups to boast greater transparency. Just last week, two city contractors pleaded guilty to bribing Nuru with the construction of his vacation home and a $36,000 gold Rolex watch in exchange for help in obtaining city contracts. Supervisor Chan has a point about potential conflicts of interest. 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. 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 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. 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. Alliance records also reflect more than $5,000 from the general fund paid for another park staff gathering in 2019, at a hotel in Seattle. 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. Those scholarships pay the fees or other costs for low-income youth and seniors to enjoy summer programs and other activities at city parks. 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.. Of the $720,000 that (SF) Parks Alliance paid to vendors, more than half went to just five vendors. Stay up to date! During this same period, these entities donated $966,000 to the Public Works subaccounts at the Parks Alliance, she elaborated. 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. 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. Let'sPlaySF! But Supervisor Chan is not done with the Parks Alliance yet. No Parks Alliance officials have been implicated in the probe. 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. Supervisors delayed voting Thursday on three city agreements to accept and spend more than $7 million from the Parks Alliance until Chans questions are answered. Stay up to date! Yes, we can go back and look into it, talk to the controller about adding it to our Public Integrity Reviews, Sobrepena responded. The Department of Public Health has been dragged into this apparently in connection with a facility that was built at 2401 Ingalls Street, just north of Candlestick Point, by Kong's construction-waste management firm SFR Recovery. 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. In an aerial view, the SkyStar Wheel in the Music Concourse carries riders at Golden Gate Park on June 14, 2021, in San Francisco. Photo: Keith Crook. "This is a city of riches," she said during Thursday's committee hearing. ", While the city's Recreation and Park Commission approved a use permit in December 2019 between the Parks Alliance and SF Rec and Parks for Golden Gate Park's 150th celebration, "there wasn't a draft agreement at that time," Brousseau said, "or an agreement that we felt should have been put into place.". The SkyStar Observation Wheel was installed last year as part of the park's 150th anniversary just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. A bicyclist passes the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. But the supervisors were concerned that the public simply doesn't have enough information from the Parks Alliance to verify that fact on their own. The San Francisco Parks Alliance was subpoenaed by the City Attorney's Office last year as part of the city's corruption probe. Since then, multiple department heads and other figures have been embroiled in this, including Nuru's girlfriend, Sandra Zuniga, who serves as director of the Mayors Office of Neighborhood Services; and Tom Hui, the former head of the Department of Building Inspection who went on leave in March. It will be interesting to see what information is uncovered. 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. and Park since 2003, starting with the Conservatory of Flowers. But that leaves some of their methodologies in the dark, the Budget and Legislative Analyst's report found. The motion to issue the subpoena was passed by the Committee unanimously. 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.". We are committed to working with the City so that we can continue to improve our parks and public spaces. The move followed a city report last week that investigated the relationship between the park department and the nonprofit. "Certainly, some of these groups are operating above board. And that wheel, apparently, is still going round and round. 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. 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. It's the breakdown of the sources of the money siphoned into the funds Nuru controlled at the Parks Alliance. 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. 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. Call (415) 706-6428 for information about advertising online and in the printed versions of the Richmond Review and the Sunset Beacon newspapers. 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.

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