san francisco parks alliance corruption

That's the problem we are talking about here.". . Without more detailed oversight, the audit found, this benefit of philanthropic support risks being overshadowed by the possibility of corruption.. How does the group use city funding it's granted? She previously covered immigration and local news for the Albany Times Union and the Alabama state legislature for the Associated Press. This report makes it clear that pay-to-play has been happening in our city. The Historic Preservation Commission is expected to vote on whether to extend the contract through 2025 at its next meeting on March 3. "These so-called 'friends' groups don't have an entirely friendly history. Sign up for our daily newsletter. 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. How long has it been since May started off this cold in Bay Area? 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." Related: Parks Alliance Pushes Back On Accusations, Tells Supervisor Chan to Kiss Richmond Playground Goodbye [SFist]. 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. Separately, Chan has challenged a deal the city struck that guaranteed the alliance not the city -- proceeds from a five year deal to operate the 150th Golden Gate Park anniversary Ferris wheel. 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. In San Francisco, that goes double for nonprofits that call themselves "friends.". 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. . They have very similar names, but the SF Recreation and Parks Department and the SF Parks Alliance are two different entities. As a result, city leaders have inspected departments relationships with philanthropic organizations. 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. I just want you to know that I have asked for that information directly to the Rec. Do you know when can we expect that information?. 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. To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. 1 in its park investments in the nation, dollars per capita," Chan said. However, all of this occurred outside of the Citys established financial and procurement systems. The audit says those contracts need to adhere to basic city contract standards to prevent conflicts of interest. "We have issue with the way the vendor was selected. 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. That corrupt slush fund really just a minor piece of the wider public corruption scandal put a dark cloud over the Golden Gate Park's SkyStar Ferris wheel, because the Parks Alliance gets. Under the terms of its contract with Ferris wheel operator. The report's authors came away with more questions than answers. 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. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Let'sPlaySF! It's the breakdown of the sources of the money siphoned into the funds Nuru controlled at the Parks Alliance. 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. 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. So, knowing that it actually does have a close relationship with the Rec. The latest set of subpoenas, obtained by the Chronicle, sound both onerous in their scope and familiar in dealing with the sort of low-level corruption the feds have uncovered thus far primarily padding the pockets of some longtime city officials and contractors through sweetheart contracts and such. We have put forward actionable recommendations to correct loopholes that seemingly normalize unethical practices that undermine faith in public actions.. The 33-page report follows sprawling investigations into corruption across the city. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. 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.. I think that is a critical piece of information, dont you think, for us to obtain? said Chan. A widening S.F. 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. 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. 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. "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. 9 of the 13 playgrounds are now completed, and the last 4 will be transformed by the end Even so, Supervisor Aaron Peskin has joined Chan in questioning the ethical implications of shifting money from a scholarship fund to a separate pot controlled by parks officials. 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. We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts! 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 . 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. Before that, she freelanced with a focus on the Yemeni diaspora while studying at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. This corruption of these officials is being covered up by the SF City Attorney and other officials. 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. and Park, the expenses and transactions with those subaccounts dating back five fiscal years and identifying the funding sources for the subaccounts. Although the wheel was eventually able to open in the fall at limited capacity, a surge in cases halted operations after just five weeks. Former City Attorney Dennis Herrera first issued subpoenas investigating the Parks Alliance in early 2020, also in connection with the ongoing corruption scandal. SF supervisor subpoenas parks nonprofit in wake of report that calls for stronger controls, S.F. Chan blasted the agreement, saying it perpetuates inequity by creating another paid attraction in a public park. but even at the lower levels it can lead to more of a culture of corruption where contractors have cozy . 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. 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 . 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. ", 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.". and Park, but we only assessed Public Works subaccounts, Sobrepena responded. 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.. Those city contractors include the SF Clean City Coalition, Recology, PG&E, Clark Construction, Webcor Construction and Pankow Construction. 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. 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The Parks Alliance said in a statement Monday that it appreciates the citys work to strengthen transparency and accountability between nonprofit organizations and the City of San Francisco. Along with many other nonprofit groups, we continue to work with city departments to meet or exceed these good government controls, the Alliance said. necessarily endorsed by the SF Bay Area IMC. 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. 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. 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. 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. DPH was tasked with signing off on the health and safety of the facility, as its permits moved through the city. Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. 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 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. At the time, U.S. Attorney David Anderson commented on the allegations by saying, "corruption is pouring into San Francisco from around the world." . 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. 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.". Following the release of the report, Mayor London Breed announced an executive order to address the recommendations in the report. 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. 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. 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.. needs these 5 sites to thrive so the city can recover. Thank you to Mr. Pendergast for this article. Stay in touch. The motion to issue the subpoena was passed by the Committee unanimously. 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. and Park Department and Parks Alliance, it seems to me that General Manager, Phil Ginsburg, had decided to double down.. The city's corruption scandal investigation is ongoing. 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 . 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. and Park to see if they actually have subaccounts with Parks Alliance or not, Chan said. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). 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. 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. But critics say substantial sums ended up being spent elsewhere. 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. The City Attorney and District Attorney have failed to investigate and prosecute the privatizer's funding of Park and Recreation Director Phil Ginsberg and his managers. 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. At a hearing last year, Lisa Bransten, director of partnerships for the parks department, said Parks Alliance backing certainly played a part in boosting job satisfaction to 86% among the staff. 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. In that span, the non-profit took in $44 million, including an estimated $3.5 million in anonymous donations, the audit concludes. investigation into public corruption has led to a new round of subpoenas. 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. The risk here is that when city contractors or building permit applicants or holders donate to non-city organizations, it can create a pay-to-play relationship, or the appearance of one. Nuru recently pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing. and Park. 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. Every year, millions of dollars flow into the San Francisco Parks Alliance. 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. 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. 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. Our track record is clear. City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Wednesday announced. This isn't the first time the Parks Alliance has found itself under the microscope. That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. "We also found that there was no requirement for how the contractor was selected in this case. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. No Parks Alliance officials have been implicated in the probe. The SkyStar Observation Wheel was installed last year as part of the park's 150th anniversary just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. That is correct, Sobrepena said. 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. Sobrepena could not give an immediate answer but said she could come back with that information. 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. . 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.. Other agreements lack prohibitions against conflicts of interest. 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. Speakers who discuss this are David Romano, Harry Parisner and Steve Hill. 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. Of the $720,000 that (SF) Parks Alliance paid to vendors, more than half went to just five vendors. Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay. 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. "These so-called 'friends' groups don't have an entirely friendly history. "San Francisco ranks No. Photo: Keith Crook. The Department of Building Inspection issued 218 building permits to seven of those entities. 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. Big shift in weather is headed to California. The San Francisco Parks Alliance has declined several interview requests from NBC Bay Area but said in a statement it was cooperating with investigators. 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. 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. 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 as well and I also have yet to receive that information.. 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. 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. "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.

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