DPH was tasked with signing off on the health and safety of the facility, as its permits moved through the city. 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 since 2003, starting with the Conservatory of Flowers. 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. Photo: Keith Crook. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Garbage time: Recology was the major donor to Mohammed Nuru's nonprofit And yet there is lack of equity, lack of access for those who cannot pay. "Like everyone, we were outraged to learn of the public corruption in our local government, Becher said, in a statement. The move followed a city report last week that investigated the relationship between the park department and the nonprofit. "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. 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. At the time, U.S. Attorney David Anderson commented on the allegations by saying, "corruption is pouring into San Francisco from around the world." . SF supervisor subpoenas parks nonprofit in wake of report that calls SF City Attorney Subpoenas 8 Organizations As Public Corruption 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. 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 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 . 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. 20002023 San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center. The 33-page report follows sprawling investigations into corruption across the city. 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.. Abrupt closure of S.F. 9 of the 13 playgrounds are now completed, and the last 4 will be transformed by the end Supes call for investigation of Ferris Wheel money - 48 hills Stay up to date! 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. 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 they're also rife with opportunity for abuse, the report found. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco City Hall reporter. 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 Chronicle staff writer. This is just confirming all of the suspicions that Ive had for a number of years.. 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. That's a standard practice governments use to ensure they get the best deal. SF Supes call for investigation into SF Parks Alliance contracts The documents show that in 2019, more than $64,000 that had been raised by the Crab Fest fund was transferred into a general fund. 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. 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. 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. Speakers who discuss this are David Romano, Harry Parisner and Steve Hill. 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.. Corrupt SF Official Used Nonprofits to Funnel 'Pay to Play' Cash Get all the latest & greatest posts delivered straight to your inbox, Ongoing FBI Corruption Probe Hits Three More SF City Departments With Subpoenas, charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office in early June, re-arrested and the complaint against him and Bovis made public, Feds Charge Three More People Linked to Mohammed Nuru and City Hall Corruption Probe, 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. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. The SkyStar Observation Wheel was installed last year as part of the park's 150th anniversary just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. 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. and Park. But the board says more transparency is necessary to ensure another type of green money isn't changing hands improperly. City officials cannot work behind the scenes with City contractors to benefit their departments and use other entities to cloak those efforts.". The Department of Building Inspection issued 218 building permits to seven of those entities. This report has validated our suspicion all along that Parks Alliance has a problematic relationship with our city departments, she said. Breed's order also requires more transparency from city officers in accepting gifts. They have very similar names, but the SF Recreation and Parks Department and the SF Parks Alliance are two different entities. Chan said she was disappointed with the reports about Nurus and the Public Works relationship with SF Parks Alliance, plus she was concerned that instead of pausing that type of agreement between Rec. 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. 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. Every year, millions of dollars flow into the San Francisco Parks Alliance. Thats great, said Chan. They said while the bulk of the money raised went for scholarships, about 20% of the crab feed proceeds went for Recreation and Parks operational costs, including girls baseball leagues, World Cup soccer viewings, training retreats and worker appreciation events.