"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. 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. I think that is a critical piece of information, dont you think, for us to obtain? said Chan. We have put forward actionable recommendations to correct loopholes that seemingly normalize unethical practices that undermine faith in public actions.. elsewhere. This S.F. "We have issue with the way the vendor was selected. and Park has a similar practice with subaccounts involving the SF Parks Alliance. The net encircling former Public Works director Mohammed Nuru has now ensnared more entities in The City's ever-growing corruption scandal. And Parks Alliance Board Chair Liz Farrell said, "I want to also just to be clear on the record, and say that the Parks Alliance has not been accused or found to be involved in any wrongdoing as part of the investigation into the government corruption.". 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. 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. 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. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Call (415) 706-6428 for information about advertising online and in the printed versions of the Richmond Review and the Sunset Beacon newspapers. During this same period, these entities donated $966,000 to the Public Works subaccounts at the Parks Alliance, she elaborated. 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. 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. Money was deposited into the account by Recology executives as part of a bribery scheme and was allegedly used to fund lavish parties. The City Controller's Office and City Attorney's Office report into city ethics is the second to be released this year. That meant it wasnt clear who donated dollars that ended up in city coffers. The Alliance has not been accused of wrongdoing in the city corruption scandal and did not get paid for its account management. 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. And what about the Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park? That is correct, Sobrepena said. 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. But they're also rife with opportunity for abuse, the report found. . The Historic Preservation Commission is expected to vote on whether to extend the contract through 2025 at its next meeting on March 3. 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. Under the terms of its contract with Ferris wheel operator. No problem, Chan said. Call (415) 706-6428 for information about advertising online and in the printed versions of the Richmond Review and the Sunset Beacon newspapers. In that span, the non-profit took in $44 million, including an estimated $3.5 million in anonymous donations, the audit concludes. 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. While City Administrator Naomi Kelly has not yet been named in any of the subpoenas, her husband, SF Public Utilities Commission General Manager Harlan Kelly, has, per the Chronicle. If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us. 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. and Park Department and Parks Alliance, it seems to me that General Manager, Phil Ginsburg, had decided to double down.. It often pays to have friends in high places. Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. 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.. Parks Alliance spokesperson Juliana Bunim said in a statement Thursday that the group appreciates all ongoing efforts to strengthen transparency and collaboration between nonprofit organizations and the city of San Francisco.. 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. Before that, she freelanced with a focus on the Yemeni diaspora while studying at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. 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. Your email address will not be published. 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 Bay Area will have some live sports to look at for the first time in four months starting next Monday, July 20! 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 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. 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. The Parks Alliance is a major philanthropic backer for the parks and other city departments. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. Supervisors Connie Chan and Aaron Peskin Call for Investigation on SF Parks Alliance . Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). 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. 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. 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 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. I also wanted to say that, throughout this whole process, we are committed to being transparent. 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. 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). "Like everyone, we were outraged to learn of the public corruption in our local government, Becher said, in a statement. 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. 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. Chan, who commissioned the report, said the results demanded reform. 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. The Historic Preservation Commission is expected to vote on whether to extend the contract through 2025 at its next meeting on March 3. 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. Downtown S.F. Breed's order also requires more transparency from city officers in accepting gifts. and Park.. Let'sPlaySF! 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. 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. The supervisor and the organization have clashed before. 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. "It's time for me to come home, time for me to be more than a weekend wife, mother and friend," said longtime Bay Area Congresswoman Jackie Speier. 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.. 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. "When it comes to equity in our public parks, San Francisco doesn't even rank top ten. And that wheel, apparently, is still going round and round. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. needs these 5 sites to thrive so the city can recover. 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. Although the wheel was eventually able to open in the fall at limited capacity, a surge in cases halted operations after just five weeks. 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.. "These so-called 'friends' groups don't have an entirely friendly history. 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. Previously: Feds Charge Three More People Linked to Mohammed Nuru and City Hall Corruption Probe. 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. And, wouldn't you know it, 88 percent of the money comes from just two sources: $131,948 from Recology and $721,250 from the San Francisco Clean City Coalition, a nonprofit. Of the $720,000 that (SF) Parks Alliance paid to vendors, more than half went to just five vendors. Often these organizations are called "friends" organizations, like Friends of the Library, or Friends of City Planning. 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. Drew Becher, CEO of the San Francisco Parks Alliance, expressed shock at the city's findings. 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 . City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Wednesday announced. 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 .
Brigham Health Family Care Associates Brookline,
A Liar Shall Not Tarry In My Sight Kjv,
Articles S
