Mirkarimi: Botanical Garden Society Cuts Don't "Jive" With What They Told Supes

Cuts "dont' jive" - How about these cuts are simply put - illegal! I'm an attorney who has spent the last fifteen months investigating the RPD and the legislative history of the Park Code. As with other recent closures and reduced hours at public facilities managed by the Recreation & Park Department, every single one has occurred without the duly noticed public hearing clearly required by Section 16.112 of the City Charter! No public facility may be closed or its level of services reduced without a prior public hearing, notice of which has been published in an officially designated newspaper of general circulation.

Michael McKechnie, Phil Ginsburg, Brent Dennis (who singlehandedly orchestrated reduced hours at the Conservatory of Flowers earlier this year) and Gavin Newsom are treating the public's parks and open spaces as if they were there own personal property. This must stop! The public's parks, clubhouses and other recreation facilites are being taken away at an increasingly alarming pace.

As the Department began its frenzied give away of public park clubhouses to private businesses to conduct preschools and daycare centers, I sent an email to the Commissioners and the Department reminding them of their open government obligations including Section 16.112 of the City Charter. That email, sent the morning of June 17th, forced the Commission to remove from their agenda the approval of numerous clubhouses leases scheduled for later that afternoon. These leases, the recent closures and reduced level of services and the literally hundreds of illegally assessed fees for the RPD's programs this past summer are a massive due process violation. For anyone interested in more information, please feel free to contact me.