is our director of operations. we cannot be more proud. i would like to give him a big round of applause. [applause] >> president, commissioners, i just want to say that this has been an amazing experience coming no, through the golf tournament and working for the recreation and parks department over the last 10 years. i was surprised to be nominated dfor this and even more humbled to actually receive the award from such a group of prestigious people that have done this in the past. i would also like to say thank you to the upper management for supporting my operations. phil, dennis, anna, and specifically the people who work directly with me on a day-to-day

basis. front-line supervisors, roger, mike, day and -- dan, and kevin specifically. it is a wonderful opportunity to work with the department. i felt great to receive such an award could a thank you very much commissioner buell: thank you very much. [applause] >> i guess i think it is worth noting that this is actually the third year in a row that a representative from our department has been included in those who have been honored by this award. last year it was a member of our operations division.

the year before, dennis, for his leadership. needless to say, all of them work under denny, so i think there's something to that. congratulations on your excellent team. a few upcoming events. tomorrow night, we celebrate our 12th annual turkey took off. which puts betting chefs that each rec center against those of other rec centers. it is a food cooking battle for bragging rights. it is a great even for neighbors, staff, and teams. if you're hungry and cannot wait for next thursday for thanksgiving and you want an early start on some turkey and side dishes and desserts, come on by the rec center tomorrow night and held judge this year's top chefs. tomorrow and saturday, 9:00 a.m. to noon, the lady the partners and rec and park will have a two-day volunteer cleanup and gardening project where they

will plant over 300 new plants. all are welcome to join. the last upcoming event, december 8, our 82nd annual holiday tree lighting at mclaren lodge. it follows a tradition first started by park superintendent john mclaren. it is a celebration of the holidays. this year, we will have live entertainment, christmas carols, writes for kids, arts and crafts, and a rumored visit from santa claus. i would now like to quickly show us, to deny to cover everything during the report, some of the highlights from the last month that rec and park. ♪

>> this is a story of people be having at their worst that and with nonprofit organizations and different government entities coming together. it is people functioning at their best. ♪ >> x 6 ability, a brand new restroom, and we really transformed what had free fall into just a beautiful, beautiful civic square. ♪

[animal sounds] ♪ >> i want to thank jamie, mark, and quincy for putting the video together. and that dance was actually a flash mob. nobody knew what was happening. another act was onstage, and

suddenly hundreds of kids from out in the audience kind of started doing whatever is i am doing right now. they made their way to the stage. it was a fantastic event, hosted by our incredible recreation staff. it is a huge undertaking. i think i know tickets were close to 6000, and we might have had 7000 or 8000 people. it was a great event. that concludes the general managers' report. thank you. >> is there any public comment on the general managers' report? if there is, please come forward. >> on the legislation, phil ginsburg mentioned that there is a ruling that there has to be a half mile distance of walking to get to a park. that is totally out of sync with reality. i think that has to be changed.

because that is archaic. how can every person walk a half mile to a park? it is a possible. i think that has to be considered for change as soon as possible. >> is there anyone else who like to make public comment? please come forward. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen, members of the recreation and park commission. and the manager of the rec and park commission. i am going to put an order of the termination from the sunshine or dance task force, and i am going to speak to you about a resolution that was pants -- past 10 years ago, around the middle of september 2001. before i do that, i would like

the public to take note of the people in front of them today, the quality of the people that are representing the san francisco and san francisco values. i would like everybody to specifically take notice of a david lee, president of the chinese political group here in san francisco, and noted that ed lee is now the mayor. so here i am go -- here i go. this resolution was passed in 2001, and it specifically says the golden gate park stables working group shall evaluate possible funding opportunities for capital improvement needs at the golden gate park stables in the most efficient and effective manner to repair and improve those stables. that was 10 years ago. my question to you and to every

citizen of the public is, what is the probability of the worst terrorist attack hitting new york and 130 years of cultural history going down the drain in the same month, and the major jumping up and saying, i had advance knowledge of that attack, and he was the only person in public service that did that? what is the probability of that happening? it is that funding would even consider to think about? what it does is it shows complicity with the city and county of san francisco in the recreation and park department. ok, the terrorists did not need to hit the west coast. they had san francisco rec and park department and the city already doing the job for them. [bell rings] thank you. >> as a reminder, this is public

comment on the general manager'' report, not general public comment. if anyone else like to make public comment on the general managers' report, could you please come forward? it is ok. well, it is about the general managers' report. is there anyone else who would like to make public comment on the general managers' report, not general public comment? been none, public comment is closed. we're now on item four, which is a general public comment. up to 50 minutes. at this time, members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public better with in the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission and that not appear on the agenda. with respect to agenda items, your opportunity to address the commission will be afforded when the item is reached in at the meeting. i have suzanne, sandy, and

ernestine. if you could come up in that order, please. >> good morning. i am cmc -- sandy. i am reading portions of the letter dated 10-28-11, which was addressed to mayor lee, president buell, and the commissioners. the subject was lead paint dispersal and contamination at stow lake. since renovations at still lake have begun this fall, several public health and safety issues and environmental concerns have surfaced. in january of 2010, saved the still lake boathouse coalition and others raised concern about lead paint at the historic boathouse, in writing and

verbally to rec and park staff. in response to public concerns, rec and park to permit representatives testified in front of the board of supervisors, in front of the historic preservation commission, and the rec and park in commission on multiple occasions, promising to follow local, state, and federal laws while renovating the boat house. many promises were made as to the representatives of irritated family enterprises, that every precaution would be taken to ensure public safety, as well as to protect the environment. an early october of this year, many witnesses saw workers power washing, blasting, sanding, and scraping the paint off the boat house without using any netting tarps or other protective barriers. on october 25 of this year, a ph.d. in it neurosciences and a social clinical social worker

collected paint chips. please see the display. thank you. collected paint chips near the boat house. these were taken to the center for environmental health in oakland to be tested. the test results were positive for lead. rec and park has not contaminated golden gate park, where children, elderly, and other go to play, rest, and relax. and there is an added concern and wildlife surrounding the boat house. there is strict laws governing the disturbance of lead paint. now in the process of power washing, sanding, and scraping lead chips and other particulates had been released into the air in the late in the park. we request an immediate reply and includes all actions that you will take to insure this contamination is immediately remedied and specific steps to ensure his gross mismanagement of our park never occurs again. [bell rings]

from the state -- save the stowe lake but house coalition. >> good morning peter i am suzanne. it has been three weeks since we sent you that urgent letter she just read to you. and we have heard nothing from any of you. finally, after multiple sunshine request, we received copies of this 2007 led report, specifically ordered by rec and park department for the boathouse at taxpayers' expense. this report detected a lead hazard, and it was kept secret from the public since 2007. the rec and park director has an entire industrial hygiene division under his management. even with this highly paid, licensed staff to take care of just these types of issues, and multiple warnings from the community about the presence of

lead in the 68-year-old structure, mr. ginsberg allows the contamination of golden gate park to occur. it will impact the environment for years to come. the work area of the boathouse was never cordoned off. there were no signs of warning. let alone persons with respiratory or fertility problems about the presence of floating lead particular attention of speed up babies and children who are most vulnerable were not kept away from the area. there were no restrictions for anyone. dozens of gardeners were brought in to lanes get the area surrounding the boathouse at the same time the painting work occurred. how many to come the particulates on their clothing, hair, and skin to their children? for a few hundred dollars, standard protective netting and plastic sheeting could've easily avoided this contamination.

as with so many park issues under the ginsberg ring, it is the committee taking the appropriate steps to protect our health and safety from his so- called revitalization of our parks. all while we pay enormous salaries and benefits for ginsberg's ever-growing army of public relations step that intimidate any journalist who dared tell the truth about his mismanagement ask ginsberg's public affairs chief, sarah ballard, in her role in the layoff of a beloved reporter in the sf weekly a week after he was part of a cover story. will you, parents and grandparents, let him get away with poisoning our parks? it is your responsibility, along with the mayor, to clean up the contamination of stow lake and the toxic behavior sign rec and park management.

thank you. >> good morning. my name is ernestine. i am going to complain, too, about corruption. people want very part restored. we cannot put up with corrupt dirty politics. that has to go. your job is to serve the people first and foremost. that is what your job is all about. you promised me mark -- hello. you promised me, mark, make me believe with the. we're not the only ones that have complained. we gave you a petition to do it. you ignore us. we're fed up with it. put the name back. the people hate the sign that there, sue bierman park. you do it against our will, and you're not doing good public relations. please get rid of the illegal name of sue bierman park, which

did not test the board of supervisors due to its illegal contents in the ordinance. get with it. start action. i read more and more articles about rec and park not responding to the people. get with it. thank you. >> next. >> good morning, commissioners. as someone who lives near sue bierman park, i am sure you all remember when peter pan came to sue bierman park, and the department made some thousands

of dollars. i doubt you are ever informed that in order to make room for the tenths of peter pan, 20 mature cherry trees were cut down and destroyed. it is a great thing for our park commission to do. it destroyed the cherry trees. bring in the back doors. and now what do we have left? a few ginkgos saplings. the place has been landscaped over again. and it looks it. cherry trees take at least 20 years to mature. so i am not surprised they have been replaced. they just threw in something else. if you are familiar with that park, you would know that in the

spring, while life was really attracted to those cherry trees. the wild parrots of telegraph hill love to each individual buds. so did a lot of native sparrows. ah, their environment has been destroyed. big deal. this is just the parks department. but as usual, i do not think any of you know that peter because there is a lot of lying by omission that goes on. and i do not think you were informed. thank you. >> ok, we actually have time for one more. if there is anyone in the public that did not fill out a blue card, please come forward. then we will continue this again at item nine. would you prefer the other

microphone? >> good morning. not to bitch and moan, it is true, i do not have any complaints yet with you. just here to wish a happy season, i say, commissioner ginsberg, and the rest. once again, we will be in union square, it is true. hopefully we will get it right from the beginning. just here to say, a happy season, by the way. and see you all in the square next week. >> ok, we're out of time for public comment, so public comment is closed. we on item number five, consent calendar. is there anyone who would like to make public comment on the consent calendar? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioners? commissioner buell: entertain a motion. >> so moved.

>> second. >> all those in favor? unanimous. >> we are now on item 6, san francisco zoo. >> good morning. i am with the san francisco zoo. we had a good month for october. we exceeded our projections by 11,000 visitors. we have reindeer a writing this saturday, and our brazilian penguins, which is rescue, are doing well. we had a good month. i thought i would take advantage of showing a priest -- a brief overview of what we're doing at the zoo. not quite as exciting as phil's, but close. ♪ >> oh, cute. [laughs]

♪ ♪

♪

>> on behalf of the entire zoo, we want to thank you. a lot of those for new acquisitions. the hippo, the tiger. without you, we cannot have done that. thank you for your patience and support. any questions? commissioner harrison: just a compliment, and thank you. my granddaughter, who just turned 3 if you months ago, had a birthday party out there with a lot of family, friends, and relatives. and it was absolutely wonderful. thank you. everything was perfect. we rode the train. it was absolutely great. i wanted to thank you in complement you and the staff out there. >> thank you commissioner. i know it has been a tough three years. thank you for your patience and support. >> is there any public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is

closed. we're on item number seven, sue bierman park. >> the afternoon, commissioners. this would director for the recreation and parks department. i am here for the discussion and possible action to recommend that the board of supervisors approved legislation introduced by president to to allow for the placement of a playground in sue bierman park. playgrounds are critical for a child's healthy development. they have saved age appropriate places for free play and they help with development. they serve as an indelible

commended the asset. family-friendly neighborhoods attract and retain young families in sentences go and bring families together and strengthen communities ties. in the embarcadero area, there are over 1000 children living there. child care centers serve over 4 00 children daily. the embarcadero ymca service 280 children daily. the golden gate swim club has over 700 campers. their 8000 visitors to the ferry building. 25,000 on saturday speed and get, they're no public playgrounds without -- lynnette -- within a half mile of this area with which children can play. in response to the two waterfront neighborhood, the barbary coast that association, and the ring, and hill neighborhood association, comprising over 12,000 never hints and growing to over 20,000 residents have joined forces to spare the development of a public playground in partnership with the san francisco recreation and parks department.

it was determined that an appropriate location to place a park in the embarcadero area of sue bierman park spending two city blocks. it is bordered by washington street, davis st., any park hadera. 5.3 acres for 230,000 square feet. in 2004, the department of the community-based master planning process for sue bierman park with a two-phased master plan. the first phase had new pathways, planting, irrigation, trees, and boulders. while the committee discussed the inclusion of a playground as part of the planning process, at that time, relatively new legislation prohibited structures, including playgrounds, in sue bierman park. given the introduction of legislation to amend