Meeting with Supervisor Dufty

Supervisor Dufty convened a meeting on October 13 to discuss health, safety, and maintenance issues in Duboce Park. Representatives from Friends of Duboce Park (FDP), SFPD, Bureau of Street Environment Services, SF Rec & Park, and Supervisor Dufty attended. The meeting started with a discussion of drug use and needles in the park (see below) and moved on to various ongoing maintenance issues in the park, especially ones that also affect safety (see below). Yomi Agunbiade, Acting General Manager for Rec & Park, agreed to check into five critical maintenance issues.

Needles in the Park

After the needle exchange program opened recently behind Safeway, a huge number of used needles were found in Duboce Park - on and around the south steps behind the basketball court, under and on top of the stairs adjacent to the north side of the Rec Center, and around the container next to the basketball court. We contacted Capt. Ehrlich at Park Station on September 19 and he increased his nighttime foot patrols in those areas, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of needles found. However, the police cannot patrol those areas 24/7 and cannot completely eliminate the problem. If you see a needle, please call DPW at 28-CLEAN (282-5326) and they will come and safely remove and dispose of any needles found.

Maintenance

Many promises to redo the lawn and to fill the holes on the lawn have been made since January, but nothing has happened. All of our complaints are documented and photographed as part of the monthly ParkScans that we have been doing in the park. Uncut, high grass and untended planted areas with weeds and garbage make it more difficult to see a used needle. Large holes and depressions in the lawn make walking on it more hazardous.

Since the meeting with Supervisor Dufty, a new safety latch has been put on the gate in the children's playground, making it more difficult for a child to easily open the gate and walk onto the Muni tracks. We have also been told that the dead olive trees near Duboce Ave. will be replaced with new trees. We have promised once again that the lawn will be redone in sections.

Rec & Park has 150 fewer gardeners than they once had and their budget cutbacks are well documented. FDP is planning monthly volunteer work parties on the second Saturday of every month to help maintain Duboce Park. We will confirm the exact times on the bulletin board as soon as we receive work permits from Rec & Park. Our first work part is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 13, starting at 9 a.m.

Help Wanted:
Playground Parents Auxiliary & Park Scan

Volunteers are needed for a variety of projects. FDP is creating a Playground Parents Auxiliary to perform maintenance, typically in the planted areas in the playground, on our regularly scheduled work days. This will allow us to do work both in the park and in the playground on all of the work days.