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RECREATION AND PARKS

When I became General Manager of the Department of Recreation and Parks in 2004 I was excited about the opportunities and ready to take on the challenges ahead. Having grown up in Los Angeles, where I played in City parks and swam in its pools, I wanted to do everything I could to make a terrific Department even better for my fellow Angelenos, as well as visitors to this wonderful city.

Some of the accomplishments can be seen – new recreation and childcare centers, parks, swimming pools, and the reopening of Griffith Observatory – while others aren’t so visible – water conservation achieved in part using an innovative irrigation system, receiving a prestigious Playful City USA designation for our commitment to getting young people involved in recreational activities, and having 10 of our new play areas be universal access for children of all abilities to enjoy.

Among our responsibilities is to continue to provide quality programming from preschool through senior citizen at facilities that are clean, well-maintained, and safe; to be environmentally conscious; and to be responsive to our customers – the people who use our parks and recreation centers and who enjoy and benefit from the multitude of activities and services we offer.

We’ve been and are challenged by difficult economic times, yet we remain operational because of the tremendous efforts of hundreds of employees, many of who are also patrons, and thousands of volunteers. We’ve also dealt with adversity, most notably a devastating fire in Griffith Park in 2007, but we and the park are recovering, with the goal of completely overcoming that terrible incident.

Partnerships with the Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodger Dream Field youth baseball facilities, the Los Angeles Kings – Downtown on Ice outdoor ice skating rink, Nike – development of play fields, Kaiser Permanente – aquatics, Shane’s Inspiration – universal access play areas, Chivas USA professional soccer team – free clinics for youth, the Los Angeles Clippers – Junior Clippers, and cooperative joint-use agreements with the Los Angeles Unified School District have enabled us to do things we otherwise might not. These are just a few of the multitude of relationships our Department has with other public agencies and the private sector.

Department facilities are as diverse and wide-ranging as the people it serves and include over 15,000 acres of parkland with over 400 neighborhood and regional parks, eleven lakes and more than 180 recreation and community centers. The Department operates two beaches plus the famous Venice Beach Ocean Front Walk. Our Griffith Park includes the iconic Observatory, the Greek Theater, three superb golf courses, the Equestrian Center, many miles of hiking and riding trails, Travel Town, the Zoo, the Autry Museum, the carousel, pony trail rides, a swimming pool, Friendship Auditorium and a multitude of other facilities.

The Department has, in addition to its parkland and numerous facilities, programs, classes and activities.  In addition to adult classes, sports leagues and the country’s largest municipal golf program, the Department is a premier provider for children’s programs in the City of Los Angeles, with after school programs, 26 licensed child care facilities and sports programs in most of its facilities. The Department serves more than 1,000 children in its after school programs and more than 60,000 youths in its sports leagues.  There’s also an urban forest of more than one million trees – and growing.

For kids we have day care, afterschool (with homework help available) and off-track programs, teen clubs, day camp during the summer as well as winter and spring, numerous sports, ways to be creatively expressive, field trips, and more. For adults there’s a myriad of things to do and receive – dance, yoga and other ways to exercise, cultural presentations, meals for senior citizens, and more. There are 13 golf courses (including the three in Griffith Park) on which there are over 1 million rounds played a year.

The Department conducted a comprehensive needs assessment in 2007-08 from which recommendations have been or will be implemented, but we still welcome input from the public. I encourage you to spend some time on our website and let us know what you think or give us suggestions on how we can make further improvements.

An unprecedented economic downturn has led to a City fiscal crisis of growing proportions.  The City's 2009-2010 budget reflects a $320 million reduction.  This reduction will effect the Department of Recreation and Parks and we will continue to do our best to provide services to our patrons as well as keeping the public informed of any changes in operations.

Sincerely,

Jon Kirk Mukri