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# LA’s Parks System Crushed: Report Highlights Mayor and City Council’s Failed Parks Policy
June 06 2013
Written by Kristin C. Sabo.
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GRIFFITH PARK WAYIST - The **Trust for Public Land**s' [latest ParkScore ranking](http://parkscore.tpl.org/rankings_advanced.php) of the parks systems in major US cities is out. While [New York ranks #2](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/%20http:/www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/nyregion/new-york-citys-park-system-ranked-no-2-in-survey-of-50-cities.html?emc=eta1&_r=2&), Los Angeles ranks ... 34th.
Detroit for all of its problems ranks considerably higher than Los Angeles.
“You can’t have a great city without great parks,” said Mr. Benepe, who, under NY Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, oversaw 1,700 parks and beaches during a period of expansion and major capital investment.
Benepe's statement certainly does not describe Los Angeles' dedication to its parks. City leaders have effectively [*stolen* $151 million in Charter-mandated funding from LA's parks since 2007](http://griffithparkwayist.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-real-cost-of-chargebacks-as.html%20) to cover holes in other City departments' budgets.
There is the Mayor's 50-parks initiative ... with funding for the acquisition of 50 postage stamp-sized parks, but no funding -- zero -- for maintenance, programming, or security going forward. Hardly a real investment in LA's parks.
Meanwhile it only gets worse for LA's existing parks: although **Mayor-elect Garcetti** is [a signatory on ParksSave's pledge](http://www.parkssave.com/parks-save-coalition/) to restore parks funding, Garcetti as councilmember, the Mayor, and City Council unanimously approved taking another $70 million [in *chargebacks* ($64 mil)](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1Pd-C7iqGo/UYAYh9npeqI/AAAAAAAAAXg/4frrCJp-_8I/s1600/13-0600_misc_4-23-13+10.png) and hidden indirect charges ($7 mil) from the Department of Recreation and Parks this year alone.
Garcetti as Mayor, of course, does have the opportunity to change this come July 1.
*“You can’t have a great city without great parks”* is one of those universal ‘knowns’, yet Los Angeles has been actively stealing from its parks, dishonoring [the foresight Angelenos had when they tried to protect LA's parks by mandating funding specifically for parks in the City Charter](http://griffithparkwayist.blogspot.com/2013/04/soboroffs-parks-commercialization-plan.html)[.](http://griffithparkwayist.blogspot.com/2013/04/soboroffs-parks-commercialization-plan.html)
Shameful.
Stay tuned for the deflecting, marginalizing, and scapegoating of managers that is sure to follow.
*(Kristin Sabo is an advocate for LA’s parks and blogs at* [*GriffithParkWayist.blogspot.com*](http://GriffithParkWayist.blogspot.com) *where this column was first posted. She is an occasional contributor to CityWatch.)*
*-cw*
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 46
Pub: June 7, 2013
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