New Park Station captain emphasizes community policing, promises action on Albert Lake and traffic enforcement

Captain John Feeney, the newly assigned commanding officer of Park Station, told the San Francisco Police Commission on a Park District community night that he will prioritize “community engaged policing,” youth outreach and targeted traffic enforcement to address persistent problems in the Haight‑Ashbury and surrounding neighborhoods.

Feeney gave the commission a district snapshot and a short list of initiatives he said he wants to implement, including a Park Station Council, a Park Station Youth Council, a pilot “park volunteer policing” program for officers to spend time in neighborhood parks, and expanded use of the Honda/dirt‑bike unit for park access. He said robberies in a recent reporting period were down about 60% but that burglaries — especially bicycle thefts — have risen and now account for a large share of local property crime.

“We’re waging war on behalf of traffic safety for all in the community,” Feeney said, framing traffic enforcement as equal‑opportunity enforcement across motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. He described specific traffic deployments — motorcycle and radar‑trained traffic officers on Stanyan and at problem intersections — and said his team will re‑deploy to hotspots such as the Seventeenth & Cole corner and the Wiggle bike corridor.

Feeney also addressed park safety in the Albert Lake and Kimball Playground areas, saying the station will pair enforcement with coordinated outreach. Responding to detailed public testimony about encampments and drug use, he pledged to work with Rec & Park, the Department of Public Works and public‑health outreach teams and said he expected visible action “by the end of the week.” Chief Gregory Suhr added that the department will combine enforcement and social‑services referrals in a multi‑agency cleanup and outreach effort.

Residents at the meeting described repeated park problems. Noni Richin said she was punched while calling 911 in Kimball Playground; several speakers described widespread encampments at Albert Lake and urged sustained enforcement and long‑term park rehabilitation. Community leaders — including neighborhood association chairmen and merchants — praised Feeney’s early outreach and the reassignment of a Honda unit to Park Station, and several offered volunteer support for park cleanup and neighborhood watch efforts.

Commissioners questioned Feeney about the trends he cited. He acknowledged that burglary numbers were up from the prior year while robbery and violent‑crime numbers remain relatively low in Park District compared with other districts. He said burglary arrests have also risen (he cited a 220% year‑to‑date increase in burglary arrests from last year in one passage of the presentation) and emphasized outreach, neighborhood courts for low‑level offenses and community awareness as tools to reduce repeat incidents.

The meeting also recorded two brief procedural actions: adoption of the prior meeting minutes (voice vote recorded as “Aye”) and a motion to adjourn at the end of the session (voice vote recorded as “Aye”).

Feeney said he will report back to the commission and community on progress, and commissioners asked for updates at the next district visit. The chief and captain committed to follow up on the specific locations and traffic measures identified by residents.