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Rec & Park highlights: Esprit Park reopening, UN Plaza skate expansion, dune restoration and zoo updates
Summary
Commissioners and staff reviewed recent park reopenings and community events: Esprit Park’s $8.5M renovation, UN Plaza skate expansion and crime reduction, Ocean Beach dune replanting with 100+ volunteers and San Francisco Zoo education and conservation activities.
Commissioners used the Feb. 20 meeting to recap recent park projects and community events across the city, highlighting capital work, partnerships and volunteer efforts.
Staff and commissioners celebrated the recently reopened Esprit Park, a renovation described by the general manager as an $8.5 million project delivered in partnership with UCSF and neighborhood groups. Commissioner Carrie Winter and others praised the park’s new play elements, seating and preserved redwood grove as broadly accessible features.
At UN Plaza, the department worked with partners—including Converse, the Skatepark Project and local organizations—to add about 2,100 square feet of skateable surface and three skateable art pieces designed by Alexis Sablone. Staff said the UN Plaza improvements, built on an earlier $2 million investment, now attract roughly 350,000 visits per year and have coincided with an ‘nearly 80% reduction in daytime crime in the space.’
Ocean Beach and the Great Highway were highlighted for ecological restoration and planning for a park opening this spring. The department reported a recent dune replanting with more than 100 volunteers, prioritizing native beach wild rye to stabilize dunes and reduce erosion; partners included the National Park Service, the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Estuary Institute and the Surfrider Foundation.
The San Francisco Zoo provided its monthly update: Ingrid Russell of the Zoo’s conservation and wellness department described community Lunar New Year programs, the relaunch of the Little Learners education series, the annual penguin roundup and recent arrivals of critically endangered Western Santa Cruz giant tortoises and other species.
Staff also previewed the Golden Gate Bandshell season beginning March 1 and noted peak magnolia blooms in the Botanical Garden, inviting residents to use online maps for self‑guided walks. These items were presented as examples of the department’s collaborations, capital work and volunteer partnerships across neighborhoods.
