Dear Community Members of Sunnyside,
My name is Vincent Arroyo and I work for the Mission YMCA. I run the Afterschool and Day Camp Programs at the Sunnyside Clubhouse in Sunnyside Park. If you may or may not know, there has been some incidents that Sunnyside Park, where there has been either teens or adults who have been in the park drinking and smoking. This has always been an issue at Sunnyside Park ever since we moved into the clubhouse the Summer of 2011 and beyond. The Y has a system in place to where we keep our children safe and we call SFPD’s non-emergency line. But 9 times out of 10 they do not show up until either the teens or adults have left or after the program ends or the police do not show up at all due to higher priority calls in the area. But we still call every time and we encourage our parents and community members who see these events happening in or around the park to call as well. If they get a lot of calls about the same issue, they are bond to show up.
Here is the number we call for SFPD non-emergency: 415-553-0123
The info they will need when you call are as follow:
- Location (Sunnyside Playground on the corner of Foerster and Teresita or 270 Melrose Ave)
- What they are doing?
- A discretion of ALL the people involved and inform them that there is a YMCA program on site and/or children in the park.
With these phone calls, you do not have to give your name or number. DO NOT APPROACH THEM ON YOUR OWN!!!
I am currently working with SFPD Ingleside to find a solution to this problem. But for now, please call and report these incidents. It is the Y’s mission to keep children and their families safe when they are at the park, no matter if they are enrolled in our program or not.
Thank you for your help with this. If you have any questions please email me directly at varroyo@ymcasf.org.
Vincent Arroyo
Asst. Program Director Sunnyside YMCA
Mission YMCA of San Francisco
P: 415-786-3674
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association 