A Message from the General Manager

I'm pleased to have joined the Department of Recreation and Parks as General Manager. This Department provides a wide variety of services to the citizens of Los Angeles. This is a great Department in a great City. I grew up here - played on Los Angeles park playgrounds and swam in Los Angeles swimming pools and what happens to our parkland and our park programs for children, young people, senior citizens and families is important to me.

Parks are a vital part of healthy, livable communities. Parks and playgrounds are essential to physical and emotional health. Parks can transform neighborhoods and provide a focus of economic stability and community development. But parks and programs don't just 'happen.' Flat ground doesn't morph into ball fields, worn grassy areas don't spontaneously sprout flowers and shrubs don't instinctively grow. It is important that the Department commit itself to effective stewardship of its resources and to creative planning to keep the important programs operating.

Los Angeles residents have a wide range of recreational activities available to them. The Department offers access to parks, beaches, mountain trails, campgrounds and historical sites. The Department of Recreation and Parks maintains over 15,710 acres of parkland with 390 neighborhood and regional parks, 9 lakes, 176 recreation centers and 372 children's play areas, 13 golf courses, 287 tennis courts, 9 dog parks, 59 swimming pools,
7 skate parks, 7 museums, 24 child care facilities, 30 senior centers, 2 beaches and an urban forest of one million trees.

The Department also provides after school and day care for children, teen clubs, basketball, volleyball, softball and flag football games and leagues. Kids classes range from homework help to dance classes to field trips. Our adult classes range from parenting to Samba. Senior programs provide field trips and classes as well as a lunch program with an average of 3,000 meals served each week. We serve tennis players and golfers -- over 1 million rounds golf are played on our 13 municipal golf courses.

The Department, in fact the whole City, faces enormous economic challenges in the coming year and it is my goal to safeguard our resources and to reach out to the community to help keep the parks green, programs and activities available and our acilities safe.

We have a dedicated and professional team of employees who are committed to the communities they serve, as well as over 11,000 volunteers who are also devoted to keeping our Department strong and functional.

I look forward to meeting the challenges of the years ahead and to making the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks the best in the nation.

Sincerely,

Jon Kirk Mukri