Four eight-foot tall, 15-year-old tree ferns and five trees were vandalized last Friday night in Golden Gate Park’s AIDS Memorial Grove, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.
Vandals also damaged a park bench just above the Fern Grotto at the western end of the grove, one 15-galloon “Loderi King George” rhododendron and 725 feet of a post and bamboo rail fence, according to Connie Chan, deputy director of public affairs for the Recreation and Park Department.
The AIDS Memorial Grove was also targeted by vandals in March, as was the area near the Shakespeare Garden, Chan said.
Vandalism is an ongoing problem in Golden Gate Park. Police last summer arrested 65-year-old Ken Frisch after he allegedly tore the branches off trees on several occasions.
Police said at the time, however, that Frisch was not a suspect in a series of more serious vandalism attacks that had damaged more than 200 trees in the park over the previous year.
Drew Himmelstein, Bay City News
