San Jose farm park advocates accuse city of retaliation

Supporters of an East San Jose farm say they’ve been trying for years to get the city to invest more in the beloved community park. Instead, city parks officials responded by cutting off the relationship with the group.

The 40-year-old Emma Prusch Park Foundation is alleging San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services hasn’t been providing sufficient funding from a nearby gas station that generates about $130,000 per year to fund maintenance at Emma Prusch Farm Park.

Through a Public Records Act request, the foundation obtained documents showing tens of thousands of dollars from the Emma Prusch Memorial Park Improvement Fund, operated by the city, has been regularly spent on consulting services, overtime pay, retirement and other fringe benefits over direct maintenance and improvements, according to records viewed by San José Spotlight.

Sharon McCray, president of Emma Prusch Farm Park Foundation, said in accordance with the wishes of Prusch — as outlined in a gift deed — her property was to be turned over to the city in the 1960s, and the rent payments generated from the nearby gas station sitting on the land were to be used exclusively on the farm’s capital maintenance.

“We’ve been holding the city accountable and asking for an audit of the funds to find out where all the money is — now they want to kick us out,” McCray told San José Spotlight. “It’s a mess. They’re not farmers, they’re administrators.”

Parks Director Jon Cicirelli said the city hasn’t had a formal agreement with the foundation in more than a decade. He said the only part of the park controlled by foundation members is Emma’s Kitchen Garden, which makes up less than 1% of the park’s 40-acre area.

The city contracted an outside mediator to try and come to an agreement with the foundation, Cicirelli said, but the two sides were unable to resolve their differences. He said in a letter on Oct. 31 that the city decided to “end negotiations” with the organization.

“Moving forward, our plan is to form a Community Advisory Committee that will include more East San Jose voices to provide feedback and strengthen engagement at the park,” Cicirelli said in the letter. “This effort will continue our tradition of transparency and collaboration with all park stakeholders.”

Ultimately, city parks officials ordered the foundation and whatever property they have at the farm to vacate by Nov. 18, McCray said.

“The only thing we received from the city was the email dated Oct. 18 saying, ‘Thank you for your years of wonderful service, now you have 30 days to vacate,'” McCray told San José Spotlight. “Since then, we’ve heard nothing except for that letter that showed up that wasn’t even addressed to us.”

Foundation member Kathy Towle said she’s frustrated to see the city shift focus away from the farm elements of the park, as kids took great interest in the barnyard atmosphere among live chickens and roosters.

“They don’t even want the animals in the barn,” Towle told San José Spotlight. “To give us an eviction notice — it’s retaliation. The city doesn’t like us asking questions (about the park’s funding), but we deserve to know.”

A Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services spokesperson told San José Spotlight their decision to end negotiations with the foundation had nothing to do with its request for information. They maintain that no money has been missing or mismanaged.

“Emma Prusch Farm Park is a cherished, well-maintained space on our East Side. We remain fully committed to the park’s farm elements and will continue providing valuable agricultural, educational and recreational experiences for our community to connect with nature and learn about our region’s agricultural roots,” Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services spokesperson Amanda Rodriguez said.

The Emma Prusch Farm Park Foundation was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1982 with the mission of ensuring the city continues to support Prusch’s vision. But the foundation’s relationship with the city’s parks department diminished in the following years as three longtime foundation members told San José Spotlight they started seeing less care invested into the park.

San José Spotlight reported earlier this year on a 2024 city status report showing the parks department has a more than $554 million infrastructure backlog — with many East Side parks in disrepair.
East San Jose residents criticized the city park’s department earlier this year for failing to notice heat concerns at the new farm-themed playground at Emma Prusch Farm Park, costing roughly $4.4 million. A city parks spokesperson told San José Spotlight at the time the slides were designed purposefully facing the north to combat the heat, and employees check slides daily to ensure safety.

Bob Towle, a foundation member since 2002, said parks employees are treating the farm like a zoo — meaning animals used to roaming free are being restricted and removed according to convenience. The local ecosystem is being negatively affected as the exodus of natural predators is leading to a proliferation of rodents, and the use of traps meant to kill them, he said.

“Since 2007 we’ve developed Emma’s Kitchen Garden and we’ve been raising plants, food and vegetables. Tours of kids come through on school field trips and we have various volunteers who come in to help,” he told San José Spotlight. “Once we’re gone, there will be nobody to take care of this.”

Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.