By John Ferrannini
Two pieces of art at the Sunset Dunes on the Upper Great Highway were vandalized early June 14, according to The Friends of Sunset Dunes.
The group supporting the controversial park that opened in April after San Francisco voters decided to permanently close the roadway to vehicle traffic – made the announcement that almost none of the keys on a wave piano placed there for public use were working as of that morning.
“Vandals broke all but 10 keys and two of three hinges for the cover,” according to a news release.
Two days earlier, visitors to the park found heavy damage to a piece of art called “Ocean Calling,” the friends group stated.
The “Ocean Calling” piece was also for public use. The piece involves a phone booth. The phone was not connected to a telephone line. It was meant for people to use to metaphorically connect with lost loved ones as they gazed out at the ocean. Someone had disconnected the phone’s handset and threw it away from the rest of the piece, which had dirt and rocks placed inside. Also, some wood slats in the booth were vandalized.
“Where else in the City can you sit and enjoy and play the piano by the ocean like this?” asked Zach Lipton, a volunteer with Friends of Sunset Dunes, in a phone interview. “I hope we can all respect the park.”
Lipton did not recall who had donated the piano, but said the group was heartened that multiple people stepped up to donate pianos in the aftermath of the vandalism. Public art at Sunset Dunes was donated to the friends’ group for use by the City, or to the city itself. The piano is at the intersection of Judah Street.
“Ocean Calling” was created by artist Sarah McCarthy Grimm and other collaborators. It is located between where Noriega and Rivera streets intersect with the park. Lipton said that the pair “came out very quickly and made repairs” not too soon after the vandalism.
A spokesperson stated that the artists did not want to comment.
Reached for comment, the San Francisco Police Department referred comment to the Recreation and Park Department, which did not return comment by press time.
“It’s abhorrent that someone would try to destroy these sources of joy, connection and healing. But you can’t break the spirit of a park, of public art, or of the people who cherish them,” Phil Ginsburg, general manager of Rec. and Park, stated in the Friends group news release.
This is not the first time art by the Sunset Dunes has been vandalized. Though Prop. K received majority support in the city, no precinct in District 4 supported the measure, which led upset members of the public to spearhead a recall campaign against Engardio. That election will be held Sept. 16. Engardio declined to comment for this report, referring to Lipton.
Just after Prop. K went into effect, closing the roadway, a mural by Emily Fromm on the wall of a bathroom at the end of Judah Street was graffitied. At that time, Engardio condemned the vandalism.
“Defacing artwork or destroying property is not how opinions are shared, and no one should have to endure verbal abuse by someone who disagrees with a policy or the outcome of a vote,” Engardio said. “Now more than ever we need civility in our politics and public discourse.”
Earlier this year, security cameras were installed by Rec. and Park after vandalism of public art at the JFK Promenade. The promenade in Golden Gate Park, like the Upper Great Highway, had been open to vehicle traffic until the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated physical distancing and city officials saw the opportunity to make an outdoor space available for that purpose. In 2022, voters made the promenade car free permanently.
In those cases, sculptures known as the Doggie Diner, Rabbitwoman and Dogman sustained damage.
In a statement, Lucas Lux, president of Friends of Sunset Dunes, tied the vandalism to politically motivated opposition to the park.
“Attacking art that brings people together is ugly behavior,” he said. “San Franciscans can disagree but should do so respectfully. Voters chose to open the park, and we should respect the will of the voters instead of lashing out and destroying things that bring the community joy and peace.”
Categories: Art
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
This failed experiment is NOT working. Anyone who has lived in the lower Sunset for any significant amount of time knew this kind of stuff was bound to happen and will continue to happen. Bicyclists are running into pedestrians too. The road is mostly empty on weekdays, while traffic is a mess during commute hours. Then on the rare occasion when it does happen to be a nice day along the coast, it’s chaos out there. Someone will be getting severely injured or killed soon. Just OPEN THE GREAT HIGHWAY!
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Joel Engardio, Phil Ginsburg, and Lucas Lux, president of Friends of Sunset Dunes, attributing vandalism of pianos and damage to an art structure to politically motivated opposition to the park is without proof. The only thing political about this are their comments meant to distract D4 voters from Engardio’s false narrative that he has made the Sunset safer and cleaner. Vandalism is rampant in the outer Sunset, especially close to the beach. This isn’t new, but has escalated since the absence of traffic stopped keeping vandals off the lanes of the highway 24/7. Sand dune destruction continues to impact the Wildlife Sanctuary. Illegal fireworks set off on Sunset Dunes Park went on all night on July 4th and during the days surrounding the 4th; last night was no exception. Debris from fireworks are still on the streets and on private property near the park. Calls to 311 and the numbers suggested met with no response from the City. These unsubstantiated accusations pointed towards District 4 residents who have called out Engardio’s betrayal to his constituents are Engardio’s efforts to make his recall appear unjustified. Don’t believe it. Engardio’s secret meetings with a select few, his legislation written behind closed doors to eliminate community voice and engagement, and his votes against the will of the majority are serious offenses and cannot be allowed to continue. Vote Yes on September 16th to Recall Engardio.
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Honestly? What did they expect?
You impose a park on a district that overwhelmingly voted NO, ignore the community’s real concerns about traffic, safety, and quality of life — and then act shocked when your “public joy installations” get damaged?
I don’t condone vandalism — but I also can’t help but laugh at how naive and theatrical this whole response is. They dropped a piano and a metaphorical phone booth into a controversial park, didn’t secure them, didn’t weatherproof them, and expected everyone to treat them like sacred objects.
Only they believe these installations are untouchable.
As a piano player, it genuinely breaks my heart to see a beautiful delicate instrument abandoned like that. Even if no one touched it, Mother Nature alone would’ve destroyed it — salt air, fog, and sand corrode everything.
Let’s not forget: animals can do damage too. Raccoons, coyotes, birds, stray dogs — you’re putting delicate objects in a wild, open environment with no protection.
And seriously — stop blaming Engardio critics without proof. Vandalism happens all over the city. Just look at the Norteno gang tags on L-Taraval Muni shelters. Were those political too?
Also: it’s summer. Teenagers are bored, unsupervised, and can’t vote. If you don’t plan for reality, don’t act surprised by it.
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You can’t make this shite up. An abandoned piano isn’t going to last more than 10 minutes with the wind and sand at Ocean Beach and a disconnected phone booth won’t just be used to pee in. Open up the Great Highway.
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The Sunset Piano folks who do the Flower Piano show in the botanical garden every September started out by placing pianos along the coast for everyone to play. People enjoy playing outside in settings like that. My feeling is that people are mad about the Sunset Dunes park going through and they’re retaliating. Maybe they need to put up some security cameras on this. Thx – Rob
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Hi Rob, thanks for the context about the Sunset Piano project I actually appreciate what they do at the Botanical Garden. It’s a lovely tradition, and the environment there is secured, curated, and maintained. What’s happening at Sunset Dunes is different. You’re placing delicate instruments outdoors, overnight, in a controversial public space with no protection from the elements, animals, or people.
I say this as a music lover myself I’m currently teaching myself piano and it genuinely breaks my heart to see a beautiful instrument destroyed. But it also doesn’t surprise me. Salt air, fog, sand, and lack of supervision will do that even without any malicious intent.
As for the suggestion that this is some kind of “retaliation” by recall supporters: that doesn’t really hold up. Why would anyone involved in the Engardio recall risk sabotaging the entire campaign with an act of vandalism? It makes zero strategic sense. We want accountability, not chaos.
Let’s also not forget: this is San Francisco. Vandalism is everywhere. Muni shelters, schoolyards, public bathrooms, playgrounds and a lot of it comes from bored teens, people dealing with addiction or mental health issues, gang activitie or just random bad actors. Not everything is political.
If we really care about preserving public art, then yes install security cameras. Or better yet, protect fragile installations in secure spaces, like museums or community centers.
But let’s stop jumping to conclusions and vilifying neighbors who simply want their streets and lives back. That’s not helpful and it certainly doesn’t build “joy” or “healing.”
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Typical of the anti car/recall/disability/fairness pro-bike crowd to immediately jump at the opportunity to blame vandalism on the Recall Joel organization. They are desperately throwing anything up on the wall, hoping it sticks because they can’t defend Engardio’s deceit and secretive collusion with wealthy elites who want to build luxury condos in the Sunset and destroy current D4 demographics. Vandalism, graffiti, property damage by young teenage and adult males is endemic all over SF. Do you really think Recall proponents would jeopardize their high chance of removing an unfit supervisor by committing childish vandalism? The antirecall crowd is projecting, obviously.
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Just a quick note before folks jump to conclusions about who might’ve vandalized those Sunset Dunes installations:
Honestly, I don’t think any engaged member of the Engardio recall movement would risk the entire campaign by doing something that reckless and stupid. It makes zero strategic sense. We’re fighting to restore our neighborhood, not trash it.
Now, I do want to gently point out another possibility; and parents, please don’t come for me; but… it’s summer. A lot of teenagers are bored, unsupervised, and their moral compass is increasingly shaped by TikTok trends. I say that as someone who literally lives across the street from a high school and has personally seen kids litter, yank flowers from my yard, and set off fire alarms during finals week.
This doesn’t mean all teens are bad; far from it. I know there are wonderful, respectful young people out there. But we also know that bored teens (and frankly, bored adults) sometimes do dumb things, especially when stuff is left out in public, unsecured and unprotected.
If your art installation is that precious, maybe don’t leave it exposed to salt air, wild animals, and passersby with too much time on their hands. Maybe put it in a museum next time.
Let’s cut the performative nonsense.
Calling Sunset Dunes a “source of joy, connection, and healing” is insulting to the thousands of residents whose lives were disrupted when the Upper Great Highway was closed without real community input. You don’t get to steal critical infrastructure from families, caregivers, veterans, and working-class commuters; and then claim the moral high ground with a broken piano and a glorified phone booth.
This park is not a symbol of joy. For many of us, it’s a symbol of betrayal; of being ignored, gaslit, and pushed aside so a small, self-congratulatory group could play “urban visionary” while the rest of us sat in gridlock, racked up late fees, lost clients, and got scolded by bosses.
And let’s stop pretending this was a peaceful, universally welcomed transformation. No District 4 precinct voted for Prop K. That’s not unity. That’s disenfranchisement.
So please. Stop abusing the word joy. Real joy doesn’t come from a staged spectacle or a city-backed photo op. Real joy comes from being seen, respected, and treated like your voice matters.
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I never truly understood the term ‘gaslighting’ until the closure of The Great Highway. The term perfectly describes the situation. Advocates for the “park” are conveniently sliding past reality for thousands of Richmond and Sunset residents and shoving a narrative down our throats that does not synch with what we see and experience on a daily basis.
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Engardio, YOU VIOLATED THE BROWN ACT WHEN YOU FILED MEASURE K, AND YOU AND YOUR ENABLERS, KNEW THAT!!
How CIVIL was that??
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