Central Park launches new Ranger Corps to encourage better public behavior

A new team of park rangers has been patrolling Central Park for the past six weeks, helping visitors and ensuring the beloved green space remains safe, clean, and welcoming. Managed by the Central Park Conservancy, the Ranger Corps has been on duty since early spring, addressing visitor concerns and quality-of-life issues, including noise complaints, illegal vending, assisting unhoused individuals, reuniting lost children with their families, and more.

Central Park is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the country, drawing more than 42 million people annually. Amid this surge in foot traffic, the new Ranger Corps serves as a vital point of public contact, helping to protect the park’s landscape, assist visitors, and preserve its welcoming atmosphere.

In its first six weeks, the Ranger Corps has addressed more than 1,600 visitor concerns and quality-of-life issues. Rangers have responded to 280 vendor infractions, resolved 40 unpermitted events, offered support to over 250 unhoused individuals, and encouraged dog owners to leash more than 2,500 unleashed dogs. The team has also assisted in over 60 incidents, from reuniting lost children with their families to helping injured wildlife.

“The Central Park Ranger Corps is a response to the growing need for civility, clarity, and shared responsibility in a space visited by over 42 million people each year. We see increasing challenges around how people use the Park and hear directly from the public about ongoing concerns and issues,” Betsy Smith, president and CEO of the Conservancy, said.

“The Rangers offer a friendly, informed presence to help guide appropriate Park use and ensure the Park remains a safe and welcoming place for everyone. This program is a natural extension of the Conservancy’s larger work to invest in the public realm and protect Central Park for generations to come.”

While the rangers cannot issue summons, they work closely with the NYPD, Parks Enforcement Patrol, and other city agencies. They monitor compliance with city rules and permit guidelines, assist during emergencies by supporting first responders, and teach the public about Central Park’s history and landmarks.

The Ranger Corps patrols Central Park seven days a week, easily identified by their distinct green uniforms.

In February, Crain’s reported that the Central Park Conservancy was working to raise $50 million to create and fund the Ranger Corps. Framed as an effort to reinforce “civility and a sense of order” in the park, the Conservancy launched the corps by rebranding an existing team of eight community relations staffers, outfitting them with new uniforms and radios to stay in contact with the NYPD.

The initiative builds on more than four decades of work by the Conservancy to restore and revitalize the park after years of decline. In April, the group unveiled the stunning new Davis Center at Harlem Meer, located at the park’s northern end, its most ambitious capital project to date.

Designed by Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture • Design and Mitchell Giurgola Architects, the year-round facility is seamlessly integrated into the park’s landscape with the ability to transform each season, from a pool in the summer, an ice rink in the winter, and a green lawn in the spring and fall.

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