Head Of Central Park Conservancy To Retire: Report

CENTRAL PARK, NY — The head of the Central Park Conservancy — the nonprofit organization which has maintained Central Park for decades — is stepping down from his posts after more than 30 years with the conservancy.

Douglas Blonsky, who started at the conservancy in 1985, announced his retirement Tuesday, the New York Times reported. A message left with the Central Park Conservancy was not immediately returned.

In the 1980s Central Park was far different than the tourist and family utopia it is today, Blosnky told the Times.

"There were mattresses all over the place for prostitution and drugs," Blonsky told the Times while discussing the park's Great Hill. "And we would be sitting here trying to do this work, and everybody would just be staring at you. Now, it’s baby carriages and dogs and picnics."

During his tenure as president, Blonsky implemented the zone management system which Central Park uses to divide its grounds into 49 zones with dedicated managers and gardeners, the Times reported. The conservancy also raised nearly $1 billion since Blonsky was appointed president in 20014, according to the report.

Read the full New York Times article here.

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