Mayor Declares May 15 As NYC's Urban Park Ranger Day

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — Newer New Yorkers might be surprised to know that 40 years ago the city's 30,000 acres of parkland were for the most part known as crime-ridden danger zones to be avoided at all costs.

That was, at least, until the Urban Park Ranger program, started in 1979, started transforming the parks into the go-to green spaces we know today.

City officials celebrated that success during a ceremony in Fort Greene Park on Wednesday, commemorating the Urban Park Rangers 40th anniversary and declaring May 15 as Urban Park Ranger Day.

"The urban park rangers have been part of our parks and the fabric of our city for 40 years," Sarah Aucoin, the parks department's chief of education and wildlife told the crowd. "They bridge the gap between city living and the wonders of nature that can be found throughout the five boroughs."

The proclamation, sent from Mayor Bill de Blasio, came as a surprise to the dozens of rangers that were gathered in the park for what they thought was an afternoon of activities to celebrate their 40-year anniversary.

The Urban Rangers' leaders had asked for the recognition and set up the ceremony as a surprise for their staff, Urban Rangers Director Bonnie McGuire said.

"It was pretty exciting (when we heard we got the proclamation)," she said. "It's a nice tribute to what we do to get people closer to nature every day."

McGuire, who has worked as a ranger for 17 years, said the proclamation came at a perfect time given an upcoming alumni event that will let the rangers share it with former staff going back the full 40 years.

One of those former staff was Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher, who started his career 35 years ago as a ranger.

"Once you're a ranger you never really leave," Maher said. "You have the best job in the world and you're making a real difference. You're teaching kids, adults and everyone else how important this environment is and how important our rich history is that parks is really the custodian for."

Maher said the ceremony in Fort Greene Park seemed especially relevant given that the park's welcome center served as the rangers' first substation 40 years ago.

Over those 40 years, the Urban Rangers have not only helped increase safety in the park, but brought a series of free programs throughout the year to let New Yorkers use them in an educational and rewarding way, officials said.

McGuire said that today the Urban Rangers Program has more options for doing so than ever. The Rangers help with everything from traditional fishing and wildlife programs to more recent additions like botanical painting and outdoor skills classes.

"We have diversified our programming and it's really because of the great ideas our rangers have," she said.

The city's staff of 44 rangers operate out of stations in each of the five boroughs and are called to any of that borough's parks to lead programming throughout the year.

"It's the best job in the world," McGuire said. "We get to meet people on their days off and help them get to know the park."