Melvin Davis made his way through Central Park around 9:15 a.m. on a recent morning, at a time when dogs are not permitted off-leash. He drove up to a woman near the park's Turtle Pond whose dog was running around freely.

"Good morning. Friendly reminder, all dogs must be on leash at this time," he said politely to the dog owner.

What You Need To Know

  • The Central Park Conservancy has established a Central Park Ranger Corps

  • The rangers address visitor concerns and quality-of-life issues, like dogs off-leash at unauthorized times and bikes and other vehicles on pathways

  • They work with the Parks Enforcement Patrol and the NYPD within Central Park

Davis is part of the Central Park Conservancy Ranger Corps. His job is to address ongoing issues within the 843-acre urban oasis, including dogs off-leash at unauthorized times and bikes on pathways.

The rangers also check in on homeless individuals, and have a direct pipeline to the Department of Homeless Services if necessary.

The program grew out of the park's community relations coordinator position, but in April, those workers were given new uniforms and renamed rangers, working hand-in-hand with the Parks Department's Parks Enforcement Patrol, or PEP, and the NYPD.

"We inform the patrons of the park what the rules and regulations are, no enforcing. If a situation that we encounter has to be escalated up, we call PEP, or if it needs to go up to the highest level, then we'll call NYPD," said Davis, a Bronx native.

In just over six weeks, the conservancy says the rangers have responded to thousands of situations. The conservancy's vice president for park use and stewardship, Erica Sopha, says it's a response to the public asking for more of a presence and support within the park.

"We all have an idea of what a park ranger is there for, and park rangers tend to be these very positive people who understand the park, who know how the park operates, and are there to take care of people, take care of the land, take care of the space, and really at the end, on behalf and for all of the people, so that's really what we're out there trying to achieve," Sopha said.

Davis says parkgoers do seem to take him more seriously with the uniform and marked vehicle, and he receives a good response, for the most part.

"We get compliments from everyone, and then we get ridiculed by a lot of people as well," he said. "Mixed bag."

Currently, there are six rangers patrolling seven days a week. The conservancy hopes to get that number to more than 20 at some point.