Rangers help in parks clean-up

Urban Ranger Matt Symons helped clean up Central Park

New York's Urban Park Rangers, who tackle vandalism and crime in the city's public green spaces, are to bring their expertise to Belfast.

The rangers, who are credited with cleaning up New York's Central Park among others, have been invited to help Belfast City Council to deal with anti-social behaviour in local parks. Two rangers are in Belfast and are due to visit the Waterworks and the Falls and Woodvale Parks this week.

At a conference on Friday, they will outline their methods of dealing with vandals and bringing families and tourists back to the parks.

Jack Lynne, who is assistant commissioner with the New York Park Rangers, said his first impression of Belfast parks was that they "were brilliant".

He said, however, that the public had a role to play if they wanted parks kept clean.

"For us, the public is the problem and the public is the solution. It is the public that abuses the parks, when they get abused, and it's the public ultimately that must help keep them clean," he said.

It is the public that abuses the parks, when they get abused, and it's the public ultimately that must help keep them clean Jack Lynne New York Park Rangers

"There aren't enough resources to go pick up after people. The people have to do that largely themselves."

Matt Symons, deputy director of Urban Park Rangers in New York, said the Bronx typified what many people "thought of New York city and the worst of New York city".

"I have spent a lot of time there in my life and it's really a beautiful place. My first assignment was at Pelham Bay Park, which is the city's largest park," he said.

"I had some very positive experiences and I had some negative experiences of people misusing the park.

"I had one where there was a group of people blasting out their radio. They had hooked up huge speakers to their car battery and were blasting music out and scaring people and bothering people.

"I had to go over to a large group of people that clearly was not looking to be bothered and explaining to them why it was an issue."

He added, however, that he also had "really great experiences" with, for instance, young people on educational programmes.

"Even a year later I encountered kids who said: 'Hey, aren't you Ranger Matt?'

There is a problem, generally, with anti-social behaviour in the city and unfortunately we bear much of the brunt of that Maurice Parkinson Head of Parks Belfast City Council

"It was a really great experience to make an impact on people like that and we like to try to make as much an impact as possible."

Maurice Parkinson, Belfast City Council's head of parks, said the city's own park rangers would be provided with uniforms as part of a new strategy.

"There is a problem, generally, with anti-social behaviour in the city and unfortunately we bear much of the brunt of that," he said.

The New York Rangers rely heavily on reasoning with offenders.

Jack Lynne said the problem could be tackled by inviting more people to use the parks and making clear that they owned the property.

"The more people who come to the parks, the safer the parks will be," he said.

"Parks make all of us landed gentry, whether we literally own anything or not. They are part of our heritage to be passed down to our children and our grandchildren."

Maurice Parkinson said the council was keen to avail of the New York Rangers' expertise.

"We are optimistic and there's no doubt we will use these fellows to our benefit on Friday," he said.