Public Employee Press

Profile in public service
Bronx Parks Ranger and Poet


"We do everything the Police do, but without guns." — UPR Darlene Lewis

A man sat for hours bleeding from self-inflicted cuts to his wrists when an alert Urban Park Ranger spotted his vehicle in Riverdale Park.

UPR Darlene Lewis prevented the suicide and saved the man's life. For her heroism, the Parks and Recreation Dept. gave her its Beyond the Call award.

A member of the unarmed Bronx Park Enforcement Patrol, Lewis travels through the borough's more than 75 parks and green spaces, helping and protecting New Yorkers. In cold weather, UPRs seek out homeless people in need of shelter and in summer, they patrol parks and public pools. Year-round they enforce city Parks and Police Dept. codes and regulations to keep peace and order.

"I came to this job through a one-shot deal," said Lewis, a Harlem mother of twins who participated in the Jobs Training Program in 2005 and seized the opportunity for a civil service career in 2006.

Growing up in the 1970s and '80s, Lewis fell in love with hip-hop culture. Her book, "Hip Hop Before the Bling," chronicles the early days of legends and pioneers from Harlem and the Boogie Down Bronx. Lewis has written and self-published six other books on topics such as relationships, parenting and career advancement; "The Harlem Poet" is a collection of her poems.

As a Peace Officer, her assignment covers over 6,000 acres of verdant city parkland, including the huge Van Cortlandt Park and New York City's largest park, Pelham Bay Park.

"I patrol the entire borough, issuing summonses and enforcing park rules," Lewis said. "I supervise public swimming pools in summer, oversee JTPs and City Service Associates and make arrests when necessary."

Lewis brought a range of computer skills to the six-month JTP assignment in the Assistant Commissioner's office that led to her UPR job.

She is working on a city park location and navigation app for mobile devices, Lewis told PEP. "At home, I blog and produce an Internet talk-radio show."

The Parks Dept. awarded Lewis the Best of Parks award in 2008 for helping a Police Officer who was attacked at the Van Cortlandt Park pool. This year she received a Parks Leadership Development certificate after completing a yearlong program.

"Improving the quality of life in parks and recreation centers is part of the job," Lewis said. "We do everything the Police do - but without guns."

— Diane S. Williams