Public Employee Press

Arrest shows understaffing, parks dangers

Urban Park Ranger Andrew Marsala chased down and nabbed a man reported to have exposed himself Nov. 1 in Prospect Park.

Once the creep was in custody, Marsala discovered that he was carrying illegal drugs, a box cutter and the loaded 9 mm gun that police believe he stashed in a Parks vehicle after his arrest.

Instead of praising Marsala for protecting the public, Parks management banished him to a desk job at the faraway Salt Marsh Nature Center, a wildlife
preserve off the Belt Parkway that is often used for illegal dumping. He educates visitors about the marshlands and uses his biology degree as he monitors the birds, flora and fauna of the low-tide mudflats.

"It seems management was upset by the initiative he showed. No good deed goes unpunished here," said Local 983 Vice President Joe Puleo. "This poor guy was under so much pressure that he considered resigning, and he's afraid to talk for fear of retribution."

Marsala, who has an untarnished work history, declined to comment.

The city has just 12 Urban Park Rangers, down from 105 in 1989. Since 1991, they have been required to perform the same law enforcement duties as Parks Enforcement Patrol Officers, but in the last three years Parks has offered the unarmed UPRs and PEP Officers no training or baton recertification.

"The inadequate staffing risks the lives of PEP Officers and the public. The city should lift its job freeze and hire more PEP Officers," said Local President Mark Rosenthal.

"We are fortunate that nothing happened to Marsala that day in Prospect Park," Rosenthal said. The Parks Dept. has no organized coordination with the Police Dept., and the Local 983 members can wait hours for Police to arrive in vast parklands like Central and Prospect parks, where crime is rising. "Here a public servant took a gun off the streets. If he were a cop, he would have been promoted. Parks has not even acknowledged him."