Rangers ready to patrol Leonard Park

Park rangers trained and supplied by Westchester County are expected to start patrolling Leonard Park on June 30 for the summer, providing extra presence for the public. MARTIN WILBUR PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

The village is set to have a park ranger help patrol Leonard Park as soon as this upcoming week to provide additional security for the public during the summer, officials recently confirmed.

Village Manager Edward Brancati informed the board of trustees at its June 16 meeting the village had requested that Westchester County Police provide one ranger on weekdays and two on weekends through Labor Day, tentatively starting Monday, June 30. 

Mount Kisco’s village day camp opens on Monday and uses the park, prompting officials to ask for the extra coverage during camp until dusk.

“We asked for that to occur,” Brancati said. “We would have liked to have had somebody here. I think they had a hard time getting enough people hired and trained.”

As of Tuesday, it still wasn’t known how many rangers have been trained for seasonal work by the county and whether they will be able to fulfill Mount Kisco’s request, Mayor J. Michael Cindrch said. As a result, there had yet to be confirmation that there will be a ranger in Leonard Park on June 30, but Cindrich remained optimistic.

He said the rangers do not carry weapons and are under the supervision of a police officer. They are to be used as an extra set of eyes for law enforcement. Many of the rangers trained by the county are college students.

“Their presence there serves as a deterrent and also serves as a safety net,” Cindrich said. “They are trained in first aid and CPR and they’re also trained in community relations to help people with questions. It serves as an enforcement mechanism, which we think is needed, and it’s been requested by the recreation commission.”

Deputy Mayor Theresa Flora, who has been a proponent of the village hiring rangers, called the imminent arrival of the extra personnel “very encouraging.” Last year, Mount Kisco had the money in its budget for the rangers, but the hires didn’t materialize. The money that had been set aside in 2024 will be used this summer, she said.

“I would prefer a park ranger, not a police officer, who could work with the Westchester County Police just to make sure that people are following the rules there,” Flora said.

The issue of partnering with the county to supply rangers was a key issue for Mount Kisco two years ago, particularly along the trails in the woods, which have been the site of many homeless people loitering and drinking alcohol. There had been discussion of using DPW personnel to patrol the trails, but there were concerns raised that they didn’t have the training the rangers provided by the county have.

That problem had also extended to Leonard Park, where there had been incidents of drinking and individuals using the Little League dugouts to relieve themselves.

This year, however, Flora said she has anecdotally heard of fewer complaints from the public. 

“We haven’t had many problems with the park at all,” she said. “We are encouraged by that.”