New Brunswick's New Park Ranger Program a Hit with Residents

Melvin Peralta-Torres and Gervin Trejos were dutifully going about their appointed rounds as members of the city’s new park ranger program last month when they happened upon a resident having a medical episode.

The quick-acting park rangers, who are certified in emergency procedures such as defibrillation and CPR, took life-saving measures until the resident could be taken to a nearby hospital.

Helping save lives probably wasn’t at the top of the list of job duties when the city’s park ranger program was launched on Memorial Day weekend, but its nine members are committed to helping residents in myriad ways.

Curbing litter, reminding people that dogs must remain on leashes and making sure the city’s 17 parks and other recreational areas can be enjoyed by everyone are the main goals of the park rangers.

From dusk until dawn each day, they act as friendly, courteous ambassadors for the city, said Lt. James Hoover of the New Brunswick Police Department, who acts as the program’s director.

Peralta-Torres said that over the first several weeks, he and the other rangers received quizzical looks from residents.

“That’s how it was the first few months,” he said. “I guess with our presence being out here every day, they’re seeing us and getting more used to us. Some of the residents were taken aback, but I tried to just put on a friendly face and have everybody notice me. Everyone is generally polite and has welcomed us.”

They were recruited by since-retired NBPD Deputy Director J.T. Miller, who was looking for nine people who had a driver’s license, lived in the city, earned a high school diploma, were at least 18 and were going to take a lot of pride in their work.

They’re people like Peralta-Torres, who was deployed to Afghanistan among other places during his four years in the Marines.

Although the idea for the park ranger program was born in Mayor Jim Cahill’s office, Hoover was tasked with putting it together. Finding a template for the program was hard since few municipalities have park rangers. So, whether it was designing the uniforms or drawing up the job description, he was able to call on a neighboring town.

“East Brunswick was a huge help,” Hoover said. “They’ve had a long-standing park ranger program with a lot of documentation. They were quite helpful. The rest I just took from what our needs are in the city. We needed people who are friendly and helpful.”

And willing to pitch in wherever help is needed.

For instance, the park rangers have rescued a baby raccoon from a garbage can in Boyd Park, stopped traffic to allow some turtles safe passage at Murphy Park, and helped some senior motorists who had broken down on the road.

To raise the rangers’ profile, they will continue to attend events such as they did for the Juneteenth celebration at Recreation Park on Pine Street, and they will be assisting at the upcoming fireworks celebration at Boyd Park.

With one member of the park rangers heading to the police academy with the goal of joining the city’s police department, there will soon be room for one more ranger.

Peralta-Torres said it’s a great job because you never have the same day twice.

“It’s New Brunswick, so there’s something going on just about every day,” he said. “So far, I like how much other people have received me and how nice they’ve been to me.”

Story & Photo By: Chuck O'Donnell