Editing Central Park (section)

== Governance ==
The park is managed and maintained by the [[Central Park Conservancy]], a private, [[not-for-profit]] organization, under contract with the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]] (NYC Parks).<ref name="Conservancy"/> The president of the Conservancy is the ''[[ex officio]]'' administrator of Central Park who effectively oversees the work of both the park's private and public employees under the authority of the publicly appointed Central Park Administrator, who reports to both the parks commissioner and the Conservancy's president.<ref name="Conservancy"/> The Central Park Conservancy was founded in 1980 as a nonprofit organization with a citizen board to assist with the city's initiatives to clean up and rehabilitate the park.<ref name="NYTimes-Conservancy-1980"/><ref name="NYDN-Conservancy-1980"/> The Conservancy took over the park's management duties from NYC Parks in 1998, though NYC Parks retained ownership of Central Park.<ref name="NYTimes-Conservancy-1998"/> The conservancy provides maintenance support and staff training programs for other public parks in New York City, and has assisted with the development of new parks such as the [[High Line]] and [[Brooklyn Bridge Park]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Central Park Effect: Assessing the Value of Central Park's Contribution to New York City's Economy |date=November 2015 |url=http://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/about/The_Central_Park_Effect.pdf |publisher=Central Park Conservancy|access-date=April 16, 2019 |pages=45–46|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419153252/http://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/about/The_Central_Park_Effect.pdf|archive-date=April 19, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Central Park is patrolled by its own [[New York City Police Department]] precinct, the 22nd&nbsp;(Central Park) Precinct,{{Efn|Officially, the precinct is known as the 22nd&nbsp;Precinct. However, it is publicly referred to as the Central Park Precinct, making it one of the few unnumbered NYPD precincts in New York City.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/nyregion/nypd-precincts.html |title=New York Has 77 Police Precincts. Why Do Their Numbers Go Higher?|last=Gorce|first=Tammy La|date=March 17, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 4, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904020423/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/nyregion/nypd-precincts.html|archive-date=September 4, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>}} at the 86th&nbsp;Street transverse. The precinct employs both regular police and auxiliary officers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/central-park-precinct.page|title=NYPD – Central Park Precinct|publisher=[[New York City Police Department]]|access-date=October 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605024207/http://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/central-park-precinct.page|archive-date=June 5, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The 22nd&nbsp;Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 81.2% between 1990 and 2023. The precinct saw no murders, three&nbsp;rapes, 23&nbsp;robberies, nine&nbsp;felony assaults, five&nbsp;burglaries, 48&nbsp;grand larcenies, and no grand larcenies auto in 2023.<ref name="NYPD 22nd Precinct CS">{{cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-022pct.pdf|title=22nd Precinct CompStat Report|publisher=New York City Police Department|access-date=July 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413193250/http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-022pct.pdf|archive-date=April 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The citywide [[New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol]] patrols Central Park, and the Central Park Conservancy sometimes hires seasonal Parks Enforcement Patrol officers to protect certain features such as the [[Conservatory Garden]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Croft|first=Geoffrey|title=City must PEP up and hire more park patrol officers|work=[[New York Daily News]]|date=September 2, 2009|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/city-pep-hire-park-patrol-officers-article-1.406500|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416163327/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/city-pep-hire-park-patrol-officers-article-1.406500|archive-date=April 16, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

A free volunteer [[medical emergency]] service, the [[Central Park Medical Unit]], operates within Central Park. The unit operates a rapid-response patrol with bicycles, [[ambulance]]s, and an [[all-terrain vehicle]]. Before the unit was established in 1975, municipal EMS often took over 30&nbsp;minutes to respond to incidents in the park.<ref>{{cite web|last=Santora|first=Marc|title=Cruising the Park, Finding Trouble |work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|date=August 20, 2005|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/20/nyregion/cruising-the-park-finding-trouble.html|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416163554/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/20/nyregion/cruising-the-park-finding-trouble.html|archive-date=April 16, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>