Fans of usin', boozin', and just cold fornicatin' in outer borough parks will raise a brown bag to the news that the Parks Enforcement Patrol is woefully understaffed. According to the Daily News, "just eight PEP officers are in charge of more than 6,000 acres in the Bronx."New York City Park Advocates recently turned up at a city council hearing that investigated "disparities in the deployment of PEP officers across the boroughs," and a rep criticized the council for putting the public "in harms way by not allocating proper resources to all city parks." Sounds like someone should just move to Manhattan, hmm?

Deputy commissioner at the Parks Department, Liam Kavanagh, acknowledged a "hiring freeze" that has "disproportionally hit the PEP ranks." With summer's sweet, lethal days on the horizon, the city plans to hire part-time employees to man the pools and manage festivals. But it may not be enough, as one parks advocate said "everything that goes wrong in the city goes wrong in Ferry Point Park in the Bronx...we even have beer being sold in the woods." At least smokers have some delicious brew to wash down those illicit cigarettes after a torrid night on condom alley.

Many Manhattan parks have private groups that raise funds for private officers, while outer-borough parks don't have those resources. For some facts and figures about how many PEP officers there are, here are some stats from A Walk In the Park:

PEP available for Patrol broken down by location including borough as of Thursday April 21, 2011.

Bronx - (For 6,970,00 acres)
5 PEP
2 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

Brooklyn - (For 4,336,00 acres)
7 - PEP
3 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

MaCarren Park (35 acres)
1 PEP - (Privately funded)

Brooklyn Bridge Park (25 acres)
6 - PEP
3 - Sgt.
(Park privately funded through Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS) from residential charges)

Manhattan - (2,704,00 acres)

Union Sq. (3.5 acres)
2 PEP
(privately funded)

Washington Sq. (for 10 acres)
2 PEP
(Privately funded)

Madison Sq. (For 6 acres)
3 - PEP plus Dedicated Seasonal
(Privately funded)

Riverside Park (South) (For 7 acres)
5 - PEP
1 - Sgt.
(Privately funded through residential charges)

Riverside Park (North) - (For 316 acres)
0 - PEP

Morningside Park (30 acres)
1 - PEP (Privately funded)

Hudson River Park - (For 150 Acres)
26 PEP
4 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

High Line (2.8 acres)
4 - PEP
2 - Sgt.

Battery Park City - (For 35 acres)
35 PEP
6 - Sgt.
1 - Capt.
Plus desk CSA's
(City/State park privately funded through Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS) from residential charges)

Central Park
7 - North Meadow
3 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

West Harlem Piers - (2 acres)
4 - PEP (Privately funded)

Manhattan North - 125th Street to Tip - (Acres N/A)
3 - PEP
2 - AUPR (Sergeants - Supervisors)

Manhattan South - 59th Street - to the Battery (Acres N/A)
3 - PEP
1 - Sgt.
1 - Capt.

Central Park* - (For 843 acres)
102 available for patrol
20 Supervisors
*Note: Central Park has the only NYPD precinct located in a park.

Queens (For 7,300,00 acres)
7 PEP
3 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

Staten Island (For 7,417,00 acres)
5 - PEP
3 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

Mounted (for events)
2 PEP
1 Sgt.
(On patrol less than four hours out of eight hour tour)

City-Wide
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