Conservancy Names New President

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The board of the Central Park Conservancy has named Douglas Blonsky, 45, president. The 19-year insider fills a vacancy created by Regina Peruggi, who left in June to become president at Kingsborough Community College.


The board vote for Mr. Blonsky was unanimous. Mr. Blonsky most recently held the titles of chief operating officer and central park administrator. He’ll retain the latter title.


He takes the helm as the conservancy approaches its 25th anniversary, managing the park under a contract with the city and the Parks and Recreation Department. He has worked under all three past presidents of the conservancy, including its founder, Betsy Barlow Rogers.


“From Betsy you learn everything: the vision thing, God is in the details, you learn how to fund-raise by just showing people the park. With Karen Putnam and Regina Peruggi, you learned more traditional fund-raising,” he said.


“We thought we had an exceptional man,” said Chairman A.J.C. Smith. “Probably the quality we’re most impressed by is Doug’s ability to get a range of things done very effectively, and almost unobtrusively,” Mr. Smith added.


Mr. Blonsky has managed more than $250 million in capital projects, including the restoration of the Great Lawn, the Harlem Meer, East 59th Street Pond, West 100th Street Pool, and the new Reservoir fence. He has worked closely with the donors who’ve funded these projects.


His park management practices have won him much recognition. New York’s parks department and those of other cities are adapting his zone management system, which divides the park and gives each zone its own gardener.


“The whole theme there is accountability. The gardeners are the ambassadors. They know what needs to be done in their area,” Mr. Blonsky said.


With the park’s condition improved dramatically since the conservancy’s founding – about 80% has been re stored and $300 million invested – Mr. Blonsky is taking a long-term view. He’ll see to restoring the remaining 20% of the park.


“We have to make sure the park looks as good 150 years from now as it does today,” he said. “This a chance to finally get my hands around the whole business; to set the values of an organization, and to create a company that’s going to be here for a long, long time,” he added.


The conservancy’s annual operating budget is about $25 million, 85% of which comes from private donations. Much of that private money is raised year-to-year.


Mr. Blonsky would like to rely less on annual fund-raising. “We’re just starting to look at growing the endowment. It’s about $95 million now; I’d like to see it at $250 million or so,” he said.


“There’s also education and stewardship we have to teach to the public; it’s not just about money,” he said.


Yet Mr. Blonsky said he is not planning to increase the budget. “I think we need to increase what we do but we have to be smart about it. We have to expand our volunteer program, and do some cost-effective hiring with part-time and seasonal folks,” he said.


Mr. Blonsky started caring for plants by helping his grandfather maintain his rhododendrons. He studied plant science and landscape architecture in college.


“I remember coming to the park with two classmates, it was about 1980. We looked at it, and realized how beautiful it was, but also how abused it was. Then we spent the afternoon at the Madison Avenue Pub. I didn’t imagine I’d be working here only a few years later,” he said.


In Central Park, Mr. Blonsky has found more than his professional calling. “I found the love of my life here,” he said. He met his wife, Mai, a landscape architect, while working on a project in the park.


The New York Sun

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