CB2 to Consider Downtown Dog Run

By on September 19, 2010 11:15 pm in Downtown Brooklyn, Government, Pets

One of the items on the agenda for the Community Board 2 meeting tomorrow (Monday, September 20) is whether to establish a dog run in Downtown Brooklyn, in response to that area’s rapid residential population growth.

The New York Post: The Metro Tech Business Improvement District is pushing for a dog run in Downtown Brooklyn, saying a massive influx of thousands of new residents to a neighborhood historically dominated by office towers has created a new dilemma — the arrival of plenty of pooches who need to be walked.
“This is obviously a quality of life issue we’ve never had to deal with before,” said Michael Weiss, the BID’s executive director. “We’re finding that people are looking for places to walk their dogs because some buildings have restrictions.”

Two sites under consideration are a portion of McLaughlin Park, at Jay and Tillary streets, and a triangular city-owned parcel at Flatbush and Myrtle avenues. The meeting is at Brooklyn Hospital, 121 DeKalb Avenue, Dining rooms A & B, starting at 6:00 pm.

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  • bklyn20

    I am a major fan of dogs and dog runs, but McLaughin Park is not the right location for a new run. This park has been in development for over 10 years, and the “unused area” referred to the the NY Post article is actually scheduled to be a community garden. Community garden space is scarce, and like dog runs, community gardens are good for Brooklynites of all ages. The garden near me in the South Heights has a LONG waiting list, and people from the North Heights are actually coming there, despite the 1/2 mile + walk.

    I think that the triangle near Flatbush and Myrtle is not all that far from Fort Greene Park, which has its own off-leash hours. There is also a parking lot near State and Flatbush (near the big old purple building, whose name or purpose I do not know), and that could be a smaller-sized dog run, too.

    Why not plan a new run to accomodate both long-time and new residents? Boerum Hill has never had a dog run, nor for that matter has Cobble Hill. The De Mattina run is at the far end of Henry Street — nearly in Red Hook. How about using the handball court area of the 16 Sycamores playground (which I never see in use)? It has a high fence, and the now-under-improvement playground cannot be accessed from the court. This would enliven a dark area at night, as it is on Schermerhorn near Flatbush Ave. Presumably the playground will be locked at night. A run there on Schermerhorn would be convenient to new downtowners, Boerum Hill and even Cobble Hiil. Playgrounds and dog runs can coexist, as can be seen in the Palmetto Park area in the South Heights. People from Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill are now walking a mile or more, both ways, to go to the Hillside Dog Park, or to the State Street or 1 BBP runs. Many people actually DRIVE to Hillside, especially on tne weekends. Why not let them and their dogs have a way to WALK to a run?

    It seems this proposal is all about the money — more of these luxury apartments can sell/get rented if there is a dog run amenity nearby. That’s all well and good, but why can’t we accomodate people who’ve been waiting for 20 years for a dog run — and several dog lifetimes! — at the same time?