Dirty Dog Run Making Pooches Sick
The conditions at the Park Slope dog run have gotten downright unsanitary, according to dog owners who regularly visit the run, and things are only bound to get worse as the weather warms. Dog owners charge that, in addition to the general unpleasantness, the urine-soaked wood chips are to blame for giving their furry friends…
The conditions at the Park Slope dog run have gotten downright unsanitary, according to dog owners who regularly visit the run, and things are only bound to get worse as the weather warms. Dog owners charge that, in addition to the general unpleasantness, the urine-soaked wood chips are to blame for giving their furry friends parasites and diarrhea. The Parks Department confirms that all is not as it should be. J.J. Byrne Park manager Eric Greene said they haven’t been changed since November. “I don’t want to change them at all because it’s all going to be under construction,” he said, referring to the new park Boymelgreen has promised to start building next month because part of the old one was used as a staging area to construct The Novo. Nevertheless, Greene said compaints have prompted the Parks Department to drop off wood chips beside the park within two weeks. This time volunteers are supposed to change them. (Normally, he said, the department does most of the work, removing the fence and lugging out special equipment to change the paw padding. “It’s very time-consuming.”) Tony Chiappelloni, president of FIDO, an off-leash advocacy group for Prospect Park, said, “Personally I think small dog runs are basically unhealthy.”
Extreme Makeover Planned for J.J. Byrne Park [Brownstoner]
I think everyone should have access to a high quality shoe shine whenever they want. Think about it, it will help people’s self confidence and make the whole city look and feel a bit more professional.
Therefore, we should pass an additional tax of $5 per week on all residents to set up free shoe-shine stations thoughough the city.
If you dont like it, dont have your shoe shined, but you still have to pay.
So, I guess we should start a pay as you go society? No kids? You don’t have to pay for schools! No Old people in your life? You don’t have to pay for medicaid. House not on fire? You don’t have to pay taxes toward the fire department. Why would you even be on a forum like this? Taxes pay for parks, which are for the public use. Deal. With. It. You don’t get to pick and choose and neither do the rest of us. We live in a city with all different types of people, you fascist. I don’t think the dog run budget is really breaking the city’s bank. And if you could perhaps look at the bigger picture, you might see that dogs while providing companionship to those who need it, teaching responsibility to children, and exercise for their owners, have needs of their own. We might read about less dog-bite incidents and less animal cruelty if people saw these “animals” as having just as many rights and feelings as other living beings. How you can see a desire for space as “cradle to grave entitlement” is beyond me. Perhaps you should leave us to our blue state misery and take your pathetic case to another state where your close-mindedness might be better tolerated and perhaps even appreciated.
Newsouthsloper, ths US is not a cradle to grave entitlement state. Stop watching Fox News and get a grip.
Why isn’t the Parks Dept. maintaining this? Why are they just dropping chips off and having volunteers do the labor? They wouldn’t dare just leave a broom and dustbin by the playground and let volunteers sweep up or just leave grass seed and lawnmower by the field area.
The dog run is falling apart- the “bench” for people to sit is broken, the corner of the fence is held together with bungee cords, there are barely any chips left- it’s just a dirt pile- which turns to mud for days every time it rains without chips to absorb the water.
2:11 – I know Fire Alarm Guy was being sarcastic…
If you feel so strongly about dog runs, you and like minded people should get together, buy a plot of land and have a dog run. Charge people a dollar or two and make some money out of it if you want. If it is a desireable thing then others will do the same and dog runs will flourish. Dont look to the government though for a handout to institute what YOU consider a beneficial thing (i.e. Special Interest) and thereby forcing taxpayers to pay for it.
BTW, maybe its not in the constitution because the founding fathers felt a cradle to grave entitlement state was not in the best interests of freedom.
Hey, NewSouthslope….
I think Fire alarm guy was being sarcastic. Why do your taxes go to schools when you may not personally have kids? Or to pools, baseball fields, and homeless shelters? The constitution doesn’t say a thing about that stuff because it is busy with other rights and responsibilities, like Free Speech and Habeas Corpus. Maybe it’s because the founding fathers didn’t think it was such a bad thing to let local governments and communities decide for themselves what amenities are needed or desirable. The fact that there is no constant section of the park available to off leash dogs is a shame. Or at least a well lit area that allows dogs to be themselves during the currently set off leash hours regardless of the amount of daylight. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about tainted wood chips or sub par dog runs.
What 1:34 said.
“It is no different than a robber reaching into your wallet and taking whatever he wants for his own selfish needs. Where in the constitution does it say the government (i.e. you and me) is responsible to pay for any of these things?”
Well NewSouthSloper, if you live in a place without these amenities it makes your area much less valuable than the areas that DO have them. Therefore, follow me here, taxpayers are willing to pay for these things even when they themselves don’t use them. Interesting huh? Same thing with schools.
South Slope might be hot (in some minds) but it ain’t Park Slope and it never will be. No parks, no playgrounds, no dog runs.
Small Dogs can play with large dogs just fine – its just that people with small dogs think they dont have to train their dog b/c the thing is so small and cute…. So tired of small dogs barking and growling at every dog they see – you had the thing (unnecessarily) bred, the least you could do is train it.