Photo, Kay Schrenk Tomorrow, leash loonies will have their day in court when Justice Peter Kelly hears agruments in their suit against NYC Parks Department to end the early morning and late night off-leash courtesy hours that dogs and ttheir owners have enjoyed in City parks for the past 20 years – including in dog runs. (Courtroom 24, Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Queens)
The real issue isn’t dogs. As usual, it’s politics. And power.
Bob Holden, head of the Juniper Park Civic Association, and a member of his local community board – and who has higher political aspirations – and his group have offered to end the suit if the Parks Department cedes control of parks to local community boards. So it’s just another bullshit political power play, with 1.4 million dog owners caught in the middle.
Obviously, Benny Bix Ochman Labradoodle puppy and I have an emotional, health and social stake in this issue. But this NY TImes Op Ed piece by Ted Kerasote has a pretty balanced view:
“If they have access to parks that allow off-leash recreation, their dogs run and play with other dogs, burning off pent-up energy. In addition, both person and dog get what many of us want nearly every day: access to some green space, safety from cars, exercise and conversation with our own kind.
New York’s dog owners and their dogs deserve these basics, and not simply because the dog owners pay taxes that support the parks. The benefits of off-leash recreation have spread far beyond dogs and their owners. Parks that were once hangouts for criminals have been reclaimed for the non-dog-owning public, in part, by the presence of so many law-abiding citizens walking their dogs at all hours and in bad weather.
Sending the city’s dogs back to leash jail won’t make the parks any safer. The leash law and off-leash courtesy hours have worked synergistically to control dogs on crowded streets while allowing them and their owners to enjoy a small portion of the city’s green space. Both should be kept. “
This morning, in the rain, Benny and I went to Central Park where we met our usual group of about 20 other dogs and their owners. The dogs romped gleefully for an hour or so. We all left the park together. Want to know how many other people were using the park this morning, and were disturbed or endangered by our presence? None. Nobody but dog owners are crazy enough to come out and stand in the rain for hours so their dogs can get exercise and stay healthy. Look for us in the rain, snow, heat and cold. Set your clocks by us. We’ll be there, keeping the parks safe for the rest of New York.
Hopefully, the court throws these leash grinches out for bringing a frivilous lawsuit.
Wait, are you kidding me? You would have to keep your dog on a leash even in a dog run?
I wish it was a joke Adam. Dogs run are in City parks, on City land. Mr Holden and his cronies don’t want dog runs in Juniper Park or in other city-owned parks.
I think they’d be hard-pressed to get rid of existing dog runs, but they sure could prevent the creation of additional ones if they won.
The Juniper Park Civic Association has no desire to leash dogs at dog runs, and its president has no aspirations for higher office. This is misinformation. Would it make sense for Bob Holden to take a side on this issue and anger people if he wanted their vote? Real politicians sit on the fence. Real civic leaders take a stand.
The Parks Department’s resolution for this matter was to put a dog run in Juniper Park. Doing that does not resolve the city-wide problem of off-leash dogs, and regardless, JPCA does not have authority to approve or reject a dog run in Juniper Park. The Parks Department doesn’t seem to understand that.
JPCA’s solution was to have each community board vote on whether or not off-leash hours were appropriate for parks in their districts. This would be advisory only and the Parks Dept then would decide whether or not to honor that vote. That’s how the city charter works, and how the public can have the most say in matters that pertain to their parks.
The Parks Department obviously realizes that they have been breaking the leash law for the past 20 years, because now there is a scramble to change the law to accommodate the lawbreakers.
Leash loonies? When kids and even adults are cornered by German Shepherds and Dobies and the smaller dogs are set upon by the bigger ones, you need the city to enforce the laws that are, for the moment, still on the books.
And, by the way, I don’t live in Middle Village or near Juniper Park at all, but in Flushing and I concur wholeheartedly with the JPCA.
As I understand it, the issue is not dog runs, per se, but dogs running off leash in an unfenced area. JPCA actually suggested an area for a fenced dog run. Advocates want to run dogs unleashed in city parks, the opposition believes that the parks are too crowded to let dogs run free. The question is are all dog owners responsible? Who decides which dogs can run off leash and which don’t? Aren’t fences safer for both dogs and people?
Such disingenousness from Christina (aka Joan), a board member of the infamous Juniper Park Civic Association, the second largest civic in Middle Village.
Yes, these are the kind folks who brought suit against the Parks Dept, Commissioner Benepe, and the City of New York in a vainglorious attempt to end the successful 20-year Off-leash Hours policy.
Guess what?? They had a CRUSHING DEFEAT. Not only did the judge in the case say that the president of the JPCA has “a fundamental misunderstanding of the ‘laws’ at hand”, but 6 days later, the NYC Health Board UNAMIMOUSLY amended the City “Leash Law” to more clearly grant the Parks commissioner authority to hold an off-leash policy (though the court had already said that the commish has that authority.)
So, it’s with great irony, and much chargrin to the beleagured JPCA that they had a very public defeat. They spent $10,000 of their members’ hard earned money on the JPCA president’s vanity jihad against his neighbors who use off-leash hours in the park, both in MV and Citywide. Now off-leash hours policy is stronger than ever! Thank you JPCA Executive Board Members! Lord, that must burn that you got exactly the opposite of what you wanted.
Gee “Joan” AKA Christina, JPCA board member, the Parks Dept didn’t rush to change the law because they thought off-leash was illegal as you contend incorrectly (Judge Kelly handed you a sound defeat there). The Health Board unanimously changed the “Leash Law” so that people like you won’t waste more taxpayer money on frivolous vanity lawsuits in the future.
How does it feel to be so wrong about the law and about public health, now that the NYS Supreme Court and the NYC Health Dept unanimously (the ultimate artibers in such matters) have told you so?
JPCA Executive Board Members: when you don’t compromise with your neighbors, when you trash talk them and resort to printed personal character assassination, you Reap what you sow.
Bob Holden wantes the vote to go to the Community Board because he convinced Councilman Gallagher to appoint 2 members from the JPCA and himself to the Board, which they controled.
Its all about power. Back in April “Christine” (aka Bob Holden crony Cristina Wilkinson) stated the Bob Holden had no political aspirations. Lets see now the Gallagher will porobably have to resign, if that holds true.