From The New York Shitty Inbox: No Dogs Allowed At Barge Park?

My friend T (who hails from Eagle Street and sent me the above photo) writes:

Well, another dog friendly park bites the dust.  I discovered this on Sunday morning as I sauntered over to Newton Barge Park for my routine morning walk with my dog around the lovely concrete.  As I approached the park I noticed a bunch of Park employees doing their usual Sunday morning clean up.  What I did not notice was the new sign, a photo of which is attached.  I was bee-lining for the entrance when from about 30 yards away a Parks dude starts gesticulating and pointing.  I thought it might be epilepsy..no words were issuing from his mouth…but then his colleague also started gesticulating and pointing.

Concerned, I shot them a “What??”  They responded with more gesticulating and pointing.  I re-iterated my query. One of them managed to utter “Read the sign” to which I replied “I can read…how about you talk to me like a human being and explain what’s going on”.  To which I got more pointing and gesticulating.  When I finally convinced one of these dudes that I wasn’t going to just sulk away with my and my dog’s tails between our legs, he came over and said “I don’t want to get political with you, but we got so many 311 calls after the snow about dog crap in the park that we had to do this”.

My God… THEY HAD TO!  If only there were some law….something on the books that might be used to discourage these fecal polluters…some tool or mechanism for those burdened to Protect And Serve us to use to quell this tide of irresponsible dog owners.  I mean, maybe the giant sign that says CURB YOUR DOG 1,000 DOLLAR FINE which has been there for years is just someone’s idea of a silly joke.  Must be since I’ve never seen anyone get a ticket.

What I want to understand, given that there is not a SINGLE other enclosed, dog-friendly park in Northern Greenpoint, is how the Parks Department goes from “We’ve got complaints” to “Shut down that park for dogs” without first trying to actually enforce their laws.  I mean, no one enforces all the non-dog related laws in that park – the littering, the loitering, the drinking, the glass, etc etc, yet they haven’t closed the park to humans.

Here were the options I was given by the Parks dude:

1)  Go to McCarren Park.  Uh huh.  I could also drive Westchester…probably be just as practical
2)  There’s gonna be a new park on Commerical Ave.  Uh huh..you meant the one that the MTA is making no signs of evacuating?
3)  The new park on Greenpoint Ave will be open in December.  Thanks, man! My dog only shits bi-annually so that will come right in handy
4)  Go screw yourself.  Yup, that’s the one that works for me!

Fortunately, I talked to Mr. Moustache* (Community Board 1’s Public Safety Chair, Mieszko Kalita — Ed. Note) at Beata this morning.  He said that if I organized an official group of dog owners and than came to a CB1 meeting and presented a request for a dog run, that the city would actually give me fencing, wood chips, garbage pails, a lock, etc, as well as a parcel of land, and then I could run my own dog park.  So, help me spread the word, Heather!  I need about 20 dog owners who are willing to start some kind of loose group to run a dog park.

Here’s the deal: one of the items on the ballot regarding the funds allocated by the Department of Environmental Conservation to foster parks development/improvement in communities impacted by the Shit Tits was a dog run at Barge Park. I, despite not being a dog owner, voted for it because as my friend has clearly pointed out one is clearly needed! Certainly there are twenty north Greenpoint dog lovers reading this who would like to see a dog run in our fair corner of the neighborhood? Anyone?

Update, 8:16 p.m.: T has started laying a foundation to get this endeavor rolling. Here are the deets!

Ok, we’re in business!  I’ve named the group D.O.G.G.O.NE – Dog Owners Group Greenpoint on Newtown

here’s the link to the yahoo group:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/doggone_brooklyn

email address is doggone_brooklyn@yahoogroups.com

Miss Heather

*I can assure this is not at all derisive. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it is high praise. Yours truly happens to know for a fact that the idea of dedicating a Facebook fan page to this chap’s mustache has been bandied about. I’m not kidding.