Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Dog Group Barking Up the Wrong Tree: Queens Parks Won't Do Dog Run Despite Petition by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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See spot run - somewhere else.

Tracy Heller (l.) and Beverly Seiger, with Zoe, Misty and Neo, want a new dog run. Farriella for News

Forest Hills pet owners should stop barking for a dog run at Yellowstone Blvd. and 68th Ave. - and instead use one that residents call filthy and dangerous, city parks officials said.

The Forest Hills Dog Lover's Association is pitching the dog run at Yellowstone Park as a way to let pooches exercise and owners socialize. They boast 900 signatures of support on a petition.

But Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski has rejected the idea, figuring nonstop barking would irk nearby apartment dwellers and that city workers would have to move plants.

"We would not do it at this location," Lewandowski said. "We wouldn't want to take an area we invested in horticulturally and turn it into a dog run."

Instead, Lewandowski suggested residents head to the Under Bridge dog run, at 64th Ave. and the Grand Central Parkway service road in Forest Hills.

"Under Bridge is really their option," she said, adding the city would be more willing to "seek improvements" there than build an entirely new dog run.

But Beverly Seiger, president of the dog lover's association, wouldn't bite on Lewandowski's offer to revamp Under Bridge.

"There's no way I'm going to bring my dogs there," Seiger said, claiming the Under Bridge dog run wouldn't be safe for her white schnauzer, Misty, and Boston terrier, Neo.

"They bring guard dogs there for exercise and they're vicious dogs," said Seiger, 61. "These are dogs they use for guarding premises, and our dogs are pets."

Tracy Heller, who also belongs to the dog lover's association, bashed Under Bridge, too.

"It's not walkable. It's not accessible. It's filthy," said Heller, 57, who owns a 2-year-old shih tzu named Zoe.

Seiger and Heller both said they would continue advocating for the dog run at Yellowstone Park, which is much closer to their homes than Under Bridge.

They said Queens Deputy Borough President Karen Koslowitz pledged to support their efforts after she heard their presentation to Community Board 6 in October.

Koslowitz told Queens News yesterday she spoke to Lewandowski about the dog run last week.

"I can't make them [the Parks Department] do it," Koslowitz said. "You have to take the people who live around there [Yellowstone Park] into consideration."