A Dog Park In Juniper Valley Park

To:  Community Board 5 & Mayor Bloomberg

This petition, supported by the undersigned constituents, is directd to Community Board 5 & Mayor Bloomberg. Its goal is to support the designation and construction of an enclosed dog park.

In creating a dog park, we hope to accomplish multiple goals:

1. To establish a fenced in, off-leash dog park where well-behaved canine can exercise in a clean, safe environment without endangering or annoying people, property, or wildlife.

2. To develop a beautiful, well-maintained space, open to all dog lovers and friends who are willing to uphold the park's rules and restrictions.

3. To view this park as a community project, in partnership with the City of New York, designed to satisfy the needs of dog-owners and non-dog owners alike.

The design of the park will house two separate fenced in sections within one large cordon off location. One section would be utilized for large/medium dogs and the other for small and shy dogs.

Unfortunately, no off-leash dog parks currently exist in the vicinity of the aforementioned communities. Just as other taxpayers enjoy convenient public swimming pools, jogging trails, golf courses, and playgrounds, dog owners need a place to exercise and enjoy their pets in an off-leash environment. Further, such a park will benefit the greater community in the following ways.

1) Most dogs require exercise that leashes restrictions do not permit. The cardiovascular benefit provided by healthy play with other dogs is great for dogs’ longevity and weight control. Dogs are social animals whose mental health is improved by interaction with other canines. Happy, healthy dogs are calmer and better behaved, reducing nuisance barking and other annoying behaviors exhibited by unexercised canines.

2) Such a facility would increase general park utilization and build bonds within the human community.

3) A facility designated specifically toward pet health would provide a logical locus for the City of New York to provide low cost and/or free mobile spay/neuter vans and vaccinations. The park could also act as a venue for the City of New York's Department of Animal Care and Control to stage pet adoptions and educational programs promoting an improved quality of life for all of our community dogs. The park will provide license revenue for the city, which will also assist with the over all master plan of assuring that community dogs are vaccinated and altered.

4) Dog park patrons tend to be people who appreciate the park and take an "ownership interest" in it. As a result, they keep the area free of criminal activities and other bad elements.

5) Park patrons want to ensure a clean park for all the dogs attending. Feces pick-up and disposal is an integral part of retaining a clean park. A visit to any dog park will verify this observation. Owners watch for and pick up their animal’s feces, and when a dog defecates, other patrons assume that the dog owner simply did not notice and gently remind the owner to pick up the feces and throw it away.

6) Those who care enough to attend dog parks are usually registered voters, educated, somewhat affluent people, very attractive to local businesses. Such citizens attract others like themselves to live in the area, continuing the trend to increase revenues to local business and to the tax base. Statistics show property values have gone up in locations where dogs parks currently exit.

7) Once the off-leash park is constructed, a core group of community activists including the creators of this petition do commit ourselves to its continued maintenance (e.g. organized, periodic, cleanup efforts).

Again, we would appreciate your consideration in constructing an enclosed “off-leash” dog park in the current dog area in Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village, Queens, New York.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The A Dog Park In Juniper Valley Park Petition to Community Board 5 & Mayor Bloomberg was created by Juniper Valley Park Dog Association and written by Phyllis Taiano (phyllis.taiano@citi.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.