Dog Owners Petition for a Run in Seaport Area

By Andrea Appleton
POSTED MARCH 30, 2007

It’s been a long time coming, but Seaport area dogs may soon have their day. Last month, Community Board 1 unanimously passed a resolution urging the city to create a temporary dog run in the eastern side of Lower Manhattan.


“There are many dogs in the neighborhood whose needs are not being served, nor are the members of the community,” Richard Horowitz of the East River Dog Owners Group, a new coalition of dog owners from the Seaport and the Financial District, told the board before the vote.

Board member Jeff Galloway, head of the Battery Park City Dog Association, chimed in with his support. “The dog runs in Battery Park City have become really nice community facilities,” he said. “People who are not even dog owners gather around them.”

Several members of the East River Dog Owners Group had appeared before the Seaport/Civic Center committee earlier in the month to plead their case. At that meeting, Horowitz pointed out that there is now only one dog run Downtown east of West Street, at Fish Bridge Park.

The group proposed that a temporary dog run be built in the Seaport until the East River Waterfront redevelopment is eventually completed. Horowitz said the group had received a positive response from the Parks Department and the Economic Development Corporation regarding the incorporation of a permanent dog run as part of the redevelopment.

Five members of the group came to that meeting, bringing with them a petition signed by 130 dog owners, and proposals for where the dog run might be located. “These are what we consider to be underutilized spaces,” said Horowitz, pointing to photos of six different sites in the Seaport. They included an area under the FDR drive near Wall Street, portions of Pier 13, Pier 11 and Pier 16, and even a floating barge. If EDC and the Parks Department agree to install a temporary dog run, the group must appear before the committee again with site plans.

To the question of who would keep the dog run clean and well maintained, Horowitz said it probably would be the dog owners.

Meanwhile, local dog owners are uniting. In January, they created their own dog blog (erdogs.blogspot.com), with updates on the dog run, as well as postings on everything from dog-friendly eateries to how to administer canine CPR. Portraits of local dogs, from Moose to Butch to Daisy (in a polka-dot sweater) welcome visitors.

[Home][Back][Search] [Advertise][Contact]
The Tribeca Trib · 401 Broadway, 5th Floor · New York, NY · 10013 · 212.219.9709