Bushwick resident Fermin Hernandez and his dogs Lucifer (left) and Taco (right) strike a pose on the proposed site for a dog run in the northern portion of Maria Hernandez Park. — Photo by Diego Cupolo

After several years of begging, Bushwick’s dog owners will finally get a dog run of their own after the Parks Department rolled over.

Last month, Parks officials revealed the city will build a dog park Maria Hernandez Park and has begun designing it.

The $425,000 upgrade, which Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-Bushwick) funded, will cordon off a thin, grassy patch of 7,200 square feet on the northern edge of the park near Irving and Willoughby Avenues. A new entrance gate to the park will be installed at Willoughby Avenue. The entire project is expected to take six to nine months to construct, beginning in the fall, and should be completed by June 2011.

At April’s Community Board Four meeting, several board members questioned the park’s cost, saying the money would be better allocated to other efforts.

 
The area in green will be cordoned off for the dog run, with a new entrance to the park where Willoughby Avenue ends.
   

Though it was not directly answered at the meeting, a parks official said much of the costs of designing a new dog park go towards adding new infrastructure, such as underground plumbing to prevent the area from flooding and new fencing. By comparison, a new, slightly smaller dog park at Sternberg Park in Williamsburg will cost $380,000.

Other community leaders, including Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council‘s Maritza Davila, asked who will oversee the park and how Parks officials would ensure safety for smaller dogs.

"Do people sign an application to be part of the dog park, or can anyone go in there?" Davila said. "We have a number of aggressive animals in the community. I don’t know if I want to take my dog there if the dogs are unlicensed."

Reaction from dog owners to news of the new park has been overwhelmingly positive.

Leah Pryor, 35, of Jefferson Street, drives to the Cooper Park dog run in Williamsburg, and is excited about not having to leave Bushwick. "We love our neighborhood but have always wished it were a bit more dog friendly," she said.

Oscar Vaquero, who also drives to Cooper Park to give his American bulldog some exercise, said he would definitely use the new dog park when it opens.

"That’s good news," Vaquero said, adding that his pet is shy and wouldn’t bother smaller dogs in the park.

A Parks Department spokesperson said the current staff at Maria Hernandez would oversee the dog run just as with other areas of the park, and the run would actually consist of two separate designated areas for both small and larger dogs. But some residents showed concern about aggressive dogs and irresponsible owners.

Greene Avenue resident Denise Ambrusko’s two dogs have been attacked and bitten by other dogs simply walking down the street.

"How are we going to know [irresponsible owners] won’t take these untrained dogs into the run? I won’t bring my dogs there. I simply do not trust many of the dog owners in the area," she said. Ambrusko, 33, said she’d feel more inclined to use the run if it were staffed by bilingual volunteers who could keep order. "Perhaps the answer is to require people to register and carry a card… like at the library," she added. "This way if something does happen an owner can be held accountable."

Art director Michi Turner, 32, lives in the Morgan stop area and has mixed feelings about the run. She finds many dogs in Maria Hernandez Park to be well-mannered, but there are plenty she avoids.

"I also notice that there is a lot more dog shit in Maria Hernandez, as opposed to Cooper or McGolrick Park (in Greenpoint), and that to me is a sign that pet owners aren’t picking up after their pets, being responsible for them," Turner added.

Pryor says the Cooper Park run — Cooper Bark — has developed an organization to govern the use of the facility. "Like other parts of a public park, you can’t ban people or dogs, but that’s where having a core group who know the rules and are comfortable maintaining expectations can come in very handy," Pryor said.  It’s her hope that something similar might emerge at Bushwick’s dog run.

"It really does become a self-governing, self-selecting group… It’s not perfect, but it is designed to be a safe place for all dogs and owners," she said. 

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