There are over 2,000 registered dogs in Williamsburg and Greenpoint and a limited amount of park space. The number of people and dogs is growing with every new development and the pressure on the parks keeps increasing. We want to build a policy that can meet everyone’s needs, both in the short-term and the long-term.

We would like to designate an area where dog owners can allow their dogs to run off-leash. This would reduce the amount of leash-law violations and help maintain order in the parks. Most dog owners are in the park every morning and evening, utilizing the park year-round. The current dog runs are woefully undersized, especially for medium to large dogs and more active breeds. They are crowded and unsanitary, especially as the number of dogs in the neighborhood increases.

This is a two-part proposal:

Part One (short-term):

In order to maintain the open green space in McCarren for users, allow the dogs on the ball fields before 9 am and after 9 pm. The ballfields are slated to be restored in 2020 and allowing dogs on the field until then will not damage them further. This will enable to rest of McCarren to stay green and free from damage.

Part Two:

After the renovation of the ball fields, designate McCarren Park Zone 4 (the currently paved area on North 12th between Bedford and Berry, behind the tennis bubble) as an off-leash dog zone. Work to immediately renovate that zone to provide a safe and spacious zone for dogs. This would allow the rest of the park to remain an on-leash zone in the future.

A large, well-designed dog run would allow people to enjoy the park without having to worry about dogs running off the leash while providing a safe environment for dogs to run freely.  Dog owners can interact with their dogs safely and dogs can interact with other dogs safely.  It would also eliminate a good deal of wear and tear on the rest of McCarren Park and allow children, sports teams, and other users to enjoy a greener park.