Dog owners have rallied for the dog run for the past year, appearing at Community Board 5 meetings and forming an association in favor of the project, which would give dogs a safe haven to roam off leash inside the park.
Now it appears all their efforts may have been wasted.
At CB5’s November 18 meeting, Gary Giordano, the board’s district manager, made it very clear the chances of creating a dog run are slim at best, and fading fast.
“I don’t think there’s much of a constituency among the members of the community board who feel comfortable with a permanent dog run,” Giordano said at the meeting. “And that’s the reality.”
Before he spoke, supporters of the dog run explained the need for one, and gave light to their frustration that the issue has still not been decided.
“I don’t think that we’re any closer than when we first started this issue,” said Joe Pisano, president of the Juniper Valley Park Dog Owners Association. “It’s taken more than 12 months to decide.”
“I really feel that is ridiculous,” he added. “A dog park!”
Thomas Scotti, a lifelong Middle Village resident, agreed, saying his dreams of a dog run have been thwarted by CB5’s lengthy review process.
Giordano was having none of it, though he did apologize for the year long back-and-forth.
“I can appreciate what you would like,” Giordano said, and “I apologize if you’ve [been] given the run around.”
However, he said, there’s “not a big constituency for a dog run.”
This seemed to signal CB5 would not approve a dog run. On the other hand, giving the dog owners hope, no formal decision on the dog run was made at the meeting.