Dog activists square off on city leash laws

Volume One, Issue 24, March 2 - March 8, 2007

By Brooke Edwards

More than 60 people seized the final opportunity to plead their case either for or against off-leash dog hours during a hearing organized by the Parks Department at the Chelsea Recreation Center last Thursday afternoon.

“Chelsea and all parks are impacted,” said Bob Marino, president of an umbrella organization of dog groups, NYCdog.org. Marino spoke at the hearing and presented the Parks Department with 20,000 signatures supporting the continuation and expansion of off-leash laws.

Though it has never been a part of official Parks regulation, for two decades, dog owners have been allowed to let their dogs off leash in designated areas of some New York City parks during “courtesy hours,” between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.

But in May of last year, Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association in Queens, sued the Parks Department, claiming that the off-leash hours posed a health and safety risk.

The case went to the New York State Supreme Court and the State Board of Health. Both governing bodies ruled that the decision to have off-leash hours rested with the Parks Department, and recommended that Parks clarify their policy.

In response, the Parks Department has created an amendment to the previously unofficial leash law. An official statement issued by Parks says, “The proposed amendment…will simply codify the Courtesy Hours by converting the policy into a rule.”

The statement continues, “...the amendment will also require all dogs that use the park to be licensed and for persons owning or in control of such dogs to have proof that they have been vaccinated against rabies, as required by New York State and City law.” Dogs will also still be required to stay in designated areas; to be under control of their owners at all times; to not disturb, harass or injure park patrons, animals or vegetation; and to be immediately leashed if a police officer or Parks official requests it.

Since the City Administrative Procedures Act requires that the public have the opportunity to comment whenever an agency changes its own policies, Thursday’s hearing, at the Chelsea Recreation Center at 430 W. 25th St., was the last step the Parks Department needed to take before it can make the off-leash hours law in city parks.

It was obvious from crowd response that the majority of the audience was in favor of continuing the off-leash policy.

“The judge tells you you have no case. The Parks Department tells you you have no case. When is it going to get through your thick skulls that you have no case?” said Douglas McDougal of Brooklyn, who directed his venom at the anti-off-leashers during the hearing.

But Orrin Tilevitz, also from Brooklyn, spoke in opposition to the off-leash hours. Tilevitz said he was attacked by an off-leash dog while he was walking on a sidewalk in Prospect Park. He said he now has pepper spray to defend himself and said, “The guy that sold it to me warned me that if I used it on a dog, I’d probably have to use it on the owner, too. I have no problem with that.”

In addition to safety threats posed to park-goers, other arguments aimed against off-leash hours included potential damage to park wildlife and vegetation, the potential for all-night barking and complaints about fecal waste left behind.

“The type of person who would leave droppings when their dog is off the leash is the same type of person who would leave droppings when their dog is on the leash,” argued off-leash supporter Anita Anthony of Brooklyn. “And not to psychoanalyze,” Anthony added, “but the other side seems so angry that maybe they should get a dog, because I hear it’s good for the blood pressure.”

The discussion remained heated throughout much of the hearing, as the debate bounced between opposing viewpoints.

Those who spoke in favor of the off-leash laws cited a drop in dog-bite incidents in areas where dogs are allowed off leash. Animal behavior specialists and dog owners from throughout the five boroughs all argued that dogs which are allowed to socialize off-leash are less aggressive and better adjusted than their leashed counterparts, who often grow territorial.

The Parks Department has supported this theory, issuing a statement on their Web site that reads, “Dogs tend to become better socialized when they are allowed to recreate off-leash.”

Near the end of the more than three-hour-long hearing, Jovie Last from Brooklyn performed an original, smile-inducing version of “Home on the Range,” asking the Parks Department to “Give me a home, where the pooch is free to roam…”.

The Parks Department is currently reviewing testimony from the hearing, as well as letters sent in by concerned citizens. The department is expected to issue a statement with their decision on the amendments within the next few weeks. If approved, they will be published in the City Record. Thirty days later, the amendments will become a part of official Parks regulations.