Earlier this week, the long-awaited dog run at One Bell Slip celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, marking a dog-friendly outdoor space for residents of the newly completed Bellslip residential tower, as well as Greenpointers residing in the Greenpoint Landing area of the neighborhood (it is open to the public).
However, not all neighbors consider the newest addition a satisfactory answer to their years-long calls for more dog parks in the northern part of Greenpoint. Even prior to its opening, many dog owners lamented the size of the new run, particularly as the main community dog runs are in McCarren, McGolrick, and, more recently, Domino parks.
Three years ago, Greenpoint local Chelsea Patterson started a Change.org petition calling for a closer dog park, and the charge has been renewed by North Greenpoint Dog Park, which calls upon representatives to designate more than just a “triangle” of space. The petition also cites the recent health scares in McCarren Park, including giardia and leptospirosis outbreaks, the latter of which closed the run for a few weeks.
Community members have also taken to the app Nextdoor — which is home to frequent back and forth about off-leash dogs in parks, most recently the Newtown Barge Park turf field — to voice concerns about the adequacy of the new space.
Plans for an additional park (plus other amenities as part of the Box Street Park proposal) at 65 Commercial St following former Mayor Bloomberg’s 2005 rezoning have been delayed for roughly 17 years due to the MTA utilizing the space for storing emergency vehicles.
The dog run is so small, it is hard to find. Too boot when I went there on Memorial Day it was chained shut.
This is a joke; my dog has more space to run in my studio apartment.