Scan any local Greenpoint or Williamsburg social media page, and you’ll quickly see just how frequently issues about dogs appear. Whether it’s screeds against huskies in Whole Foods or excitement about the upcoming Halloween dog parade, neighbors seem to be united on one front—we love dogs, but there are not enough resources to accommodate the area’s proliferation of pets. As of 2023, City Council District 33 (which contains Greenpoint and Williamsburg) is home to three times as many dogs as the citywide average.
Volunteers from the McCarren, McGolrick, and Cooper dog runs have recently teamed up to create North Brooklyn Dogs. The collective first formed after volunteers from each group “realized they were all facing the same problems: unsafe dog runs, drainage issues, persistent flooding, and a lack of city support,” North Brooklyn Dogs recently shared with Greenpointers.
The group is primarily spearheaded by Piper Carty, Jaime Brooks, Sarah Hanson, Priyana Rikhy, Danielle Dorchester, Caoimhe Anglin, James Curry, and Miles Laff.
“Many people don’t know that the McCarren, McGolrick, and Cooper Dog Runs are maintained by dedicated volunteers — not the city. It falls on each community group to keep the runs clean, arrange new ground cover (mulch, pea gravel, etc.), and handle repairs.”
Indeed, city dog runs exist in a kind of bureaucratic limbo, on land operated by the city’s Parks Department but without the Parks manpower to actually maintain the space (Parks is responsible for some basic sanitation, but day-to-day issues are the purview of ad-hoc volunteer groups). North Brooklyn Dogs decided to go a step further and work to draw attention to the issues they and other pet owners face.
“Together, we pooled our strengths—fundraising, advocacy, technical skills, design, partnerships, and nonprofit rescue work—to create a shared mission: to advocate for essential improvements to all dog parks within North Brooklyn, and to call on NYC Parks and our City Council representatives to uphold a consistent, high standard of care across our neighborhood’s dog runs.”
That lack of care can result in unsanitary and unsafe conditions for dogs (you might recall the leptospirosis outbreak a few years ago in McCarren), but it can also potentially cause harm to humans, as dogs can transmit certain diseases.
“You can’t expect neighbors to keep what is essentially a giant litter box from becoming a biohazard,” said North Brooklyn Dogs.
The group frequently hosts community events to educate neighbors and plug them into the much-needed work. Their latest initiative is a census to understand how many dogs are out there, what issues they face, and what resources they need. You can fill it out here.
“It’s quick, and the data is what we’ll use to show the city how many dogs live here, how often they use the parks, and what improvements are needed.”
After filling that out, be sure to mark your calendars for some upcoming events for dog lovers. On October 11, the Cooper Park Weekend Weeders and North Brooklyn Dogs will be planting flowers on Sharon Street. On October 18, North Brooklyn Dogs is tabling at the Cooper Park Block Party and raking out the McCarren dog run on October 19. And on October 25, a neighborhood fave returns — the McGolrick Annual Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade & Costume Contest is sure to delight dog lovers of all ages.
Stay up to date with North Brooklyn Dogs here.
Ugh, so sick of dogs and their self entitled owners.
Some advice:
1. Keep your animal leashed. There are no off leash hours at McGolrick park. Take your animal to the dog run if a leash is too cruel for you to use.
2. Clean up after your animal and take your green bag of feces to YOUR trash can.
3. Pay attention to where your animal is peeing. So many owners staring at their phone while their animal pees all over stairs, garbage cans, etc.
Stop bringing your animals into stores / bars / restaurants. It’s unsanitary and against the law.
A few comments. I mentioned to a young renter in my eight unit bldg. jokingly that there were more dogs than people. She said there are even more cats. You just don’t see them or hear them.
The young dog owners in Greenpoint are basically good owners but you will always have a few that will ruin it.
The one complaint I have is that you rarely see a young dog owner use a ‘short leash” ie long leashes instead. They can easily get into fights with other dogs and make people move to the other side of the sidewalk or even trip a senior.
I didn’t appreciate the terms keep them on a short leash and give the dog a bone until I started to walk dogs.