Due to an increased number of dogs off-leash during on-leash hours — and of dogs playing in prohibited areas — the Central Park Conservancy has launched a new campaign which aims to get dog owners to comply with the rules.
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New signage — which reads “Dogs must be leashed 9:00am-9:00pm,” with a QR code directing people to https://www.centralparknyc.
- Pilgrim Hill: 5th Avenue and (north of) 72nd Street, near Conservatory Waters
- Cedar Hill: landscapes southwest of 5th Avenue and 79th Street
- West 86th – 90th Street Lawns and Landscapes
- The Ramble: middle of Central Park from 73rd – 79th streets
The Conservancy has started to spread the message on social media, too, with additional reminders to clean up after your dogs and to make sure they don’t hurt other animals or damage property.
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“This awareness campaign is being done with the community’s safety and enjoyment in mind,” the Conservancy states. “We want Park visitors to feel welcome to bring their dogs while being responsible while doing so. For more information, we have a helpful Dog Owner’s Guide to Central Park for details on when and where dogs can be off leash in the Park, locations of dog-friendly drinking fountains, and other essential information for dog owners to practice being good Park community members.”
Good luck seeing these laws enforced. When I have seen infringement and have spoken to these law breakers, they have some smart ass response or ignore me altogether
The behavior of the rude, self-centered dog owners who can’t manage to adhere to the simple rules of the park will not be moved by polite requests or signage. Some stiff fines are needed to re-calibrate their center-of-the-earth thinking.
Why should dog owners comply when every other constituency in this city breaks rules with much greater risk of injury (bikers, homeless, shoplifters, motorcycle brigades, turnstyle jumpers and on and on). You want order – make the bed first. Don’t just crack down on dog walkers. The most positive and functional users of the parks.
I agree with you on the other opportunities to instill order, but why would it be either / or?
It’s not an either/or proposition. It’s just an observation – don’t be surprised when there is a climate of non-compliance in this city when the chosen sub-niche that you reach out to for compliance doesn’t do so willingly. Lack of enforcement has consequences on everything and you can’t just decide to be liberal with certain types of offenders and expect others won’t change their behavior as well.
That’s the kind of logic that gets nothing done and dismisses personal responsibility as a flaw instead of an asset. Is it an unreasonable, oppressive burden for dog owners to leash their dogs during certain hours in the Park?
Jerry, you can’t blame the Central Park Conservancy for the failures of the NYPD. Maybe the NYPD (and in the case of cyclists, NYPD Traffic) should consider awareness campaigns as a bare minimum, like the CPC is doing with dog rules here.
i dont think its going to change too much, and i think the park has the ‘bones’ to handle the current levels of dog abuse, but i applaud them for trying to reverse the momentum of this behavior before it *does* get too common to reverse in a meaningful way, and the park deteriorates because of it. The opposite of the reactionary bs we see from the NYPD w/r/t ‘bikers, homeless, shoplifters, motorcycle brigades, turnstyle jumpers and on and on’ every week.
I am a dog owner and I am NOT in favor of the off leash hours as they currently stand. If I want to walk my dog on leash in the early morning hours, I have to contend with other dogs running up to my dog who is constrained by a leash. Mine is very friendly but plays tougher than I am comfortable with. But now it becomes my problem to try to get an unleashed dog away from mine. Unleashed dogs should be be the exception in designated areas and not the rule du ring prime dog walking hours.
aside from being unleashed, these pet owners need to be responsible enough to pick up after their dogs. every time i walk on the sidewalks, always have to look down to avoid stepping on dog poo. it has gotten worse during covid. nyc is dirty as it is, but at least there is an effort to keep the sidewalks clean. unfortunately, the dog owners have other ideas.
if you can’t handle the responsibility, don’t own a dog!