Astoria, Parks, Pets
Sep 02, 2014

Dog Owners Want a Modern Dog Run in Astoria

Want to work towards a great dog run in Astoria? There’s a petition you can sign—and you never know, maybe this time it will make a difference. Over the years on various (…)

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Photo credit: Jessica S. on Yelp.

Want to work towards a great dog run in Astoria? There’s a petition you can sign—and you never know, maybe this time it will make a difference.

Over the years on various outlets, we hear dog owners bemoaning the fact that there isn’t a proper dog run in Astoria. Sure, there is Bugsy’s Dog Run near Astoria Park, but it is pretty beat up and really in bad shape; some say it’s dangerous, too. It’s also pretty small, all things considered. Astoria dog owners would love to see something like the Hunters Point Dog Park, which is pretty sweet.

The petition was started by a Redditor who seems pretty energized to at least improve the current dog park. The author has even called out our city councilman, Costa Constantinides, with hopes that he can help. Here’s the text:

The Astoria community needs an adequate area to allow their dogs to socialize and exercise off-leash. The off-leash hours in Astoria park are inconvenient and “Bugsy’s Dog Run” (located nearby) is neglected by its owner and not up to the standards exhibited by recently established dog parks in neighboring communities such as Hunter’s Point. We want to bring the community’s need for a new dog run to the attention of City Council Member Costa Constantinides as well as the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (specifically the Astoria division).

Please sign this petition to help us convey how important this issue is to Astoria dog owners!

As of this writing there are 112 signatures; their goal seems to be at least 199 signatures.

So what do you think? Should Bugsy’s Dog Run be improved? Should a whole new dog park be built, and if so, where? Share your opinions with a comment or a tweet!

About Meg Cotner

Meg Cotner was trained as a harpsichordist and now works as a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Queens," and is a skilled and avid home cook, baker, and preserver.

18 Comments

Amanda Halkiotis

Great news Dog Folks of Astoria! The City Parks Department has APPROVED the capital project to get a dog run built at Rainey Park! This means that they are willing to provide the financial backing to get this built if there is a strong community organization who is willing to maintain it and help guide the process. I just got the call from Jimmy Van Bramer’s office and could not be more psyched! The next step is to go to Community Board 1 and see if they will support this project as well. I’d like to get 5-10 DEDICATED folks who would like to meet once a month or so to really get this project up and running. You can message me here or email me, raineydogrun@gmail.com.

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Meredith

Regardless of what the rules are re: city parks only being allowed to have a dog run OR off-leash hours, I don’t really consider the two to be interchangeable from a safety perspective. Some dog owners would like to be able to let their dogs off leash without having to worry about the potential danger of fast drivers nearby, etc.; having a safe, enclosed off-leash area would be a great addition for those who would like to let their dog off-leash in Astoria Park but don’t feel comfortable doing so in an open area. I don’t really see it as a convenience issue.

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Katie Compa

I can see clearly that this is a glaring need in Astoria, and I DON’T EVEN OWN A DOG!

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Norm

I’m definitely in support of a new dog run even though I don’t own a dog as of yet! Question for Bill Peloquin: are you going to be attending the Community Board #1 meeting on September 16th with supporters to make a case?

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Elina

I’m all for a dog run in Astoria, since moving into the neighborhood 20 years ago, I definitely see a need for pet owners to exercise their furry friends. But what about a stronger advocacy from the dog group(s) in Astoria for requiring people to clean up after their own pets? Every street I walk around my neighborhood is filthy and only two days ago, I saw a woman throw her dog’s bag into someone else’s recycling can. After pointing out what she did, she ignored the comment and walked on. Perhaps people would advocate more for their neighbors if their neighbors respected everyone, too.

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Going Greek

I always feel bad for the dogs in the terrible Astoria Park dog park. It’s gross. It looks like a garbage dump.

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Former Astorian

So now the off leash hours are inconvenient? How is it that they’ve been convenient for tens of thousands of New Yorkers for years but a few people can’t be bothered to get up early or go later to the park to walk their dogs? I understand that not everyone has normal working hours but to say that they’re not convenient it silly. Perhaps to you they’re not convenient but to most they’re fine. How about just walking your dog? When I moved from Ditmars to Dutch Kills occasionally on the weekend we’d walk from DK to Astoria Park (and back). You do realize that if a dog run is established the off leash hours in the park will be eliminated. Talk about inconveniencing others!

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Brian

The best option would be to fix the one that’s there. Hopefully they’ll be less dogs running loose within the rest of Astoria Park

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mls

Thanks for sharing! I walk my small dog (5 lbs) all the way to the Sunnyside Lou Lodati park every few days but it’s very far for him. I’d love to see a similar park in my own neighborhood. Two areas (one for large, one for small dogs), concrete (easy to clean), benches, pools, water fountains, and bags provided…it’s perfect IMO.

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Joe

This would be great. As a relatively new dog owner (less than a year) we’ve taken to hoofing it over to Sunnyside to the dog park there (for Astorians in the south east end of the neighborhood it’s about half the distance of Astoria Park). Having something closer would be amazing. Based simply on the amount of doody I have to hopscotch on my walks, Astoria could use two dog parks, one for north of the GCP and south.

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bp

There is plenty of room for a dog park in Astoria park and Rainey park for dog runs. It would be great if either had a properly maintained space.

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Howard

The problem with creating a dog run in either Astoria Park or Rainey Park, is that the park regulations stipulate you can either have off-leash hours for dogs OR a dog run. You can’t have both. While Bugsy’s Run is a mess, it is not actually in Astoria Park. I wish that property could be improved, though it seems to be sinking into the river.

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Bill Peloquin

Thanks for writing this article, I’m sure it will bring more attention to our cause! Much appreciated!

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dogdoody

How about a petition for less dogs in the city! Now instead of one dog people need to have two dogs!

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Howard

Why is that a problem? If your concern is dog waste removal, that’s a completely separate issue. You have to address why people don’t follow the law and pick up after their dogs.

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