Oyster Bay Town to open dog park in March
Lilly, owned by Peggy Heijmen of the nonprofit LI-Dogs, curiously stares into the camera on East Pine Street in Massapequa, near the wooded area that will become home to the Town of Oyster Bay's first town-run dog park. (November 11, 2011) Credit: Barry Sloan
Oyster Bay is offering a treat to its furry residents. The town plans to open its first dog park as soon as March.
Officials set their sights on a 5-acre property on Louden Avenue in Massapequa that, after construction of a parking lot and other features, will likely become a 11/2-acre place for pooches to play, town spokeswoman Marta Kane said.
"We've been looking for a year, a year and a half, at vacant lots, existing parks," she said. "We've done studies, met with residents. . . . This park seemed like a good starting point."
The Massapequa park, which officials said will be ready for its canine patrons in the spring unless winter weather damages the property, is welcome news to some area pet owners.
Peggy Heijmen, of Oyster Bay, said her nonprofit group, LI-Dogs, has for years been lobbying for canine-friendly play space.
"There are dog parks all over Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. There are very few on Long Island," she said.
Dogs aren't permitted in Town of Oyster Bay parks, she said.
"On-leash, off-leash -- there are no dogs allowed," said Heijmen, owner of a 31/2-year-old mixed breed named Lilly. "I never gave a thought to how isolating it is until I adopted a dog."
LI-Dogs, which advocates for access to public park space for dogs, last year gathered hundreds of signatures on a petition calling for a town-run pooch park, Heijmen said.
"It's how you socialize dogs," she said of the parks. "There are benefits to be gained for dogs."
Town officials said they conducted feasibility studies on traffic, parking and proper drainage in considering appropriate sites, with a focus on how close the park was to homes.
"We had residents come to us with concerns and requests, so we wanted to make sure we had the right spot," said Councilman Joe Pinto, who said he had an Irish setter as a child. "This site is a real perfect location. It's not around residents who might be bothered by the dogs barking."
Town Supervisor John Venditto, a dog owner and professed dog lover, committed to the Massapequa site at a board meeting last month.
Officials said they don't yet know how much the park will cost to construct or what the exact design will be.
Kane said they're also looking into the possibility of a dog park as part of the expansion of Allen Park in Farmingdale, which Heijmen lauds for its more central location.
Nassau County has dog parks in Roslyn-Short Hills, Seaford and other municipalities, but Heijmen said she and Lilly are excited to frequent their hometown park in Massapequa.
"We'll take what we can get," she said.
