Valley Stream resident lobbies for village's dogs
Richard Infield, 53, has lived in Valley Stream for 15 years and is president of Friends of Valley Stream Dogs, an organization that had a hand in installing the first dog park in the village near the Village Green. (Oct. 26, 2012) Credit: Brittany Wait
You must keep an eye on your dog at all times. You shouldn’t let a big dog play in the area that holds little dogs. It will intimidate owners that want to bring their small dog to the park. Dogs, 30 pounds or smaller, can play in the small dog run. Any dogs larger should be in the large dog run. But it really depends on the demeanor of the dog and how it reacts to the dogs running around.
Two weeks ago, Eisenhower Park opened its first dog park. Ultimately, Valley Stream still needs to be more dog friendly. It’s a matter of getting the village to allow dogs to walk everywhere, like in parks. People just need to make sure their dog doesn’t cause a mess.
It’s a quality-of-life issue, really. If you keep a dog cooped up, they become more aggressive or just behave poorly and bark, even annoying the neighbors. You have to give your dog exercise regularly. A dog run is perfect for that because they run around for hours and then when they go home they sleep better and behave. That’s why I fight the fight.
It’s located at the junction of Salisbury Park Drive and Stewart Avenue, around the back of the golf course at Eisenhower Park. Nobody knew about this section of the park until now. It’s bigger than the one in Valley Stream and is about an acre in size. It has two dog runs; one for larger dogs 25 pounds or more and then one for smaller dogs.
It started in June 2011 when I wrote an op-ed for the Valley Stream Herald, asking for a dog run to be put in the community. There was already a petition going around to get a dog run. There was clearly a need for a dog run within the community. When Mayor Edwin Fare was running for election, I asked him to work on this initiative to install a dog run. After he was elected, I followed up with him a month later and then formed Friends of Valley Stream Dogs. A dog park opened about eight months later on May 6.
We’re having the first annual Howl-O-Ween Party to celebrate the grand re-opening [today] from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the dog park near the Village Green. People can dress up their dogs in Halloween costumes and pay $10 to enter their dog into a contest.
'I do think he saw the writing on the wall' Rex Heuermann's Attorney Michael Brown sat down with Newsday following his client's sentencing to discuss the case. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.
'I do think he saw the writing on the wall' Rex Heuermann's Attorney Michael Brown sat down with Newsday following his client's sentencing to discuss the case. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.
