Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Central Park PAWS, the organization in its tenth year of dedication to dog owners in Central Park, is holding another Bagel Bark on Saturday.  You can come out to the Bagel Bark at South Meadow (Tennis Center) with your pooch and mingle with other CP dog owners while learning more about Central Park’s dog policies and, best of all, enjoy some free coffee, bagels, and donuts.  To learn a little more about CP PAWS, we talked with Susan Buckley, founder and president.

How was Central Park PAWS founded?
Ten years ago, when the Geat Lawn was totally torn up for renovation, there were rampant rumors that no dogs would be allowed off leash in the park anymore. At that point we had an “unofficial privilege” to have dogs off leash in much of the park between 9:00 pm and 9:00 am, which meant that from early morning until 9:00 am, there were gazillions of happy dogs frolicking in the park. The thought of losing this was so horrifying to me that I approached someone from the Conservancy.   The person I walked up to- Douglas Blonsky- was then the administrator of the entire park (he is now President of the Central Park Conservancy).  I said to Doug that the dog owners felt disenfranchised and we would like to have a dialogue with the Conservancy. “Dialogue” was the magic word, for it turns out that the Conservancy already had several advisory groups that maintain a dialogue about specific issues such as the woodlands and recreation groups.  Doug and I met shortly thereafter, and started what became Central Park PAWS.

Why are there no dog runs in Central Park?
First of all, if there were dog runs, there would have to be 20-30 of them to accommodate the many thousands of dogs who use the park daily and to be fair to the wide geographical area covered by the park. There is no way that Central Park would or should devote that much space to only one of its many important constituencies. Having dog runs would also quickly mean that dogs could not be off leash in the rest of the park, and that is not a desirable situation.  Currently, the off leash dog policies are official and legal (as a result of PAWS’ and NYCdog’s successful fight in court).  You can read the specific off leash rules here.  Central Park includes a few areas in which no dogs are ever allowed (e.g. ballfields, water bodies, Sheep Meadow and the Great Lawn oval), areas where dogs must be on leash at all times (e.g. the Ramble and the North Woods), and areas where dogs can be off leash between 9:00 pm and 9:00 am (most of the park).

How can people get involved with Central Park PAWS?
Dog owners from the UWS, the UES, and all of the park perimeter can be part of PAWS.  Become part of the PAWS database, now about 5,000 dog owners, by signing up online or at the Bagel Bark. You’ll receive periodic emails about dog-related events and issues in the park, plus a quarterly newsletter, The Central Barker. Also, PAWS is run by a Steering Committee made up of Conservancy staff and dog owners.  We have lots of committee members from the UWS, but are always looking for more. The committee meets once a month to discuss issues relating to dogs and the dog community. As dog owners, our overarching purpose is to better understand the needs and viewpoints of the Conservancy and for the Conservancy to better understand the needs and viewpoints of the dog owners.  Committee members bring to the meetings specific points, problems, issues from their area of the park and take back information from PAWS and the Conservancy.  Contact me at pawspres@centralparkpaws.org if you are interested.  It is a great opportunity to be part of our park and our city!

Central Park Bagel Bark

Saturday, August 29th, 2009, 7:30 am – 9:00 am, FREE

South Meadow in Central Park, just east of the Tennis Center, mid-90′s

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