Hi Everyone,

I know all of us small dog owners are very frustrated because we have no place to take our small dogs off of their leashes - the big dog run is most of the time too overwhelming for small dogs and i don't know how everyone else feels but the small dog run at the top of 48th ave is horrible - filled with trash and half filled in with dirt - sooo us small dog owners take our dogs to the pier morning and night and continue to get scolded by the parks dept - we have no where to go - one of my fellow dog owners has tried to write to our congresswomen 3 times and has never received a response - tonight I finally called 311 not thinking that that would make much of a difference but to my surprise the operator was extremely helpful - i explained that this small dog run is filled with litter and poorly maintained (she gave me a complaint number to follow up on - which i will) - I also complained to my building (avalon riverview north) tonight - i feel they should pressure the community to do something they will not allow our dogs in the common areas but at the same time they will not fight for the common space to be kept up by the city - and the kicker to me is that the aspca has an office here - we are just trying to get our dogs a place to run which if kept up will also add to community (i should mention is the first thing potential new residents see off of the subway) I have spoken with many small - medium sized dog owners and we all feel that we wouldn't mind doing the clean up ourselves if the city / community gave us some incentive: ie: put signs that this is a dog run not a city dump and contributed just as they do in manhattan by putting benches laying stones or sod etc... - they are trying to grow the long island city community with affluent residents but by not maintaining  city property does not help at all - I would like to start a committee to clean up this park - if you are interested please email me at masters.jessica@gmail.com. Thanks so much and i hope we can get our dogs a great place to play.

Sincerely,

Jessica Masters

Also, it would help greatly if you submitted a complaint to 311 as well as your building. Thanks again!!!

I agree that the Vernon/48th dog run is a dump.  And this problem is going to be even worse when Hunters Point South construction starts and they close down the 2nd street dog run.  I raised this issue at the Community Board meeting but Joe Conley said he though the Vernon/48th dog run was sufficient for all the dogs in the neighborhood, what a joke.  I explained that this was not the case but I don't know if he got the message, I dobut it.  Anyway, there are a lot of us (large and small dog owners) who feel very strongly that the city needs to improve things for dogs in this neighborhood.  I actually started a website (www.licdogs.com) for the dog community so feel free to sign up.  It hasn't really taken off yet but maybe with Hunters Point South moving forward people will wake up and realize that change is needed.

   Hi Joe.  This dog run issue you raised at the CB 2 meeting, was most likely taken with a grain of salt, or fluffed off.  This is because community boards have lots of issues on their plate, and one (or even a few) people stating something at a general meeting, does not constitute a serious/important issue.  What you and anyone else concerned with the dog run issue needs to do, is to sit down and compose an official letter with an offical heading (use licdogs.com as the organization).  Organizations always carry much more weight than individuals (with rare exceptions).  In detail, explain as to how the current Vernon dog run is by itself inadequate, what the problems are which are unique to small (and mid-sized) dog owners, along with other related issues (and I mean directly related issues only, as anything else added will show disorganization, and lessen or void out the desired effect). 

   Don't attack, or threaten with negative voting tactics.  Sell yourself and your organization.  Try to appeal to as many emotional and logical parts of the individual/persons personality, who you are contacting, as you can.  Explain any business gains or losses which might occur.  You might look into such things as to whether or not they have a pet(s), especially a dog, and as to how they personally feel about the use of dog runs.  Do some homework. 

   Get as many people on your side as you can.  The greater the percentage of the population actively on your side and/or personally involved with the issue, the greater the consideration which will be given it, by the representatives.  After all, they are the community representatives.  The fewer the people involved, the less consideraion it will receive.  It's basic Democracy at work.  Also, offer commonsense possible solutions to the problems/issues.  It makes their jobs easier, and your chances of success better.  Make sure your correspondence is personable, and above all; grammatically correct, and fee of spelling errors and typos.  Bad writing = lack of effort, possible misunderstandings, can = frustration, and can jeopardize or negate the whole effort.

   Send as many specifically individualized versions as you can think of, to personally target each representative you want to contact.  make sure that you let them know you are contacting others in this same manner (i.e. [cc:]).  In addition, do some research to see if there are other cases, similar to this, from around the country, and provide information as to how their issues were resolved.  Only use examples which were successfully resolved in a cooperative manner.            

   Do not do this via e-mail.  Serious issue correspondence via e-mail, is a joke.  No business or government person will ever give much regard or attention, to any attempt at important public communication via e-mail.  Public e-mail correspondence is good for personal, or light issue business communication.  The vast majority of e-mails are read by low-level employees, who are used as screeners, who have limited reading comprehension ability, and usually cannot gauge issue importance very well.  It's an exercise in extreme frustration in most cases, when trying to communicate a problem with a screener (ex: customer service reps).  Most of the e-mail communications end up in cyberfile # 13, no matter what any organization may say to the contrary.  Dealing with an important issue, especially a community sized one via e-mail, shows to the recepient, the lack of dedication and energy put into it.  The response, in return, will ellicit the same level of attention or interest in your issue.  I'm not saying this to bash e-mail correspondence (which some will ultimately jump to the concluson that I am), but to show how important proper communication is, in how much attention and importance is given to any given issue, by those you are contacting.

   Lastly, design a logo for licdogs.com and use it.  You might want to try to coordinate/affilliate other pet organizations with your cause.  Try to get other community organizations on your side also; and state in the correspondence that they are.

   In conclusion, use a high quality grade of paper and envelopes.  First impressions are everything, in communication.  If possible, hand deliver the letter in person, and get a signature of receipt. 

   By doing all of this, you will greaten the chances for success in this endeavor.  If you do less, you will receive less.  If you do nothing, you will get nothing.

   I hope that I am of some help to your cause.

Charlie.                     

This Vernon dog run is under the care of NY State Parks. It is part of Gantry Plaza State Park. This is a temporary dog run until something permanent is planned & built.

Friends of Gantry Neighborhood Parks has done a lot of volunteer work in this dog run in the past. Currently no volunteer has come forward to take over the chairmanship of this committee. If you want to take part in this, come to the Friends of Gantry monthly meeting Wednesday 7/9/08, 7 pm, 3rd floor activity room in Citylights. All are welcome.

email GantryParkFriend@aol.com to get on the mailing list.

That's the thing, these dog parks have been "temporary" for years while the city has refused to build us anything permanent.  Facing the closing of the larger and busier dog park is going to really put a strain on the rest of the community, who wants to hear 20 large rowdy dogs barking on Vernon Blvd every night.  At least on 2nd street we only piss off the non-dog owners at Avalon =).  In all seriousness, I don't think the city or community board has any idea what it will mean to have all the dogs in the small Vernon dog park, they just can't seem to take it seriously as an issue.  The simple fact is that in the past few years so many new buildings have gone up that are pet friendly that the number of dogs has greatly increased. 

Charlie, thank you for your advice, it will definitely be useful to us.  I actually have been working on a "letter" of sorts online as the mission statement for LIC Dogs and had planned to mail it in hard copy to various lawmakers and community members.  It is far from a finished product but the draft is at http://www.licdogs.com/about/.  Please feel free to comment/criticize, but again this is really more of a mission statement and not quite a letter.