By:Karenlyn Barone
The canines are still crowding East Rockaway's Bay Park dog run, much to the chagrin of residents who were told that the popular puppy haunt would be relocated by June 25. The run, which was scheduled to be shut down and moved to another area of the Nassau County park, will be in business for at least a little while longer. A delay in the delivery of sand, necessary for the new run, has caused the county to miss the promised deadline and left the Department of Parks and Recreation holding the doggie bag.
On July 7, Susan Gordon Ryan, the county's deputy commissioner of parks, recreation and museums, spoke at a Bay Park Civic Association meeting, apologizing for the delay and setting a new relocation date of July 13. As the Herald went to press, that revised deadline had also been missed.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Toback (D-Oceanside) said that the county had trouble getting sand to fill in the new dog run. "All the construction is done on the new site -- we just need to pour the sand," he said.
Toback said that the day after that happens, the old dog run will be closed and the new one will be opened. He could not, however, provide a definite date when that would take place.
The promise to relocate the dog run came in answer to residents' complaints to Toback's office about offensive smells emanating from the fenced-in corral, disregard for parking regulations by dog owners and the general substandard conditions in which the run was allowed to operate. Toback responded with the promise of a new run and the demolition of the old one. Even though the deadline has now passed twice, locals are happy that things are moving forward.
"I still feel pretty good about everything," said Bay Park resident Trish Louw. "We knew progress was being made, but there was no way it was going to be completed by June 25. Even so, I'm not going to be hard-nosed about it."
Toback has vowed to keep on top of the dog-run issue and has promised to see it through to a successful transition.
Town of Hempstead Councilman Anthony Santino (R-East Rockaway) will continue to monitor the situation as well. In a July 9 letter to Toback, he wrote, "Today ... I personally observed that the existing dog run is still open and in full operation. Since your promised time frame has not been adhered to, I request that you provide a date certain when the residents of Bay Park can expect the relief which you ... promised."
For now, residents appear willing to extend Toback and the county a longer leash. "In view of the greater good coming out of this, I am willing to sacrifice a couple of weeks," said Louw. "They are coming through for us."
