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in this issue:
Letter from the Editor
by Chris Franko
Lashing out…
Leashing up
Well it finally happened. I got my first-ever off-leash ticket. It wasn’t the best way to kick off a new year: I’d literally just gotten over the flu, sprained BOTH wrists (always wear your wrist guards while skating, kids!), missed my Food Coop shift, and felt the cold slap of a jobless December. And then, tender-wristed, unemployed, and barely lucid from a week’s worth of flu medication, I got the ticket.
I was one of the first, but by no means the only, casualty in the current ticketing campaign (more about it below in the Q&A with Park Manager Jeff Sandgrund). But my question is why now? It’s cold. It’s dark. Who’s in the park besides dog folks? “We’re responding to complaints” is the official reply. Though I haven’t read the police reports, I’m willing to wager that it’s not a cabal of Puerto Rican grandmas behind the blitz.
For a long time there’s been a turf war going on in Fort Greene Park, and it’s a battle that exposes peoples’ frustrations and fears over the neighborhood’s rapid development. Prospect Heights has the arena as a rally point; Fort Greene residents have the park. We love our increased property values but freak over projects like this one http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2006/01/silver_phallus.html. We want wholesome, family oriented activities in the park, but some residents regard the Green Market or this past summer’s Soul Summit parties as true “there goes the neighborhood” moments. Is this what a dog off-leash represents, as well? I guess to some it does.
It’s natural to want to blame someone else when things seem out of your control, say, for example, when you get an off-leash ticket or when your beloved neighborhood is poised to spiral out of condo control. If I could just blame someone – some reactionary, well-connected neighbor, a disgruntled park worker, a frustrated bureaucrat taking orders from Bloomberg himself – instead of accepting my own poor judgment, I might not feel like the situation is so unfair. But maybe that’s what the people making the complaints are feeling, too. The only difference is, they’re picking up the phone and calling the judge or elected official, and I’m about to appear before them.
Well I’ve certainly learned my lesson. Thanks to an upcoming court date and minimum $100 fine, I definitely think twice before letting Otis off-leash. Honestly, this kind of self-censorship infuriates me. But mostly these days I color well within the lines and take my afternoon walks in Prospect Park where the winter off-leash hours begin at 5pm. Besides lots of space and friendly, fresh-faced dog owners, there’s little chance of a surprise ticket. Who knows — maybe the folks up there have already learned to live with their gentrification growing pains. As long as you stay off the Audubon trails. I hear those bird-watchers really know how to make life difficult…
Word UP: The PUPS Interview
Tired of getting your information from the rumor mill? Don’t know who to turn to for the final word on all things Fort Greene Park? Ever since Park Manager Jeff Sandgrund took his post late last year, the affable Park Manager has been happy to set us all straight and keep us informed. PUPS recently had a chance to talk to Jeff about where he’s been and where, as park users, we’re all heading together.
PUPs: How many people are on your staff and, in a nutshell, what are your duties and responsibilities?
Jeff: We have myself, plus anywhere between 4 and 10 parks workers depending on the season. Their job is to ensure that the park is clean. My job is to supervise them and to ensure that the park is in good condition. I also work with the local community groups, residents and businesses to improve relations and frequently meet with politicians and other city agencies to help secure funding and services for the park.
We also currently have two Urban Park Rangers on staff who enforce park rules — from having your dog off-leash during non-off-leash hours to littering in the park. They also run programs for both kids and adults on tree identification, park history and other topics as well as weekly historic tours of the park.
Tell us a little bit about your background. How did you ended up working at Fort Greene Park?
I was raised in Park Slope, attended college at Skidmore in Saratoga Springs, NY, then moved to Hawaii to pursue a career in photography. Though I enjoyed island life, I became a tour manager and radio promotions specialist for a small independent record label in San Francisco. A year later I moved back to NYC to be closer to my family, start my own record label and work part-time for the Office of Public Information and Photography of the Parks Department. After three years, I realized that I enjoyed the work I did for the Department more then working in the music industry. I closed my label, went for a Masters in Urban Policy at the New School, and applied for a job as Fort Greene Park Manager. A year later...here I am.
What do you love most about working in Fort Greene Park? How are the challenges here different from other placements you’ve had?
Having grown up in Brooklyn and played in parks all over the borough as a kid, including Fort Greene, everyday is satisfying in the fact that I get to work to make parks in the borough better. That is a mission I truly believe in.
Before working here, I helped organize community involvement in parks throughout Brooklyn. That experience taught me how to work with a myriad of constituents and valuable lessons about what different communities want from their open space, all of which help me as I attempt to make Fort Greene Park a place every member of this community can enjoy.
What advice can you give PUPS members about the upcoming renovations that will be occurring in Fort Greene Park?
If all goes according to plan, the Monument Plaza, the Monument Wings, Crypt, and the Grand Staircase will be closed from early March 2006 for 18 months. Though this may be an inconvenience, it is step one towards rejuvenating the physical structures of the park. PUPS members should be particularly careful during off-leash hours, as there will be more vehicular traffic and large trucks during this time.
As the social fabric of this neighborhood continues to change, how do you see the park and its services evolving to suit new needs of the community?
It is a tricky balancing act because the park has an important historical place not only in this borough, but also in this city and this country. So, as the community changes and the park changes to meet those needs, it is all done within the historical context of the park itself. From off-leash hours to barbecuing in the park, I believe the Department has been responding well to the changing needs of the community. I hope I can uphold this tradition and implement new policies that will strength the community's love of the park. I will use my experience from years of community organizing for the Parks Department to make sure that the community has my ear, and that I make changes that make sense and increase peoples’ enjoyment of the park.
The dog community in the neighborhood has a real sense of ownership regarding the park. Have you had any interesting encounters with our membership? And how we might work together to keep the park safe and clean?
I know that the negative encounters I have had with dog owners in my time here could not possibly be with PUPS members. We need to remember that off-leash hours are a privilege, and that if the rules are not obeyed the Department will rescind that privilege. We have begun a strict off-leash ticketing policy. You will be issued one warning (not one per day, one) before you will be issued a ticket. Also, the tickets are escalating, starting at $100 and going up to $1000.
And to clarify, there has been no change in the off-leash hours. Dog may be off-leash in Fort Greene Park from 9pm-9am only. And one last thing...please keep an eye out for dogs that are digging holes. We try and fill them, but it is a task as daunting as Sisyphus’s without your help.
Maybe the most basic way for us to work together is for PUPS members to find me in the park and say “hi” — I’ll be the guy with the tag that says Park Manager.
To find out more about the park, Weekend park tours, or just to say hello, stop by the Visitors Center from 9am-5pm daily.
CAUTIONARY TALES
Two dogs, owned/walked by a young couple, have acted very aggressively and have attacked my dog twice, luckily without ever really hurting him. Since the initial attack, I put my dog on a leash and walk away. They [the owners] seemed to keep their distance, too.
But on a recent Friday night at 9pm, I saw the couple and their two dogs enter the park. As was now usual, I put my dog on a leash, and made sure to keep my distance. I took a short walk around, came back to the main area. About 30 seconds or a minute later, the couple's dog (or dogs) made a beeline for my dog. I scooped up my dog and screamed for them to control their dog. Now six other dogs joined in as I held my dog up in the air.
Eventually the owners all grabbed their dogs and LEFT the park.
I got bit and bruised pretty badly, and I was bleeding. My dog got bit three times on the butt and tail and now has to wear a cone until his gaping wound heals.
I know of at least one other dog, a rottweiler, no less, that was attacked by these dogs. And while the couple is allegedly working with trainer they continue bring their dogs to the park — no leash, no muzzle. To their credit, they promised to bring their dogs to the park only before 8am and not in the evenings. They did not, however, offer to split or pay the vet bills of over $200.
What disturbed me MOST was not the dogs, but the owners. No one stopped to ask if I was OK — Not the couple with the two aggressive dogs, and not the other dog owners. And many of these people I've seen almost every morning and some evenings for the last six months.
2006 – THE YEAR OF THE DOG
According to the Chinese calendar, 2006 is the Year of the Dog, and what better way to celebrate than to make a commitment to get more involved with PUPS! Here are a few suggestions:
• Submit articles for the PUPS newsletter this year.
• Volunteer to work on the 2007 PUPS calendar. We’ll start working on the calendar in April and need volunteers to help with design, photo selection and sales. It’s a fun project and a great way to support PUPS as calendar sales are our largest source of income.
• Volunteer to organize the Spring/Summer coffee and new member sign-up.
• Volunteer to organize PUPS members to participate in “It’s My Park Day” events.
• Get in touch with us if you have other ideas for activities that help promote PUPS’ Mission and improve Fort Greene Park
PUPS PIN-UPS
Michelle Fornoff of Photozoology (www.photozoology.com) has been busy snapping fantastic pics of dogs in Fort Greene Park, but you may still have a chance at getting your dog immortalized in the PUPS 2007 calendar. Michelle was out taking photos when the big snow hit last weekend and will be out again in late March when there are some signs of greenery in the park.
Welcome Back, Kara
Kara Gilmour is back in FGP after a 3-month hiatus, aka maternity leave. She will be working alongside Jeff, coordinating programming in the park, working with volunteers and generally helping the park run smoothly running special projects and the like. Kara has been incredibley instrumental to the re-birth of Fort Greene Park and we could not be more excited that she is back for another season.
CAMERON
Our deepest sympathy to PUPS President Kath Hansen and Alex Sniderman on the death of their wonderful dog Cam. He passed away Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 4 pm, from complications due to surgery to remove a tumor from his pancreas. Kath & Alex were lucky to have Cameron for 9 1/2 years.
Kath found him when he was just a puppy in Nashville, Tennessee, wounded by the side of the road near the Cameron School. Kath, who was driving to work, turned her car around and the rest, as they say, is history. When Kath & Alex moved to New York, Cameron quickly adjusted to the colder climes, where the winter snows thrilled him to his nub of a tail, and the plethora of found food on these Brooklyn streets was better than anything he'd had in Nashville.
He was the poster dog for the Great PUPkin, always game for dressing up, be it Big Bird, the Statue of Liberty, or a cheerleader. He was the reason two people came out one evening not too long ago to a local bar. (They fell in love, and got married.) Cam was always smiling. Like his collar said, he was a good dog. He was also a certified therapy dog, although by the time he got around to making other people's lives better, he was sick himself. And unfortunately, no dog or human could make him better.
We owe a lot to Cam. Without Cam, our PUPkins would have been a lot drabber, our snowfalls a little less fun, and the park a little more littered with chicken bones. But most of all, we have to thank Cameron for PUPS. For without this wonderful dog and his daily trips to Fort Greene Park with Kath, PUPS would not have been born. So thank you Cammie. Go, enjoy some romps in that great dog park in the sky, where you don't need a pancreas and there is a never-ending supply of pizza crusts. We will miss you.
Cameron 1996 – January 31, 2006
Don't forget you can now donate online. Keeping the popular poop-bag dispensers stocked is a continuing operating expense that needs your support. It costs approximately $16.00 to fill each dispenser. If you use these bags, or just want to contribute, please make a donation so we can continue to provide this service. PUPS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit so your dollars are tax-deductible. Donate now at fortgreenepups.org or mail a check to:
Fort Greene PUPS, Inc.
PO Box 103
542 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217