On June 14, at a press conference at Coindre Hall, Suffolk County Leg. Jon Cooper (18th Legislative District) announced the formation of the Coindre Hall/West Neck Farm Citizens Advisory Committee. The committee is designed to come up with a vision for what the park will be like in five or 10 years. Two people from the Huntington Dog Owners Group, Barbara Buscareno and Michael Kahn, will serve on the committee, along with 13 other people who represent local neighborhood groups, the rowers association, the Suffolk County Parks Dept., the Historic Trust and the Town of Huntington. Barbara LoMoriello, who is Jon's chief legislative aide, and Tracy Bellone, who is deputy commissioner of Suffolk County Parks, will chair the committee.

    Given all the competing interests that want Coindre Hall for their own uses, serving on the committee will require negotiating skill and intelligence-qualities that characterize both Barbara and Michael! Still, it's important that they represent our interests accurately, so please e-mail us or come to our next meeting to let them know what your vision is for Coindre Hall in the future.

    As a result of the press conference, Newsday is expected to publish a story within the next two or three days discussing the situation at Coindre Hall and the formation of the advisory committee. Barbara Buscareno has been interviewed for the story.
Note: The story was published on 6/26/05.

OTHER NEWS:

    Last week, we got a call from Leg. Cooper telling us that he had just finished speaking with Leg. John Kennedy of Smithtown, in whose district Blydenburgh County Park is located. Leg. Kennedy told Jon he would like to sponsor a resolution to establish a dog park in Blydenburgh Park! This would be great as Blydenburgh is very large (627 acres) and Leg. Cooper thinks we could get a large dog park there. Leg. Cooper intends to co-sponsor this bill.

    Action Needed: We need people to get petitions signed in Leg. Kennedy's district asking for the dog park. That means going to pet stores, vet's offices, and other places dog owners visit to gather signatures. We need 50 to 100 people in Leg. Kennedy's district to call or e-mail his office to get him to make this commitment. Please e-mail us or come to our next meeting to begin the fight for this potentially incredible off-leash area!

    Also, we need people familiar with Blydenburgh to tour the park with us and help propose appropriate areas for off-leash activities. Again, come to our next meeting or e-mail us if you know Blydenburgh!

    This initiative from Leg. Kennedy combined with the news a couple of weeks ago that Lou D'Amaro, who is running for Leg. Paul Tonna's seat (17th District), has pledged to make the expansion of the dog run at West Hills Park his first priority if he is elected, shows we are on our way toward creating more off-leash areas in Suffolk County!

    Action Needed: We need dog owners who use West Hills dog park on a regular basis to meet us at the park and help us come up with proposals for an improved run! Please contact us by e-mail or come to our next meeting.

    Of course, the proposed dog run at Coindre Hall remains our top priority! At this point, we have not been contacted by the town or the county parks dept. that construction of the run is imminent-which is great. We are trying to be good, responsible users of the park and let everyone in local government and the media know that we believe the proposed run will be too small for the number of dog owners who use the park now, that we prefer a better location for a fenced-in run, and that ultimately we are working toward an off-leash area within the park that will provide us with ample opportunities to enjoy the park as we do today.

    We cannot stress enough the importance of everyone at Coindre Hall, West Hills Park, and any other location where dog owners congregate becoming involved with H-DOG and Friends of Long Island Dog Parks in our effort to change the law that does not permit off-leash activity anywhere except in a fenced-in run. We cannot mount a campaign to get back our right to run our dogs off-leash without people volunteering to gather signatures, write letters, make phone calls, and do whatever else is necessary to make this happen! Now is the time to fight for what you really believe in!

    Action Needed: Come to our next meeting on the first Thursday of each month, at the Huntington Public Library at 7 p.m. in Huntington Village to join forces with other dog owners!

    As always, keep in touch by e-mailing us at lidog_news@yahoo.com.