Dear Mr. Levy:

    This is an urgent e-mail to you regarding our distress about what we learned this weekend regarding the situation at Coindre Hall. As citizens of Suffolk County and dog owners, we understand that a "good faith" effort is underway to provide dog owners appropriate access to the Coindre Hall parkland that takes into account utilization of Coindre Hall by multiple constituencies.

    With this understanding, we were startled and troubled to learn from LI-Dog about the comportment of a Suffolk County officer at Coindre Hall this weekend. This incident, which we will cite below, does not at all characterize the good faith efforts in which we are engaged, nor does it represent the level of civility we expect when we work together to achieve livable communities in Suffolk County - even when our efforts bring together citizens who proportedly have competing interests. Please read on...

    'The officer simply reiterated that Dogs must be on leash and that the Parks police would continue to give out tickets until dog owners stopped coming there [Coindre Hall] with dogs off leash. The officer then proceeded to drive to the foot of the property where there was formerly a legal off-leash area and found people with their dogs off leash there. According to two dog owners, the officer apparently pulled out his night stick and raised it at dog owners. He then drove back up to the parking lot at the top of the hill and told one of the organizers of LI-DOG that he couldn't believe people were off-leash at the foot of the property and that, "This means war." '

    We are asking you, as County Exective, to immediately investigate this situation, and use the power of your office to bring this matter to a satisfactory resolution. In so doing, we ask you to recognize that dog owners are taxpayers and voters who have the same right to expect special parkland designation for their interests, as do groups who already enjoy parkland areas that are dedicated to their interests - such as horseback riding, fishing,hiking, etc.

    We are sure that you are aware that dog ownership is growing by leaps and bounds throughout the country and Suffolk County is included in this national trend. Parkland designation for legal off-leash dog runs is a matter that cannot and should not be ignored - for the well being of our citizen dog owners and their pets. Suffolk County has a tradition of making its parklands available to meet the diverse needs within our community. It's time to include dog owners and their pets in this tradition of parkland utilization in our county.

    We are looking forward to hearing about the actions you are taking in regards to the reports we have heard about the Suffolk County officer's conduct at Coindre Hall this weekend, and to supporting the fair, legal, and appropriate utilization of Suffolk County parklands for off-leash dog parks.

    We are looking forward to hearing about the actions you are taking in regards to the reports we have heard about the Suffolk County officer's conduct at Coindre Hall this weekend, and to supporting the fair, legal, and appropriate utilization of Suffolk County parklands for off-leash dog parks.

    Thank you for your attention to this very serious matter.  E J