In response to efforts by the Suffolk Parks Dept. to resurrect plans for a fenced dog run in the woods at Coindre Hall, LI-DOG has submitted an alternative off-leash proposal that takes into account the current use of the park by dog owners, other park goers, and the interests of other constituents at the park. If approved by Suffolk County, the off-leash program would culminate a decade-long effort by dog owners to make official their traditional use of Coindre Hall for off-leash activities. (To see exactly how long this process has taken and all the steps LI-DOG and its predecessor organization have taken to reach this historic step, click here.)

Specifically, LI-DOG proposes the creation of two off-leash areas that would rotate between summer and winter depending on other park uses and the conditions of the fields on which off-leash activities take place. During the summer (May 1 - Sept. 30) from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., and when there are events in the mansion, LI-DOG proposes that off-leash activities take place on the hills and meadow near the pond. The summer daytime program covers the time when the park is most likely to be used by other park goers, especially on the weekends. This area was originally designated for off-leash activities under a County-sponsored pilot program from 1999 until 2001.

During the winter (Oct. 1 - April 30) and before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m., when park users other than dog owners are few, LI-DOG proposes that off-leash activities take place primarily on the upper field in the center of the park. LI-DOG believes that the regular presence of dog owners and their unleashed dogs when the park is not used by others is a deterrent to vandalism and other undesirable activities in the park and surrounding neighborhood. During the winter, the lower field is often saturated with water and unusable.

LI-DOG noted that the key to making the off-leash program successful at Coindre Hall was good signage and good rules. In addition to common dog park rules such as clean up after your dog, remove aggressive dogs immediately and closely supervise children under 12, LI-DOG strongly recommended the addition of a new rule at Coindre Hall: Dogs must be under voice and sight control of their owner at all times. Failure to maintain control of one's dog is subject to a fine.

The initial reception LI-DOG has received to its proposal from Parks Commissioner John Pavacic is positive. The Commissioner told LI-DOG that he found the proposal "intriguing" and in a May 15th article in The Long Islander, he was quoted as saying that there are not a significant number of designated user groups at Coindre Hall like there are at other parks, so LI-DOG's proposal, if approved, would help define use of the park by dog owners as "one of the anchor uses for the site."

Still, in a recent meeting, the Commissioner warned LI-DOG organizers that there would be modifications to the proposal, based on the County's plans for Coindre Hall and community input. Local civic groups are expected to weigh in on the proposal and some individuals already have made their opposition to the proposal known-despite LI-DOG's best efforts to address their concerns. To read some of the comments made in a recent Long Islander article by those opposing dog owners at Coindre Hall click here. The proposal also will need to go through a lengthy review process that will include the Parks Trustees and the Council on Environmental Quality and Historic Trust.

LI-DOG's proposal is based on the group's successful Share the Park campaign, which it ran at Coindre Hall on weekends from March 2006 until August 2006. During the campaign, LI-DOG asked dog owners to keep their dogs on the western side of the main field, leaving the majority of the park available for other users. That field had been suggested as an off-leash area by neighborhood groups. The campaign worked better than anyone could have imagined. Dog owners and their dogs remained in the designated area even when there were other activities on the main field.

LI-DOG noted that the idea of designating off-leash areas that are segregated from other users by natural borders such as hills and woods and times and seasons is nothing new. Such officially-sanctioned off-leash programs exist in hundreds of parks throughout the U.S. including Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City; Winslow Park across L.I. Sound in Westport, Conn.; more than a dozen parks in Brookline, Mass.; parks in suburban Minneapolis, Minn.; more than two dozen parks in Portland, Ore.; and dozens of parks and beaches throughout California. Some of these officially sanctioned off-leash areas have been in existence for 20 years.

In its proposal, LI-DOG argues that a fenced dog run in the woods at the foot of Coindre Hall is no longer a viable option. Because of its location, the run cannot be any larger than 1.5 acres. That is smaller than either of the two new dog parks at West Hills or Blydenburgh both of which are almost two acres and are already heavily used. Moreover, because a fenced run cannot be visible from the mansion, the run is located in what one former Parks Commissioner called the most undesirable part of the park. A survey of dog owners in March 2006 agreed. Less than 10 percent of dog owners favored the location of the fenced run in the woods. The vast majority of dog owners-80 percent-said they would favor off-leash areas located either in the former pilot program area or the side field where the Share the Park program was run.

Given the near certainty that a 1.5-acre fenced dog run is too small; that there is agreement that the location of the run is poor, and that it is now possible to create designated off-leash areas under Suffolk County law, the fenced run is no longer viable and a new off-leash solution is needed at Coindre Hall, said LI-DOG.

LI-DOG believes its proposal has benefits for all the park's constituencies:

• Dog owners finally will be able to exercise and socialize their dogs off-leash, without the threat of fines and without being herded into an undesirable, small dog run.
• Neighbors and other park goers will have access to the majority of the park during times of the year when they are most likely to use the park.
• Neighboring homes are not disturbed because off-leash activities take place in the fields at the center of the property
• Off-leash activities on the upper and lower fields provide security for times when the park and mansion are minimally used or unoccupied
• By avoiding fencing or other permanent modification to the property, the off-leash program does not affect the Historic Status of the property in any way
• The County and Town avoid unnecessary expense. The costs of the program are minimal-a few signs and regular ground maintenance is all that is needed.

The bottom line, said LI-DOG, is the proposal represents a low-cost, innovative solution to an issue that has bedeviled the park for years-how Coindre Hall can be shared by its various constituencies. In the end, it is critical that a solution at Coindre Hall meets the needs of dog owners. Dog owners have historically been the largest users of the park. A solution that is viewed as fair and reasonable by this majority, while at the same time meeting the needs of other interested parties at the park represents a win-win solution for everyone.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Given signs that there will be some opposition to our proposal, it is critical that Parks Commissioner John Pavacic hear from dog owners that after 10 years it is time to come to a solution at Coindre Hall that meets the needs of the majority of the park's users, as well as other interested parties at the park. Please call or email the Parks Commissioner at 631-854-4984 or scparks@suffolkcountyny.gov and let him know that we appreciate his encouraging comments and we are counting on a solution that maintains access to the park by tax-paying citizens and that recognizes the critical role dog owners have played in keeping the park safe for the rest of the community.

Thank you for your support!

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