In a disturbing and unwelcome development, Suffolk County Parks Commissioner Ron Foley has informed county officials and LI-DOG that off-leash activities at Coindre Hall are an "inappropriate" use of the park and he plans to eliminate such activities at Coindre Hall. Foley admitted he expects "an uproar" over his plans, but he said that the new dog park at West Hills will provide an "alternative" facility that will be "acceptable" to dog owners.[!]

     Commissioner Foley made his remarks on two separate occasions. First, on August 17th, he told the Suffolk Parks Board of Trustees, which is charged with setting policy for the parks, that "dog owners think they have a right to do whatever they want" at Coindre Hall and that Coindre Hall is "too small, too busy, and [too] an important historic asset" for off-leash activities. Click here to read Foley's statements.

     The Commissioner then followed those statements with a Sept. 7th letter to LI-DOG in which he stated that with the construction of the West Hills dog run, and a future dog park at Blydenburgh, "hopefully… we can show that your chosen activity can occur in the proper place without affecting the historic value of places like Coindre Hall or the ability for people who don't own dogs to use their parks without the impacts of unleashed animals." Click here to read Foley's Letter.

     Commissioner Foley's statements and plans are unprecedented. We never have had a Parks Commissioner say we do not belong at Coindre Hall and plan to eliminate dog owners and their off-leash dogs from the park! Moreover, the Commissioner's statements to the Trustees and to LI-DOG don't fit with reality.

     This summer passed virtually problem-free, which we attribute to our active volunteer stewardship program and our Share the Park campaign. Our volunteer stewards have done a great job of educating park users of the need to clean up after their dogs, keep dogs under voice control, and be respectful of other users.

     At the same time, our Share the Park campaign, which we ran from early March until late July, did a great job of keeping dog owners and their dogs on the big field to the left of the mansion (when facing the water) on weekends when wedding goers and other park users were likely to be in the park.

     Commissioner Foley's Sept. 7th letter to LI-DOG was in response to one that LI-DOG had sent to the Parks Dept. on August 28th describing the phenomenal success of our Share the Park campaign. Click here to read LI-DOG's letter about our Share the Park program.

     In our Aug. 28th letter, we noted that many communities across America have found that unfenced, off-leash designated areas can work and that what was particularly promising about our Share the Park campaign is that it addressed concerns raised by several competing interests at Coindre Hall, namely:

• the neighbors and other park users, in that the campaign gave those who did not want to interact with dogs access to more than half the park during two key seasons of the year;
• the Historic Trust, in that no fences that altered the appearance of the property needed to be built (we have been told by officials that a fenced run on the field to the left of the mansion is not a possibility);
• the Parks Dept., in that no funding was needed to make the campaign work; and
• dog owners, in that the campaign provided them with a designated area in which to exercise and socialize their dogs without interfering with other park users.

     We wrote the Parks Dept. that we believed the program provided "an innovative, low cost solution to a problem the Parks Dept. and local officials have been wrestling with for years-namely, how Coindre Hall can be shared equitably by its various constituents." The bottom line, we said, is:

We believe the Share the Park program lays the groundwork for a solution at Coindre Hall

     What did we get in response to this thoughtful proposal to the Parks Dept.? Our "chosen activity" is affecting the historic value of Coindre Hall and we should support the Dept.'s effort to show that "our chosen activity" can take place in places OTHER than Coindre Hall.[!!!]

     LI-DOG is responding to the Parks Dept. in several ways:
First, we are arguing that the Dept.'s stance that we somehow are damaging the historic value of Coindre Hall is discriminatory and unfair. How historic are the catered affairs in the house? How historic is the gym and the soccer clinics held there? How historic are the eight cesspools sunk under the big field to accommodate those catered affairs?

     In fact, given that the original use of the parkland surrounding Coindre Hall was a farm-West Neck Farms-dog owners and their dogs belong on that land even more than any fancy catered affair.

     Second, the Commissioner's statement that Coindre Hall is "too small" and "too busy" with other uses has no basis in reality. Coindre Hall Park is 33 acres-not small by any standard. In fact San Francisco has found that their "Green Bone" parks which are 10-35 acres in size, are ideal for creating unfenced designated off-leash areas. They have years of experience with this, and have found that they work extremely well.
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/uploadedfiles/acc/Adoption_Center/flyers/Dog%20Exercise%20Areas%20in%20SF.pdf

     Moreover, during our Share the Park campaign this summer, there often were dozens of dog owners and their dogs in the area designated for our program and very few visitors in the entire rest of the park. And, this was during the busy summer season. During other seasons such as the winter, dog owners are often the only people in the park.

     Third, the County should consider itself lucky that dog owners are such frequent, consistent users of the park. The County is having serious problems with vandalism at several of its properties. Given how large and isolated Coindre Hall is, the only reason the mansion has not been vandalized, and that the park is as safe as it is, is because of dog owners.

     Fourth, given the efforts dog owners have made over the past year to accommodate other park users and the positive impact dog owners have on Coindre Hall, it makes no sense that the Parks Dept. would seek to eliminate this very dedicated, responsible group of park goers at this time.

     In the past, members of the Alliance for the Preservation of Huntington Harbor, an alliance of civic associations around Coindre Hall, have discussed with LI-DOG their concerns that the County has a hidden agenda at Coindre Hall-to turn it into a major catering hall. If those suspicions are correct, not only will dog owners have no place at Coindre Hall, but neither will the Huntington community. If that's the case, LI-DOG will join with civic associations around Coindre Hall to fight for the Park and against the commercialization of this beautiful public property.

     In any case, LI-DOG has called on the Parks Commissioner, again, to sit down and discuss a potential solution at Coindre Hall. Our firm position is dog owners are passionate about Coindre Hall and we are not going away!!!!!!!

LI-DOG has written an official response to Foley's Sept 7th letter. LI-DOG representative Michael Marcotte has also written a response asking the commissioner to clarify some of the statements made in his letter. To read these two letters click here.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Call County Executive Steve Levy at 631-853-4235 or email him at county.executive@suffolkcountyny.gov
2. Call Parks Commissioner Ron Foley at 631-854-4984 or email him at scparks@suffolkcountyny.gov
3. Call Suffolk Leg. Jon Cooper whose district includes Coindre Hall/West Neck Farms at 631-854-4500 or email him at Jon.Cooper@suffolkcountyny.gov

     Leg. Jon Cooper has worked hard to devise a solution at Coindre Hall, so when you call his office and these other government officials, please remember, always be polite. But, tell them:

• Dog owners love Coindre Hall
• Dog owners take good care of Coindre Hall
• Dog owners protect the park from vandalism
• Coindre Hall is a BIG park that can easily accommodate dog owners and other users
• Animals ARE historic at Coindre Hall/West Neck Farm (not soccer or catered affairs)
• Dog owners have worked responsibly to create a solution that works for everyone at Coindre Hall
• Why would the Parks Dept. try to get rid of a park's most dedicated supporters?
• Dog owners will fight to protect Coindre Hall for Huntington residents, not commercial interests

Also, please help spread the word about the situation at Coindre Hall by downloading the following flyers which can be opened in Microsoft Word. Please note that the half-page flyer has two pages that should be printed back-to-back so the flyer is double sided. Click here to download the full page flyer. Click the following two links to get both sides of the half-page flyer. Side 1 | Side 2

As always, email us at lidog_news@yahoo.com with any responses that you get.

We need everyone's help to SAVE COINDRE HALL!!!