threat to offleash
Final
Triumph in the Effort to Save and Strengthen 12-Month Effort Achieves a Legal Victory in NYS Supreme Court and a Public Health Victory from the NYC Health Board. Cleared the Way for the Parks Dept to Amend its Regulations to Explicitly Enact a Limited Off-leash Hours Policy NYCdog
Hails the Parks Department's Regulation Amendment
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ACT TWO: Successful Effort to Amend the NYC "Leash Law" to Explicitly Permit Off-Leash Hours Policy
NYCdog
Statement Today's Health Board vote grants the NYC Parks Commissioner explicit authority to permit off-leash recreation in the New York City parks at certain locations and at certain times. The amendments also put new requirements on dog owners who take advantage of the Off-leash Hours policy, thereby further encouraging responsible dog ownership. Today's vote comes just six days following a legal victory in New York State Supreme Court where Judge Peter J. Kelly ruled that by law the NYC Parks commissioner has discretionary authority over off-leash dogs in New York City parks. In his ruling, Judge Kelly encouraged the NYC Health and Parks Departments to modify their regulations to prevent future lawsuits and to better publicize the rules regarding off-leash recreation. The New York City Health Board took the first step as recommended by Judge Kelly to modify the Health Code to clarify the authority of the Parks commissioner and to stipulate that the NYC Parks Department must establish clear and well publicized rules regarding off-leash recreation. The New York City Parks Department is now expected to begin its own rule amendment process following a similar procedure as specified in the City Charter's City Administrative Procedures Act (CAPA). That process is expected to begin in January 2007 and run through February 2007. NYCdog looks forward to working with the Parks and Health Departments to promote responsible dog ownership in New York City. Comment from Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden: "The overwhelming majority of comments received on this proposal were in favor [13,268 in favor vs 202 against]. We have devised a rule that balances our mandate to protect the public’s health and safety with the need for a formal off-leash policy for dogs in City parks." Comment from Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe: "The Parks Department looks forward to codifying the successful, long-standing "courtesy hours" policy. For the last two decades, this policy has allowed dog owners to exercise and socialize their pets in designated areas during certain hours. The daily presence of dog owners during early morning and late evening hours and fewer reports of dog bites have also made parks safer."
Background
The Health Board Public Hearing Prior to the 2pm hearing, the New York Council of Dog Owner Groups (NYCdog.org) held a news conference in Foley Square Park, across the street from the Health Department. TV crews and reporters from NY1, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, Daily News, 1010WINS, and 880 WCBS Radio attended, in addition to several other smaller news outlets. NY City Council Member Gale A. Brewer, among others, spoke at the NYCdog press conference strongly in favor of the proposed amendments. News coverage has been extensive and generally supportive of the amendments. Inside the Health Department 2nd floor auditorium, the Health Board brought the hearing to order at exactly 2pm. Health Department Commissioner Thomas Frieden, a supporter of the amendments, attended part of the hearing. A total of 39 speakers had a maximum of 5 minutes each to present oral testimony to the four members of the Health Board in attendance. The Board also accepted comments from the public in the form of emails, letters, and faxes up until 5pm on Nov. 1st. Thirty speakers were in favor of the proposed amendments. In general, the pro-offleash speakers could be categorized as either 1) representatives of dog owner groups, 2) public health professionals, 3) dog behavior experts, and 4) general members of the public who support the amendments. Representatives from the following organizations strongly supported the Health Department’s proposed amendments: the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Legal Issues Pertaining to Animals, Friends of Animal Care and Control and the Veterinary Medical Association of New York City. Moreover, former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern spoke at the hearing. Alluding to the 9 PM to closing, and opening to 9 AM Off-leash policy that he initiated twenty years ago, Stern stated that the “allocation of space and time within the parks” for both dog-owners and non dog-owners represents “common sense”. The comments were cogent, intelligent, reasonable, accurate, at times passionate, but covered the gamut of reasons why the successful 20-year Off-leash Hours policy should be preserved and strengthened by the proposed Health Code amendments:
That is why the limited hours and designated locations within City parks is necessary, and why it presents an equitable policy that is good for both the dog-owning and non dog-owning public. Having rational, fact-based, and statistically-driven arguments from health care professionals, licensed veterinarians, licensed dog behaviorists, responsible dog owners, dog owner group spokespersons, and attorneys intimately familiar with the applicable Parks and Health regulations presented a clear and strong argument in favor of the Off-leash policy and the Health Department’s proposed amendments to the Health Board. The
Opposition Prior to bringing the lawsuit, the JPCA rejected a dog run in Juniper Valley Park, which would have been the only off-leash area for dogs in the park. Instead, because the JPCA rejected both Off-leash Hours and a dog run in Juniper Valley Park, they chose to initiate a costly and frivolous lawsuit against City. NYCdog was expecting stronger arguments from the anti-amendment people. Instead, the infamous JPCA board members spent a significant amount of their allotted time haranguing the Health Board for even considering such an amendment to the Health Code. The JPCA board did their side of the debate a disservice at the Health hearing, but showed their true colors. They came across as illogical, shrill, pedantic, uncompromising, and some speakers a bit unhinged. The JPCA president, the lead instigator of the lawsuit that began this entire process, was particularly nasty to the Health Board and his arguments reflected his desperation. Ironically, thanks to their NYS Supreme Court defeat and the unanimous ratification of the Health Code amendments, the JPCA is the group most responsible for helping to clarify and strengthen the Off-leash policy. Their performance at the Health Board hearing illustrated frustration at their losing cause and chagrin at how badly their misguided lawsuit has backfired. The
Legal Basis for Off-Leash Hours The Parks Department's
Off-leash policy in designated park locations and during limited
times (9 pm to closing, and opening to 9 am) represents a reasonable
accommodation for all park users, and has been successful and legal
for 20 years. It should be
noted that the Health hearing occurred on November 1st, 2006, over
one month before the New York State Supreme Court denied the Juniper
Park Civic Association's lawsuit attempting to end Off-leash Hours
policy citywide. At that time it was not known if the Supreme Court
would actually rule in the case, because the judge was aware that
the Health Department was engaged in the process attempting to amend
the "Leash Law" to explicitly grant the Parks commissioner
authority for dogs off-leash in NYC parks. A successful Health Board
vote would, in effect, render the court ruling moot. However, despite
this, the judge did hand down his ruling on November 30th, six days
before the Health Board voted in favor of the amendments. CAPA
vs. Legislation
But
We’re Not Done Yet! The Parks Department will initiate their own rule change to further clarify the Off-leash Hours policy. Such a rule change would follow the Health Board’s proposed amendments, which call for greater awareness among the public about the limited hours and designated locations of the Off-leash Hours policy. This will likely make things absolutely crystal clear, and insure that both dog owners and non dog owners alike understand the Off-leash Hours policy. THAT’S WHY WE’LL NEED YOUR HELP. The Parks Department will initiate their own CAPA process at the beginning of 2007, and we still need your support. Your voice can be heard on how to further improve the Off-leash Hours policy, and how to make sure that both the dog-owning and non dog-owning public can safely enjoy City parks.
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ACT ONE: The Lawsuit that Threatened to END OFF-LEASH HOURS policy in NYC
The Final Outcome: A Legal Victory for Off-leash Hours Policy November 30, 2006, New York, NY: The New York Council of Dog Owner Groups (NYCdog) applauds today’s State Supreme Court ruling from Judge Peter J. Kelly denying the Juniper Park Civic Association’s lawsuit to compel the Parks Department and the City of New York to end the successful 20-year Off-leash policy (9 PM until parks close, and when they re-open until 9 am, only in certain designated Park spaces). This legal decision strongly affirms the position NYCdog has argued from the beginning— the Parks Commissioner has the legal authority to permit responsible off-leash recreation on a limited basis in New York City Parks. Today’s written decision also encourages the NYC Health Board to pass the Health Department’s proposed amendments to Section 161.05 of the Health Code (the “Leash Law”). The Health Board is expected to vote on the proposed amendments on December 5th to further clarify the existing regulations, encourage responsible dog ownership, and preserve the successful 20-year Parks limited Off-leash policy. NYCdog strongly supports the proposed Health Code amendments and encourages the Health Board to follow the Health Department’s recommendation to modify the existing regulation. NYCdog looks forward to working with the Parks and Health Department to promote responsible dog ownership in New York City. |
Background This Off-leash Hours policy is a reasonable accommodation that allows the hundreds of thousands of City dog owners to exercise and socialize their dogs in the park off-leash. The policy started before the City's first dog park was built and continues because most neighborhoods do not have a dog park (also known as a dog run). In fact, fewer than 50 dog runs exist in the City, which has 1.4 million dogs. The Parks Department typically follows local Community Board advice on the construction of dog runs, as was recently the case in Marine Park, Brooklyn. It has been the Parks Department's longstanding policy that where dog runs do not exist within a reasonable walking distance, designated NYC parks would offer dog owners limited Offleash Hours in designated locations. Former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern recently said about the Off-leash Policy he enacted 20 years ago, "it’s worked out extremely well over the many years that it’s been in place, and it’s never been challenged before now.” Click here to learn why the 20-year offleash policy is good for New Yorkers. The Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA) originally brought suit against the Parks Department in March 2006, but the judge refused to take the case. The JPCA then re-filed the case against Parks in May 2006, and that time the court granted an Order to Show Cause. What this meant for the 500,000-plus dog owners of New York City If the lawsuit was ultimately successful (which it was not), the Off-leash Hours policy would have be eliminated. That would have meant an end to off-leash exercise and socialization in Central Park, Prospect Park, Ft. Greene Park,Stuyvesant Park, East Side Park, Marine Park and many other parks where dog owners rely on the parks to exercise and socialize their dogs. A New York State Supreme Court judge rejected the Juniper Park Civic Association's case on November 30, 2006.
Analysis/Opinion:
Why the JPCA Has Brought Suit Juniper Valley Park is a magnificent 55 acre park, which belongs to all New Yorkers, and run by the Parks Department, since it was paid for, primarily maintained and improved by the Parks Dept, spending city taxpayer money, to the tune of $8.8 million dollars budgeted since 1996. But the president of the JPCA doesn't see it that way. From his perspective, Juniper Valley is HIS park, and he wants to control it. The JPCA's vitriolic statements against Commissioner Benepe stem from the commissioner's reluctance to give the JPCA carte blanche to control Juniper Valley Park. The kernel of this lawsuit is Commissioner Benepe's power as Parks commissioner to apply the rules uniformly across all NYC parks; in this case a choice to the Middle Village community to retain Off-leash Hours policy as it now exists or build a dog park in Juniper Park since there's a sizable constituency of taxpayers in the neighborhood who like to recreate in the local park with their dogs offleash, as can all other New York City residents. The JPCA postures that they are "being held hostage" by a Parks commissioner who is tyrannizing the community by forcing dogs off-leash in Juniper Park. The JPCA doesn't want either limited Off-leash Hours or a dog park in Juniper Valley Park. The JPCA president was quoted in the New York Times in April 2006 when asked about a dog park in Juniper Park saying, ''Tell me why our park has to be turned into a dog toilet." The JPCA president is determined to force power from the Parks Dept. to the local Community Board (where, somewhat coincidentally, the JPCA president also happens to be the vice chairman and believes he can control what goes on at the Community Board level.). If the JPCA is successful in their lawsuit it would mean an end to the limited Off-leash Hours policy citywide, as well as no dog park in Juniper Valley Park. The 200+ dog owners of the Juniper Park Dog Association would be defeated and not have a location in Juniper Valley Park to exercise and socialize their dogs off-leash. Ironically, just three years ago the JPCA honored Commissioner Benepe with the "2003 Community Service Award" possibly because Parks spent $1,800,000 renovating the ball fields in Juniper Park. Coincidentally, the President of the JPCA coaches baseball teams which use the new facilities. It all seemed pretty chummy. Formerly a JPCA award winner, Commissioner Benepe is now one of the JPCA's adversaries because he's telling the JPCA they need to accommodate the 200+ members of the Juniper Park Dog Association who wish to have either a dog park or Off-leash Hours in the park. It's clear that the private and un-elected Juniper Park Civic Association isn't interested in accommodating the needs of a significant number of Middle Village residents. At a recent meeting, a JPCA member who favors either Off-leash Hours or a dog park in Juniper Park was told to "shut up." By filing the lawsuit, the president of the JPCA is vindictive enough to try to take down a successful 20-year Off-leash Hours Policy that benefits hundreds of thousands of people in the five boroughs of New York City in his effort to teach Commissioner Benepe and anyone else a lesson about what will happen in "his" park. Quite hypocritically, though the JPCA claims there's such a crisis of dogs running wild off-leash and the reason the JPCA filed this lawsuit is to help save their fellow New Yorkers citywide, a recent JPCA press release states that the JPCA was willing to drop their lawsuit if Commissioner Benepe cedes his authority to build a dog park in Juniper Park to the local Community Board (of which the JPCA president is vice chairman, and which the dog park would most certainly be defeated, leaving Middle Village dog owners out of luck in Juniper Valley Park.). It has also been rumored that the president of the JPCA has political ambitions for elected office. He could also be using this issue and the lawsuit to flex political muscle and generate publicity for self-aggrandizement, possibly hoping to achieve what he would consider a political "victory" that could be bandied about to garner votes in a future election, perhaps for City Council.
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