Prospect Park and Park Slope Miscellany

From our correspondent:

I entered Prospect Park at around 9.30 this morning (Saturday). Five minutes later, at the end of the long meadow near GAP, I was looking at some juncos on the grass when a small off leash rat dog came running up to my pit bull. The white lady owner chased after it. I reminded her that the rules were for the dog's safety and that her cute little cuddly dog could have gotten chomped if my pit bull was not a nice one.

In the corner lawn near the midwood and ravine, this joker was throwing toys for his off leash cocker spaniels. (see attachment) the dogs came running up to me and my pit bull. I was not in the mood to make a detour just to make it easier for this moron. I told him this wasn't the time or place for off leash and he should get up earlier. He said, "WHO CARES? WHO CARES??? WE'RE JUST HAVING FUN! YOU ARE MISERABLE! YOU ARE NOT HAPPY! WE ARE HAPPY!"

He got louder and angrier the further away I walked from him. He was simply too stupid for me to point out to him the likely result of a pitbull vs cocker tag team match.

I would be miserable indeed if I had vet bills to contend with because some jackass scofflaw's loose dogs ran up to us and started a fight with my leashed dog. Fights erupt very quickly and you can't always prevent them, even if you are standing next to your dog.

At the rock bridge overlooking the bridle path, I looked down to see another cocker spaniel gamboling far ahead of its owner--.off-leash. On the bridle path. Nice. The owner was far behind, yapping at a cell phone, I did not stay to get a good look at them, and it was too dark for a picture.

Finally, at the Nethermead, two owners were running four large sheepdogs, including two Puli like beasts, off leash in the shady area near the lullwater fence. (see attached pic)

There was not a PEP officer or vehicle in sight during the four hours I was at the park. Who cares, indeed.

* * * *
From an article in today's New York Times about the Ocean Parkway mall:

"We come here every day," said Muhammad Irfan, 24, who sat with a Pakistani friend. They share space on the parkway with their neighbors: Russian grandmothers eating sunflower seeds, Orthodox Jews strolling to synagogues, recent arrivals from Park Slope walking their dogs.

Not that people in the neighborhood didn't have dogs before the Park Slopers arrived. But that about sums up the fundamental conflict of values we've been talking about. It also explains why for the last several weeks, we have regularly been seeing unleashed on the sidewalks in this neighborhood, accompanied by their white owners. Incidentally, many of the neighborhood's long-time residents are black.