Plum Beach and Nethermead

Brooklyn's Plum Beach, down past the Belt Parkway, is a prime feeding area for migratory shore birds. It is not a designated off-leash area, so dogs must be leashed at all times. But that does not stop many dog owners from unleashing their pets to chase the birds. Here are some stills and videos taken over the past year.





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The Post article obviously changed nothing. Why should it when its author can't tell the perpetrators from the victims? From our correspondent:

At 6 p.m. there was a dog owner with 4 dogs on the Nethermead. Only one was leashed. Fifteen minutes later there were 5 unleashed dogs on the Nethermead. As I was watching, an unmarked car drove up, stayed for about one minute then left. I noticed that the owners left the leashes attached to their dogs, so they could quickly grab them if they saw any patrols. At 6:40 there were 10 dogs on the Nethermead, most not leashed-- or the leash was not being held by the owner. When the unmarked car returned, everyone scrambled to run after their dogs and grab the leashes. The officers in the car did nothing.

The dog owners still behave as if they own the Nethermead after 5pm, monopolizing the majority of the meadow. There was a small group of soccer players sitting on the hillside on the south end of the field - not playing soccer. In addition, when the patrol car passed the dog beach at 6:25pm, they ignored a dog owner whose two dogs were clearly unleashed, despite the fact that there were dozens of little kids nearby. So much for undercover patrols giving out summonses. I may follow them around again in the future and videotape them not doing their job.