Tuesday, August 2, 2011

More Plum Beach Dogs

As we have pointed out ad nauseam, Plum Beach in Brooklyn is part of Gateway National Park, so dogs are not permitted at all on the beach from March through the summer, and must be leashed the rest of the time. And for good reason--it is a nesting area for endangered bird species. Of course--not that it would make any difference-- there are no signs. And of course there's no enforcement. Between about 6 and 7 P.M. today we saw five dogs, four unleashed and all of them running wild. Here are two:



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh get a life. That beach is disgusting and not fit for the public. Nobody uses it except dog people so just let them be.

credo-ny said...

Margaret, your comment reminds of the Yogi Berra-ism, "nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded". If you go at the right time you see wind-surfers, plenty of people wading, and bird watchers. The dog-walkers are a small minority. The area immediately around the parking area may sometimes be pretty disgusting. But even that doesn't keep people from using it. Also, the beach goes all the way to the left, and it's not at all disgusting there. That is also where a lot of the visible birds hang out, when the dogs and their selfish owners let them.

Arya.asoiaf said...

Margaret, what part of "endangered ground nesting birds" don't you understand? This is a national park! Dogs are just plain NEVER allowed off-leash at Gateway National Park. http://www.nps.gov/gate/planyourvisit/pets.htm

"Unleashed pets are at danger themselves....most of all, may threaten wildlife and habitats that the park is legally bound to protect."

Also, I recently went there (during mating season for horseshoe crabs), and although there were way too many dogs there (both off-leash and on leash), the dog owners were by far in the minority. That beach is very much used by windsurfers, bird watchers, and many others.