re-surfacing material.

Hi all,

I just came across this posting at Hillside Dog Run:

As part of the Hillside project that's going on right now with Parks,
they as supposed to be installing cribbing around the park to prevent
woodchips from falling into the street.

The crushed granite, or decomposed granite (DG) is soft and might be a
good solution for the small dog area. The issue I've seen (or more
accurately, smelled) with DG is that runs that have DG tend to smell
very bad in the summertime. The DG doesn't seem to handle urine well.
Woodchips seem to be a better and more natural deoderizer. Also, the
woodchips decompose into soil and are replaced. That doesn't happen
with the DG.

Also, DG is VERY expensive. There are few suppliers on the East Coast.
Garret from Thompkins Sq dog park has identified a supplier of DG in
North Carolina. The real expense come with shipping the DG--very
pricey. However, I think that's what they are doing at Thompkins. I'll
ask if it would be possible to piggyback off their shipment.

A reminder for those interested to participate in the small dog run
surface poll in the "Polls" section to the left. At this point we've
only had 10 people participating and it's an even split right now.

This was in reference to some requests to consider a different surface for the small dog portion of the main run ( it aapears to be small wood chips at the moment) Just something to consider.

Cheers,

David

Take TWO

After a lot of deliberation and talking to several people at NYCDOG, we have decided that decomposed crushed granite is the best surface to use for the dog run when done the right way. Since it really won't work on a hill, we are hoping to move the fence back just as far we can with it remaining relatively flat, installing an irrigation system and resurfacing with the decomposed crushed granite. If anyone has any questions regarding this surface and why it is so much better than everything else, feel free to email.
In the meantime, here are the FAQs about decomposed granite at Tompkins Square Run, which is switching to it as well: http://www.firstrunfriends.org/therun_renovation.shtml

Garrett at that dog run has been incredibly helpful to us in this decision process - so THANK YOU GARRETT! We owe you one.

What about the hot tub?

I think it's great to have high expectations... however at the first meeting it was revealed that a new run in Queens I believe, was quoted 100 grand just for re-surfacing a run less than halk the size of ours.

IMHO we should worry about the existing run and make it safe for our dogs to be there and have it happen before they are too old to use it.

Cheers,

David

Miro's Run

Hi Everyone! We had a Resurfacing meeting today and created a preliminary plan that includes doing the following:

-- moving the fence back on the right side of the run to almost double the size of the existing run
-- resurfacing with granite, wood chips or grass*
-- creating a separated run for small dogs with a separate entrance
-- creating a new water fountain with better drainage
-- poop bag dispensers
-- enclosed bulletin boards in both entrances
-- garbage cans in both entrances
-- a waterproof box for toys (so that they can be put away when toy-aggressive dogs come in)
-- more trees along the back edge to block the highway
-- removal of the fences around the trees that already exist
-- a shed near the existing entrance to keep shovels, wheelbarrows, and rakes for cleaning the woodchips
-- removal of dead trees and trees where the shed will be

*We think we prefer wood chips, but we are waiting to hear back from managers of other dog runs who have wood chips to see if the pros outweigh the cons

If anyone would like to add or subtract anything or has any suggestions, please let us know. We don't expect to get everything we ask for so we are creating what we see as our ideal dog run. Katie is going to be creating a landscape drawing of this and I will be submitting it to Craig to give to the Park's Department.

We also came up with the name "Miro's Run," based on the story that Andrea heard from Alyssa Bonilla. Any thoughts on this?

Karen graciously offered to be the interim Treasurer and set up our bank account. Thanks Karen!
Thanks to everyone who showed up to the meeting and a big thanks to Andrea for hosting!

Susie

Meeting TOMORROW!

Hi Everyone! The resurfacing committee is having a meeting TOMORROW, 3/18, at 2:00 PM, at Andrea's house. Anyone is welcome to come and offer their input. Our goal for the meeting is to come up with an official proposal to give to Craig Hammerman. If you are interested in coming, please email Andrea for her address: andiattack@gmail.com.

Susie

Treasurer

Hi - We also need someone to volunteer to be at least an interim treasurer asap until someone wants to take on that responsibility permanently. What we need the interim treasurer to do is to contact someone about setting up a bank account for us. We have all the information for who to contact, etc, it's just a matter of talking to the woman from NYC DOG and actually setting it up. Any volunteers? Maybe someone from the Fundraising committee?

RE: the logo, thank you for offering, Elisa. I don't really know how soon we need it. Andrea, do you know? It would be nice to be able to put it on the official proposal so it looks more professional and organized, but I don't know if that's really necessary. What do you all think?

logo

i'd be happy to work on a logo, i just need to know how soon we need it (i have a lot going on right now but am glad to work that into my schedule). and has anyone thought of a name?

NYCdog on the radio Wednesday night

Goodness, my third post of the evening.

Below is an email from the NYCdog mailing list. Please show your support and spread the word!

--------------------------------------

NYCdog representatives will be featured on the Joey Reynolds Show, WOR 710 AM Radio live at Midnight (Wed. going into Thur.), for about a half hour.

Matthew Parker, VP and head of Hillside Dogs, Bklyn; Mary McInerney, VP and head of FIDO Prospect Park, and Matt Auslander, head of Wolfe's Pond Pooches, Staten Island will be speaking for off-leash rights.

This is in response to a half hour given last week to the anti off-leash contingent led by the Juniper Park Civic Assoc. Fortunately Mary responded quickly when she heard the outrageous claims made by the other side and she got equal time this Wednesday night.

Please share with your group. Spread the word. When listening, you might want to log on to http://www.wor710.com/pages/46370.php so you can send notes of support to the show. A link is on the page.

We are two weeks from a final decision on off-leash policies in NYC Parks. We have come so far thanks to all of you. We cannot give-up now.

Robert A. Marino (Bob)
president
NYCdog.org
direct reply: Ramnyc2000@yahoo.com

Volunteers Needed!

Here are some jobs that need filling. Please post a comment if you are interested in helping out.

- designer to design a logo for our organization. We'll use it on a future website and on letterhead.
- treasurer to manage the money we raise and spend
- head of the cleanup committee to organize regular cleanup days and recruit cleanup volunteers

And soon all of us will be called upon to sign petitions, attend meetings, come to cleanup days and fundraising events, etc. Get ready for a lot of activity and good times coming up!

Thank you, Alyssa and Miro.

Hello, all! I just had a nice conversation with Alyssa, who lobbied to get our run established in 1997. She now lives in Queens. She told me that the run's surface needed repair soon after it was established, and has regularly needed fixing. It seems as if we need a better job done this time around! She also gave me the name and number of the person who was instrumental in the 2001 resurfacing and renovation. I left a phone message for him so hopefully I can find out more about our run from him and get some advice.

Sadly Alyssa's dog passed away before the run was completed. His name was Miro. When I told her I thought we should name something in the run after her, she suggested we honor Miro instead. Wouldn't it be nice to have "Miro's Fountain" or "Miro's Bench" someday? She is very happy about what we are doing and we will keep in touch with her about our progress.

Where to start!

Funny you should ask...

It sounds like we might not need a petition after all because our Community Board is already on our side. I spoke with Craig Hammerman today, the District Manager for our Community Board, and he said (note: Craig, please correct me if I'm wrong) that if we get him an official proposal for what we'd like to see done, he will ask the Park's Department for an estimate for how much it's going to cost. Then he will join us in lobbying our local representatives to provide the money (Bill DeBlasio, Marty Markowitz). He says that as long as we have a way to finance a project, the Park's Department won't have a problem with it. He also says that in Brooklyn we rarely have to raise a lot of money ourselves because our local representatives really help out. This is great news - for those who weren't at the meeting, we met several people at other dog runs in Manhattan who have been asked to raise as much as $100,000 on their own to get a run resurfaced!

From communication with other dog run members and a meeting with NYCDOG, Andrea and I have received a great deal of background research on various surfaces for dog runs. We are going to meet with the Resurfacing committee and decide on the best options and then post them to the blog when they're ready. Then we'd love if people would leave comments telling us if they approve of them or not, or if they have anything to add. I hope that sounds good to everyone.

If anyone would like to join the Resurfacing committee and have some input at our meeting, please let us know.

Thoughts on Our Approach

Susie, thanks for being the organizer for this group. I am not sure about how we should approach things, but a petition is a good start. I know that there are a few other dog runs that are well run by community groups, Hillside Dogs is one. I take my dog there a lot and I know the president of the group. I will ask him for some pointers. Is it feasible to simply get permission from the city to do our own work and then either get volunteers to help out or raise funds and hire someone. If we can convince the city that we have a plan and are capable, this may be a good way to go. Just a thought.

just a test

I'm Emily, handler of Clamour the redbone coonhound. I've been going to this dog run since we first got it--back then my husband (Mitch) and I had a ridgeback named Solomon.
Not much of an issue now, but one thing that has always bothered me is the amount of ragweed just outside the dog run. In the old days, there used to be homeless people living in it. I haven't noticed anyone sleeping there in recent years, but, come fall, the pollen levels in the dog run can be overwhelming. If we could get the parks dept to replant with something low-maintenance but less allergenic, or even do it ourselves, I think it would be a big improvement...

Additional flyers

Hi Susie,

I will make some flyers as well (probably not until next week) and distribute them in the neighborhood.

Best,

David

Advertising the run

Hi All!

I made a flyer today to post around the 'hood as an advertisement of the dog run, with a color map and everything. I'm going to try and attach it to the blog so that if anyone else also wants to post it around the streets they can. I am going to print out 10 color copies and put them in the pet stores that I go to, maybe some cafes.

I also made a small informational flyer that I am going to put in the dog run with the blog address and my email address for anyone to take with them if they want to join but weren't able to make the meeting.

Thanks for your support, everyone! It was a really great meeting yesterday and I want to thank Jalopy again for their space.

Great meeting

Next thing, I think is to create the petition. Andrea, should we work on this together? Is the logo design in process?

Hi Susie. I didn't realize that we had to sign up.....and i think that's what i just did.....but i'm not positive (you'll have to forgive, i don't really blog that much). Looking forward to working with all of you on this.
Elisa

Glad to be here!

Hi Susie,

I guess I am now able to author posts on this blog, thanks!

Posting to the Blog

Hi everyone - In order to create your own posts on this blog, not just comments, you have to be invited. If I have your email address, I have sent you an invitation through Blogger - the subject of the email is probably something like, "Susie Gersten has invited you to..." If you didn't get that email, check in your junk email folder, it might have been sorted to there. If it's not there either, let me know and I will send the invite again.

Also, if anyone sees people in the dog run who weren't in the meeting but seem interested in getting involved, feel free to get their email address and invite them to the blog! I have figured out how to make everyone who joins an official "admin," so any of you can invite people to the blog. Just go to "settings" and then "permissions" and add their emails to the invite list. I got three more couples involved last night after our meeting.

Thanks again!

Susie

Committees

Hi Everyone -

If you weren't at the meeting and would like to join a committee, here is what you do:

For Resurfacing, email Andrea at andiattack@gmail.com

For Fundraising committee, email susie.gersten@gmail.com

If there are any committees you would like to form, feel free to post your ideas on the blog.

Thanks!

Welcome

Welcome to the DiMattina Dog Run blog! If you would like to join and post, please email me at susie.gersten@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the meeting today! Check back regularly for updates, etc.

Here is a picture of Lola looking contemplative, for your viewing pleasure.

Susie