Starting Saturday, Residents To Vote On New Dog Run At Parade Ground

Have you ever just yearned to run free?

Well, if you’re a dog in our neighborhood, it’s not so easy to do. That may change if residents vote next week to approve the dog run that has been proposed for the southwest corner of the Parade Ground as part of participatory budgeting (PB) sponsored by the City Council.

Residents of the 39th (Brad Lander) and 40th (Mathieu Eugene) City Council districts will be able to greenlight funding for the dog run — they can select up to five projects among a wide variety of capital spending proposals made by their neighbors.

Participatory Budgeting Vote Week runs from Saturday, March 26th to Sunday, April 3rd. You can vote in your district, or at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Find out what’s on the ballot in your district, and how to vote here.

The cost for the proposed dog run is $405,000, which would be shared between Councilmembers Lander and Eugene, and Borough President Adams. The project has already been approved by the Prospect Park Alliance and the Parks Department, said Sal Garro, president of the Kensington Dog Run Association.

There has been a lengthy effort to find an appropriate space for a dog run in our area, Garro said. The beauty of the proposed spot is that it is centrally located, is not being used, and would not interfere with off-leash hours in Prospect Park, he added.

The entrance to the dog run would be along the east side of Coney Island Avenue, a little to the north of Caton Avenue, Garro explained.

[PB projects include physical improvements to schools, parks, libraries, public housing, and other public and community spaces. The 44th (David Greenfield) and 45th (Jumaane Williams) City Council districts are also participating in PB.]

The dog run will serve the neighborhoods of Kensington, Windsor Terrace, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Ditmas Park, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Park Slope, and Boro Park, says the Kensington Dog Run Association.

That’s a lot of dogs!