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The dog days are over — at Barge Park.
The Parks Department put up new signs forbidding dogs from entering the Greenpoint playground — mobilizing neighborhood pet owners to demand a dog park for their beloved pooches.
“I’m pretty angry,” said Greenpoint dog owner Todd Eaton, who walked his pup regularly at the Commercial Street playground until parks workers stopped him one morning two weeks ago and indicated the “No Dogs” sign.
“I walked up with my dog and they started gesticulating at the sign.”
Parks workers told Eaton that the sign went up after the city received calls about excessive dog waste.
But dog owners such as Mark Hudoba says he is vigilant about picking up his pet’s poop — and favors a higher fine for those who don’t clean up.
“There seems to be an above-average amount of poop on the sidewalks in North Greenpoint which I believe is at least partially because there is no dog park here,” said Hudoba.
Eaton and 20 of his fellow canine-lovers have formed a new pet-friendly Greenpoint group, Doggone Brooklyn, which has begun advocating for a fenced-off play area for dogs near Newtown Creek.
A new dog run similar to ones at McCarren and McGolrick Park could cost $250,000 — but Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffries said that there is no specific plan to include a dog run at Barge Park.
That said, the park is set for an extensive renovation within the next five years.
But Eaton wants the city to construct a temporary play area at the park in the meantime so his dog can poop in peace. He’s even volunteered to help maintain it.
“If we know there’s a place with wood chips, I would get to that park first thing and let my dog do its thing there,” said Eaton.
©2011 Community Newspaper Group
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