Off-Leash @ Prospect Park

limestonekid

Am I losing my mind?

When did the off-leash hours at Prospect Park revert back to after 9:00PM and before 9:00AM?

I swear that they use to be after 5:00PM and before 9:00AM.

opossumqueen

There were after 5 "privileges" at the Nethermead until 1-2 years ago (I don't know exactly b/c I didn't have a dog then) when off-leash became law.

From the Fido website (http://www.fidobrooklyn.com/) which is an excellent resource for local dog owners:

"One of FIDO's most Frequently Asked Question: how come we lost the 5 p.m. Winter and Summer off-leash privileges?

Where the difficulty lies is that when the Health Department code was rewritten, "9 p.m. to 9 a.m." language was dropped in minutes before the vote was taken. Up to that point, there had been no mention of specific hours; hours that were to have been left to the discretion of the Park's Commissioner. The way the code is now written, exceptions cannot be made without a change in the law.

We have sense that Prospect Park's Administration is still on our side, that the value of responsible off-leash goes a long way to make Prospect Park a safe healthy place for dogs and their people as well as other park goers."

pitu

The long meadow used to have 5pm --> from November to March, and it was actually posted that way. Then I guess that other stuff that FIDO reports happened.

Total freakin drag in the winter when nobody wants the meadow but the beasts.

I don't go to the Nethermead very often, but I thought there was still informal off leash there in the early evening. It used to be the year-round spot for earlier off-leash, usually for bigger dogs.

limestonekid

Thank you. It's good to know that I'm not losing my mind.

I took my dogs over last night around 6:30PM, walked into the long meadow and let them loose. Then I noticed that there was no one else out there with their dogs off-leash (unlike when I ride laps in the morning and the place is jammed).

Thankfully I was able to get them back on the leash before I got busted.