Clinton Hill Dog Run

Based on some recent e-mails I've received from the Clinton Hill Dog Run Google group I'm starting to get very concerned about the fact that part of Steuben Park (located at Flushing Avenue and Steuben Street) is going to get converted into a dog run.

One e-mail I received stated that it was pretty much a "done deal". How can something like this be a "done deal" when there haven't even been any public hearings held on the matter?

Why do these people feel the need to take away already scarce park land and turn it into a dog run when Fort Greene Park is so close?

As a resident in the Navy Yard/Wallabout area I do not view Steuben Park as under utilized. (The main reason for the selection of Steuben Park.) In fact I feel quite the opposite. On weekends and holidays Steuben Park is heavily, heavily utilized by those members of the neighborhood who are more than likely not represented by members of the Clinton Hill Dog Run group and have probably never been consulted by them.

If Stueben Park is turned into a dog run where will the families in the community that utilize Steuben Park for their family BBQs, birthday parties and holiday celebrations go?

To me the following sentence from the most recent e-mail I received smacks of complete arrogance and totally discounts the neighborhood families who do utilize the park:

We may want to ask the planners / designers of this dog run (at the parks dept? whomever they end up being) to reserve some grassy area for people to sit in and picnic in next to the dog run but without fido sniffing their bbq.

It's obvious from a statement such as that above that those in favor of turning Steuben Park into a dog run have never been by the park when the pinatas hang from the trees, the netball court is laid out or the moon bounce/bouncy castles are set up? Even if only half of the park is converted into a dog run these families will no longer have the space for their activities.

Stueben Park is the de facto backyard for many families in the neighborhood and before any further steps are taken to "move forward with Steuben Park" I think that there need to be some public forums held on the matter and that our local elected official will take into consideration those families that do utilize the park for their family gatherings.