Community Dog Park To Receive A Much Needed Facelift

You wouldn’t know it from the layers of snow but underneath all the white stuff is an uneven concrete surface that many dog owners would love to see replaced. Fixing up the DiMattina Dog Park, on Hicks and Hamilton streets, south of the ballfield, would save many paws from painful cuts.

City officials agree. In July, Councilmember and Brooklyn Borough President allocated $450,000 to renovate DiMattina. Late last year, members of Community Board 6, as well as Parks Department employees and residents, met at the park to take a look at the quality of the space.

DiMattina dog park was Brooklyn’s first official dog run in 1997 and has been a popular place ever since. According to CB6 District Manager Craig Hammerman, the renovation is long overdue.

“This is a dog run that is in great need of more than some TLC, it needs a fully new surface to be installed," he said. "The original one...was never quite adequate to do the job properly."

James Aridas, who helped propose the original dog run, and the Carroll Gardens Dog Owners Group coordinator, couldn’t agree more. The surface was called “experimental,” and failed miserably, he said.

“On the surface it looked really good. The dog park was really nice,” Aridas said. “Shortly after it opened because dogs like to dig, they started digging. And they dug. And they dug and they had to get the ground resurfaced again.”

Aridas added that when the time came to put a new surface down they asked for a different type, but their request was denied.

“The surface has basically come up. It has become dangerous for people and their dogs.”

Andrea Vaughn, the Dog Owners Group coordinator, worked with Aridas and other members of the community to bring awareness to the park, which is how they got their funding for the renovations.

But while the snow may be becoming a hassle for humans, Vaughn said it actually makes the park better for our four-legged friends.

“It’s great now. There are dogs that are there now that usually will not run on the surface because it cuts their paws,” she said.

Although fixing the surface will take up the bulk of the budget, the remainder will go towards further improvement, Hammerman said.

“They’ll stretch the money as best they can.”

The group would also like to see increased lighting, a shed and an extension of the park for smaller dogs in the unused space next to it. While the park is great for the livelier dogs to run, jump and play, a separate area for the less active dogs might bring even more dog owners to the area, Vaughn said.

“During his [Vaughn’s dog] first three years we were there every morning, all through the season he needed to run and he needed to wrestle and he couldn’t have had that without the dog park,” said Vaughn.

It will be some time before the community will be presented with a preliminary design for the park, said Hammerman. He estimates that it will take the rest of the year before the public can chime in and contribute to the park's look and functionality. Then the Parks Department will hire designers and be responsible for executing the construction, which can take another 18 to 24 months.

Until renovations begin, dog owners will continue to use the park where as many as 20 dogs at a time come to play.

So far, the response from the public has been positive.

“They’re ecstatic," said Hammerman. "They were thrilled to hear the news that the elected officials have decided to reinvest in the facility.”

Carroll Gardens resident Michael Coogan and his dog Milo come to the park at least once a week.

“I think it [the park] would be better if there was dirt or grass or wood chips like the one down by the Brooklyn Bridge,” he said.

David Zeitlin who moved to the neighborhood two and half years ago comes to the park with his dog, Ruthie, almost every day.

“We’re real regulars here,” he said. “[Ruthie] loves it. She just likes socializing. She’s not as social when she’s on her leash so when she’s off her leash she’s much better behaved and she likes to sniff around and chase balls.”

Like Coogan, Zeitlin also looks forward to surface changes.

“The one thing that is a little subpar in my mind is the concrete. It’s really uneven and there’s a lot of stones and rocks and loose pieces of concrete and stuff. I can’t imagine that it’s really good for the dogs,” he said.

Ardias agrees. And he and his group are going to keep a watchful eye to ensure their dogs get a safe area to play on.