When no ordinary hydrant will do!
The pandemic not only saw the dog population dramatically increase but in a city like New York, an overcrowding of public places to walk or exercise your furry friend. In NYC, if there is a problem, there is also an entrepreneurial way to find a solution and make money in the process. As the NY Times says “When no ordinary fire hydrant will do,” the City offers an array of members-only dog parks, with annual fees that can range from free to $2,200.
Washington Square Dog Run, a public dog park in the West Village is frequented by over 100,000 dogs per year – a number that is double the pre-pandemic count. It makes sense that dog parents would be looking for alternate, non-public, non-crowded spaces. Private dog runs offer an alternative to the city’s 84 public runs and “in true New York style, there are a range of options, from no-frills to fancy.”
Here are a some of the member only dog parks:
- The SoHo Grand Dog Park
Soho Grand Dog Park - Annual fee: $795 for non-guests; free for hotel guests
- The West Village D.O.G. Run, on Little West 12th Street, is a no-frills park. As simple as has been it has been in operation for over 30 years. The price: Annual fee: $245
The Mercer-Houston Dog Run - Annual fee: $60; $30 for seniors, 62 and older
- This is another no-frills downtown, dog park. It offers a fenced-in concrete area, with a tree, concrete ramp, bone-shaped plastic pool, and a hose. It is a membership-only run, open to the public.
- Astro’s Dog Run
- Annual fee: $40
- Located in Hell’s Kitchen NYC, the park sits on a triangle-shaped patch of land between lanes of traffic near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel; it’s an area that would otherwise be unusable. It is clean, well lighted and pleasantly outfitted with flower pots and tennis balls, Astro’s is rarely crowded.
- Jackson Heights Canine Recreational Wonderland
- Annual fee: None
- Jackson Heights Canine Recreational Wonderland, in Queens, and offers offers something Manhattan parks cannot: lots and lots of space. It occupies half a city block on land donated by the New York City Department of Transportation.
- Membership is open to all. Some of the features include “tubes that dogs can run through, benches, solar activated lighting and a rain barrel volunteers fill with fresh water for the dogs.” There are also separate areas for big and small dogs.
Source: [New York Times]