<br /><h2 style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 4.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">The Most Unsafe Parkfor Dogs in NYC</h2><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 4.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-right: 4.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Manhattan isknown for its beautiful parks and how well they’re maintained, and there’s nobetter example than Central Park, which will always receive priority from thecity because it’s a destination point for tourists.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-right: 4.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">But there’s a park in Northern Manhattan that stretches from 190^thStreet to 200^th Street where half the park is high on a hill, andthe lower half runs along Broadway, and residents here don’t understand why thelower half is so hazardous, especially for dogs. There are fundraisers andevents held in the pristine section of the park, and by that I mean the ‘Top ofthe Hill’ where flower gardens and beautiful paths line the way to the historicallysignificant Cloisters, a tourist destination, but little is done to the ‘LowerSection’ where invasive weeds, broken glass, poison, and overgrown meadows are a staple for the taxpaying residents who live here.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-right: 4.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the years local residents have volunteered, worked alone, andwritten to Parks in an effort to gain clarity on the dangers of the lowersection of the park. The answers we receive from Parks couldn’t be morepolitically worded to evade the truth; that it’s not a priority. We’re toldthat over 10,000 plants have been planted in the lower area, though we’re not sureif grass could be considered a plant. As residents of this area, we understandthe need to keep The Cloisters looking magnificent, but there’s no reason therest of the park should be so blatantly shunned.<o:p></o:p></span></div><style>
For those of us with dogs, we have our hands full dodging the dangersof this stretch of park, and those dangers aren’t the typical assaults andthefts you might assume, but from the park itself.

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<style>since Sandy hit our shores several years ago. Apolite answer, yet the gardeners here pay no mind to this plant.
Round Up: Ifwe’re lucky, we happen to see a paper sign that’s been taped to a rock wall orfence that indicates poison has been used, though we’re not sure where because onerandom sign doesn’t seem to match the areas where we witness employees spraying,meaning many areas are not marked at all. Many a dog owner has learned to recognizesickness in their dogs that coincides with the roundup, or better yet, aMonsanto pesticide that is carelessly sprayed throughout the park. Dog ownersin our area have lost their furry friends to illnesses they can’t explain, and manynotice diarrhea and illness in their dogs after eating grass that grows alongthe paths, where paper signs are not posted.

 Bicycles. Wehave hills here, and it’s a cyclist’s playground. Problem is the cyclist’s whizby at ridiculous speeds, always choosing to whip in-between crowds and peoplewith dogs on leashes. But a cyclist can’t always see a leash and we’re oftencaught off guard, and that means we’re forced to drop the leash, grab our pets,or jump away in a quick response to a speeding bicycle. To say this is lifethreatening for the dogs is a no brainer, but it’s threatening to humans aswell; humans that have been taken away in ambulances after being slammed intoby kids on bicycles. We understand Mayor de Blasio doesn’t believe childrenshould begin their life with a record, so we’re told that nothing can be done,an answer that would seem to come from the White House instead of a local park.Sadly there is one little girl who was slammed into by a young cyclist, who,last reported, has brain damage from the impact. I can’t help but wonder which life-pathMr. de Blasio chose for her.


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Johnny Walker is a NYC resident and avidanimal lover.