TCDOG Update

Editorial in the Ithaca Times on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005
Is Ithaca going to the dogs?

The seemingly endless debate over a dog park in Ithaca could have been resolved when New York state offered dog owners two to three acres of fenced-in land exclusively for off-leash dogs. But, this being Ithaca, instead of fetching the offer, owners pooh-poohed the state for not offering enough space.

City Clerk Julie Conley Holcomb explained that several years ago, Common Council used the city-owned land behind the state-owned plots at the Allen H. Treman Marina as part of a pilot program for a potential dog park. However, the program included a sunset claus, officially ending the program well over a year ago.

So now, dog owners who take their pets off-leash anywhere in the city (or Tompkins County for that matter) aside from their own property are breaking the law. And last weekend proved they would be ticketed for it.

For more than a year, dog owners in Ithaca who wish to run their dogs off-leash have been battling a boat owner from Broome County who believes that dogs should remain on leash, abiding by the laws in the Allen H. Treman Marina area.

Dog owners have used the open spaces in the Treman Marina as a de facto dog park for decades, even naming the area the "Ithaca Dog Park" on locally operated Web sites. Though a state park, there is city-owned land situated behind the state-owned property.

Turning a blind eye, however, has proved to be a poor choice on the part of the city and the state. There is little that can be done when a complaint is made forcing state park police to ticket. As one dog walker who frequents the park put it, "we don't have a leg to stand on" when it comes to arguing that Treman is an off-leash park.

According to a popular dog-park adocate Web site, www.ithacadogpark.com, the "Ithaca Dog Park," as the Treman Marina area is known, "has for 30 years been a favorite place for dogwalkers." The site, and numerous activists interviewed by the Times, said that, until one marina user began voicing complaints, authorities have opted not to enforce current laws that make it illegal to exercise dogs off-leash on any public land in Tompkins County.

It is time for someone to take a stance. Either Treman and the area around it is or is not an off-leash dog park. The city and state cannot continue to waver, ticketing only when upset boaters call the police. This Thursday, City of Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson will meet with city, town and Tompkins County officials to find what Holcomb calls a "comprehensive solution" to the problem.

We urge Peterson and others to work quickly in making a decision once and for all. Either there is a dog park in Ithaca or there isn't.

From the looks of it, dog owners blew their best shot at "free" land by turning down the state's offer as "not good enough." But if another opportunity arises from the meeting of local elected officials, large or small, dog owners should take what they can get.

Contact TCDOG at info@tcdog.org.