COURIER L 10 IFE, MARCH 15–21, 2019 PS
THE RAID: Offi cers with the Parks Department’s Parks Enforcement Patrol ambushed dog
owners at Carroll Park on March 3, according to the pet parents. Remko de Jong
DOGS
the dogs need space,” said Carroll Gardener
Shayna Wellington, who also received
a ticket for walking fuzzy buddy
Sam off-leash. “There must be a compromise,
even if it’s just early morning
DISTRIBUTION
pact study as offi cials moved forward
with their plans to revitalize the commercial
shipping hub at the neighborhood’s
South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
Work at the massive site will begin
in about two years, and start with the
demolition of the current FedEx Ship
Center at 20th Street and Third Avenue
and more than 30 other nearby
buildings, none of which are residential,
according to Milanaik.
The builders will construct the
distribution center under the area’s
current zoning law, he said, so their
scheme will not require city approval
via the public Uniform Land Use Review
Procedure .
The developers claim the forthcoming
facility will create new jobs
on-site and in the surrounding neighborhoods,
but Milanaik said it is too
early to determine the exact amount
or types of jobs that may open up, adding
that the builders will keep locals
in the loop about the project’s progress
and employment opportunities.
“As we get closer to the start of the
demolition and redevelopment phases,
the development company will coordinate
with the local community to keep
them informed as the project starts
and progresses,” he said.
The top staffer of local Community
Board 7, District Manager Jeremy
Laufer, said the panel does not have
any information about the distribution
center beyond the details the developers
publicly shared when they
closed the deal to buy the land.
And one of the facility’s builders is
not new to the area. DH Property Holdings
honchos in 2017 purchased a fouracre
plot in nearby Red Hook from
real-estate fi rm 601 West Companies —
the same company that sold them the
Third Avenue land this year — where
they plan to build a space the size of six
football fi elds for e-commerce tenants,
according to a Real Deal report .
Continued from cover
hours.”
Parks Department offi cials ordered
the Sunday raid, which agency patrolmen
followed with another ambush on
Monday morning, in response to recent
complaints about locals breaking
Carroll Park’s leash rules, according
to department spokeswoman Maeri
Ferguson.
And there are no further stings
scheduled, said Ferguson, who added
that park police commonly patrol onleash
parks during the peak walking
hours before 9 am.
The sudden change in enforcement,
however, is a break from what De Jong
said was an unspoken understanding
between dog owners and the park offi
cers, who would routinely show up
at 8:55 am and give folks a fi ve-minute
heads up to leash their mutts and
scram instead of ticketing them.
“They would be there at 8:55 am,
waiting until 9 am, so everybody knew
to leash their dog and leave,” he said.
And as along as pups behave, there’s
no reason they shouldn’t get their own
time to play, according to a Cobble Hill
mom, who claimed to never witness
any problems with unleashed pooches
at Carroll Park.
“The park is for everyone; we
should accommodate both parents
and dog owners,” said Lucy Ham, who
frequently visits the recreation space
with her son. “The dogs are never in
the way of the kids at the playground,
they stay in their own area, so I don’t
mind it.” — with Maya Harrison
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