Resident Dog Owner Collaborates With RIOC To Find Solution For Roosevelt Island Dog Run Disgusting Muddy Mess

The temporary Roosevelt Island Southtown Dog Run becomes a muddy mess for days after it rains. Last Saturday, after Friday's rain,  Roosevelt Island dog owner and advocate Scott Piro found the South Dog Run to be:

...  so disgusting. Look how disgusting this dog has gotten. Look at his underneath. He was clean when we got here.... I hate it here. Look at my feet, they're disgusting. People have to go home in their apartments after this...

Mr Piro suggested possible ways to fix the muddy South Dog Run in this video.



and shows us the aftermath cleaning up the dog.

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I walked client Titus yesterday. But the new south dog run on #rooseveltisland is such an unusable mud pit that Titus became filthy. . Luckily his building has a “pet spa” where I could wash and dry him. . The whole thing took 90 minutes instead of the expected 1/2 hour. Hardly worth the $20 I earned. . I feel bad for the people in Southtown, for whom this is their primary dog run. In the north, I had a dry run to use. These people have this mud pit.

A post shared by ScottyP (@scottpiro) on Jan 27, 2019 at 6:55pm PST

In response to my inquiry about the muddy South Dog Run, Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Parks and Recreation Director Mary Cuneen replied:

Our maintenance team will install wood plank edgings along the west perimeter of the dog run. Also, they will dig a small trench in front of the wood where they will tamp down gravel. This will create a route for the water to run around the dog run instead of through it. Although it will not solve the mud problem in its entirety, it will alleviate much of the run off from the slope above.

I followed up:

Do you know when the new permanent South Dog run will be available for use?

Ms Cuneen answered:

I do not have that information at this time.

Mr. Piro said about the new South Dog Run:

Steve Noone told us before he left that “Petey’s Dog Run” would be ready by October 2019.

and added about Ms Cunneen:

Cunneen has been a responsive and helpful partner for the island’s dog community. She has advocated for additional budget to make upgrades to the northern dog run, which are expected in the next few months. She has also followed through on feedback to lengthen fencing in the new south run, eliminating gaps between fence and ground that were escape hazards for smaller dogs. She is also following through on promises made by Steve Noone to erect a shade structure for the southern run before summer, so the animals can be comfortable.

Take a much deserved congrats Scott Piro for getting action and a possible solution to the muddy Southtown Dog Run.

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Tooting own horn. The wheels of government turn slowly — except when ScottyP takes the case❗️ . Shot a video of unusable mud pit of a dog run, sent it to my frequent collaborator at @riocny, the Parks & Rec director, then sent the video and gave an interview to local blog. . Blog contacted RIOC President, then heard back from Parks & Rec — they brainstormed an engineering idea with maintenance crew to reroute water runoff around the dogpark. . In one day, I accomplished something❗️

A post shared by ScottyP (@scottpiro) on Jan 28, 2019 at 2:47pm PST