Astoria Dog Park Opens To Public After Months Of Delays

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A long-awaited dog park in Astoria opened Thursday after months of delays.

The bone-shaped dog run on Hoyt Avenue has separate areas for large and small dogs, spray hydrants and drinking fountains with dog bowls.

The $1 million play space was scheduled to open in April, but the city ran into issues with the contractor responsible for the construction, according to City Council Member Costa Constantinides.

(The project, called Triborough Bridge Playground C, also includes a basketball court.)

"It was hugely frustrating for everybody," Constantinides said of the delay, which he said was caused in part by unresolved drainage issues.

But, he added, "We weren't going to open a subpar park."

(Keep up with news in Astoria and Long Island City by subscribing to Astoria-Long Island City Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Local dog owners have been pushing for a dog run in the neighborhood since at least 2014, when several launched an online petition for the cause, Astoria Post reported.

Constantinides, who owns a Bichon Frise named Coco, signed on to help get the needed funding.

Astoria's dog owners have since been anxiously awaiting for an enclosed play space for their pets.

"It's really great to be recognized as dog owners," Astoria resident Madison Stratton said Thursday at the dog run.

Her three-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, Hamish, gets overheated in the summer, so she said she was thrilled to see that the new dog park has spray fire hydrants.

The NYPD has been ticketing dog owners for letting their dogs off leashes in Astoria Park in the months leading up to the scheduled opening of the dog run, Astoria resident Deborah Alexander said. Dogs must be on a leash at all times except in dog runs and other designated areas, city law says.

But Astoria, until now, has lacked a dog run; the nearest dog ones are in Long Island City and Sunnyside.

Alexander was in the new dog run Thursday with her Great Dane, Winston. She and three other dog owners there that afternoon expressed a sense of disbelief that it was finally open.

"I've been sitting here for the last hour, afraid if I leave it's going to close," Alexander said.

The dog run is located on Hoyt Avenue between 23rd and 24th Streets.