Pooch Owners Howl Over 'Dangerous' Washington Heights Dog Run

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A dog run in Washington Heights is more like a smelly, dangerous and unkept cat box than it is a safe place for pooches to play and exercise, uptown canine owners told Patch.

Seventeen Upper Manhattan dog owners who spoke with Patch all shared similar frustrations about conditions within the J's Dog Run in J. Hood Wright Park near West 175th Street and Haven Avenue.

The owners' complaints center around a lack of funding and maintenance within the dog run over the last decade that has led to holes, flooding, standing water, dusty conditions leading to dog's developing UTIs and the gravel floor level eroding to the point that concrete slabs and cinderblocks have become dangerously exposed.

“The dog run is generally disgusting," Spencer Badesch, a pooch owner who lives near the park and has taken a leading role to advocate for improvements, told Patch.

"It’s very smelly, it’s very dusty, it’s like 10 years worth of stuff that hasn’t been replenished.”

The current iteration of the dog run in J. Hood Wright park opened in 2012, but has not received any capital funding from the city since the project was completed, a Parks Department spokesperson confirmed to Patch.

The park's lack of upkeep caused the dog run's gravel floor to deplete over the years. It has now hardened and infrastructure that used to be blanketed by the gravel is left exposed.

Washington Heights residents say the exposure has led to dogs breaking bones and a woman ending up in the emergency room.

"Broken bones have happened because the gravel has dissipated so much and there are these benches that have these cinder blocks that are now exposed, so there have been a few dogs who have made a sharp turn, smacked right into them, and gotten hurt," Badesch explained.

"We are not asking for much, solely a safe environment where the dogs can run and not worry about them ending up with broken bones," Paola Cabrera, who won't take her dogs to the run anymore, told Patch.

A different pooch owner, Amanda, who only provided her first name to Patch, detailed how at the end of December she was knocked over by a dog in the run and hit her head on the side of an exposed cement slab within the uptown dog park.

She was rushed to the emergency room and had to get eight staples in her head.

"I believe that if the park had been properly filled, I would not have been injured; however, since the slab was exposed several inches, my head hit the corner," Amanda wrote in an email to the Parks Department that was shared with Patch. "The doctor told me the cut went down to the bone exposing my skull. Please repair this dog run before someone else gets hurt!"

A photo from shortly after the J. Hood Wright dog park opened in 2012 compared to what the same area looks like as recently as Tuesday shows how much more the cement platform juts out as the gravel has dissipated over the years.

In the days after the injury, the Parks Department set out a circle of orange cones around the cement platform.

The amount of repair that has taken place over the last six months to a year is a point of frustration for the Washington Heights dog owners.

On Aug. 12, after outreach by Badesch, Council Member Carmen De La Rosa and Northern Manhattan Parks Administrator Jennifer Hoppa came to the J. Hood Wright Park to hear from the community.

Specific frustrations were voiced.

Shortly thereafter, a collection of improvements and changes were made, but to the level of which the dog owners say was only a "drop in the bucket" of what needed to be done.

"We have been working hard to make improvements to this dog run, and we will be leveling and spreading new gravel in the coming days, in addition to our recent barrier installation to minimize gravel migration," a spokesperson from the Parks Department told Patch on Tuesday. "The key to a successful dog run begins with the community group that maintains these spaces, and we will continue to take their feedback seriously and welcome any recommendations."

The spokesperson pointed to the following actions that have already been taken to improve the run at the request of the community.

• A single-pallet gravel delivery that arrived on Tuesday that will be spread in the coming days.
• A single-pallet gravel delivery shortly after the August meeting.
• The demolition of a rotten wooden pergola.
• Added trash cans and more frequent garbage pickup.
• Repaired water service.
• Removal of exposed nails from planters.

The Parks Department added that it would help for the dog park regulars to create an official organization that advocates for the run.

De La Rosa's office also pointed to the repairs that have already been made.

"The Council Member was made aware and visited the site with community members on August 12, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. and identified many issues – some of which have since been resolved – and she and our Office have maintained extensive contact with both community stakeholders and the NYC Parks Department representatives since then," a spokesperson from Carmen De La Rosa's office told Patch.

De La Rosa's office added that she has "committed" to funding more improvements within the park, and that the avenue of Participatory Budgeting was presented to the stakeholders as a way to secure funding.

The Uptown elected official additionally has asked and helped organize a Community Board 12 meeting on March 14 to discuss the issues within J Hood Wright Park.

The Council member's office also listed that a fix to benches as being "complete," and while she did oversee fixes to broken slabs on the metal and wooden seats, Patch found on Tuesday that the holes and exposed cinder blocks still existed.

Despite the Parks Department and De La Rosa both bringing up improvements that have already been made in the last six months to the run, the dog owners voiced frustration over the scope of these improvements and the difficulty with the Participatory Budgeting process.

“After much back and forth last year, we managed to secure a single delivery of gravel for the park; to our dismay, it was perhaps 1/100th of the amount needed to rectify the safety situation," dog owner Kimi Traube told Patch.

In respect to the Participatory Budgeting process, Badesch, who has attempted to spearhead the process, told Patch that he has run into issues after being told that gravel wasn't considered a "permanent" fixture, meaning that it wouldn't qualify for the funding.

"We're just frustrated about how challenging it has been to find solutions," Badesch told Patch.

Stories From The Uptown Dog Owners

Karla Baez - "Can't Spend More Than 20 Minutes In The Dog Run"

"We’re a community of dog owners that feel forgotten and lied to. The state of the J Hood dog run is horrible. The soil hasn’t been replaced in 10 years and is the equivalent of a giant unattended litter box.

We are forced to take our dogs into this space to exercise them. Most of us live in one bedroom apartments and don’t have the luxury of a backyard , and this dust is toxic for us and our dogs I personally have sensitive skin and can’t spent more than 20 minutes in the dog run or I develop uncontrollable urticaria."

Andrew Hartman - "Becoming More Dangerous"

"The dog run at J. Hood Wright Park needs some repairs and refurbishment. It is a much-used facility that is becoming more dangerous by the day for our pups to exercise in.

Our gravel is very easy for the dogs to dig, causing many holes. These large holes create unsafe conditions for the dogs to run in, and for humans to trip as well. One of the benches is on the gravel area where dogs like to dig, and a corner of the bench has fallen into a hole on many occasions. This happened to me once while I was SITTING on the bench."

Mariana Redlich - Keeping Her Service Dog Safe "Is A Number One Priority"

"I was a frequent visitor of the dog run until it recently has been in such a dangerous state. My dog, Malibu, is 2.5 and serves as my service dog. She is task trained and accompanies me everywhere.

Keeping her safe is a number one priority to me because she helps to keep me safe everyday due to a medical condition. I have lived in Washington Heights for almost five years now and the dog run was my safe space during the pandemic.

I found such a community there — people who are so generous they have come to fix things in my apartment and bring home cooked meals for me to enjoy. I know that me and Malibu both miss our daily visits to the dog run.

I hope to see the park reach its full potential. This community is committed and desperate to see chance."

McKenzie Martinez - "I Would Love To Have A Dog Park I Am Happy To Take My Dog To That Is Safe But Right Now I Don’t Have That"

"My dog Lana and I have lived near this dog park for a year so we have never seen it actually look good.

The dog park has contributed to a head injury, dogs falling and hurting themselves on the exposed cement, and dust getting into our and our dogs lungs anytime the dogs play. The stagnant water that accumulates behind the benches is also a issue.

I would love to have a dog park I am happy to take my dog to that is safe but right now I don’t have that. I appreciate you potentially helping all of us dog parents from the run."

Paola Cabrera - "I Was Born And Raised In This Neighborhood"

"As dogs that enjoy running, this place has become an immense safety hazard. It began with the horrible gravel that causes so much dust, both of them can’t breathe properly once they start playing around. Despite this, I still tried taking them. However, then the issues with the benches over the summer happened where dogs started getting their paws stuck and one dog even ended up with a horrible fracture that left her in a cast for weeks.

We are not asking for much, solely a safe environment where the dogs can run and not worry about them ending up with broken bones. Vet bills alone are incredibly expensive and you can only imagine how expensive Vet Hospitals are. This is a low/medium income community. I was born and raised in this neighborhood and the fact that I have to leave it and travel by train or car to the nearest park for these two it’s highly inconvenient for myself."

Rachel Richardson - "Part Of The Reason We Moved To This Neighborhood Is For Our Social And Active Dog"

"But since she has had reoccurring lung infections due to the dust at this run, her vet has told us she cannot be exposed to, let alone play hard in, an unsanitary environment. Our lives are greatly impacted by not being able to use the run. We are part of this community and our dog needs the activity and stimulus but she cannot use the dog run which is right across the street!

All we want is a safe run for our dogs and their humans. I use an inhaler rarely but I do use one after being in this run.

Before the bench gaps were filled in a dog’s leg got stuck in one and broken. I was there when that happened.”

Teresa Cervera - Dog Walker

“I am a dog walker who has seen the dog run deteriorating over the ten years I’ve been serving the community. Some of my dogs need to run daily and the gravel is so low that we get flooding that can last days even in light rain and the dogs are terribly dirty and soaked. All we’ve been asking the local politicians is some gravel to bring it back to normal and safe levels.”

Ranzi Tian - "Then We Noticed My Dog Started To Show UTI Symptoms"

“It’s a short walk from our apartment so we started going there everyday. It was the greatest thing for my high energy terrier puppy.

Then we noticed my dog started to show UTI symptoms. We continued to go J Hood but she was not getting any better. With suspicion about the unsanitary situation we stopped going completely for 3 months. After being absent for so long the first night we took her back to J Hood she caught UTI again!

As much as we love the community Jhood dog run is so neglected it has became a major safety/health hazard for all of us! When you walk by you can smell urine odor, the dog run is filthy and dusty.”

Eva Lerner — "The Community Is Special"

"It has been a favorite spot of ours since we adopted her in early 2020 - the community is special, to say the least. Very warm, friendly, engaged, and committed to supporting one and other and the neighborhood.

It is very clear that the park has been ignored for years, and the concerns are not simply cosmetic - there are real safety issues involved."

Steven Sanchez - "I Have Personally Volunteered My Time To Help"

“Standing water has become a big issue, many dogs have become sick due to poor drainage. There is a portion of the run that has exposed concrete.

I have personally volunteered my time to help with taking out the trash from garbage bins that do not have any cover, when it rains the poop mixes with the rain water and you can imagine how heavy those bags are plus the smell is unbearable.”