Dog walkers who don’t pick up the poop – beware.
City enforcement agents are planning an undercover stink operation both in and around, a local Throggs Neck park, sources close to the matter confirmed.
In the early morning and evening hours, many dog owners who walk their dogs in Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park are not cleaning up after their four-legged friends, said Pat Devine, chairman of the Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park, Inc., which lobbied for the creation of the park, alongside the Throgs Neck Expressway, in the 1970s.
The group has teamed up with Community Board 10 to have City agencies have enforcement agents issue summonses, said Board 10 district manager Kenneth Kearns.
“A lot of people do take care of their responsibilities, but a good core of people do not,” Devine said. “We are asking help from the Parks committee of CB 10, which [I believe] is going to write a letter to Bronx Parks Commissioner Hector Aponte and ask that when these dog owners are fined, they receive the maximum fine allowed.”
City agencies have responded that they will send enforcement agents into the park between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. to issue summonses to dog owners caught in the act, Devine said.
“We want this article to be a heads up to people who are walking their dogs and not cleaning up after them,” Devine said.
Since the park’s million-plus dollar renovations, red signs urging dog owners to clean up after their pooches have been posted along all paths leading into the park.
“After the Parks Department was contacted and shown pictures, they quickly responded by putting up red curb your dog signs,” said CB 10 chairman John Marano.
“Everyone should remember that the park is a memorial to veterans in the borough, and needs to be respected, he said. “Treat the park as if it is your own.”
Once word gets out – and summonses are issued – the issue should resolve itself, Marano said.
A summons for not picking up after your dog can take a stiff bite out of your wallet – up to $250.
