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Out, damned Spot: Gov. Hochul vetoes bill to let dogs in all state parks
By
Jon Campbell
Published Dec 14, 2024
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Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
By
Jon Campbell
Published Dec 14, 2024
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New York’s state parks and beaches will not be going to the dogs.
Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill on Friday that would have required all 180 state parks to allow visitors to enter with their leashed dogs. The bill would have effectively overturned existing dog bans at state-owned beaches on Long Island and certain sites in the city, like Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park in Manhattan and Roberto Clemente State Park in the Bronx.
A group of Long Island dog owners had spent years pushing for the change, arguing that they should have the right to walk their pets on the beach, at least in areas that aren’t open to swimming.
But Hochul was unpersuaded. She issued a veto message late Friday night defending the state’s current dog policies, which she said allow flexibility to manage specific circumstances.
“As [the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation] currently allows dogs in certain parks and is already in the process of ensuring dog waste stations are installed, this bill would likely lead to significant confusion and enforcement issues,” Hochul wrote.
The current dog policy is on a park-by-park basis.
Some, like Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City and Hudson River Park in Manhattan, allow leashed dogs in certain areas. Others, like Shirley Chisholm State Park in Brooklyn and Jones Beach and Robert Moses parks on Long Island, ban them entirely.
In 2019, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation issued a new procedure for handling uncontrolled cats and dogs at state parks, describing the animals as an ongoing “management concern.”
“In addition to creating health and safety risks for staff and patrons, uncontrolled cats and dogs may prey on or harass native wildlife, including birds, small mammals and reptiles,” the policy reads.
But dog proponents say the ban in certain parks and beaches is overly broad**.** State lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the bill in June. It was sponsored by two Democratic Long Islanders: state Sen. Monica Martinez and Assemblymember Steve Stern.
Had the governor signed it, the measure would have made clear that fully vaccinated dogs “shall be allowed in all New York State Parks” during operating hours, provided that they are leashed and under direct supervision of their owners. The dogs could be unleashed in some specially designated areas, like dog runs.
The state would have been required to maintain dog-waste stations with biodegradable bags at each park, and the state parks commissioner would have had the power to prohibit dogs from certain areas of a park to protect wildlife or the environment.
The state parks commissioner also would have been allowed to ban dogs in buildings, swimming and sunbathing areas, on playgrounds and on golf courses — where dogs are generally banned now, even in parks that otherwise allow them.
An organization known as the Long Island Dog Owners Group, or LI-DOG, circulated a petition urging Hochul to lift the ongoing dog ban at state-owned Long Island beaches, arguing that denying recreational space to “dog owners who pay taxes that support this public parkland” is “unacceptable.”
“There is no reason New York state officials cannot find ways to accommodate people with dogs on its Long Island beaches,” reads the petition, which has about 7,500 electronic signatures.
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Kathy Hochul
new york state
Politics
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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