This one\u2019s foul territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cEntitled\u201d pet owners have taken over a popular Brooklyn ballfield \u2014 forcing some Little League teams to flee the site amid the leftover slippery dog waste and dangerous holes dug by off-leash pooches.<\/p>\n
The 3-acre Green Central Knoll park, which sits on the border of trendy Bushwick and Williamsburg, has been attracting dozens of dog owners for the past few years because of the massive size of its athletic field, locals told The Post.<\/p>\n
The canines\u2019 owners have been dogged in their illicit use of the space \u2014 despite posted \u201cno pets\u201d signs and fines frequently issued to them by city Parks Department officers.<\/p>\n
Three dogs make themselves at home with their owners at a Brooklyn ballfield that\u2019s supposed to be off-limits to them.<\/p>\n
While the sports field was supposed to be locked up when it hadn\u2019t been in use by permitted leagues, the pet owners \u201cabused the fields for off-leash dog play, and waste was being left behind\u201d during a brief period when fences were left open during construction, a Parks rep said.<\/p>\n
Hoards of pet owners \u2014 some hailing from the area\u2019s new luxury developments with private dog runs \u2014 took that as a signal of fair game and now descend on the field daily to use as an unauthorized dog run by climbing through a fence that is ripped and still open.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still hear from our park manager on a somewhat regular basis that they literally have to replace locks and fences that get cut because there are folks that feel entitled to use that space for their dogs, even though it\u2019s abundantly clear that that is not what that space is for,\u201d said Bushwick Community Board 4 District Manager Celeste Leon to The Post.<\/p>\n
Other locals have raised concerns about the off-leash pets posing a threat after two children, including a young baseball player<\/a>, were bitten this spring<\/a> at nearby parks.<\/p>\n The community-board manager noted complaints of pet owners harassing Parks staff, too, as well as reports of ringworm and kids slipping in waste and twisting ankles from holes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dogs dig really big holes in the floor,\u201d a young ball player said, noting he\u2019s come \u201cclose\u201d to injury, too, multiple times.<\/p>\n Scofflaw pet owners enter with their pooches through a ripped fence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dogs dig really big holes in the floor,\u201d a young ball player said, noting he\u2019s come \u201cclose\u201d to injury multiple times.<\/p>\n Pooches must be leashed at city parks unless during specified off-leash hours, according to the city\u2019s website. <\/p>\n At the dog-free athletic field, the scores of loose pooches could result in owner fines of up to $150 a pop \u2013 but for some pet owners, it\u2019s a small price to pay for coveted green space.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nowhere for them to go without walking half an hour,\u201d argued a 34-year-old dog owner who only gave her first name, Rachel.<\/p>\n A French Bulldog strolls through a shaded seating area at Green Central Knoll in Bushwick.<\/p>\n She was fined for $150 in February \u2013 and continues to frequent the park. <\/p>\n \u201cYou come here because there\u2019s no other place to go,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The closest dog run in the neighborhood is a 20-minute walk to Maria Hernandez Park, which The Post previously reported has been riddled with issues such as flooding, scattered rat poison and dangerous barbed grass.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt sucks,\u201d said 33-year-old resident Ben Lee, who has been fined $100 from Parks, of the Hernandez Park run. \u201cIt\u2019s gravel, a lot of people bring dogs that are not super friendly.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the only patch of grass in the area,\u201d Lee said of the ballfield.<\/p>\n A 38-year-old resident named Alex said, \u201cThe dog parks are pretty underwhelming at most places, and they\u2019re very small.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can be a stressful space for them or a dangerous place.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of the dog owners, during what would be off-leash hours in Prospect Park and Central Park, [treat] before 9 a.m. as off-leash,\u201d Alex said. \u201cSo we kind of stick to that \u2014 or try to, at least.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The \u201cNo Pets\u201d sign above the park\u2019s athletic field is routinely ignored. N.Y.Post\/Nicole Rosenthal<\/p>\n