Information about the West Village Run:

 Name/Status

West Village D.O.G. Run – Public, But Membership Required

 Location

Little West 12^th Street between Washington Street and 10^th Avenue

 Hours

24/7

 Underfoot

Asphalt Paving

 Features

Eight benches, water hose, drinking bowl, awnings

 In-Charge

Tracey Sides Tel: (212) 807-0093.  Email:  wvdog1@aol.com

 Manager

West Village Dog Owners Group (WVDOG), 41 Bethune Street, New York, NY 10014

 Maintenance

WVDOG members maintain the facility.   Membership is open to everyone and costs $40.00 per year.  The annual membership consists of 300 plus families and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis every spring.  Due to space constraints, the number of memberships is limited in order to maintain a safe facility and comply with insurance requirements.  If membership becomes fully subscribed, WVDOG maintains a waiting list of prospective members.

 Comments

The West Village Dog Owners Group was founded over ten years ago with the purpose of establishing off-leash recreation facilities for dog-owners and their pets.  Due to the lack of public parks in the West Village, WVDOG located potential dog-run sites, lobbied public officials and Community Board 2 for the space, then built, insured and operated the dog run without any public funding.  They are now in their third location in the West Village, having been previously relocated from Pier 52 and then 10^th Avenue and 15^th Street. 

This is a membership run; you need a key to gain access.  All members must provide and update proof of vaccinations.  Since the run is not located in a public park, the membership fee is necessary to cover the run’s operating expenses, including liability insurance to indemnify the property owners from any potential lawsuits.

WVDOG has long been advocating the inclusion of permanent off-leash recreational facilities throughout the new Hudson River Park.  For the past several years, group members have been attending community meetings for the park design and submitted a proposal to the Hudson River Park Trust for a permanent dog run to be included in Segment 4 which stretches from Clarkson Street to Gansevoort Street in the West Village. The Trust listened, and a new run has been constructed at the southern end of Segment 4.