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Nosy Neighbor: Are dogs allowed on the turf at Pier 25?
C. wrote: “What can we do to help our neighbors who use it as a dog run to respect the turf on Pier 25? I’ve experienced a few beyond imagination moments for a neighborhood with ample places to walk dogs as well as dog runs.”
C. said the dogs are often off-leash, and in at least one case chased her down. “The entitlement is so frustrating,” she said.
From the Hudson River Park Trust: Dogs are not allowed on lawns or turf fields. Dog mess is hard to clean out of turf in particular, and disrupts field users.
I will note that dogs are NEVER allowed in Washington Market Park.
Also, Hudson River Park does not share the NYC Parks rule, that allows dogs off leash in some parks between 9pm until the park closes and before 9am. “Our long, skinny configuration bounded by Route 9A and the Hudson makes it unsafe for dogs to be off leash,” a park rep said. “Dogs have ended up both on the highway and in the river. One dog entered the water around Pier 40 and was rescued by Pier 25, the most positive outcome to a bad situation.”
Here are the local dog runs:
Tribeca Dog Run
Hudson River Park at Pier 26
North End Dog Run
Battery Park City at Warren Street
Warren Street Dog Run
on Warren between Greenwich and West streets
Sirius Dog Run
Battery Park City’s Kowsky Park Playground
West Thames Dog Run
Battery Park City at Little West Street
15 Comments
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These are probably the same pet owners that use Whole Foods for their dog walks. Or let their dogs into tree wells that are fenced off. The entitlement is despicable.
Same as you see over at South Street Seaport next to the ships. Signs that say “Dogs must be leashed” yet there is often a large group of people letting their dogs run loose like it’s their private dog park get together. Usually about 15-20 dogs of all sizes at a time. Annoying.
So many off-leash dogs, dogs on the lawns/turf, and even dogs in the kids playgrounds at HRP. HRP really needs to step up enforcement and start fining people. It’s bad now and will only get worse if they don’t do anything. Enforce the rules. Same goes for coffee shops and restaurants who let people in with their dogs. It’s gross.
I have never seen enforcement of dog related issues any where in HRP, or for that matter BPC. The blatant disregard for rules that make a city livable has trickled into every aspect of daily life. Bikes on sidewalks, pot in parks, dogs everywhere — it’s no longer “scofflaws” but an entire generation filled with entitlement. Until someone has the guts to call it out, and the will to enforce the rules, nothing will change.
All of this framing of dog owners as entitled is rich. What you’re really arguing for is a version of public space where only your preferences count and dressing it up as rule-following and civility. Entitlement, hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty all rolled into one. People who don’t pick up dog waste or who have a breed of dog that understandably incites fear running around off leash can be executed for all I care. But giving a shit about dogs standing in line with you at a coffee shop or stretching their legs in public spaces and falling back on rules as justification for your outrage is pathetic. Oh, dios mios, the rules! The rules!
Get a life. I’ll take dogs over kids screaming, crying, coughing, sneezing, leaving food everywhere, running into people on all manner of contraptions, stepping on my brand new kicks — and definitely over any idiot adult who looks past all of this to complain about the entitlement of dog owners. Give me a break.
As of June 2025, a landmark Brooklyn court ruling officially recognized dogs as “immediate family” members, not just property, for legal purposes in New York. So if your children can run around the grass so can my dog . And if you want a private backyard, go buy a house.
The ruling only said dogs can be considered family if leashed and their injury causes emotional distress to the person walking the dog. The ruling does not permit the behavior you propose.
I know this comment is supposed to be provocative but it’s actually just embarrassing
Sadly, this is a real problem.
To the owners who say “but no one is using the turf now” I would ask them why they think that is. Dogs are wonderful, but caregivers are not going to bring small children to play in a dog park. People don’t want to exercise at the risk of being chased, or in my case, run into, full speed, by a dog while I was sprinting.
At one point I started suggesting that there is a dog park within sight – but that only elicits dirty looks.
The entitlement is embarrassing. Tribeca has abundant outdoor spaces, dog parks, and the entire west side highway path.
Please leave this precious patch for it’s purpose – for sport.
“People don’t want to exercise at the risk of being chased, or in my case, run into, full speed, by a dog while I was sprinting.”
This sounds like a problem unique to a particular type of sprinter, one who should probably give it up. Seriously, if you can’t manage the risk of sprinting which, yes, includes maybe having to navigate a dog or kid in your vicinity, stop doing it. You’re not cut out for it. You can blame that on a dog owner or recognize that it’s entirely your own problem. Red pill. Blue pill. The choice is yours.
While i respect that each person should have rights (dog owners and non-dog owners) to live freely, my issue is that bad dog owners actions hurt the quality of life for non-dog owners. by unleashed running, allowing them to bark non-stop or run in front of others, and of course, the dreaded dog waste that litters the city.
Can’t something be done to stop this ? please
And whatever happened to “Curb your dog”?
Act responsibly whether a parent or a dog owner. When you see a sign outside of a supermarket (Whole Foods) that clearly states No Pets, why do you think it is ok to bring your pet into a store that sells food? Every time I am in WF there are at least 4-5 pets roaming the store as their owner grocery shops. This is not responsibility, it is entitlement.
Love our dog, and love that we have access to all that HRP offers. But the notion that we alone should get to decide that the rules do not apply to us is both selfish and entitled. To the extent that we believed it SHOULD be true that dogs are permitted to use the turf areas (which we do not really believe), we have the ability to petition the case such that the rules would apply universally. Simply deciding that a belief justifies your right to a behavior that has been deemed detrimental to the greater good is nothing more than being a holier than though free rider…
“Simply deciding that a belief justifies your right to a behavior that has been deemed detrimental to the greater good is nothing more than being a holier than though free rider…”
One, you might want to run some historical civil rights characters through your thesis to see how it holds up before you decide it’s ready for publishing. I’m just saying.
Two, in the current instance, people are free to deem dogs on the pier turf is detrimental to the greater good. You’re free to follow that rule. I’m free to ignore it. And enforcement officers are free to fine me for it. That’s the contact. Don’t like it? Then heed your own advice and go make your case to stiffen the penalty so that I give two f’s. Literally, your characterization of the person accepting the risk of penalty as free riding suggests a lack of understanding of nearly everything that’s propping up your belief system. Lazy ideas like that are the problem. You’re the free rider.