Have you ever visited a beautiful place in New York? Well, there is one beautiful place that not everyone gets to see unless you are a student at Brooklyn College. This place is the Brooklyn College Lily Pond.
Created in 1935, even though its wintery white and covered with snow in the winter, the pond is stunning in the spring and summer times. The benches are filled with students who are reading a book, hanging with friends, or just watching the pond and relaxing before a class.
“What I love most about the lily pond is how beautiful and calming it is,” Nahida Mazile, 21, sophmore, said. “It’s a very romantic spot on campus.”
According to Brooklyn College’s virtual campus tour website, the lily pond is a place that everyone loves to be at. “It’s beautiful in any season, but most of all in late April and May, when the cherry trees blossom,” the website mentions.
AREAC (Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center) is the facility that takes care of the lily pond. AREAC is located on the first floor of New Ingersoll. The researchers in there study aquatic organisms and the environments they inhabit, according to their website. They also have a separate lab for growing freshwater organisms and doing experiments on them. Martin P. Schreibman, founding director of AREAC, and Robert Dickie, laboratory manager, both said that the lily pond is a “dynamic ecosystem, even though it is relatively small in size.” According to Brooklyn College’s Office of Facilities website, the pond is filled with Japanese goldfish.
If you have a friend who goes to Brooklyn College, ask him or her to get you in so you can experience the lovely, serene feeling sitting on a bench next to the lily pond. Take plenty of pictures!
Map of the Freeway Dog Park, located on arfarfrockaway.org
Dogs parks are a huge part of New York City. There are over 100 of them in the five boroughs alone. Owners take their dogs there to socialize and hopefully get a little exercise. Do you know the biggest dog park in NYC? Nobody does, but there is one dog park that could definitely be the biggest doggies park there is: The Freeway Dog Park!
The Freeway Dog Park is located in Rockaway Beach, NY. According to Zina Skachinsky, the executive director for two years of the Allied Rockaway Foundation for Animal Recreation and Fitness (ARF-ARF), Freeway Dog Park is the biggest dog park in Queens.
“There has been no official survey, but the initial estimation of the map puts Freeway Dog Park at a little over 2.25 acres. That is not an exact guestimation,” Zina said. “The only other park near that size is the Hillside Dog Park in Brooklyn. It only states two plus acres on the website. So Freeway Dog Park is definitely the largest in Queens if not in the entire city of New York.”
ARF-ARF started in 2006 when a group of dog owners from Rockaway started looking for a place to put a dog park. However, the group was faced with a lot of opposition from the locations they suggested, such as Shore Front Parkway. Finally, they were given one section of Freeway Park, which is located along Rockaway Freeway and Beach Channel Drive. Even though the park was “underutilized mostly because it had a reputation of illicit activity,” the group figured it would be the perfect location since the park is surrounded by trains (it forms a triangle) and the residents wouldn’t hear all the barking.
This is when some of the community members formed ARF-ARF and started to look after the park. In 2008, the core member of the group left for personal reasons and there was talk about turning the park into a Transfer Station. A few group members stepped in and said they would take over the group and care for the park.
“Now the park is filled with regulars and the whole community has been built around it,” Zina said. “Even though it has a long way to go in terms of amenities, the people who go to the park feel they are safer because they know the people in their neighborhood. They are surrounding themselves with familiar faces.”
If you go to the website, there are tons of photos of the dogs who frequently visit the dog park with their owners. There are also many tabs such as the calendar of events, a virtual tour of the park, news and email. On Saturday, May 21 of this year, Freeway Dog Park has its 5th anniversary celebration of “My Bark Day” which is the Parks Department Partnership for Parks Day. There were about 100 people in attendance and there were just as many dogs there as people.
“Just about everyone knew each other,” Zina said. “It’s truly a rare site to see in New York City. That’s one of the many great things that I believe dog parks can do: bring people together and form a community in a huge place like New York City where nobody knows each other.”
Some people oppose dog parks, even though this is hard to believe since there are so many and they are so popular among many dog owners.These people say that loose dog packs form and there might be conflict in the park deciding which dog gets which position, or the owners might not be paying attention to their dogs which creates potential danger, and also the dog might not be socialized enough to be around so many other dogs. There is also concern that dog parks that are too big might create dominant behavior. Zina says the main problem is overcrowding.
“Many of the runs in New York do not have separate sections for small dogs and large dogs to play so they are all in the same place and stepping all over each other,” Zina says. “The more crowded they are, the more tension and excitement there is and that’s the nice thing about having the size and space that we do. The dogs aren’t on top of each other. They have someplace to go. Smaller dog parks don’t have that luxury.”
Freeway Dog Park has a small part that is sectioned off for time outs or for small dogs who want to get away from larger dogs. Just because Freeway is a large dog park, doesn’t mean there are more problems there then smaller dog parks. “Size is not a disadvantage,” Zina said. “Small parks have the same complaints as large parks do. Responsibility lies with the individual owner.”
Also, only 86 dog bites out of around 4000 bites that happened this year were off-leash in a park. “That’s a pretty good ratio,” Zina said. Most of the dog bites happen on a leash or in the home. So this shows that dogs are not hurting each other in dog parks.
ARF-ARF provides a healthy resource to foster the fitness and social growth of dogs and their owners, according to Zina. The Freeway Dog Park satisfies the needs of dog owners and non-dog owners alike. ARF-ARF “acts as a Stuart of this park, developing it and improving it as a beautiful, well-maintained space open for all dog lovers and their friends who are willing to uphold the parks rules and regulations.” The organization also educates people on how to care for their pets and be responsible pet owners. Furthermore, they hold community events and their own events in the dog park which include “low-cost services and resources to people who may not have access to them otherwise.”
“Well-socialized, exercised dogs are well-behaved dogs and in turn creating a pleasant outdoor experience for everyone in the community,” Zina says.
Just like other parks, The Rockaway Freeway Dog Park has some improvements that ARF-ARF wants to make happen. Here are some items that are on the “wish list” besides water and lighting:
1. Install separate entrance in the small dog area while slightly increasing it. Also separate entrances on the west end and separate section used for agility, workshops and other activities (when it is not being used, it will be used as a separate time-out).
2. Install more benches (so people have more places to sit and enjoy the park and watching their dogs play). This is also good for those dogs who are getting bullied or chased. The benches provide a way to break up the tension and excitement. Ultimately, it would enhance user experience.
3. Install waste stations with hand sanitizer and poop bags with own separate waste containers.
It looks like there are going to be some good things coming up for the Freeway Dog Park, as well as for the dog owners and their dogs who go there to enjoy a wonderful experience, including socializing and exercising.
Watch the showcase (below) that I did on the Freeway Dog Park. And remember, don’t be afraid to show your dog the hottest place located on a small peninsula called the Rockaways: The Rockaway Freeway Dog Park!
Novels for your Noodle 