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Playgrounds Open Today, While Dog Runs and Sports Facilities Remain Closed

Dog run at Lou Lodati Park in Sunnyside (Queens Post)

June 22, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Playgrounds opened for New York City children today, but Big Apple pups will have to wait longer to play inside public dog runs.

Playgrounds reopened today as the city entered Phase Two of the reopening plan, while other defined spaces inside city parks remain closed — including dog runs and tennis courts.

Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke on the reopening at his daily press briefing this morning and was vague on why playgrounds could reopen, but the dog runs and sports facilities could not.

He said there are additional factors to take into account for ball courts and dog runs before they can reopen.

“We have a whole host of other things that we’re evaluating right now,” de Blasio said.

He failed to specify what those factors are. However, he said the dog runs and sport facilities often have a large number of people — particularly adults — congregating in a small area.

The city shuttered dog runs; playgrounds; and basketball, tennis, handball and other courts at roughly the same time in April.

De Blasio said he and his team will share more details in the coming days.

“Basketball courts, soccer fields, tennis courts, handball courts, dog runs, you name it, we’re looking at all of them.”

Astoria Park tennis court (NYC Parks Dept)

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13 Comments

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Eddie Ebola

Few things could be more of a ‘super spreader’ of disease than a kids playground. Little kids with no masks on, picking their noses, coughing & sneezing, touching surfaces with no gloves, interacting with one another, while too many parents/guardians are playing with their phones. Ever see the kids playground at the end of the day? Looks like a garbage bomb blew up inside it. That dog run is better maintained and cleaner than any Sunnyside Post troll’s apartment.

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Amy W

There is NO justifiable reason from de Blasio why dog runs should remain closed while kid playgrounds can reopen.

Dog runs and playgrounds are roughly the same size, and unlike little kids, the adult dog owners fully understand the importance of social distancing, not touching communal surfaces and wearing masks…

This is ridiculous. Passed through the park today… people are still gathering all around the park, playgrounds included without masks while dog runs remain chained up.

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Melissa

TO ALL PEOPLE BLOWING UP FIREWORKS PLEASE STOP! MY DOG HAS SENSITIVE EARS AND IT SCARES HER!

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Resident

Total moron. 10K people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge cheek to jowl for hours, but I can’t take my dog to the dog run? This is a disgrace. Time to get out of this fascist dump.

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Resident

Fascism is telling people what to think, what to do, what to read, and what to believe, and penalizing them if they stray.

This is exactly what this is.

No dog runs is just part of the much bigger, much uglier picture.

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Sunnysideposthatesme

How about you animals learn what SHARE the road means. It doesnt mean block off the entire skillman road so you flabby old geezers can walk gingerly around sunnyside hoping it gets back to its gentrifying overhyping agenda again. It means let the cars pass . If you want to walk somewhere go to a damn park

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Felicia

Me and my poodle Otis are stuck at home. We want to go to the dog run. I’ve tried to contact Rick Duro of the United Dog League of Sunnyside (UDLS) but he does not answer. Rick’s leadership during this crisis has been terrible!

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RD

Felicia the Phony, i’m always available, just not for silly trolls like you. That bored in mom’s basement? Don’t you have some chores to do?

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RD

Felicia the Phony, i’m always available for SUDS, just not for bored hobgoblins doing chores for rent $ and pop tarts in their mom’s basements while playing Fortnite with orange stained cheesedoodle fingers.

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The Dog Phase of Summer

People have been playing handball and doing aerobics classes with music blasting in Noonan Park for at least a week now.

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