Condo complex residents in Babylon Village upset over 'noisy' dog park and want it moved

A group of residents in Babylon Village feel their neighborhood has gone to the dogs — literally.

Some residents of the Whalers Cove condominium complex are upset over a dog park located directly across from their homes and want it moved. The park, which includes a fenced-in dog run that is locked at night, is located at the end of George Street in Hawley’s Lake Park. Residents said the barking from the park is loud and incessant and is impacting their quality of life.

"I don’t understand why it has to be there," resident Jo Poio told the village board.

The dog park has been at that location for 13 years, but Poio said that since the pandemic it has grown more popular and there are more residents working from home.

Earlier this month Poio and her neighbors turned out to voice their complaints at a board meeting, speaking of unmonitored and unleashed dogs roaming outside the fenced-in area. They said they had called village code enforcement and even Suffolk police to no avail. Several residents said they were considering moving.

"I cannot sit outside because I hear dogs barking, I cannot open my windows because dogs are barking," said resident John Montalbano, who said he is a dog owner. "It’s incessant, it’s insufferable and this should really be relocated to a place that’s more centrally located."

Resident Susan Long, who has lived in Whalers Cove for more than 30 years, told the board that the barking keeps her sick husband awake.

"We’ve lost the solace of our homes," she said. "This is so unfair. I have cried so many times because my husband is so sickly and he can’t sleep in his own house."

Residents said the barking violates the village noise ordinance and more should be done to enforce the law.

"This dog park is our next door neighbor," Long said. "If you had a next door neighbor that had a dog who barked constantly, you’d have a fit."

Two residents at the meeting spoke up in favor of the dog park, including one who lives in Whalers Cove and says she purchased her home because of the park.

"It is a great resource that some of us need," said Noreen O’Brien.

The village has another dog park about a half mile away off of Locust Avenue which does not abut a residential area, Mayor Mary Adams said. She said code enforcement has received about 10 to 20 calls in the past seven months on the George Street park, which she said is "a very popular dog park."

The village has ordered a six-foot stockade fence for the park but after residents said this would not solve the problem, Adams said she will hold off and talk to the board on next steps, including possibly moving the park.

"We’re going to take the matter under serious consideration," she said.

Babylon resident Susan Valenza, who brings her dog Zoey to the park monthly, told Newsday that she has seen as many as 20 dogs there at once and "a lot of people don’t even pay attention to their dogs." Given the complaints, she said the village should move the park to the south end of the field farther away from homes.

Michael Glynn takes his dogs Hershey and Onyx to the park almost daily for needed socialization.

"I’d be pretty upset if they were to close it," he said.

But he acknowledged how loud the park can get, noting that he lives a couple of blocks away and when there are a lot of dogs he can hear the barking from his deck.

"I can see how it can get noisy for them," he said.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.