LI-DOG Will Succeed in Getting More Access to NYS Parks and Beaches Despite Veto of Popular Dog-Friendly Parks Legislation
When we think about 2024 at LI-DOG, it’s hard not to focus on the Governor’s year-end veto of the legislation to allow dogs in all New York State parks. It certainly was a shock and a big disappointment. BUT the Governor’s veto should not diminish what we have accomplished.
Prior to this campaign, we had never worked at the state level. When our first attempt at getting the legislation to allow dogs in all NYS parks didn’t make it out of Committee in 2023, we were told this was not unusual and that it often takes years to get legislation passed.
But there we were in June 2024, with the NYS Legislature having passed the legislation overwhelmingly—142 to 3 in the Assembly and 60 to 1 in the Senate. Sen. Monica Martinez, Assemb. Steve Stern and their staffs have to be given enormous credit for lining up that broad support among their colleagues and getting the legislation through the various committees.
LI-DOG also did a lot of work to build support for the legislation. We sent emails to all 22 Assemblymembers and 9 State Senators from Long Island making the case for the legislation and asking for their support. Each Board member then called their own State Senator and Assemblymember to ask for their support. In the end, every member of the Long Island delegation voted in favor of the legislation.
We also got more than 7,500 signatures on our petition to lift the ban on dogs on NYS beaches. The vast majority of those signatures came from Long Islanders, but we got support from all over New York State, from Rochester to Riverhead.
We also succeeded in getting Memorandums of Support for the legislation from four highly respected animal welfare organizations. This took us a substantial amount of time and back-and-forth discussion with these organizations. In the process, we developed great relationships with and, I believe, respect from these organizations. When the legislation passed in June, several told us what a major accomplishment we had achieved.
Of course, the Governor’s veto in December was a shock and a disappointment—not just for us, but for the sponsors of the legislation, our contacts at the nonprofits who had given us the Memos of Support, and our supporters who had followed our campaign. When we posted the news of the veto on our FB Group and in an email, the response was dramatic—an outpouring of anger and disappointment in the Governor.
After the veto, one of the sponsors was told our best way forward was to go back and work with the Parks Dept.; that they would look at “specific locations” on Long Island.
It might seem that we’re back to where we started several years ago—asking the Office of Parks to designate dog-friendly beaches. However, we should remember three things:
- we have broad support from elected officials on Long Island for this effort;
- we have the backing of well-respected organizations like the AKC and the NYS Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee;
- and our supporters want this more than ever.
That knowledge and the continued support of the legislation’s sponsors gives me great hope we will succeed in lifting the ban on dogs on NYS beaches on LI and getting more access to NYS parks this year.
Three additional accomplishments in 2024 bear mentioning.
First is the launch of a serious effort to get Sponsorships for our events. The goal is to get businesses and individuals more financially involved so our events are more profitable. In August, we launched a new Sponsorship Opportunities page on our website. The page provides data and information on the benefits of working with LI-DOG to gain access to our large and growing audience. The webpage is based on a handout developed by one of our volunteers, which we can also give out to businesses.
The new sponsor webpage helped us get our first $250 prize sponsor for our HowloWeen event. This was a sponsorship we featured prominently in all our promotions of the event. We also got 100 HowloWeen flyers donated by one of our event volunteers who works at a printer as a result of this effort.
Our biggest challenge is getting one or two volunteers who can help lead the effort to reach out to businesses. We will need to create a call for Business Sponsorship Volunteers for our email blasts and FB group.
The second critical accomplishment for our work going forward was hiring Localhost Websites to fix our website and become our new assistant webmaster. We were facing a serious challenge—a non-functioning website and a webmaster who was contemplating throwing in the towel because of all the problems with it.
Luckily, one of our long-serving Board Members came to our rescue. Localhost Websites not only fixed our website, but they redesigned and relaunched it so it looks great—it features lots of terrific photos of dogs–and works beautifully. Our new assistant webmaster is a pleasure to work with and is extremely competent and responsive. We are indebted to our resourceful Board Member for turning a disaster-in-the-making into a success for LI-DOG.
Last but not least is our continued ability to hold numerous, successful dog-friendly events throughout the year. I’ll let our Events Chair talk to you more about that, but suffice it to say, our nine Pack Walks and three big fundraisers went off without a hitch and people and their dogs had a great time. We are extremely lucky to have Joann Garguola’s creative and organizational skills for our events. Thank you!
For a small, all-volunteer nonprofit, we do a lot–from running a major statewide campaign to multiple, successful events. Thank you, all, for your continued dedication and work for LI-DOG. I am very grateful for everything you do!
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If you would like to support LI-DOG, please consider volunteering to help with our events, get business sponsorships, and other activities. Email us at lidog_news@yahoo.com.
Please also consider making a tax deductible donation to LI-DOG on our website at Support LI-DOG.
Thank you for your support!