V-I-Pups, pay up! Fans of the recently renovated Hudson River Park Pier 84 dog run now have the option to buy into a new loyalty club — but it will cost you a few bones.
Dog parents who choose to invest between $50 and $500 gain access to the Hudson River Park (HRPK) Four-Legged Friends program, which offers a “special, dog focused membership” that offers “an exclusive event, a HRPK dog tag” and inclusion in the park’s “Good Dog” gallery.
The club offers multiple levels of entry — including the “Park Pup” membership for $50, where dogs receive the branded HRPK dog collar tag and invites to the park’s Spring Membership party, the “Hudson Hound” for $100, which includes an “ulti-mutt” branded nylon dog bowl, sneak peeks on park projects and additional merchandise, and the “Best in Show” for $500, where members receive all of the previous benefits as well as an invitation to an “in-person mixer for dog lovers.” Hudson River Park has previously hosted events like Barktoberfest, Paws for Happy Hour and a Hot Dogs! Reception.
For those who want to earn an extra treat, the HRPK offers a “Dog Run Ambassador” volunteer program, where members of the Four-Legged Friends club are asked to recruit additional members and campaign to local pet stores to raise money for the “pawsitive community” and additional maintenance at the park.
Both programs are bolstered in part by local petcare brand Bond Vet, who will soon provide free waste baskets and dispensers along the “dog friendly” areas of the park. HRPK does not allow dogs on its lawns, but does permit pooches to play at dog runs and while leashed on its pedestrian walkways.
“Bond Vet’s generous donation of waste bags and dispensers will help keep Hudson River Park clean and healthy for both our two-legged and four-legged visitors,” said Noreen Doyle, President and CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust. “The dispensers will be easily accessible at the multiple dog runs located across our four-mile footprint and will surely be appreciated by Park users.” Bond Vet has pioneered the program in the wake of their newly released Encyclopoodia, which advises pet owners what to look for in animal waste to determine the health of their dog.
Hell’s Kitchen may already be a little too well-acquainted with dog poop — residents complain that they are constantly dodging landmines on neighborhood sidewalks. Manhattan Community Board 4 has requested additional enforcement of New York’s pooper-scooper laws, which fine dog owners who leave unwanted “gifts” in public spaces.
But while you may be eager to grab a few free doggie bags courtesy of Bond, if you’re not quite ready to join the Four-Legged Friend program, you can still take your dog to Pier 84’s dog run, as well as resident clubs 555TEN dog run rooftop (10th Ave between W 40th/W41st St), the West rooftop dog run (11th Ave bw W47/W48th St), the Silver Towers Dog Run (W41st bw 11/12th Ave) the Dewitt-Clinton dog run (11th Ave between W52nd/W53rd St) and Astro’s Dog Run.
I helped build that dog run on 41st and 10th Astros dog run, named after the man who started it originally. I have pictures and video of it when it first opened
I was free back in the day, then we had a key from the community board.