May 2007
Dear Friends & Fellow Dog
Owners,
Hundreds of families in Westchester
County were devastated by the punitive Ward Acres regulations recently passed by the New Rochelle City Council. As of April
1, 2007, hours for off-leash dog use have been retricted to the least usable and most inconvenient times of day: before 10am
and after 5pm (or 4pm in the winter). On weekends, these hours are limited to before 10am. There are NO mid-day or afternoon
hours during the week or on weekends that off-leash dogs may enjoy the park with their families.
Additionally, the New Rochelle City Council
has imposed a $50 fee PER DOG for resident use of the park. To continue their usage of Ward Acres, non residents of New Rochelle
must pay $250 PER DOG. These fees are clearly discriminatory and excessive. Three dog owners have filed a lawsuit against
the city of New Rochelle challenging these fees.
But we need your help in order to advocate on behalf of the dog owning community and our sympathizers.
On our website, www.WeLoveWardAcres.net, we are rallying the dog owning community and spreading our love of Ward Acres. As a community, we need to show that discriminatory
policies against pet owners will NOT be tolerated. Protest to New Rochelle and to your own city or town officials.
Here’s an overview of the
website and information about what you and your dog can contribute. All materials can be e-mailed to Lulu@welovewardacres.net :
BORN TO RUN DOCUMENTARY PROJECT: Our first segment, Born to Run: Unleashing the Ward Acres Community has been airing on
public access stations throughout Westchester. Our second installment is getting set to air (please see the site for air times
in your town). The complete video testimonials from the documentary
are available on YouTube and on the site. Check them out!
LAWSUIT: The complaint and a press release
are available on the site.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Submit your questions and/or answers. Help us educate the
Westchester community through these informative FAQs.
Meet Lulu & Her Friends: E-mail us a picture and brief biography of your dog!
A Walk in Ward Acres: Photo/Video
Gallery: Send us photos and thoughts about your walks
in Ward Acres.
The Ward Acres Controversy/Fair
Compromises: Here we provide a summary of the new regulations and why we feel they are unfair and punitive. Please send us any ideas you have for fair compromises, and we will post them on the site.
The Sunday Morning BEER CAN Clean-up Crew: This section details
the continuous, self-motivated efforts of the Ward Acres community to maintain
the park and keep it clean and litter-free. Send us details, stories and pictures of your efforts to care for Ward
Acres.
How to Contact the City Council: Make your bark heard! We provide
contact info for all our city officials, including a handy
one-click e-mail link that will allow you to send an e-mail to all of them at once. Please be courteous and respectful, but it is important that we let our city officials
know how devastated we are by the new regulations. Invite them to walk with you in Ward Acres!
The People Speak: Send us your thoughts and testimonials
about Ward Acres! Send us any letters you have written to
the City Council and any responses you have received, and we will post them.
JOIN THE MAILING LIST! Urge your friends to join as well. You will ONLY receive e-mails regarding our efforts to preserve Ward Acres for the whole New Rochelle
community. Also check out and join the Ward Acres Yahoo! Group
for more discussion of Ward Acres issues.
And,
most importantly, let us know about any ideas you have. We
are eager to work as a community to defend and preserve the wonderful public park we all enjoy. We hope you’ll get involved
today!
Many thanks,
Your
fellow friends and citizens at www.WeLoveWardAcres.net
