Lincoln Towers
Being just a country boy at heart, I'm lucky enough to live in a place in the center of Manhattan that has lots of trees and grass. The grass, though, is rapidly disappearing and being replaced by bark chips.
I live in Lincoln Towers, an eight-building complex of co-op apartments bordered by West 66th Street, West 69th Street, and Amsterdam Avenue and West End Avenue. It's really a nice place with lots of amenities.
I have a dog, and so do a lot of other people here. Also, dogs come in from outside the complex and walk here.
Some dog owners let their dogs go everywhere, even where it says, "Please, No Pets." I know the dogs can't read, but sometimes I think the owners can't either.
There were several areas that used to be covered by some sort of creeping ivy. (Not poison ivy, but maybe it should've been.) Now, these places are bare because dog owners were uncaring and let their dogs ruin it.
The management here tries to keep up with the damage done by the dogs. Every year they rope off large sections and re-seed. As soon as the new grass comes up, they open the area and let the dogs go back there. The roots never have a chance to become established.
In some areas they've just given up. They put down black liners and covered them with bark chips. It looks OK, but I'd rather have green grass than brown chips.
There is one section right down the middle of Lincoln Towers that contains buried steam pipes. The maintenance people keep trying to plant grass there, but it will never, ever, grow because it's just too warm. They never seem to get it.
One building's board was very wise. They installed an attractive metal fence about 15" high around an area where they planted beautiful flowers. Month after month these flowers stay beautiful, because dog owners don't let their dogs jump over the short fence. It's just too obvious.
One section of newly planted grass is used as a shortcut from the building I just mentioned, out to Amsterdam Avenue. Pretty soon, the old path there will reappear as people start using the shortcut again.
What the management at Lincoln Towers needs to do is erect nice metal fences around any area where they don't want dogs, or people taking shortcuts. Otherwise, stupid dog owners and pedestrians are going to ruin those areas.
The cost of the fence would be a one-time expense. (Maybe somebody has a reason for paying the laborers to replant every year. Sometimes they even work on weekends, at overtime pay.) I wouldn't even mind paying a nominal fee for a Lincoln Towers dog license.
The areas where they have just given up will stay brown. In the rest of the grassy areas, they're fighting a losing battle. The dogs rule.
Of course, next year, they can plant new grass seed again, and the year after, and the year after, and the year after......
I live in Lincoln Towers, an eight-building complex of co-op apartments bordered by West 66th Street, West 69th Street, and Amsterdam Avenue and West End Avenue. It's really a nice place with lots of amenities.
I have a dog, and so do a lot of other people here. Also, dogs come in from outside the complex and walk here.
Some dog owners let their dogs go everywhere, even where it says, "Please, No Pets." I know the dogs can't read, but sometimes I think the owners can't either.
There were several areas that used to be covered by some sort of creeping ivy. (Not poison ivy, but maybe it should've been.) Now, these places are bare because dog owners were uncaring and let their dogs ruin it.
The management here tries to keep up with the damage done by the dogs. Every year they rope off large sections and re-seed. As soon as the new grass comes up, they open the area and let the dogs go back there. The roots never have a chance to become established.
In some areas they've just given up. They put down black liners and covered them with bark chips. It looks OK, but I'd rather have green grass than brown chips.
There is one section right down the middle of Lincoln Towers that contains buried steam pipes. The maintenance people keep trying to plant grass there, but it will never, ever, grow because it's just too warm. They never seem to get it.
One building's board was very wise. They installed an attractive metal fence about 15" high around an area where they planted beautiful flowers. Month after month these flowers stay beautiful, because dog owners don't let their dogs jump over the short fence. It's just too obvious.
One section of newly planted grass is used as a shortcut from the building I just mentioned, out to Amsterdam Avenue. Pretty soon, the old path there will reappear as people start using the shortcut again.
What the management at Lincoln Towers needs to do is erect nice metal fences around any area where they don't want dogs, or people taking shortcuts. Otherwise, stupid dog owners and pedestrians are going to ruin those areas.
The cost of the fence would be a one-time expense. (Maybe somebody has a reason for paying the laborers to replant every year. Sometimes they even work on weekends, at overtime pay.) I wouldn't even mind paying a nominal fee for a Lincoln Towers dog license.
The areas where they have just given up will stay brown. In the rest of the grassy areas, they're fighting a losing battle. The dogs rule.
Of course, next year, they can plant new grass seed again, and the year after, and the year after, and the year after......
posted by Skipp Porteous at
2:32 PM
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