High-Tech Dog Houses Must Go, DOT Tells Brooklyn Business

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A small crew of disappointed colleagues drove across Brooklyn late Thursday night, loading 40 centrally-heated, dog-sized houses into the back of two trucks.

“It just feels like a shame,” said Todd Schechter, CEO Dog Parker, the Brooklyn-based company that, until Friday, leased high-tech dog houses to small businesses across the borough. “We loved providing this service.”

Dog Parker was forced to remove its small white houses from the city streets by midnight Friday when the Department of Transportation suddenly decided the structures had to be removed from public property or face violations and fines, company owners said.

But local representatives have gathered behind Dog Parker to demand the city accommodate a Brooklyn-born, woman-founded company they say encourages New Yorkers to shop in their neighborhood stores.

“Instead of supporting this business, the city is using antiquated regulations to essentially put them out of NYC’s market,” said City Councilman Rafael Espinal at a press conference in Park Slope on Friday. “I call on the city to work with us on this issue and to clarify where Dog Parkers may be placed.”

Teeka, 6, of Brooklyn, demonstrates the Dog Parker house for City Councilman Rafael Espinal.

“We cannot simultaneously champion Brooklyn as a growing hub of innovation while we stifle our very own home-grown businesses,” said Council Member Stephen Levin in a statement.

“If we are serious about attracting good jobs and opportunities for our residents, we need to create the environment that supports organizations adding value to our community.”

Dog Parker staffers have been reaching out to the DOT since the company first launched in 2016, but only made contact in the summer of 2017, just as the team was planning to launch in Manhattan, said founder Chelsea Brownridge.

Despite backing from the Mayor’s Office, funding from city grants, and requests from more than 300 cities for Dog Parker’s services, the DOT issued a cease and desist letter in November, arguing the dog houses were not allowed to sit on public property, Brownridge said.

"[The dog houses] create obstructions on sidewalks that are clearly public property," a DOT spokesman said in an email to Patch. "That is why a cease & desist letter was issued."

“We’ve received no violations or fines, just a letter,” said Brownridge, saying of the DOT, “They’ve not been very helpful.”

Brownridge, her team, Espinal, and several dogs gathered outside Eleven Consignment Boutique in Park Slope on Friday to protest the DOT’s sudden decision to forbid the high-tech dog houses from Brooklyn sidewalks.

Dog owners told a small fleet of reporters how Dog Parker houses allowed them to shop more in neighborhood stores by providing a warm spot for their pets in cold weather.

“I can take her when I go shopping and I know she’ll be safe,” said Karen Lazarus, 47, who came to the event with her six-year-old dog Teeka. “I know she’ll have a place to be warm.”

And Eleven Consignments manager Harley De Oliveira added that in the one year since the boutique started leasing its Dog Parker, he’s seen an uptick in business.

“Groups stop to take a look,” said De Oliveira, “It would lead them to come into the shop.”

The red tape hiccup will not mean the end of Dog Parkers, which continues to pursue expansion in other U.S. cities, Brownridge said.

But the company was born in a Bed-Stuy garage and Brownridge, who came to the conference with her five-year-old rescue Winston, hopes that Brooklyn will remain Dog Parker’s home.

“Once we have clear regulatory permission," said Brownridge, "we’ll be back and able to serve New York City even better than before."

Espinal, chair of the consumer affairs committee, promised to pursue legislation in City Council that would allow Dog Parker to resume business in Brooklyn.

Photos and video by Kathleen Culliton