Prospect Park's Beloved Dog Beach Reopens Months Ahead of Schedule

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — The newly renovated Dog Beach in Prospect Park has reopened months ahead of schedule, the Prospect Park Alliance announced Thursday.

The beach closed in July so a variety of work could be completed, including the replacement of pavement with natural stone slabs; the swapping out of chain link fences for underwater fencing that keeps swimming dogs separate from local wildlife; and the removal of invasive plants, which were replaced with native aquatic ones.

The work — part of a $2.6 million project that will also rehab Long Meadow Ball Fields 6 and 7 — was expected to take until next spring.

But Alliance spokeswoman Grace McCreight said the popularity of the beach made the rehabilitation effort a top priority.

"Most people in Brooklyn don't have a private natural space when they have a pet," McCreight said. "Our staff really focused on this project, making sure it happened ahead of schedule [and] making sure everything got done as quickly as possible."

The closure of the beach wasn't the only issue local dog owners had to contend with this year. A July algae bloom in Prospect Park Lake, a significant health threat to pooches, was detected by the state's Department of Environmental Conservation.

The DEC's latest round of weekly tests, done on Aug. 29, still turned up a high level of toxic algae in the lake.

Agency spokesman Rodney Rivera said the DEC last tested Dog Beach itself in mid-July, and didn't find any problematic algae levels there. Rivera said he didn't know when the DEC was going to test the beach again.

But McCreight said there was no threat to dogs at the beach. Algae blooms are obvious to the eye, she said, and no algae has been visible in the area.

Furthermore, water flows from the beach to Prospect Park Lake, she said, making it very unlikely that algae would spread to the beach against the water's current. McCreight says that dogs have already started using the reopened beach, and that "they've been very happy."

Dog Beach is open year-round from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Pictured at top: A rendering of the renovated Dog Beach. Image via the Prospect Park Alliance