So it's settled: everyone in Great Neck absolutely loves his or her dog.

At least that's the conclusion one would likely arrive at if one attended the July 10 work session meeting of the board of commissioners for the Great Neck Park District. Local residents filled most of the meeting room at Great Neck House, waiting for the commissioners to arrive at the agenda item for discussion of proposed changes to park district dog ordinances.

The specific resolution under consideration, which was ultimately passed unanimously by the board members, pertained to the extent to which dogs would be permitted in certain park district facilities. The resolution, authored by the legal counsel for the Great Neck park district, would permit dog owners to walk their dogs on leashes in the Village Green during designated hours, with the exception of the playground, rose garden, and memorial areas. The resolution also included language that would allow dogs off leashes, depending on the hour, in the Peninsula Club property if a portion of it is developed as a dog park with fencing and signage. The vote was not for the creation of a dog park, but would be necessary to have in place if such a park were developed in the future.

Earlier in the week on Tuesday, July 8, the majority of the members of Board of Trustees for the Village of Great Neck voted to advise the park district commissioners that they did not favor dog owners walking their pets on the Village Green itself, regardless of whether the animal was wearing a leash. Trustee Mitch Beckerman placed a dissenting vote on the matter.

Before voting on the resolution, the park board opened discussion to the public, which used the opportunity to make clear their unmitigated love and admiration for their canine companions. Great Neck resident Maggie Hoffman, the first member of the crowd to speak, used her time to praise the resolution as "a very important step for those of us who love our dogs and love each other."

The same tone would prevail throughout almost each and every one of the personal testimonials. The next speaker held up a slim book which used photographs to detail the species' potential for heroism, with special attention paid to dogs that saved the lives of individuals in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Another member of the crowd, who admitted that he did not presently own a dog, chose to announce that he has "no objection to the universal rights of dogs."

A common theme was the vital, beneficial role that a dog park would play in the lives of both the dogs and their owners. Many speakers posited that the creation of a dog park would be as much of a boon to the dog-owners as the dogs themselves; both dogs and dog-owners would gain opportunities to socialize, while the exercise needs of both the dogs and their owners would be satisfied. One woman, who lives in an apartment and explained that, as a result, she lacks the space to properly exercise her dog in the area immediately around her home, asked why they simply didn't utilize the vast wooded areas of Kings Point Park as a dog park. Board member Robert Lincoln agreed that such a scenario would in many ways present the most logical solution, but that the parkland in question is leased from the Village of Kings Point, which has steadfastly refused to countenance dogs in the parkland.

One somewhat dissenting voice among the gathered was that of Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman, who was one of the members of the village's board of trustees that voted to keep dogs out of the Village Green. Qualifying his remarks by stating that he and every other member of the board has had a dog, he explained that the top priority of the board was promoting the overall use of the Village Green area. According to Kreitzman, the village board reasoned that due to a variety of factors, such as the noise created by dogs, the inevitability of dog-related messes, and the fact that a significant number of people have a complete and total antipathy toward the species, it made more sense to keep dogs off the Village Green altogether.

The assembled public, as well as the members of the park board, did not seem to buy in to this line of reasoning. Many made mention of the fact that, per local ordinances, dogs are permitted to be walked on leashes on sidewalks and roads, and as such it seemed to be illogical to many to place a restriction on walking dogs in portions of the Village Green.

Park commissioners Ivar Segalowitz, Ruth Tamarin and Robert Lincoln voted in favor of the ordinances. The Town of North Hempstead Council has the authority to rule in favor or against the proposed ordinance changes.

One particular item of note was an update on the progress of construction on Great Neck Road. Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender addressed the board, putting forth the possibility that construction could be completed within three to four weeks; however, the project is faced with a problem that could be rectified if the park district would allow its land to be used for the placement of streetlights.

Celender explained that the original formation, in which the lights were positioned in the middle of the road on the meridian, resulted in a significant number of horrific accidents as a result of cars hitting the poles. The initial plan to counteract this problem was to position the four lights on the side of the road in a straight line; this solution was rendered impracticable as a result of finding hitherto unknown existing underground utility lines blocking the way. The current proposed solution is to position two of the lights on the outside of the side-fence of Cuttermill Park, with two on the inside.

At the meeting, the park board voted to cooperate with the Plaza to allow the placement of light poles on the park district's property with details to be worked out.