There is an abundant growth of a weed called deadly nightshade on the right side of city hall growing in the shrubs. These purple flowers and especially the berries are very toxic and thus poisonous when eaten. I alerted some of the people who work in city hall and they said the city grounds people were responsible to take care of it.

We had a few plants growing around the Van Vorst dog run but were able to remove them without incident. Please be aware of these plants and stay clear. There have been reports of smaller dogs eating the berries and getting very sick due to the toxins in the berries and dying.

The plants are vine-like, have small purple flowers with yellow spots in the center and have green and reddish berries. Hopefully the city workers will remove these poisonous plants before they are eaten by a child or dog.

@I heart JC, are you a dog walker? Ummm no, so why don't you mind your business and stop making statements about services provided by the dog walkers in the area when you have no idea what you are talking about.

People really need to get lives and stop trying to live others....give me a break.

@ Fleurdelys I still can't believe how bitter you are about the situation that happened. Again the dog walker was not rude, did not take more than a minute to collect her dogs which was not seven and was about to leave the run before you barged in. You had no patience that day. You had no right to come on here and bash her, you have some nerve, you two are the condescending people. It is a community run and adjustments are made. It in general is a pleasant place to be, with little incident. The fact that you are so bent out of shape over someone asking you to simply wait is insane to me. Rules? Try reading them, it also says, which I guess you didn't see, 'One Family At A Time In the Enterway'. How many times have there been ppl in the run without dogs, 8 ppl in the run with one dog, un-neutered dogs in the run, children under 12 with a parent, ppl with squeaky toys in the run and the run is privately funded btw. You obviously haven't been to the run enough to see that ppl work things out amongst themselves and aren't rigid individuals. As the above posted said, there are plenty of dog walkers and ppl who need their dog walked, as you are not a dog walker you shouldnt make comments on the their services. And I would really love to live in your 'perfect' world where nothing besides a 'perfect world' exists, lol.

Its really too bad that people don't respect other people. I am sure the said dog walker was simply taking care of their clients dogs which as a dog owner I would personally welcome. Someone who takes pride in their work and cares about the well being of the dogs. It sounds like the first poster was an impatient person. I have personally waited for over 5 minutes while a dog owner collected their dog(s)in the area between the runs. I have not problem waiting its common courtesy and completely makes sense to me. ALL the dog walkers I have encountered are very concerned about the safety of their clients dogs and very protective. EVERYONE knows or should, its not proper to open the gate while there are dogs in the area between the runs. The first poster has no idea how the dogs would react as some are very leash aggressive and what if one of the dogs got out of its collar and did run into the street due to them opening the gate? They obviously didn't think why the dog walker asked, only of themselves getting into the run. If the dog walker asked them to wait before opening the gate to come into the run then they should have plain and simple. The first poster sounds very petty, when there have been much bigger things that have happened in the run due to people bringing un-neutered or un-spayed dogs in the run which causes fights and injuries to the dogs. Maybe they should learn some patience and understanding.

To all users of the Van Vorst Dog Run?we are down to the last boxes of waste bags.

In January of this year, I bought 20,000 bags for $642. Run users have used 18,000 of them, or 600 per week. These bags are paid for by donations from the dog owner community, not the city, and it?s time to ask for your help again.

We get hundreds of users in the run each week and last time I asked for donations, I received only five checks. Fortunately they were generous amounts but it?s not fair for a handful of people to be providing bags for everyone else and this supply has lasted only 6 months.

Thus far, I have received $100 from a local dog walker, $225 from one of your generous neighbors, and $56 from multiple individual donations?we still need $261 just to cover the next 6 months.

If you would like this amenity to continue, please send a check made out to ?Friends of Van Vorst Park? with ?VVP Dog Run? in the memo to:

Marc Wesson
430 Communipaw Ave.
Jersey City, N.J. 07304


Ps. the reason we prefer the provided bags instead of the plastic supermarket shopping bags, is that ours are biodegradable, easy to dispense, and keep the run neat.

Posted on: 7/7 22:10
_________________
I don't pee on your dogs, please don't let them pee on my plants.

It baffles me that dog owners and the like go into the dog run and do not pay attention to their dogs, talk on their cell phones with their backs turned, etc. Dogs need to be monitored at all times while in the run. The run is also community run and I rarely see anyone who uses it help to maintain it. Common courtesy is the name of the game. As far as the above posting I have never seen an irresponsible dog walker in the run, actually the complete opposite. They are careful to look after the dogs in their keep and I would welcome any of them to care for my dog from what I see. I have even seen them break up dog fights in the run. I actually sometimes see more people in the dog run than dogs at times, I even see people in the run with no dogs.

And if everyone who uses the run contributed money the run wouldn't be out of bags, taxes don't pay for that people. The run is maintain by private donations and maintained by the community. Mr. Mark Wesson should be given an award for all he has done for the dog run from construction to maintenance to adding his own $ for the run bags.