Dog owners in hipster Brooklyn are barking mad over prickly weeds overtaking a popular local park that they worry could harm their precious pooches.
The notorious invasive foxtail grass in the dog area at Bushwick’s Maria Hernandez Park could pose a threat to pets as its barbed seeds may scratch animals’ skin, ears, eyes, and even lungs, concerned owners complained.
“Last year a foxtail seed barb got lodged in our dog’s inner eyelid and scratched her cornea,” resident Jasmine Colahan told The Post.
Local resident Brendan Morrison, living near the park for three years, mentioned his awareness of the dangerous grass but pointed out, “There’s obviously many people moving into the neighborhood, and they likely don’t know about it.”
Morrison suggested, “There should be more awareness and perhaps a sign for owners. It’s up to us to form a group and address it ourselves. The park isn’t going to handle this; it’s our responsibility too.”
One park volunteer who runs the Maria Hernandez Park Dog Run Pack Instagram account said resident brought their concerns to the city but the grass was never fully removed.
“Since then, the foxtail grass has spread considerably throughout the park,” the volunteer told The Post.
But a spokesperson for NYC Parks maintained that the “commonly occurring weed” is already under control as far as the agency is concerned.
“We work to manage it whenever it appears in our parks through regular cutting and trimming,” the spokesperson said. The agency urges “New Yorkers to report issues with foxtail grass at any location via 311.”
Since Jan. 1, 2024, Parks has “corrected” 74 weed/grass complaints in Bushwick, according to the city’s 311 portal.
Foxtail grass seeds can also get lodged into nasal passages and be inhaled into a pet’s lungs, according to MedVet – and require surgery if a barb migrates into the chest or abdomen.
Multiple visits from a Post reporter to the park this spring found tall foxtail grass encroaching on the fence to the dog run – and no evidence of recent mowing.
The matter of foxtail grass is just the latest qualm locals have at the park, where uncontained rat poison was found sprinkled near the children’s playground and dog run in April.
“I don’t know why they have such a hard time trying to fix this,” Bushwick native and dog owner Kevin told The Post of the foxtail grass — pointing to the loose rat poison, as well as dirty bathrooms and a massive rain puddle taking up a swath of the dog run, as other growing concerns at the popular park.
“Put something there, make it out of manure even,” he said of the foxtail grass patch, pointing to fertilizer’s ability to crowd out weeds.
“It’s going to smell weird, but it’s definitely safer.”
