When Raymond Nicholas brings Juno and Velvet to Niskayuna’s dog park after work, he can now leave his car’s headlights off.
Nicholas, along with several other dog owners frequenting the pooch retreat nestled in the sprawling Blatnick Park, found as winter settled in there was more than just the nuisance of cold air as days shortened. The dog park, which many frequent after work, didn’t offer anything to light the fenced in area.
“No matter what the weather is … people will be there,” Nicholas said.
Juno and Velvet, a Siberian husky and black lab-chow mix, respectively, weren’t bothered by the cold, so Nicholas said he “bundled up” and drove to the park.
Mary Jane Sansevere started brainstorming a solution on how to light the night in a more practical manner than aim car lights into the park.
“I was running into the same people every night and they had their dogs, and we just stared talking and it became a nightly thing,” Sansevere said.
In July, she adopted Niki, a shepherd and boxer mix or “all-American mutt,” and starting walking Niki around her neighborhood. Someone eventually told her about the dog park one day, and since then she has become a park regular.
She started a Facebook page in September, Friends of the Niskayuna Dog Park, to help connect fellow park patrons for meet-ups and other activities. Eventually through the page, word of mouth and collecting emails, she started a movement to get lights installed at the dog park.
“I wrote to the town numerous times,” Sansevere said. “I think out of sheer annoyance they probably installed them.”
Councilwoman Julie McDonnell proposed the town find some method to light the park at night during winter months and eventually, the town settled on installing lights with motion sensors set to a timer.
Town Supervisor Joe Landry said purchasing the lights cost less than $2,000. The majority of the cost came from man-hours required to install the lights, a project he said took a couple of weeks.
Landry admitted the lighting dilemma hadn’t occurred to him before residents reached out to the town.
“It was a pretty good request … I had never thought of it,” Landry said. “There are quite a few people that use it and it is an integral part of Blatnick Park.”
The annual cost of running the lights hasn’t been determined since they are on timers, but Landry doesn’t expect it to be significant. Since the lights are motion activated and are on a timer set to only operate during certain hours, he said an efficient approach was taken.
Landry said the lights could be kept on during summer months, too, even though it stays light out longer. Depending on how many people use it, he said town officials would discuss extensions past the winter.
While the lights might seem like a small improvement, Sansevere and Nicholas expressed gratitude for the town heeding their request.
“For people that are constantly there all the time, it is a really big step for all of us,” Sansevere said.