Anastasia Smith and her dog, Oatmeal, in purple.
At around 8:30 a.m., I noticed a very striking dog with bright purple hair.
Oatmeal, and her mom Anastasia Smith, enjoy the park’s off leash hours every morning. Smith uses a “clicker collar” for Oatmeal so she said never worries that he will run into the Drive, which is just up the hill behind them.
Chatting with Smith was Jessica Kaplan, who is also a daily park user with her pup, Val. Both Smith and Kaplan said the community of dog owners near the W. 63rd street park entrance have things on lock, but that every area of the park has a different culture.
Kaplan said that it frustrates her when people act like the park is a chaotic mess, considering it has come so far since cars used to speed through the Drive.
“I don’t know why people aren’t grateful there are no cars anymore. It’s really good, I think this is amazing and a real blessing,” she said.
We discussed the new design of the Central Park Drive and what it was like to cross the road now that many of the lights were changed to blinking yellow. Kaplan said she thinks people can be impatient when waiting to cross, considering how many people are using the drive in the early mornings, and that looking both ways and finding your moment usually works well for her and Val.
“People are impatient wanting to cross,” Kaplan said. “I enter at 63rd, you have runners, cyclists, e-bikes, pedi cabs, park workers in cars, horse carriages, you have to just be patient. People are a little extreme with their feelings about crossing the road.”