River Edge Man Pushes for Van Saun Dog Park

A River Edge resident hopes to carve out a space in  for local dogs.

John Fugazzie is organizing support to bring a dog park to the county park that residents from Paramus, River Edge, New Milford and Oradell can easily access. 

Fugazzie envisions a place where dogs and their owners can meet to socialize.

"It's a dog owner's version of the downtown community," he said.

Fugazzie is courting support through a Facebook group and hopes to lobby local officials for their support. Given the size of the dog-owning population, Fugazzie is confident he can draw a crowd to back the dog park.

The idea of a dog park is to provide a place for dogs to play without a leash. There are a few in the county already, in Ridgewood, as well as in Leonia, Lyndhurst and Woodcliff Lake.

Fugazzie said the proposed park wouldn't cost taxpayers any money. Between the support from owners, he expects the business community will contribute to the effort as well with donations and sponsorships.

The total cost would be about $60,000, Fugazzie estimates, which represents the price of fencing off an area of the park, perhaps near the zoo where a concession stand once was.

"There's no reason why it shouldn't happen," he said.