Photo by N. Bower

By Ben Lentz, Bronxville Resident and Bronxville Dog Park Enthusiast and Supporter

Oct. 16, 2024: The Alfredo Field, known as the Bronxville Dog Park, is a two+ acre property owned by the Village of Bronxville.

The Village acquired this property in 1971 from the Alfredo Nursery.  When you walk into the property through the new wooden gate located on Archer Place, you can see the outline of a foundation of a structure that existed when Alfredo Nursery owned it. 

This Alfredo Field/Bronxville Dog Park is bordered on the east by Crawford Street, on the south by Archer Place, and on the north by an area known as "the woods." Most of the property is located in Eastchester outside of the Village of Bronxville.

I first became interested in the maintenance and development of this property after retiring in 2018.  When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, I met Bronxvillian Andy Bender, who walks the family dog in the park. We discussed plans for the property, and eventually, another dog park regular, Patty Warble, along with Andy's wife Priscilla, joined our regular discussions about the future of this area. 

Priscilla became our first treasurer and raised funds through a GoFundMe account, which is still active today.  Patty introduced us to a former Bronxville resident who was a landscape architect.  The architect's advice was that we should plant trees in the field to break up what was otherwise a very large open space.  Some of the first funds raised were used to purchase saplings that absorb water, and they can now be seen as fully mature trees. One is a River Birch and the second is a Weeping Willow. 

The Bender's youngest son, Willem, was at Bronxville High School at the time and was also a Boy Scout who was interested in becoming an Eagle Scout. To achieve that honor he had to perform a community service project. For this project, he worked on improvements to the park, and I acted as his mentor. 

Willem's vision included adding benches to the park, There are now four benches along the east side, and Willem made them all based on a photograph of benches at Lake Isle Country Club.  Willem was also instrumental in helping transplant trees from the forest area to the field. 

We also used donated funds to purchase new trees from nurseries and plant them in Alfredo Field.

The trees there today include a birch, an ash, an oak, a magnolia, a fig, plums, eastern redbuds, viburnums, and some maples that the Bronxville DPW transplanted from adjacent areas.

Willem earned his Eagle Scout badge, and later, another scout, John Rizzo performed his community service project at the park.  John also earned his Eagle Scout badge.

A number of Bronxville Middle Schoolers have also volunteered at the park, including Chris Collins, Lisa Kahraman, Admir Kuc, Lynne Richey, Ewa Monogenis, Mike Dinger, and Arleen Thomas.

Recently, the Bronxville Working Gardener's Club conducted a tour of the park. This tour was repeated about a week later for Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin and Village Trustee Helen Knapp.  Another Trustee, William Fredericks, has also been given a tour. 

There were several speakers on the tour, including Lisa Kahraman from the Bronxville Green Committee, Maryann Moriarty who teaches science at an elementary school in the Bronx, Sue Brownie, Director of the Bronxville Giving Garden, and Bronxville residents Lynn Richey and Ewa Monogenesis.

Kahraman spoke about the efforts of the Bronxville Green Committee which has maintained a large native/pollinator garden on the west side of the park complete with name tags of the plants. 

Moriarty spoke about a wasp nest that was located in one of the viburnums. This nest was recently removed after the wasps had left for the upcoming winter. The nest was given to Moriarty for use in her classroom.  Last year, another wasp nest was given to a Bronxville science teacher. 

Sue Brownie spoke about the fig tree that she donated. This tree was a source of great interest as students tried to guess when the figs would ripen. 

Richey spoke about the benefits of native plants, and Monogenesis spoke about the very interesting garden she has designed along the south side of the park.

Thanks to all who have donated funds, plants, labor, and knowledge and advice on gardening. 

Also thanks to  Mayor Marvin, the Village Trustees, Jim Palmer, and the DPW, for their ongoing support of the Bronxville Dog Park.

As the saying goes, “It Takes A Village”."

If you would like to support the upkeep of this special park, please donate by CLICKING ON THIS LINK.

Below Photos of the Dog Park.  Photos by N. Bower and B. Lentz