SEA ISLE CITY – Mayor Leonard Desiderio declared it a “Ruff Ruff” day Thursday, Nov 2, as ground was broken, again, at Sea Isle’s long-in-progress dog park at Seventh Street and Landis Avenue. “It’s finally coming together,” he said to a crowd of over 35 Sea Isle year-rounders, politicians, police and dogs.
Ground was broken in October, to little fanfare, by contractor Fred M. Schiavone Construction, of Malaga.
The new park will have watering stations, dog playground equipment, a picnic pavilion, a bicycle repair station and stands, benches and “beautiful landscaping, of course,” Desiderio said. The park will be free to use, but all dogs must be vaccinated and registered with Sea Isle City.
“Let’s hope this winter is mild,” the mayor said after announcing that the park will be ready sometime in 2024. He called several rounds of attendees to stand behind a line of sand, and each person was given a shovel. Politicians, officials, policemen and dog owners all got to toss a ceremonial mound of sand into the air.
The pomp was warranted because the project was originally slated for completion by summer 2022, and has been in various stages of development for several years. The project is funded by $967,931 from Sea Isle City, $850,000 of which will be reimbursed by Cape May County’s Open Spaces Program when construction is complete.
Bob and Patricia Clark, who live year-round in Sea Isle City, told the Herald that they are incredibly excited for the new park. “He gets bored walking the same old blocks,” Patricia said of her Sheepadoodle, Seamus.
Patty Smyth, the “grandmother” of a 1-year-old Cavalier King Charles named Baxter, said that Sea Isle City seems to have a higher-than-normal number of beautiful dogs. “During the season, every day is like a dog show,” she said. “This will make it much easier to set up play dates with other dogs.”
Desiderio concluded his upbeat speech with a word for the pups in the audience: “To all the dogs, get ready to party.”
Contact the author, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600 ext. 156.
