Herbert Von King Park

This park isn’t anything special, but it’s probably the largest park in BedStuy with the most to offer. It has a playground, a dog run, a baseball field, and an amphitheater. A lot of people also barbecue here in the summer, and it seems to have a great community feel to it. It’s surrounded by pretty brownstones. It’s a relaxing spot to hang out!

I really enjoyed this park and so did much puppy Tonka. It was super clean and there were even staff there cleaning up the leaves. We walked around the whole park to get a feel for the different areas .
The dog runs are fairly large which is great. They are dirt & wood chips so keep that in mind if you have a white pup !!!
There are plenty of benches, a play ground & stage set up. I think it’s a great park for the neighbourhood. There is plenty of street parking around the whole park. Loved it, we will definitely be back.

* This review is for the dog run only
Potential to be a great dog run simply because if has to large runs.
What this dog run has going for it:
— Adequate seating
— Plenty of shade
— Good size runs
— Separate large and small dog runs (most use the run closest to Marcy Ave)
— Plenty of on-​street parking (no meters)
What this dog run has going against it:
— Dirt/​wood chip cover (gets muddy after a good rain)
— No dedicated water source for dogs
— No poop bags
— In adequate fencing (for most of the run) and gates
— Not kept up very well
This dog run has the potential but some work needs to be done.
Add water and fix fencing and gates its a 3 star dog run, add more seating and better ground cover its a 4 star dog run in my opinion.
* Others have posted reviews of this dog run on this Herbert Von King Park Unilocal review page… that is for the whole park. The cross streets and marker on map are wrong on this page. There is a Hebert Von King Park Dog Run Unilocal review page now.
Dog runs/​parks I have been to so far:

This dog park has improved a great deal from last year. They recently got a new secure gate at the entrance, which is a major step in the right direction. I like that the park has 2 sides, so if someone wants to focus on fetch with their dog they can hang out on the opposite side. This second side is also good if you have a dog that doesn’t get along well with others.
Both of my dogs always have a great time here. There are a lot of benches, shady spots, and water bowls. There is no direct running water in the dog area but plenty of water fountains in the park itself. Usually in the summer I bring a water bottle and fill up the silver bowls that are left in the dog park.
All of the dog owners that I have encountered are responsible and the dogs well behaved.

It always amazes me Why anyone would put themselves as well as there small dogs in danger going to that park.
Large dogs unleashed? Best find another place to meet other small dog owners or move to a safer area.

Love it here! My dog has never been in a fight. Plus there are two areas. So if u have a questionable behavior wise dog you can take him in he secondary area. Apparently they are trying to improve it as well but my Australian shepherd and I just love it here. And she loves it. We go three times a week at least. Would get a fifth star if they had water fountains for the doggies. They have bowls though. Anyways overall a safe a great place to bring your pup! Clean and way better then Maria Hernandez.

This part of the park is better as it has grass and tress. The field is really big and separate from the playground. This is a good detail because it can actually be peaceful on this side. They field tends to be pretty clean because it’s also a bbq free zone :)

On weekends I like to take my little terrier maltese mix dog named Riley here so he can get some fresh air and hang out in an area that is not my apartment, stoop or sidewalk. This place is about a block from my apartment so it is perfect. Now I have not taken him into the dog run yet, he’s actually terrified of 95% of dogs and would most likely cower in a corner whimpering until I took him out. What we do is walk around the park, he gets to see the other dogs on leases and if he wants to be social he is and if not, he is not. The park has many grassed areas where people can sit, some allow dogs, some do not, regardless there are signs in both areas stating if your dog can sit with you there. There is a basketball court, playgrounds, benches, a cultural art center and sprinklers scattered throughout the park for your use. My dog loves running in the sprinklers. The park is very nice and very well kept, everyone hanging out there is friendly and it really is a great part of the Bed Stuy neighborhood.
At the same time like every park there are bad things that can and will happen. I’ve gone before expecting to have a nice relaxing walk with my pup and people were throwing a rager in the park. The worst thing to date that I have seen was these teenage boys decided to pee in plain view on the sidewalk in the park. I mean really guys, you are probably super close to where you live. Just go home and use the bathroom. I mean or the park could get a bathroom, at the same time it isn’t a gigantic park that people travel to, it’s a neighborhood park, so maybe they don’t really need a bathroom after all and the teenagers were just being immature teenagers.
Overall I love the park and I probably am going to go hangout there tomorrow.

I love this park. I go early in the morning to give my 3 month old girl a run. The other owners seem to be responsible and friendly. I have seen many fights probably due to the fact I’m out so early.

A great play space for city dogs of all shapes and sizes!
Could be cleaner, but with a little community support a lot of progress could be made.

Very good dog run– among the better ones I’ve been to in BK if you ask me. One minor quip: My 13 lb Maltese-​ish dog tends to get overwhelmed by the bigger dogs there (if there’s a time when small dogs meet up, please contact me!). But the people are great and the dog run itself is in good shape.

I was VERY happy to find this dog run because schlepping to Brooklyn Heights isn’t really an option. I was somewhat wary because of stories about dangerous dogs.
It’s big, in fact there are two sections. I was told by some regulars that the section on the left is for socializing and the right is usually for people who want to keep their dogs isolated. I took a look at the latter just to check it out but let my dog loose in the social area. He’s a 6 month old puppy but got along fine with all sizes. The owners were pleasant but i definitely felt like the new kid being evaluated by the cool kids.
The only drawback is the dirt and woodchip mixture is quite messy. By the time we left my leggings and sneakers were filthy and my puppy was a dusty mess, but it was well worth the fun he had!

I rather grass! My standard white poodle is too WHITE to get covered with dirt and wood chips

This review is for the dog run…
I’ve had some good, some bad and some horrible experiences at this dog run. I’ve found that if I come super early in the morning (i.e. the before work crowd) the dogs tend to be nicer and less aggressive. When I come early in the morning (between 6:00 — 7:30/8:00) folks and their dogs are pretty chill… people are on the benches watching their pups peacefully play with each other. There are dogs of all shapes and sizes at this time, but it seems like the dog co-​exist and play peacefully.
Around 8:30/9:00 every day the same set of guys come into their park with their large, un-​neutered dogs… a few Pitts, a Rottweiler, and a husky-​mix. They come every day. They are ALWAYS there. I’ve tried to come at various times of the day… and they are there. The guys are really nice, and their dogs seem to be fine with each other, but the dogs aren’t that great with other dogs, and «play» very rough… and 2 of the dogs are OBSESSED with humping my small pug. Like obsessively… every time we come. If the owners tried to stop them from humping my pug, I’d be ok, but they seem to think it’s funny and don’t do much… obviously I’m not going to try and remove someone else’s un-​neutered, testosterone crazed Rottie from my dog. My pug doesn’t have an aggressive bone in his body, but he always tries to nip at these dogs and sometimes can get them to stop humping him, and even barking at them and forcing them to get away from him. It seems to tickle the guys to see a pug punk their big dogs… yes all fun and games until your Rottweiler kills my 17 pound pug. I usually take my dog and leave at this point…
There’s a «small dog» section of this park… unfortunately the «small dog» section is generally used to corral dogs that are anti-​social (too aggressive to really be around other dogs… Um. why are you even at the dog park?) Or large female dogs that are in heat. (again… don’t take you’re in-​heat dog to a dog park full of un-​neutered male dogs… WTF).
Couple other sub-​optimal things…
— There are often random kids, with no supervision just wandering around the dog park trying to play with the dogs. it’s really not safe and makes the dog park folks feel like they have to protect these kids.
— There are often folks playing fetch with their dogs, usually using one of those fetch tools that allows you to throw, really far, without having to touch a spitty ball. Fine to do this if the small dog run isn’t crowded. But it’s not really safe for your 80 pound pittbull to be running full speed through a dog park that is full of dogs and people… also bringing toys to a dog park full of marginally socialized un-​neutered dogs is a recipe for disaster.
I don’t go to this park anymore… unless it’s super early in the morning. While nothing super bad has happened to me… I don’t trust the other dogs or owners and can’t relax when I’m here. It’s really a shame because it’s the only dog park close to me.

We loved this park and came here all the time until yesterday, when our 4 month old puppy was viciously attacked by an off leash Rottweiler, and later died during surgery in the ER. We were just walking along and he attacked from behind and throttled her. He did not stop until an officer opened fire due to the fact that he seemed only moments from attacking me. It was horrific.
Bed Stuy has a problem with abused/​neglected fighting dogs, and I thought this was just a wrong place/​wrong time thing, but the police officers informed us that it happens all too often around there. You’ll also have the experience of people bringing their un-​neutered, neglected dogs into the park who act overly aggressive and start fights while their owners completely ignore them and refuse to enforce order or take them away to prevent harm to other dogs.
There’s a wonderful community of dog people there, but had we known the risks and the outcome of our routine walk and play, we’d obviously never have been there. Additionally, as beautiful as Bed Stuy can be, it can also be very dangerous.
This was an experience from which we are reeling, and we just want to get the warning out there to people to remain alert and make sure you have some sort of defense should this happen to you.

My puppy loves this place. I don’t have anything to compare the dog run to, but I’m happy it’s here. My puppy has so fun here, we walk a mile in each direction just to experience the playtime and socialization. This place can be pretty empty during work hours, but that’s a good time to play games with your dog and let him have some quiet play time. Otherwise, most people come in the late afternoon, evening during the week and on the weekends.
If you have a dog, and live relatively close, definitely check it out.

Art
Center,
Playground and
Dog run at this
Historic park within gorgeous Bedstuy.