By Carol Tannenhauser

Some readers went to the 87th Street Dog Run in Riverside Park on Monday morning, June 6th — the start of Phase 3, when dog runs and other recreational facilities were supposed to reopen — only to find the gate still locked. We reached out to the Parks Department and learned that what they meant was, they would begin “the process of reopening 5,000 features and amenities in parks throughout the five boroughs, on June 6th, on a rolling basis.” That’s not as daunting as it sounds. A spokesperson said they expect the dog runs to be open “sometime this week.”

Don’t expect the dogs to social distance when they get there and greet their old pals. Not so for humans, who must still keep their distance and mask up. As far as dogs spreading the virus to humans, the CDC says the risk is low.

Phase 3 also means basketball, tennis, volleyball, and handball courts will open.

Below are the neighborhood’s six dog runs. We’ve requested their hours of operation, and are awaiting a response from the Parks Department.

Riverside South Dog Run (Hudson River Greenway, 72nd Street, under the highway)

72nd Street Dog Run (72nd Street and Riverside Drive)

87th Street Dog Run (Riverside Park at 87th Street)

105th Street Dog Run (Riverside Park at 105th Street)

Morningside Park Dog Run (between 114th and 117th streets in the park)

Bull Moose Dog Run (81st Street and Columbus Avenue, next to the Museum of Natural History) will remain closed due to its ongoing renovation, of which Elaine Boxer, one of those who championed the project, said, “They’re putting on the finishing touches.” Parks blamed the delay on the pandemic. The project has been under discussion since 2011.

In the process of researching, we discovered a helpful blog called DogSpin, which has descriptions of some of the dog runs, and a lot of information related to having a dog in NYC.