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Hey James (13) - Somehow I doubt the Yuppies in Cobble Hill need to be told the difference between an elevator and a bathroom!
I seriously do not think it is a good idea to put decisions about keeping potentially dangerous animals in the hands of people who can't be trusted not to relieve themselves in the elevator of their own home. My dog knows she has to wait till she gets outside - how is it that humans in NYC in 2009 have regressed this far? Maybe if the members of this community start taking responsibility for their surroundings then they will be seen as responsible enough to know what kind of dog to get!

I live by a large project in Brooklyn and I see many of the type of dogs which are to be restricted and I think it is a great idea. These are gorgeous dogs and I would love to have one myself but the reality is that they have the capacity to do a great deal of damage if they are not properly trained and constantly worked with. Even the best behaved dog may have a bad day or be frightened and bight which could lead to a tragedy with that kind of jaw power. I see owners encouraging rough play; leaving them tied and unattended and walking them off the leash - it is a disaster waiting to happen.

Look on any pet adoption website or visit a pound and you will see how many are not fixed and allowed to produce unwanted puppies which will have miserable, shot lives. The neighborhood is littered with their droppings and that is no reflection on the dogs - that is 100% the result of the mentality of person who owns them. I believe it is doing the dogs a favor to get them out of the hands of those who are currently doing such a terrible job of keeping them. The condition of domestic animals is a direct reflection of the people who own them.

truth -- The hell? Okay, then let's call them the Alice Waters gardens, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that my not have the same resonance. Did you somehow miss the photos of our first lady breaking ground on the White House lawn and putting in a garden?

Marion,
I agree with you entirely. I am a dog owner.
This really has to do with the division of law enforcement in the different neighborhoods of New York. In Cobble Hill, you wouldn't have anything like that situation. It seems like the police force there is just in charge of making the neighborhood "nice" for the yuppies. This includes sending people to court for dogs off leash and etc.

It's obvious that the guests on the show have a constituency that owns these dangerous dogs and that they were afraid to say anything bad about them.
Saying that a small dog can be just as vicious as a big dog is kind of missing the point. A small dog has a much smaller mouth. In other words he can't fit your entire head, neck or arm in his mouth. The ramifications of this are obvious.
I don't live in the projects so I don't care too much about this. But, it seems like a lot of these problems would be solved by a better sense of community in the projects. A lot of people with violent dogs chose them because they are violent. Talking about the "thug life" in a logic-based "wnyc" kind of way is just so funny to me.

I find it offensive how the guests defended pit bulls. They are a dangerous breed, and even if they're trained properly and have a sweet disposition, all it takes is a child to get close to the dog's face, and the pitbull's jaw being a pitbull's jaw, will not let go of that child's hand, face, body part. He might think he's playing with the child, but he could kill that child nonetheless.

I think the guest were discriminatory of the people who are afraid of pitbulls, and of the parents that have to be vigilant against the dogs. I take my children to the park nearby, and while there's a dog run and clear signs stating not only should dogs be on their leashes but they are not to be near the children's area. Yet people let their pitbulls and other dogs off of the leash, near the kids' area, etc. I've asked owners to put their dog on a leash, only to be met with hostility and "Oh, my dog loves children." Isn't that often the quote we hear people say after their dog killed someone? Please. Be real. Who's the priority? Dogs? People?

No dogs in projects...it is already and overcrowded place...can't imagine someone getting on the elevator with a sloberring oversized attack dot in tow!!

my pitbull
http://bit.ly/OS496

Why are we subsidizing prime real estate in Manhattan for public housing while young recent graduates can't even afford to live far out in Brooklyn. These public housing people are not more entitled than I am . There are too many lazy people milking the system through food stamp exploitation, section 8 housing, because of poor decisions they have made in their life. We need to crack down on this for the betterment of the entire city.

How much are people spending for rent in these buildings?

Just because the city is taking care of your rent doesn't mean you should be able to sh*t and piss and vandalize all over your building then complain when things are dirty and not working.

The sense of entitlement is mind numbing.

Unfortunately there are irresponsible dog owners and news flash everyone does NOT like dogs.

Mary I am still debating if that Michelle Obama suggestion is appropriate.

I love dogs (and some of the nicest ones I've known are the much-maligned pitbulls and rottweilers) but most private landlords don't allow pets in their buildings due to the extra wear and tear, insurance, etc. It makes sense for large animals to be banned from public housing, as well. I'm curious how the breed-specific bans will apply to mutts- what if you have a part-pitbull dog that doesn't have any pedigree papers?

WHy don't they phase out/grandfather in the big dogs? Big dogs and some breeds of dogs are in general more dangerous.

Gardens are always shovel ready. Why not start Michelle Obama Gardens in the housing projects. There will always be people drawn to them, and if they're cultivated and maintained by the community, overseen by people paid to do just that, perhaps it's a place to start making the projects livable.

I AM 72 YEARS OLD AND I REMEMBER WHEN SUBWAY FARE WAS A NICKEL.THE FARE INCREASES HAVE MORE TO DO WITH DEVALUATION OF THE DOLLAR THAN ANY REAL PROBLEM OF NYC TRANSIT.

If people can't even afford regular housing, why are they buying pets? Crazy.