Rockville Centre Village Board bans two breeds

The Rockville Centre Board of Trustees recently passed a law banning residents from owning rottweilers and pit bulls, giving local dog lovers two fewer breeds to adore.

The law, however, does not target rottweilers and pit bulls who already live in the village. But residents who do own rottweilers or pit bulls will need to register their dogs, for no charge, at Village Hall. The new law is in addition to village laws already on the books that deal with vicious and dangerous animals.

“Once any dog has already bitten someone, then there are laws that apply to whether you can continue to keep that dog and if it’s determined to be vicious,” Village Attorney A. Thomas Levin said of the existing laws. “And there’s also a provision that I think is a little difficult to administer that talks about dogs that threaten to be dangers.”

There are provisions in the law that allow for exceptions. People are still allowed to drive through the village with the two breeds, and veterinarians are allowed to care for them. And the dogs are not barred from any animal shelters in the village, nor any events (like dog shows) that might take place in Rockville Centre.

The impetus for the law, according to village spokesman Jeff Kluewer, was twofold: residents have apparently complained about certain houses in the village with many rottweilers or pit bulls. Likewise, the Rockville Centre Police Department has said it has had problems with the same houses and the animals living in them.

“The feeling was that the vicious animal code wasn’t enough help, because you had to wait for an incident, and [the board] apparently felt that they wanted to be proactive with these breeds of dogs that were giving the police problems at those locations,” said Kluewer.

Trustee Edward Oppenheimer was the only member of the board to vote against the law. At the meeting, Oppenheimer said he felt the village’s current vicious animal law was sufficient, and that it wasn’t necessarily right or fair to target specific breeds of dogs.

“Personally, I was kind of surprised that no one came down to speak about this at all,” Levin said. “In my experience in other villages that have talked about these things, they tended to generate public comment on both sides.”

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