To own a dog in New York City is to be privy to a world of street-level folk art.

Around front stoops, fences and tree beds, homeowners and street gardeners erect handmade fencing made of rustic driftwood or found pieces of mesh or metal.

They knit skinny spiderwebs of string or wire meant to keep dogs from diving into the dirt

or plant thick forests of perennial plants that form a natural barrier to entry.

Some post hand-painted signs with slogans like, “Git Along Little Doggies,” or “No TressPooping.”

Others laminate entreaties on how the acid found in dog urine can damage tree bark.

Is Your Dog Peeing on Some of New York’s Best Folk Art?

The land around street trees lives in the jurisdictional limbo zone between private and public property. The city owns the trees (which are under the purview of the Department of Parks and Recreation), but property owners are responsible for keeping the area around them clean.

While the tactics used to guard these spaces may alienate many dog owners, there’s joy in catching sight of the creativity, even comedy, along sidewalks citywide.

Some of these homegrown efforts were inspired by Jimmy Van Bramer, a former city councilman who was considered a champion of the arts when he represented the 26th district in Queens from 2010 to 2021.

“Adults had been feeling the same way, too,” recalled Mr. Van Bramer. “We didn’t want them to feel the long arm of law enforcement, but we wanted the collective well-being to be top of mind — the posters did that.”

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.