An abrupt goodbye to a guerrilla goldfish aquarium beneath a leaky Brooklyn fire hydrant

[October 26, 2024]  By CEDAR ATTANASIO

NEW YORK (AP) — A makeshift aquarium that popped up this summer in a puddle beneath a leaky fire hydrant has been paved over, to the dismay of neighbors who turned the area into a hangout spot and goldfish shrine.

The city's Department of Environmental Protection has long said the dribbling hydrant created a safety hazard. Workers filled the earthen area that formerly held the puddle Friday morning, and yellow tape cordoned off a patch of freshly poured concrete around the repaired hydrant, leaving it looking like the city’s smallest-ever crime scene.

“Oh my God,” said Sofia Talavera, her hands raised to her head as she looked at the spot. “People actually took their time and their money to make it beautiful. This was literally the community coming together.”

The so-called Bed-Stuy Aquarium, named after the surrounding Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was formed when the leaky hydrant carved out the shallow pool next to a tree bed on a residential street and residents filled it with store-bought goldfish.

The pond was controversial from the start. Some of the fish were “rescued” over the summer by people concerned about their welfare. That angered others, who said the fish were fine, restocked the pool and set up a watch.

After media attention and some donations, organizers kept building out the site, adding signage, decorations and seating. A bootleg sign designed to look like an official Parks Department plaque read “BEDSTUY AQUARIUM,” and a telephone pole was painted with palm-size goldfish surrounded in blue.

The pond was easy for tourists to find after it became searchable on Google Maps. Two visitors from California who came to the site Friday morning said they had planned to send a picture to friends in Los Angeles who were obsessed from afar.

“Now we have to break the news,” said Adam Aguilar, a visual artist. His friend laid a bouquet of flowers next to two flickering candles at an impromptu memorial site.

It always seemed inevitable that the fish would eventually have to be removed. The Fire Department needs hydrants to be in working order. Winter was coming.

Fire officials fixed the hydrant Tuesday, but residents quickly replenished the pond with water and fish. Videos on social media showed testy exchanges between locals and fire department workers, and police protection for the cement-layers.

A woman tends to the makeshift aquarium goldfish pool created by a leaky fire hydrant in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Karen Matthews)

The Department of Environmental Protection said in a statement that it was “looking forward to working with community members to find an appropriate alternative location for this impromptu gem,” adding, “This allows us to keep New Yorkers safe by ensuring that the previously leaking fire hydrant doesn’t freeze over and become inoperable.”

The remaining goldfish were removed and placed in a bucket, the department said.

Some residents expressed optimism that the pond could be moved to a nearby community garden, while others are holding out for converting a derelict storefront on the block into an indoor aquarium and hangout space. Organizers most involved in those efforts declined to comment.

On his way to work, Jon Frier passed by the site and joked to friends, “Does anyone have a jackhammer?”

He paused to try to draw a goldfish in the wet concrete. Across the street, an employee in a Environment Protection truck warned him not to with a long honk, backed up by a police officer in another vehicle.

“They just can’t let us have anything can they? I can’t believe Eric Adams,” Frier said, referring to the city's mayor.

Adams' media team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

City officials have sometimes clashed or negotiated with residents over the use of fire hydrants, long commandeered to create cool-off spray zones during hot summer months. A compromise was eventually reached under which residents can apply for a permit to use a low-flow sprayer, lent and installed by a firefighter.

For Talavera the disappearance of the aquarium means the loss of a of late-night hangout that, unlike city parks, couldn't be closed at night.

After the New York Liberty won the WNBA national championship recently, she posted a grainy image of the hydrant to Instagram. It read: “last night was so awesome i had to go to the aquarium to celebrate.”

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