NEW YORK – An urban pond where goldfish used to swim beneath a leaky New York City fire hydrant has been replaced by a new makeshift aquarium, days after the city unceremoniously paved over the old one due to safety concerns.
Industrious Brooklynites have taken waterproof liner, bath tiles, concrete blocks and gravel and fashioned a new urban pond in a tree bed next to the now repaired hydrant.
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On Friday afternoon, roughly 40 goldfish were darting around the new environs, which were built Wednesday and feature fake, brightly colored plants, stones and other aquarium decorations.
Pedro Zambrana, a 29-year-old visiting from Barcelona, was among the dozens of people stopping by to peer in and take photos.
“This is so cool,” he said, adding that a visit to the curiosity in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood had been high on his itinerary for his week-long stay in the city.
Devang Shah, one of the local residents that helps manage the pond, said volunteers soon hope to outfit the aquarium with a solar-powered filtration system to replace the current battery-powered one.
They also need to acquire a heating system before winter sets in and have visions of setting up a livestream so their admirers worldwide can tune in, he said.
The so-called Bed-Stuy Aquarium is searchable on Google Maps and has its own Instagram and TikTok accounts, managed by Shah and other residents.
But the 44-year-old architect lamented that the aquarium had been easier to manage under the leaky hydrant. The steady stream from the hydrant had provided a constant source of fresh water, so a filter system wasn’t really needed, he explained.
“They seemed happier over there,” Shah said, gesturing to the hydrant surrounded by a now pristine slab of concrete.
Passersby watched intently as he sprinkled fish food into the water, cleared out falling leaves and took water quality readings.
Shah said it’s the fourth incarnation of guerrilla pond, which was originally formed when the leaky hydrant carved out a shallow pool in broken concrete, prompting residents to fill it with store-bought goldfish.
People concerned about the welfare of the fish staged a “rescue” over the summer, but resolute residents restocked the pool and set up a watch.
The site has only grown more elaborate, with painted benches and chairs and decorations.
There's even a sign designed to look like an official New York City Parks Department plaque affixed to the tree that reads, “BEDSTUY AQUARIUM.”
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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.