NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A couple of Brooklyn residents turned a sidewalk tree pit near a leaky hydrant into a viral "impromptu fishbowl for goldfish" in August. On Friday, however, the city announced it had repaired the hydrant, ending the community's makeshift aquarium.
"Following the recent FDNY inspection, the hydrant has been repaired to ensure it is ready for any emergencies," a DEP spokesperson said in a statement. "A lock has been installed to prevent the hydrant from leaking further, and new concrete has been poured to ensure pedestrian safety."
Jequan Irving, a local resident who helped create and maintain the pond, expressed heartbreak over the abrupt end to their project. "We're really heartbroken," he told 1010 WINS. He shared that they had recently invested over $250 in new equipment and fish.
Earlier this week, firefighters tested the hydrant at full blast, with no regard for the fish despite locals' attempts to stop them, residents said.
"A lot of people was trying to flag them down the water on full blast and boom, killed all of the fish right then," Irving said.
Residents had started the project in August jokingly but then went and bought 100 goldfish from the pet store.
"We started joking about: what if we added fish," Hajj-Malik Lovick, 47, a lifelong resident of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood had told the Associated Press in August. "Since the water is always there sitting in the puddle, why not turn this into something that's more interesting?"
After fortifying the edges of the tree bed with rocks and brick, they bought goldfish from a pet store for $16 and dumped them in. The appearance of peanut-sized fish swimming around the shallow basin quickly became a neighborhood curiosity, drawing visitors who dubbed it "the Hancock Street Bed-Stuy Aquarium."
Baby goldfish swim in a sidewalk puddle created by a leaking fire hydrant that community members have named the Bed-Stuy Aquarium, August 31, 2024, in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, New York.Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
The spot became so popular that renowned local YouTuber Casey Neistat visited, capturing the "Bed-Stuy Aquarium," complete with a painted sign by the hydrant and a makeshift pond decorated with yellow rubber ducks and other toys, mimicking a real aquarium.
However, as videos and news stories about the fish pit spread online, the project drew concern from city officials and backlash from animal rights advocates. The city has since filled in the fire hydrant, and the aquarium is now gone.
"We're looking forward to working with community members to find an appropriate alternative location for this impromptu gem, including in a community garden half a block away," the DEP spokesperson said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
