NEW YORK — An urban pond where goldfish used to swim beneath a leaky New York City fire hydrant has been replaced by a new makeshift aquarium, days after the city paved over the old one due to safety concerns .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. 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.
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.
