NEW YORK – As the late summer sun set over central Brooklyn on a recent evening, neighbors quietly gathered on a street corner, marveling at the goldfish and glittering ornaments at a Bed-Stuy neighborhood pond the size of a sidewalk plaza but which has captured the hearts of more than a million social media users.
“With this effort, we’re breaking new ground in science and adding new information to the yearbook,” Floyd Washington, one of the pond’s creators, told USA Today.
Known as the Bed-Stuy Aquarium, the pond is a unique mix of urban street architecture and, yes, a fish tank and aquarium, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. The pond’s water is replenished by a small, constant trickle of water from a central fire hydrant. As of mid-September, the Bed-Stuy Aquarium had been open for about six weeks, surrounded by the brownstones, bodegas, schools, restaurants, and hustle and bustle of New York City.
“This isn’t where it’s supposed to be,” said Washington, 43, who works as a repairman at a grocery store directly across from the pond.
Pond fans and detractors alike want to know what will happen to the fish as fall deepens and winter sets in. Washington said he and the other creators have plans in place, including the goal of reopening the pond seasonally each spring and summer.
Bed-Stylish watermelon stand stands up to gentrification
When did the Bed-Stuy fish ponds start?
The TikTok-famous pond was once just a puddle filling a large gap in the sidewalk, but during the first week of August, a resident on the block decided to stock it with goldfish that he had bought at a local pet store a few blocks away, Washington said.
Before, the muddy potholes in the sidewalk were an eyesore, Washington said. Now, the whimsy and fun the fish ponds, just a few inches deep, have had an immense impact on the neighborhood, Bed-Stuy residents told USA Today.
“I love the colors and the stories,” said Joe Howard, who came to see the fish in a friend’s convertible on a recent Friday evening.
Ms. Howard, a singer who came to New York 30 years ago to record, said she photographs the fish and might even write a story inspired by them. Ms. Howard, a Savannah, Georgia, native, said the pond’s beauty reminded her of the old port city.
“We came up with a crazy idea and it blossomed into something that brought people together, so we’re not trying to turn off that light or stop it from shining,” Washington said.
Throughout August and September, the site has been beautifully decorated with signs, flowers, fish and a small fence separating it from the surrounding area, and it has been labelled as a “cultural landmark” on Google Maps.
The fish in the pond are goldfish, about an inch long, mostly orange, although there are also orange and black and occasionally solid black fish.
Ponds invite vandalism and complaints
According to Washington, on the night of August 26th, vandals attempted to destroy the pond by filling it with trash, which unfortunately resulted in the deaths of several fish.
Washington told USA Today that the creators responded quickly and quickly repaired the pond. The group then started a GoFundMe to raise money, raising about $3,000. The money went toward a backpack distribution and fish adoption event at the Bed-Stuy Aquarium over Labor Day weekend, where about 100 kids got new bags for school and their own fish in glass bowls scooped directly from the pond.
“We’re just doing it out of the kindness of our hearts,” Washington said.
But some people have complained to the city about the pond, Washington said.
Jim Long, deputy chief of public affairs for the New York City Fire Department, said the department received a complaint about a leaking hydrant in August and that firefighters responded by shutting off the leak several times.
“Fire hydrants are not designed to be left on all the time,” Long told USA Today, explaining that a leaking hydrant can lead to a loss of water pressure, which is why hydrants need to be turned to the “off” position before being used to supply water to a fire department’s hoses.
Washington said fire hydrants will be available for any emergency situations.
“As far as the fish go, they’re doing well, they’re trying, it’s just a happy environment,” Washington said.
New York’s “oasis”
Brooklyn and Queens residents who spoke to USA Today said ponds are good because they bring neighbors together, make kids happy and are beautiful.
Throughout the day, people stop to sit on the benches on either side of the pond to find a moment of quiet apart from their busy lives. Some, like Hala Limantha, have made the pond a part of their daily routine.
“People come here, and it’s a nice place to sit and watch people go about their lives,” said Limantha, who stops by the pond for five minutes every morning on her way to work at the hospital’s psychiatric ward, a job she describes as “really stressful.”
“This is an oasis in a very ugly city. There’s a lot of ugly things happening in New York and this is a beautiful moment in the chaos,” Limantha, 34, told USA Today.
Sharic Atkinson, a film director who lives nearby, said he comes to the pond almost every day.
“It calms me down,” she told USA Today. “Just seeing life as it happens is a good way to start the day.”
Charlotte Dunn took her 15-month-old son to see the pond one evening. As he sat in his stroller, he immediately took notice and his eyes widened as he saw the orange fish darting about.
“There’s so much going on here, and so much thought goes into everything,” said Dan, 40. “That’s why I brought him in.”
People in cars and on bicycles stop on the road and sidewalk to view the pond, increasing traffic at the intersection.
Levi Collins, 25, a cashier at Chickie’s General Store, down the street from the pond, said people are now stopping to chat on street corners where they would previously have just walked by.
“Stopping is a conversation starter,” Collins said.
How long will the Bed-Stuy Aquarium last?
Local residents who love the pond told USA Today they’re invested in its future.
Washington said he and the other builders may apply for a permit from the city to keep the pond open permanently, including through the winter. He hopes they can put up plexiglass around the water to keep it warm in the winter. If that’s not possible, Washington said the plan is to move the fish to someone’s house for the winter and then return them to the sidewalk in the spring of 2025.
As summer officially turns to fall on Sunday, the pond’s immediate future becomes increasingly uncertain.
“That’s why I try to come every day because it’s such a great community-led thing,” Atkinson said.