Something smells fishy.
A Bed-Stuy fire-hydrant-powered street aquarium that went viral on social media has been forced to close due to frigid temperatures and snow, but organizers insist the fish are alive and swimming in a secret location. There is.
The attraction, which is planted in a shallow tree, has raised concerns from animal activists, who say the conditions are not sustainable for its residents and that the FDNY has shut off a leaking fire hydrant in a hole in the tree. It is said that many of the fish that were used as bait died when they fixed it with cement. Original spot.
But organizers announced this week that they had moved the fish to an outdoor koi pond on nearby private property, despite subzero winter temperatures.
About 30 fish, which survived a midnight rescue, an FDNY cleanup effort and various gifts to local children, were saved a few days ago, said Devan Shah, a local resident and architect who is helping manage the project. It is said that it was moved to a pond in the backyard.
The temporary habitat is heated by a waterfall, Shah said, but the goldfish “don't feed when it's below 50 degrees, so they're not sprinkled with fish food during the winter.” [Fahrenheit]”
“People don't realize that fish are cold-blooded animals…they can survive as long as they have oxygen,” he added.
Shah declined to provide the exact location of the koi pond, citing homeowner privacy reasons.
“Like all other fish and creatures in the ocean, they tend to adapt to their habitat,” Floyd Washington, a local resident who was helping manage this strange attraction, told the Post. . “i was there [at the original pond] The temperature two days ago was around 11 or 12 degrees. [Fahrenheit and] The fish were actually swimming. ”
Washington said he is no longer an active member of the pond and that the move is “temporary” and the aquarium will be closed only until the fish can be returned to the intersection of Hancock Street and Tompkins Avenue. He said it would be done. spring.
But as veterinarian Ben Rosenbloom previously told the Post, pet store fish suffer from changes in temperature, chemical runoff, and hungry rats as long as they're exposed to the elements. Organizers are still in a difficult situation.
He called the pet project “animal abuse” and said: “Fish in these conditions are going to die anyway.”
Since August, the fish pond has received more than a dozen complaints of animal cruelty, and as of Wednesday, all were closed.
As temperatures plummeted earlier this year, Washington described a car-powered filtration system that organizers used to heat and filter water-filled tree pits, but as of Tuesday the system was not working properly. The car was nowhere to be found.
Washington said organizers eventually plan to install solar panels to replace the car's mechanism, but a GoFundMe launched this summer for a solar-powered “outdoor ventilation system” has failed. Apparently, they have only reached half of their goal of $5,000.
Washington State said aquarium organizers are currently working with the city's parks department and may move the fish to the garden in the future.
Meanwhile, Shah said an “in-community working group” among pond managers, city officials and elected officials has been established to begin the process of considering an “improved temporary aquarium” with planning sessions. He added that Construction is scheduled to begin next month with the aim of making it permanent.
T-shirts to raise funds for the project will be sold on the aquarium's social media channels over the next two weeks.
Shah told the Post that the group's ultimate goal is to create a permanent public aquarium on the street, as well as a community center and after-school program focused on science, ecology and community building.
He said the site would be a “permanent third place for quiet moments, connection with neighbors and broader community benefits” and “for greater social interaction with our streets.” He said that it would create a path for
