'They're beautiful': Brooklyn residents weigh in on DIY goldfish pond on their block

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn (PIX11) – It’s become an international sensation after going viral.

It’s a do-it-yourself goldfish pond created by a leaking fire hydrant on a Brooklyn street.

The city doesn’t want to issue tickets but says it’s a safety issue. It’s the talk of Bed-Stuy and beyond—dozens and dozens of goldfish in this makeshift pond on Hancock Street.

The big question is how long will the city allow these goldfish to continue making a splash?

“I think it’s beautiful,” one neighbor, who didn’t want to give her full name, told PIX11 News. “They should leave it there,” she added. Another neighbor added: “is it art, is it a prank? Is it beautification? What’s the intention behind it?”

Neighbors in Bed-Stuy seem to love that this puddle from a leaking fire hydrant has turned into a free aquarium for young and old alike.

“I just heard about it this morning on Instagram,” Daniel Thompson, another neighbor, told PIX11 News. “My friend in Lisbon, Portugal, sent it to me,” he added.

Freya Holmes, a 5-year-old, told PIX11 News, “I have never seen fish on the street before.”

Another 5-year-old, Star Noel, added, “ I think they’re beautiful. I didn’t know they were right here. I thought they’d be inside the hydrant.”

But the New York City thank-you has shut off the trickling fire hydrant, only to have neighbors turn it right back on. 

A spokesperson for the DEP said the leaking hydrant “can impact water pressure and supply issues for the neighborhood. We love goldfish also, but we know there is a better home for them than on the sidewalk.”

“We live down the block from the fire department, and they have the hydrants on all the time in the summer, and they don’t seem to be concerned about the water pressure,” a person who didn’t want to give their full name told PIX11 News.

There’s a team of neighbors who feed the fish three times a day.

There’s also a sign saying there’s a surveillance camera trained at all times on what the organizers now call Gav’s fish pond.

The creator of the DIY goldfish pond did not want to appear on camera but said he bought 200 goldfish for $32 for his neighborhood to enjoy.

“One of my friends came up with the idea and acted on it,” Floyd Washington, a 47-year-long resident of Bed-Stuy, told PIX11 News. “ It’s kind of cool. He added that it brings people together to have a conversation on their way to work, drink a cup of coffee, or going to school,” he added.

Another resident on a bicycle pedaled over to see the new famous goldfish pond.

“I think it is beautiful. I am pro-fish,” Rob Bell, another Bed Stuy neighbor, told PIX11 News.

And if you are, don’t worry about colder temperatures for the fish. Organizers say they will dismantle the aquarium by Labor Day and give away the fish to children in the neighborhood. They are also developing even bigger plans for a free aquarium next summer.

And because the popularity of the goldfish pond appears to keep growing, the creator of the fire hydrant goldfish pond wants to explore the possibility of keeping the fish there year-round, which may cost thousands of dollars, so a GoFundMe has now been set up. It’s called “help fire hydrant fish survive and thrive.”