Bed-Stuy aquarium returns – reigniting fish abuse concerns
A viral sidewalk 'aquarium' that won over the Big Apple last summer has reemerged, The Post has learned – and animal advocates are already sweating in fear that the little swimmers will sizzle in this heat wave.
5 A viral sidewalk 'aquarium' that captured the awe of New Yorkers last summer has reemerged after its founder was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder in January, The Post has learned.
Gregory P. Mango
Advertisement
A glass tank of about a dozen goldfish was planted in a tree pit Saturday, an aquarium caretaker told The Post, next to the pond's original site — a founder was sentenced to 12 years in prison on unrelated attempted murder charges in January — a now-filled in water hydrant puddle near Tompkins Avenue and Hancock Street.
But animal advocates say it isn't just fishy – it's downright cruel, especially with New York under a state of emergency thanks to a record-breaking scorcher that is set to bring Gotham to a boil this week.
'This project continues to be an inappropriate way to house fish,' veterinarian Benjamin Rosenbloom, founder of New York City-based Wet Pet Vet, told The Post. 'I suspect on some level it may be a grift for donations and/or attention.
Advertisement
5 Animal advocates say the practice isn't just fishy – it's downright cruel, especially as New York is under a state of emergency for a heat wave set to boil Gotham this week.
Gregory P. Mango
'At the very least, it is not acceptable for the welfare of the animals housed there.'
Since the makeshift aquarium is so small, Rosenbloom said exposure to the sun could elevate water temperatures to deadly levels — resulting in less available dissolved oxygen for the fish.
'In this current heatwave they most certainly will die. It will be a painful death,' said Kathy Nizzari, founder of the animal welfare group Lights Out Coalition.
Advertisement
5 A fish tank at the intersection of Tompkins Avenue and Hancock Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Gregory P. Mango
The group is urging the pond's caretakers to move the fish 'indoors' to create a 'proper environment.'
John Di Leonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island, called the confinement — heat wave or not — 'cruel' and 'teaches children all the wrong lessons.'
But the pond's co-founder, Je-Quan Irving, maintains the 'community is backing us,' and said he has no plans of slowing down — despite the allegations.
Advertisement
'I'm just happy they wanted us to keep pushing through and have it come back,' Irving, 49, said.
His fellow founder, Hajj Malik Lovick — convicted of attempted murder, assault and gun charges for shooting a man outside the Lover's Rock bar in Bedford-Stuyvesant in 2023 — is also 'all for it' behind bars, Irving said, and is watching over the pond via a bizarre life-sized cardboard cutout.
5 Hajj Malik Lovick, an aquarium co-founder, pictured in 2024.
Gregory P. Mango
The original iteration of the aquarium – the result of water from a leaky hydrant pooling into a one-inch tree pit – was raided by the FDNY and cemented over by the city last year, organizers said at the time.
But the latest version is up to code, Irving claims.
5 A new deli at the corner of Tompkins Avenue and Hancock Street recently opened, named the 'Aquarium Deli Food.'
Gregory P. Mango
'There's a fish tank and that's pretty much the way we are going to be now … we couldn't go back in the ground because they were worried about if we were cutting any plants,' Irving, a Triple A roadside worker, said citing concerns of several city agencies. 'They told us we can set it up, it just can't be underground.'
'I'm going to be adding some reefs, some plants inside the aquarium,' he added. 'I'm going to do some lighting. I'm going to decorate all around the tree itself with more plants.'
Advertisement
Irving also plans, he said, to consult marine biologists to determine what other fish he can add to the burgeoning aquatic community.
'I remember seeing it the first time and its couple of different iterations … it definitely did some community building,' Bed-Stuy local Kristen Kainer, 51, reflected on the previous project.
'The other one was more dynamic, bigger and creative,' Kainer added, noting she's still 'glad it's something that's back up.'
Advertisement
Another Bed-Stuy local Calvin, 48, Fed Ex employee, called the new neighborhood attraction — which now touts its own Google Maps listing and is the namesake of the new Aquarium Deli down the street — a 'beautiful thing.'
'The kids love it,' the Fed Ex employee said. 'I just hope it becomes a good thing like it was [before].'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Freddy the NYC bodega cat is killed by dogs as owner, pals ‘cheered': activists
A beloved Manhattan bodega cat was horrifically mauled to death by two pit bulls last week as the dogs' heartless female owner and pals 'watched and cheered,' animal rescuers claimed to The Post. Tragic adorable tabby Freddy was attacked around 9 p.m. Friday outside Michelle Flowers, where he lived, in Washington Heights, according to volunteer rescuers with Cat Collective NY, who said they looked at surveillance video and spoke with witnesses. Advertisement 4 Animal rescuers at Cat Collective NY are demanding 'Justice for Freddy.' Instagram / @catcollectiveny The pit bulls' owner and pals then smoked, danced and ate food while taking photos and mimicking the grisly scene, the group told The Post. 'Someone deliberately set dogs on a defenseless cat while people watched and cheered,' said Dan Rimada of Bodega Cats of New York — calling the incident pure 'evil.' Advertisement While the store was closed and its owners were home during the attack, local residents who saw the gruesome event alerted a local feeder with Cat Collective, which in turn informed the flower-shop-bodega owners, who had rescued Freddy in 2020. 4 Freddy (bottom left, circled in red) was cruelly allowed to be mauled to death by two pit bulls (right), activists said. Instagram / @catcollectiveny 4 Security camera footage captured the dogs at the scene, animal-rights proponents said. Instagram / @catcollectiveny The store owner 'collapsed in tears' when rescuers broke the news to him. Advertisement Meanwhile, volunteers took poor Freddy's remains in a garbage bag to a vet and spent about $400 on the cat's cremation, said Emily Petit of Cat Collective. Freddy the striped shop cat was known to bask in the sun, eagerly receive loving pats from neighbors and 'brought smiles to so many,' Cat Collective NY said in an Instagram tribute. 'Losing him feels like a terrible injustice, and we must ensure that the person responsible for this heartbreaking act faces consequences.' 4 Cat Collective took Freddy's remains to be cremated, volunteers said. Instagram / @catcollectiveny Advertisement The rescuers are now seeking to identify the dogs' owner and to warn others of the attack. Cat Collective is offering a $200 reward for the names of the bystanders, too. 'Anyone with information needs to contact the police immediately,' said Rimada, who recently teamed up with city Councilman Keith Powers to 'fully legalize' bodega cats in the city by having them recognized officially as pets, thus better protecting them. Still, 'harm or death to an animal caused by another animal is not a criminal matter,' an NYPD rep has told The Post – a matter that has left owners of mauled pets with no avenues for justice outside of civil court. A state bill to close the legal loophole, dubbed Penny's Law after Penny the Chihuahua was mauled by two pit bulls on the Upper West Side in May, remains stalled in committee. A similar bill at the city level is being drafted by Councilwoman Gale Brewer.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Employee divides office after creative response to a lunch thief: ‘Weird and selfish'
An employee's lunch theft woes – and his drastic solution – recently drew attention online in a tale that other office workers may relate to or understand. In a viral post on Reddit, the employee said his workplace offers a communal kitchen with one fridge. 'Over the past month, my lunch has been stolen five times,' the Reddit user said. 'Not just random snacks. Entire homemade meals I bring from home, gone without a trace.' He added, 'It's not just frustrating, it's expensive and messes up my day.' In an office group chat, the worker asked the unknown lunch thief to stop — but no one took responsibility. His solution? The desk jockey bought a mini-fridge and placed it under his desk, complete with a lock 'just for extra peace of mind.' 'Since then, no more stolen lunches,' he wrote in his post. But his solution was not well-received. The Redditor reported that one of his co-workers confronted him and called the fridge 'weird and selfish.' An employee posted on Reddit about his solution to a co-worker consistently stealing his lunch from the office refrigerator. nenetus – 'She said it made me 'look paranoid' and 'not part of the team,'' the original poster recalled. 'I said I was tired of my food being stolen, and this was the only solution that worked.' He added, 'She said I should've just brought stuff I wouldn't care about losing, like snacks or microwave meals, if I was so worried.' Since then, the employee has been subjected to snide remarks about locking up his lunch, he said, and he's 'starting to feel like the weirdo in the office just for protecting my stuff.' He asked others if he was wrong for 'locking up my lunch instead of letting this keep happening?' Commenters on the post, which attracted over 20,000 upvotes, almost unanimously sided with the frustrated office worker. '[S]ounds like [the other co-worker] is hangry now that she doesn't have free lunch,' one person wrote. 'I'd immediately get in contact with HR about theft and bullying,' a second user said. 'Just give the same energy back,' another person advised. 'They are treating it like a joke, so keep it at a joke level. Don't be serious.' Others thought the story was so outrageous it had to have been fabricated. 'There's no way this is real lol,' one person speculated. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! 'Which AI did you use to write this story?' another said. Fox News Digital spoke with Diane Gottsman, a Texas-based etiquette expert, to determine whether the office worker overreacted to the loss of his lunches. 'When you work in an office and have a communal kitchen, stealing someone else's food is not only childish and sneaky, but completely disrespectful,' Gottsman advised. 'It shows a lack of consideration,' the decorum pro added. 'This person attempted to bring it to everyone's attention by mentioning it in a group chat, but perhaps another option would be to go directly to the supervisor to address it more formally.' Gottsman, who owns the etiquette-focused Protocol School of Texas, said the office seemed to be 'full of cliques and bullies.' 'People making comments about a small fridge under someone's desk is petty,' she observed. 'It's simply not their business, much like any other item someone would bring to the office, like a fan or a favorite lamp for their desk.' Gottsman added, 'And, in this case, no, it was not in poor taste. They are trying to bring their lunch, purchased a small fridge they put under their desk, out of sight, and added a lock because there are strong indicators that food has been taken and it could happen again.' Gottsman encouraged the office worker to keep his chin up, and that the office bullies 'will move on to another office situation.' She suggested, 'Get with the supervisor, manager, owner of the company or HR to use your voice positively and respectfully.' 'Taking something from the kitchen, from a cabinet, from a shelf or anywhere else is theft — whether it's a sandwich, a stapler or money.'
Politico
2 hours ago
- Politico
Crew abandons ship attacked in the Red Sea, UK military says
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship was taking on water and its crew had abandoned the vessel. The U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet referred questions to the military's Central Command, which said it was aware of the incident without elaborating. Moammar al-Eryani, the information minister for Yemen's exiled government opposing the Houthis, identified the vessel attacked as the Magic Seas and blamed the rebels for the attack. The ship had been broadcasting it had an armed security team on board in the vicinity the attack took place and had been heading north. 'The attack also proves once again that the Houthis are merely a front for an Iranian scheme using Yemen as a platform to undermine regional and global stability, at a time when Tehran continues to arm the militia and provide it with military technology, including missiles, aircraft, drones, and sea mines,' al-Eryani wrote on the social platform X. The Magic Seas' owners did not respond to a request for comment. The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group's al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred, but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi. However, Ambrey said the vessel targeted met 'the established Houthi target profile,' without elaborating. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually.
