Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Brass thieves wreck Prospect Park water fountains

By

Liam Quigley

Published May 29, 2026

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

A water fountain missing its spout.

 

Liam Quigley

By

Liam Quigley

Published May 29, 2026

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

The basins of nine brass water fountains in Prospect Park were stolen earlier this month, costing the parks department nearly $100,000 in replacement parts and repairs just as temperatures rise for summer.

Parks department officials said that each fountain will cost $11,000 to replace with entirely new fountains with stainless steel basins, instead of brass. It wasn’t clear when the fountains will be repaired, though parks officials said the work would be done as soon as possible.

The thief or thieves struck in sections of the park that are relatively far apart. Basins were swiped from two water fountains near baseball fields in the park’s Long Meadow. All that was left were the metal dishes that hold the basins.

Another out of service fountain was near the boathouse. Two others were by the Parade Grounds, their pipes still sputtering water for anyone thirsty enough to take a sketchy sip.

Workers with the Prospect Park Alliance discovered the theft on May 8. There are 52 fountains in the park.

Another damaged water fountain by the Prospect Park Parade Grounds.

Liam Quigley

Students Dave Green and Sam Klein were playing catch near one of the busted ballfield fountains.

"It's really a shame that people have to vandalize the park,” Green, 21, said. “It's such a nice place. Everyone should be able to enjoy it equally, and it's unfair that people should just damage the water fountains.”

"It's really weird they just damage the water fountains. People need to drink over here, and it's not right that people are just going around damaging [them],” Klein agreed.

Brass theft, including from city parks, is not a new phenomenon. Brass scrap fetches a higher price per pound than steel. It’s not clear how much the basins in the park weigh.

Timothy Fulton, who owns T&T Scrap in East Williamsburg, said the price of brass has been rising for the past five months. Still, he was surprised at the heist, which he saw as high risk given the potential payout.

"I'm pretty shocked because there's security, there's cameras, there's police all over the parks. So I'm very surprised that they would've just been able to go in there and take them out," Fulton said.

"Depending on how heavy they are, one or two people got to carry it to wherever their van is.”

In 1973, somebody stole a roughly 80-pound bronze duckling from Central Park. In 1990, thieves made off with a bronze bust of Irish-American engineer John Wolfe Ambrose, who guided the development of New York Harbor, nabbing it from its pedestal in Battery Park.

Tagged

brooklyn

parks

Liam Quigley

Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

Late start to school year puts NYC parents in a childcare crunch

Students don't return to the classroom until Sept. 10 thanks to a late Labor Day. It's left families across the city scrambling.

By

Jessica Gould

Published Aug 31, 2026 at 12:12 p.m. ET

NYC is in for a wet week of weather, with possible wind gusts and thunderstorms

Drier conditions are expected by the end of the week.

By

Ramsey Khalifeh

News

NYC is in for a wet week of weather, with possible wind gusts and thunderstorms

Drier conditions are expected by the end of the week.

By

Ramsey Khalifeh

TikTok is the new 311: New Yorkers tag Mayor Mamdani on social media for help

By

Elizabeth Kim

Early Addition: Doctor's appointment capital of the world to lose its AMC theater

By

James Ramsay

MTA limits A, B, C, and D train service amid Monday morning commuter rush

By

Ramsey Khalifeh

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .