Fish and art will co-exist peacefully this summer in the East River.
Each of the four “New York City Waterfalls” under construction on the river’s shore – mammoth works of public art that officials hope will attract at least as many tourists as the “Gates” exhibit in Central Park – are being supplemented with special fish-filtering pools.
The pools are designed to spare fish and crabs from the often deadly experience of being sucked up through pipes and then spit out high above the water.
The $15 million waterfalls – which will operate 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., June 26 through Oct. 13 – are the work of Danish artist Olafur Eliasson.
The project is a partnership of the Public Art Fund and Circle Line, which will offer tours of the falls off the Brooklyn Bridge, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Pier 35 in Lower Manhattan and Governors Island.