When some locals immediately scooped up some of the fish to find better homes for them, they were attacked as “Karens,” but the fact is, the people who turned a puddle into an “aquarium” had absolutely no consideration for the survivability of the fish in the first place - they just thought sticking them there looked pretty. Subsequent contributors who decorated the space didn’t alter that. In between inconsistent water levels, contaminants getting in, cats and local wildlife, not to mention the total destruction that winter weather would have wrought, it was always extremely temporary. That it was paved over and the surviving fish were collected and taken elsewhere was a best case scenario - for the fish, anyways. The pavement can always be painted or otherwise decorated, with no animal cruelty involved.
Or until after winter, at which point the fish would all be dead and it would no longer be “controversial.” 
Unfortunately the basic problem is that in order to have fish, you need a hell of a lot more space than they had there - and even if you can find that space, then you get into maintenance costs and safety issues.
