Prospect Park Zoo Will Reopen Memorial Day Weekend After Flood Damage

BROOKLYN, NY — Prospect Park Zoo's hibernation is almost over.

The popular zoo will reopen Memorial Day weekend after damaging floods from Tropical Storm Ophelia forced its eight-month closure, representatives for the Wildlife Conservation Society announced Tuesday.

A special preview for Wildlife Conservation Society members will be May 24, before a full reopening to the public May 25, representatives said.

"While this reopening of Prospect Park Zoo is a major milestone, we have a long way to go before the zoo is fully restored," said Craig Piper, vice president and director of city zoos for the society, in a statement.

Tropical Storm Ophelia lashed Prospect Park Zoo with more than 7 inches of rain, the zoo's operators said.

Miraculously, none of the zoo's roughly 400 animals were hurt in the ensuing floods, representatives said.

But the same couldn't be said for the zoo's infrastructure.

Floods inundated the zoo Sept. 29 and filled basements — which held the zoo's boilers, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical systems, aquatic life support and more — with more than 25 feet of water, operators said.

Crews spent the eight-month closure conducting $6.5 million of repairs, which put the zoo back on the electrical grid, representatives said. They moved its primary electrical room from a basement to ground level, as well as removed emergency generators from public pathways.

The repairs, however, are a drop in the bucket for the full $20 million ongoing restoration, operators said.

Zoo guests will see spruced-up public spaces, even as restoration work continues, representatives said.

And they'll also get to gander at new animals: the zoo now has a pair of southern pudu, one of the world's smallest deer species, as well as a female Hamadryas baboon that was born during the closure, operators said.