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An UWS Verdi Square Salmon Mystery

March 31, 2026 | 1:05 PM - Updated on April 15, 2026 | 5:18 PM
in ABSURDITY, OUTDOORS
16
Salmon filets strewn across Verdi Square. Photos by Brandt Johnson.

By Gus Saltonstall

A fishy situation unfolded outside of an Upper West Side train station on Monday.

Five salmon filets were found strewn on the ground in Verdi Square next to the West 72nd Street 1, 2, and 3 train station.

Nearby, there were Fairway salmon packages and a white Fairway bag also on the ground, according to Ellen Jovin, who was enjoying the sunshine when she spotted the fish.

Photo courtesy of Ellen Jovin.

“A woman sitting near us picked up one package and showed it to us,” Jovin wrote in an email to West Side Rag. “According to the package, its salmon piece had been 1.01 lbs and was kosher.”

The discovery leaves a variety of questions.

Could it have been a migration gone wrong? Or a wealthy Upper West Sider’s attempt to give the local birds or stray cats a rare delicacy? Possibly a very naturalistic attempt at sun-drying the salmon?

On Tuesday morning, Jovin confirmed that one piece of salmon remained in Verdi Square.

The remaining filet on Tuesday. Photo by Ellen Jovin.

“I think it has been in touch with many rush hour commuters’ shoes,” Jovin wrote.

WSR will continue to work to get to the bottom of the fishy finding.

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16 Comments
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Neighbor785
Neighbor785
25 days ago

Feeding the rats?

2
Reply
Joey
Joey
25 days ago
Reply to  Neighbor785

You took my reply

2
Reply
jayson salomon
jayson salomon
25 days ago

This story sounds fishy to me!

11
Reply
Mark Moore
Mark Moore
25 days ago

I would guess a bird stole it from someone’s bag and they didn’t feel like cleaning it up.

1
Reply
Carol
Carol
25 days ago
Reply to  Mark Moore

Seagulls have started their season

1
Reply
Nat
Nat
25 days ago

Part of a no Lings (lingcod) protest?

1
Reply
Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon
25 days ago
Reply to  Nat

No King Salmon

5
Reply
Brian
Brian
25 days ago

No sane person would throw out perfectly good salmon. I guess a mentally ill person did this.
I only hope that the person or people in charge of this park clean this up before rats do it for them.

2
Reply
caly
caly
25 days ago
Reply to  Brian

Am I the only one who finds it annoying that people are sitting their on the benches and/or walking by and no one even blinks from the nasty mess and the smell this must cause? Feeling really negative today, but I’ve seen people steal items (food and OTC meds) and then throw them out, which could still fit with the mentally ill theory. 😤

10
Reply
Ellen
Ellen
25 days ago
Reply to  caly

People did blink, but many just didn’t notice. I couldn’t smell anything, and I assume most other people couldn’t either. In addition, people do not travel around NYC with plastic gloves and garbage bags and picker-uppers that would enable them to move one-pound salmon filets from the ground to the trash without getting salmon on themselves, so I think it is natural that they waited for someone with actual gear.

7
Reply
kort
kort
25 days ago

probably dropped by a shoplifter

5
Reply
Ari
Ari
25 days ago

Why did you publish this. It’s grotesque

1
Reply
Chuck
Chuck
25 days ago

Ellen Jovin is a bona fide Upper West Side expert on grammar as well as
salmon. A gift to the neighborhood. THank you, Ellen!

2
Reply
Ian Alterman
Ian Alterman
25 days ago

Verdi never wrote a Salmon Suite,. Maybe they got the wrong composer and wrong fish. It was Schubert who wrote the Trout Quintet. 😉

11
Reply
Manhattan parent
Manhattan parent
24 days ago
Reply to  Ian Alterman

Bravo, Ian!

3
Reply
Phoebe's Mom
Phoebe's Mom
25 days ago
Reply to  Ian Alterman

Thank you, perfect comeback!

2
Reply

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