The FDNY is grabbing headlines nowadays for nixing its beefcake calendar, but some Cobble Hill community leaders are much more concerned about one of the department’s older, retired members. Although the Economic Development Corporation has announced that it’s looking to rent Cobble Hill’s old Engine 204 to a nonprofit organization, some community leaders are still holding out hope that the building will one day again be used as a firehouse. The EDC is seeking proposals for cultural and/or community groups to redevelop Engine 204 and Williamsburg’s Engine 212, both of which were shuttered in 2003 despite fierce community protests. While the city is selling the Williamsburg property outright, the fact that the Cobble Hill building at 299 Degraw Street is only being leased has prompted Councilman Bill de Blasio and State Assembly Member Joan Millman to suggest there’s a possibility it will again be used as a firehouse at some point in the future. Is this a case of politicians posturing over a lost cause? Or has the lack of a firehouse had a marked impact on life in Cobble Hill?
Vacant B’klyn Firehouses To Become ‘Cultural Institutions’ [Brooklyn Eagle]
Rally Today to Save Cobble Hill’s Engine 204 [Brownstoner]
RFPs for the firehouses [NYCEDC] GMAP