Historic Tanker in Red Hook Needs Permanent Home

Fliers have been put up all around Red Hook saying that the Mary A. Whalen, the historic oil tanker built in 1938 that’s docked in the Red Hook container port, is in danger of being scrapped unless funds are raised to secure a permanent, publicly accessible place for the ship. Here’s the word from PortSide New York, the nonprofit that maintains the ship and programs events on it: “This crisis reflects the relationship between funding and real estate: PortSide’s ability to raise money or earn money with the ship is severely limited by not having a publicly-accessible place for the tanker MARY A. WHALEN. We need a place to be liberated from forever negotiating for a home or for temporary event permits. Some emergency fundraising will keep our doors open so we can negotiate past April 30, but the real estate hunt must come to an end!” A meeting about the fund-raising and hunt for a permanent home for the tanker will take place next Monday, the 27th, at LICH. Last year the state determined that the vessel was eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
Please Help! [Portside NY]