They Might be Giants, Nada Surf lead effort to make old Williamsburg firehouse a cultural center
In 1975, when the city faced bankruptcy, Mayor Abe Beame tried to close a firehouse in Williamsburg called Engine Co. 212. Led by a tough local grocer named Adam Veneski, the citizens of the scrappy, blue-collar northside section of Williamsburg occupied the Engine 212 firehouse, renamed it The People's Firehouse, and in one of the boldest acts of civil disobedience in modern city history literally prevented the city from shuttering the firehouse that protected thousands living in surrounding rickety pre-war tenements and wood-framed houses.
...
The People's Firehouse Inc., in conjunction with NAG, submitted the winning proposal to turn the 6,000 square-foot, three-story building at 132 Wythe Ave. into the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center.
"All we have to do now is raise $2 million," says Kirby. "And we will. We've appealed to our elected officials. We have interested local businesses. And we've launched a community-based fund drive. Bars, restaurants, rock 'n' roll bands, and performance venues and breweries, are all coming together."
On Oct. 9, the kickoff of the '09 Williamsburg Art Galleries open houses, starting at 6 p.m., NAG will present a multimedia history of the firehouse.
On Oct. 28, local musicians Nada Surf, They Might be Giants and Charles Bissell of the Wrens will stage a $25-a-head fund-raiser concert at the Music Hall of Williamsburg for the Northside Town Hall and Cultural Center.
"Suddenly community activism is hip," says Kirby. "The effort is unusually diverse - hipsters, artists, rock 'n' rollers, old blue-collar unionists, aging former activists, business owners. What greater irony that the current trend comes home to roost in uber-trendy Williamsburg? But this time, it's fueled by the activism of the old timers."
Which is Brooklyn at its best.
For more info, visit nthcc.org, or e-mail info@nthcc.org or call (718) 384-2248
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home