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The End of an EraCaptain Brenda Berkman (far left) gathers the crew of Engine Company 204 for a final portrait before the doors of the firehouse are shuttered by budget cuts.
All photos ©Mark D. Phillips, 2003
Engine 204 was cleaned out on Friday, May 30. The firehouse, which stood guard in the neighborhood for nearly 150 years, stands silent.The fire company was formed in 1855 as the Montauk Hose Company, later becoming BFD 4 in the Brooklyn Fire Department prior to Brooklyn joining New York City. The Degraw firehouse was originally the stables and the men lived across the street. It's long history will not be forgotten.
For many Cobble Hill residents, Sunday, May 25, 2003, will be their main memory of the firehouse. For a short, intense time, residents stood united against the city in a battle of wills over a local firehouse.The closing of Engine 204 ended the long history of a fire company just shy of its 150th anniversary. Formed in 1855 as the Montauk horse and hose company, it later became Company 4 of the city of Brooklyn Fire Department.Incorporated into the New York Fire Department even before Brooklyn became part of the city in 1899, Engine 204 was the last firehouse in the Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens neighborhoods. The firehouse on Degraw Street was the stable for the original fire company in 1855.
As the morning progressed, the crowd of protestors grew in front of the stationhouse. Captain Berkman watches from the roof of the stationhouse.
Cobble Hill councilman Bill DeBlasio (L), actor Steve Buscemi, and NY Assemblywoman Joan Millman help form a human chain outside the distinctive red door of the firehouse. Eventually, they would be part of a group that gained entry to the stationhouse. In the end, the three of them would be charged with trespass and disorderly conduct.
Produced by The South Brooklyn Network. All material ©2003. No reuse without permission.
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