Greenport Village OKs pact for fireboat at Mitchell marina
With all village approvals in place, a retired New York City fireboat will likely be making its way from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to Greenport in the coming weeks.
The Greenport Village Board approved a contract Jan. 22 allowing the vessel, called Firefighter, to remain at the Mitchell Park Marina through June 15.
Now a nonprofit floating museum, the 120-foot fireboat is expected to move to a permanent berth at the railroad dock near the East End Seaport Museum in time for the summer season.
Until then, the museum will pay the village $200 per month for dockage at Mitchell Park and will also pay for electricity there.
Firefighter, one of the first boats designed by famed naval architect William F. Gibbs, served the FDNY from 1938 until 2010, said Jeffrey Jonap, the museum’s director of operations.
Mr. Jonap said Firefighter was retired because the department needed to upgrade to newer, faster and more fuel efficient boats after Sept. 11, 2001.
The ship requires a professional crew to make the 10-hour trip from Brooklyn to Greenport. Museum volunteers initially planned to make the voyage this Saturday, Jan. 26, but postponed it until Feb. 9, according to the group’s Facebook page.
