E206 area

Yes they have a lot of commercial factories as well as some residential they also have a few 1st due Queens boxes over the Grand Street Bridge north of Grand up to Maspeth ave including 47th st to Rust st. That area as well heavily commercial factories.
 
Eng. 206 was one of the last engine companies to have 2 pieces of apparatus. A Deputy in the 11th Div.
saw to that. I think that they were a 7 man company at that time because out OT went up quite a bit when
they were moved to the 28 Batt. from the 35.
 
lucky said:
Eng. 206 was one of the last engine companies to have 2 pieces of apparatus. A Deputy in the 11th Div.
saw to that. I think that they were a 7 man company at that time because out OT went up quite a bit when
they were moved to the 28 Batt. from the 35.
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Engine 206 moved from downtown Brooklyn to a new house four miles away on Metropolitan Avenue, originally scheduled for Engine 285 and Ladder 133, in 1915.
Engine 285 was then established in Woodhaven. Ladder 133 was established in Queens, 83 years later.
Engine 206 moved to their present house in 1976.
 
fdhistorian said:
Engine 206 moved from downtown Brooklyn to a new house four miles away on Metropolitan Avenue, originally scheduled for Engine 285 and Ladder 133, in 1915.
Engine 285 was then established in Woodhaven. Ladder 133 was established in Queens, 83 years later.
Engine 206 moved to their present house in 1976.
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Yes, their old quarters on Metropolitan is across the avenue from their present FH on Grand. there was an artist living there in early 2000's, not sure if privately owned or like city owned artist coop. Believe 265/121 old quarters is city artist cooperative.
 
Initially after the new 206 FH was built the old FH was sold to a private business that made straw baskets which remained for quite awhile.
 
I mentioned a while back how it seemed odd that E206 really never picked up any of the high volume of work in Bushwick and Williamsburg in the war years. Chief JK told me when I asked, that 206 was just out of the area where all the work was happening and really didn't run like neighboring 271, 216, 237.
 
Originally the FDNY Hose Wagons had no Pumps on board....thru the years 206's 2nd Piece evolved into a regular Pumper since the FDNY no longer maintained separate Hose Wagons.....206 due to their area was one of the last FDNY ENG's to have a 2nd Piece (not to be confused with the War Years 2nd Sections of 1968 to 1974 )....in a photo above of the 2 Mack CF Pumpers on the corner one is the last assigned FDNY Hose Wagon but is actually a Regular Pumper assigned to 206....there were Pull Boxes over by 237 that would actually have 5 Pumpers on the Box during a period where SQ*3 had a Pumper & 206 had the 2nd Mack CF as their Hose Wagon.....a miscreant "Pulling a Box" got the response of 237...218...206...206 Hose Wagon & SQ*3. All Pumpers during a certain period around 1970.
 
I was detailed there from L 112 on occasion, you either had a restful night or you were up all night at some job that required the foam rig. I watched the sunrise from 9PM on 8th Av in Manhattan with an asbestos leak from manholes, ugh. The firehouse was nutty, too. They kept count of every stick of butter, an officer would come into the rec room to lower volume on tv, and other cukoo stuff. Oh yeah, boy the Captain got really mad at me when I parked in HIS spot, not knowing...and the Captain was my neighbor I found out later, but he was still sore.
 
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Back in the early 50's my dad was with L140. Occasionally when he picked up his paycheck at the firehouse, he would take my twin brother and me to purchase sneakers on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. Every time we passed E206, the firehouse doors were closed and it had to be because of the extremely foul odor coming from Newton Creek. I would like to think the creek has been somewhat cleaned up over the years but I can't imagine why anyone would have chosen to be assigned to E206 back then.
 
I worked for Brooklyn Union Gas and wish I had a dollar for every time I passed that FH. You are right GYM, some days that creek was really ripe. Not sure how you guys put up with it.
 
gym wrote:
Back in the early 50's my dad was with L140. Occasionally when he picked up his paycheck at the firehouse, he would take my twin brother and me to purchase sneakers on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. Every time we passed E206, the firehouse doors were closed and it had to be because of the extremely foul odor coming from Newton Creek. I would like to think the creek has been somewhat cleaned up over the years but I can't imagine why anyone would have chosen to be assigned to E206 back then.
Lucky writes:
Back in the early 50's my dad was with L140. Occasionally when he picked up his paycheck at the firehouse, he would take my twin brother and me to purchase sneakers on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. Every time we passed E206, the firehouse doors were closed and it had to be because of the extremely foul odor coming from Newton Creek. I would like to think the creek has been somewhat cleaned up over the years but I can't imagine why anyone would have chosen to be assigned to E206 back then.
It seems odd that we both had fathers in L 140 at that time, both were twins, and both went for sneakers in Williamsburg. The sneaker store that we went to was on Grand Street, which was directly across the bridge from Metropolitan Ave.
 
gym said:
Back in the early 50's my dad was with L140. Occasionally when he picked up his paycheck at the firehouse, he would take my twin brother and me to purchase sneakers on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. Every time we passed E206, the firehouse doors were closed and it had to be because of the extremely foul odor coming from Newton Creek. I would like to think the creek has been somewhat cleaned up over the years but I can't imagine why anyone would have chosen to be assigned to E206 back then.
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I understand keeping the doors closed. My original work location was right next to the Gowanus canal. More of the same you could smell it blocks away when the wind was right.
 
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