31 May 2004

Fireboat receives grant

by Jennifer Weil

Three of the owners of the John J. Harvey had decidedly different reactions when they heard about a $320,000 matching state grant to Save Our Ships New York for the ongoing restoration of the 1931 fireboat.

Huntley Gill cried.

Chase Welles felt overwhelmed.

And Eric Weisler breathed a sigh of relief.

The announcement to aid the boat that helped pump water to the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11, 2001, came this month from Bernadette Castro, the state commissioner of parks, recreation and historic preservation.

The fireboat "was kind of on the fence between having a future and not having a future," said Weisler, a New City resident.

Weisler is also a trustee of Save Our Ships New York, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation of historic vessels in New York state.

"With the state's help now, she has the ability to get into dry dock and to take care of all the things that can only be done out of the water," he said.

Soon after Weisler and Gill, who also is a Save Our Ships trustee, heard the news, they started working the phones, hoping to find donors.

"We probably have commitments for about $30,000 to $40,000 so far," Gill said. "We will also be doing a series of things. We have a whole series of public programs and we always solicit for contributions at those. We will do mailings to those who have supported us in the past. We are also going to a couple of different foundations and apply for grants."

Gill said he also plans to do a postcard campaign to volunteer fire departments up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

"Fire departments tend to love this kind of thing," he said. "So we will have a whole variety of approaches to raise this money."

Hampered by an aging fleet of steam-powered fireboats, the New York City Fire Department launched the John J. Harvey, a 130-foot steel boat, in 1931. The red, white and black vessel then was the largest and most powerful fireboat in the world. The boat was retired in 1994, and it was bought at auction by its current owners five years later. In June 2000, the John J. Harvey was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the vessel's greatest accomplishments was its work on Sept. 11. For 80 hours after the twin towers fell, several of the boat's 18 owners pumped water to the firefighters working in the wreckage. Because none of the fire hydrants west of the World Trade Center worked, the John J. Harvey, along with two of the city's fireboats, provided much of the water to the firefighters throughout that week.

"I don't think it was until 9/11 that people realized that this historic ship had a soul. It threw water from the river onto the scene. It evacuated people. It sort of rose to the occasion and said, 'I might be historic, but I am still important and I am still part of this wonderful heritage and I can still help,' " said Castro. "It's kind of like 'The Little Engine That Could' story. All of the high-tech things, all of the fancy modes of transportation, it was little John J. Harvey. I think it is a very special historic ship."

The boat is now docked at Pier 63, at the foot of West 23rd Street in Manhattan.

Gill said the boat is in fair condition, but there are a lot of things that need to be repaired and restored.

"If we don't do that, then in five years, it could be in trouble," he said. "This boat has been working for the city and the state since 1931. The idea for this grant is to ensure that she is still here in another quarter of a century doing the same thing."

The first order of business is to fix the boat's hull, followed by its engines and piping.

"We want to make sure she has another 25 to 30 years," Gill said. "I am anticipating that could easily be $200,000 to 400,000 alone."

Gill said he plans to do the boat's restoration in phases.

"We are hoping to do $740,000 worth of work on the boat, but that doesn't mean that we have to wait until we have the whole amount," he said. "We could raise $100,000 and do $200,000 worth of work."

Welles, a South Nyack resident and Save our Ships trustee, said it was important that the John J. Harvey be preserved.

"This boat is a true industrial artifact," he said. "It was built in New York City. It was built as well as anything could be built in those days. It really was the pinnacle industrial achievement of that era. It's architecturally significant. People come and look at it because it has influenced generations of not just fireboats, but all kinds of working water craft that were subsequently built."

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