Northside Town Hall Community Center

Pratt Center rendering of Northside Town Hall interior

Engine 212 – “The People’s Firehouse” – served North Brooklyn for more than a century; the Pratt Center is now helping transform it into a community and cultural center.

Built in 1869, Engine 212 was threatened with forced closure in the 1970s by a cash-strapped city government. New York City’s poorest neighborhoods were then suffering waves of arson and destructive fires. At the same time, City services, including fire-fighting, were being slashed.

Community members rallied around the firehouse, occupying it for eighteen months until the City relented. Engine 212 was dubbed “The People’s Firehouse,” and the moniker stuck with a group of community activists who came together in support of the firehouse. These activists continued to fight for tenants’ rights and affordable housing in North Brooklyn, and created a nonprofit, called The Peoples Firehouse, Inc.

In 2009, the City awarded The People’s Firehouse and another North Brooklyn community group, Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG), a contract to purchase and restore the old firehouse building. With the support of the Pratt Center, the storied building will be transformed into the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center, a combined office and community space.

Pratt Center architects and real estate specialists are advising the organizations as they develop plans to transform the firehouse. The Pratt Center will serve as the project manager as design and construction get underway. We are also guiding the two nonprofits through the process of merging to create one new organization, with a single board of directors and strong base of funding support.

Reborn as a community center, non-profit offices, and artists’ space, the People’s Firehouse will continue to serve as a vital part of North Brooklyn’s community life.