Monday (2/4) on the New York City news site DNAinfo.com, Nikhita Venugopal reports, “The Brooklyn Philharmonic has a new home. After almost a decade of conflict involving community members, politicians, actors, and residents, the renovation of former firehouse Engine Company 204, slated to become the new center for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, will begin this summer. The Department of Design and Construction confirmed that the building will require new windows and a gut interior renovation and will be completed by the summer of 2014. Bidding on the construction company will begin in the next month or two, said Timothy Gilles, member of the board of directors for the Brooklyn Philharmonic. In 2010, Community Board 6 approved the 10-year lease for the Brooklyn Philharmonic at $1 a year. The decommissioned firehouse at 299 Degraw St. will house the administrative staff of the philharmonic on the second floor, said Gilles. … In the area where the fire trucks were previously parked, the arts group has planned for a ‘community-based space.’ While the area isn’t big enough for a 60-piece orchestra rehearsal, said Gilles, it will be appropriate for quartets and smaller groups to rehearse and even perform.”
Posted February 5, 2012
