(continued from page 43) The Fireboat John ] . Harvey has been awarded a Save America's Treasures $165,955 matching grant towards its ongoing 11-year restoration process. As a matchin g grant, the o rganiza ti o n (a 501 (c) (3) no t-for-profit corpo ratio n) has to raise a like amount, and they have made it eas ier fo r donors to send tax-deductible do nations securely th ro ugh th eir website (credi t card or Payp al). The j ohn ]. Harvey served the New York C iry Fire D epartment fro m 193 1 ro 1994. At 130 fee t and 268 net tons, sh e is amo ng the
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most powerful fi reboats ever in service, capable of pumping up to 18,000 gall o ns of wa ter a m inute. During h er six decades of service, she assisted in fightin g th e C unard Line pier fi re of 1932, the burning of the Normandie in 1942, and the fire aboard the ammun itio n sh ip EL Estero (see Sea History 126) . On 9/ 11 , the retired fi reboat cam e to the aid of New Yo rkers by ass isting in evacuations from lower Manhat tan and then was put o n offi cial du ry as M arine 2, pumping wa ter o nto Gro und Zero. The H arvey and her crew pumped wate r at the site fo r the next 80 ho urs until the FD N Y was able to fi x th e damaged wa te r m ains. j ohn ]. Harvey is privately owned by a small gro up, which bought her at auctio n in 1999; she was placed on the Natio nal Register of Historic Places in 2000. Located at Pier 66 M aritime, No rth River (a.k.a. Hudson River), between West 26 th and Wes t 27 th Streets in Manhattan, she offers free trips fo r the public and puts on imp ress ive harbo r displays in good wea ther. Volunteers are welcom e; donatio ns are m uch appreciated . (www. fireboar.o rg) . . . The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced last month it h as awarded $18.8 million in grants for 216 humanities projects for t h e 2011 awards cycle. This fundin g will support a w ide variety of
SEA H ISTORY 135 SUMMER 2011
Classic Harbor Line
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