No Bills: The People's Firehouse

From: Nick Yulman
Series: No Bills: Stories of North Brooklyn
Length: 11:26

Stories about the People's Firehouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Paul Veneski talks about occupying the Engine Company 212 firehouse in 1975 with his father Adam Veneski, the founder of the North Brooklyn advocacy organization People's Firehouse Inc. Felice Kirby talks about coming to Williamsburg as a community organizer in the 1970s and running Teddy's Bar & Grill on Berry Street. Leonora Russo talks about volunteering with People's Firehouse and being dubbed "the Queen of Williamsburg". This piece was part of No Bills: Stories of North Brooklyn, a site-specific audio installation that presented audio oral histories about Williamsburg and Greenpoint through listening stations situated in construction fences and on the street. It created serendipitous encounters for passersby, inviting them to engage with the neighborhood’s history while standing at the sites of its developing future. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: No Bills: The People's Firehouse
From: Nick Yulman

No-bills_construction_small Stories about the People's Firehouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Paul Veneski talks about occupying the Engine Company 212 firehouse in 1975 with his father Adam Veneski, the founder of the North Brooklyn advocacy organization People's Firehouse Inc. Felice Kirby talks about coming to Williamsburg as a community organizer in the 1970s and running Teddy's Bar & Grill on Berry Street. Leonora Russo talks about volunteering with People's Firehouse and being dubbed "the Queen of Williamsburg". This piece was part of No Bills: Stories of North Brooklyn, a site-specific audio installation that presented audio oral histories about Williamsburg and Greenpoint through listening stations situated in construction fences and on the street. It created serendipitous encounters for passersby, inviting them to engage with the neighborhood’s history while standing at the sites of its developing future.