|
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard (NYNSY)–was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan. It was bounded by Navy Street, Flushing and Kent Avenues, and at the height of its production of U.S. Navy warships it covered over 200 acres (0.81 km2).
Following the American Revolution, the waterfront site was used to build merchant vessels. Federal authorities purchased the old docks and 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land for forty thousand dollars in 1801, and the property became an active U.S. Navy shipyard five years later, in 1806. The offices, store-houses and barracks were constructed of handmade bricks, and the yard's oldest structure (located in Vinegar Hill), the 1807 federal style commandant's house, was designed by Charles Bulfinch, architect of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Many officers were housed in Admiral's Row.
Military chain of command was strictly observed. During the yard's construction of Robert Fulton's steam frigate, Fulton,
launched in 1815, the year of Fulton's death, the Navy Yard's chief
officers were listed as follows: Captain Commandant, Master Commandant,
Lieutenant of the Yard, Master of the Yard, Surgeon of the Yard & Marine Barracks, Purser of the Navy Yard, Naval Storekeeper, Naval Constructor, and a major commanding the Marine Corps detachment.
The nation's first ironclad ship, Monitor, was fitted with its revolutionary iron cladding at the Continental Iron Works in nearby Greenpoint. By the American Civil War, the yard had expanded to employ about 6000 men. In 1890, the ill-fated Maine was launched from the Yard's ways.
On the eve of World War II, the yard contained more than five miles (8 km) of paved streets, four drydocks ranging in length from 326 to 700 feet (99 to 213 meters), two steel
shipways, and six pontoons and cylindrical floats for salvage work,
barracks for marines, a power plant, a large radio station, and a
railroad spur, as well as the expected foundries, machine shops, and
warehouses. In 1937 the battleship North Carolina was laid down. In 1938, the yard employed about ten thousand men, of whom one-third were Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers. The battleship Iowa was completed in 1942 followed by the Missouri which became the site of the Surrender of Japan 2 September 1945. On 12 January 1953, test operations began on Antietam, which emerged in December 1952 from the yard as America's first angled-deck aircraft carrier.
The US Navy took possession of PT 109
on 10 July 1942, and the boat was delivered to the Brooklyn Navy Yard
for fitting. This boat was sunk in the Pacific in August 1943 and became
famous years later when its young commander, Lt. John F. Kennedy, entered politics.
At its peak, during World War II, the yard employed 70,000 people, 24 hours a day.
During World War II, the pedestrian walkways on the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges
spanning the East River offered a good overhead view of the navy yard,
and were therefore encased in order to prevent espionage.
About
two years before the shipyard closed word spread the yard was going to
be closed. Professor Seymour Melmen an Engineering Economist of Columbia
Graduate School Of Engineering looked into the plight of the shipyard
workers at the N.Y.N.S. and came up with a detailed plan for converting
the then New York Naval Ship Yard into a commercial shipyard which would
have saved most of the skilled shipyard jobs. The plan was never put in
place. The Wagner Administration looked to the auto industry to build a
car plant inside the Yard. None of the U.S. car manufacturers were
interested, the foreign car manufactures claimed with the conversion of
the dollar it was too expensive.The navy decommissioned the yard in
1966, the Johnson Administration refused to sell the yard to the City of
New York for 18 months. When the new Nixon Administration came into
power they signed the papers to sell the yard to the city. Leases were
signed inside the yard even before the sale of the yard to the City was
signed.
In 1967 Seatrain Shipbuilding which was wholly owned by Seatrain Lines
signed a lease with the Commerce Labor Industry Corporation of Kings
(CLICK) which was established as a non-profit body to run the yard for
the city. CLICK's lease with the newly formed Seatrain Shipbuilding was
not very business friendly. Seatrain planned to build five VLCC's and
seven container ships
for Seatrain Lines. It eventually built 4 VLCCs (the largest ships ever
to be built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard), 8 barges and one ice-breaker
barge. The last ship to be built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard was the VLCC
the Bay Ridge built by Seatrain Shipbuilding. In 1977 the Bay Ridge was
converted from a VLCC to a FPSOV [Floating Production Storage Offtake
Vessel]. The Bay Ridge was renamed Kuito and is operating for Chevron
off of the Coast of Angola in 400 meters of water in the Kuito oil
field.
1976 would bing peak employment inside the yard with employment
reaching nearly 6,000 workers with Seatrain Shipbuilding and Coastal Dry
Dock & Repair accounting for 80% of the employment. In 1979
Seatrain Lines closed its gates ending the history of Brooklyn
shipbuilding. In 1972 Coastal Dry Dock & Repair Corp leased the
three small dry docks and several buildings inside the yard from CLICK.
Coastal Drydock only repaired and converted US Navy vessels but closed
in 1987. CLICK was replaced a few years before Coastal going under with
the [non-profit] Brooklyn Development Corporation. In 1987 the Brooklyn
Navy Yard Development Corporation for the City of New York. It failed in
all its attempts to lease any of the six dry docks and buildings to any
shipbuilding or ship-repair company.
The yard became an area of private manufacturing and commercial
activity. Today it has over 200 tenants with more than 3,500 employees.
The Yard has three piers and a total of 10 berths ranging from 350 to
890 feet (270 m) long, with ten-foot deck height and 25 to 40 feet (7 to
12 meters) of depth alongside. The drydocks are now operated by GMD
Shipyard Corp. A federal project maintains a channel depth of 35 feet
(10 m) from Throggs Neck
to the yard, about two miles (3 km) from the western entrance, and
thence 40 feet (12 m) of depth to the deep water in the Upper Bay. Currents in the East River can be strong, and congestion heavy. Access to the piers requires passage under the Manhattan Bridge (a suspension span with a clearance of 134 feet (41 m) and the Brooklyn Bridge (a suspension span with a clearance of 127 feet (39 m).
Quarters A, the commander's quarters building, is a National Historic Landmark. The Navy Yard Hospital Building (R95) and Surgeon's Residence (R1) are both designated as NYC Landmark buildings. A report commissioned by the National Guard suggests that the entirety of the Admiral's Row property meets the eligibility criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
Big Apple Chimney “The
Brownstone and Pre-War Specialists” are Fully, Licensed, Insured and Bonded, Chimney and Fireplace Contractors.
Primarily Servicing Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York, We also service the New
York Metropolitan Area. Our Chimney and Fireplace Experts Specialize in
Chimneys and Fireplaces for Pre-War Era Buildings including Brownstones,
Townhouses and Carriage Houses.
Big Apple Chimney’s Mechanics and Technicians have been
in the Chimney & Fireplace business over 20 years. We are a Better Business
Bureau (BBB) accredited business with an A rating since 2006.
Big Apple Chimney offers Complete Chimney and
Fireplace Services, H.V.A.C, Masonry, Roofing and Complete Historical
Restoration Services.
We employ Master Masons, Master
Carpenters, Licensed Plumbers and Licensed Electricians.
“We will send the right people to do
the job, correctly and to your complete satisfaction”.
Call Big Apple Chimney today at 718-648-3998 to speak to our
Chimney and Fireplace Specialists and request a free estimate. We service all
residential and commercial customers. We are Family Owned and Operated with
locations in NYC and Brooklyn.
Call Big Apple Chimney at 718-648-3998 for 24 hour emergency service regarding your chimney or fireplace. We Correct
All Violations, if your heat has been turned off due to
bad conditions, such as a blockage, a carbon monoxide leak, a draft, flue
spillage, leaking soot or water, etc. Our Emergency Service crew is guaranteed
to restore your Boiler or Hot Water Heater after a turn off. We are fully
qualified to repair and restore your heat in the case of a gas, oil or electric
company shut-off! We can also restore your heat and hot water if the Fire
Dept., E.P.A. or any other city, state or federal government agency has shut you
down.
Big
Apple Chimney also provides a full range of
inspection services (including but not limited to infra-red camera scanning,
carbon monoxide detection), smoke and air flow testing services, reports and
affidavits required by NYC Building Code.
(Big Apple Chimney combines their expert
knowledge in NYC building code with their unequaled experience in brownstone
and pre-war buildings to provide their clients with the best chimney and
fireplace service in NYC.)
|
