$17.8M renovation will turn historic Cobble Hill firehouse into music school
Renderings courtesy of MBB Architects
A long-vacant Cobble Hill firehouse will get new life as a permanent home for a music school. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday announced the start of a $17.8 million transformation of the former Engine Company 204 firehouse at 299 Degraw Street, which has sat empty since 2003 due to budget cuts. The project will convert the building into a new home for the Noel Pointer Foundation (NPF), a music school dedicated to expanding music education for youth in historically underserved neighborhoods.
Constructed in 1857, the historic 6,000-square-foot DeGraw Firehouse will be renovated by the city’s Department of Design and Construction (DDC) on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA).
DDC is working with MBB Architects and A.P.N. Construction Corp. on the project.
With a new home, NPF, founded in 1995 in memory of Grammy-nominated violinist and native New Yorker Noel Pointer, will be able to expand its music education programs.
The organization has reached more than 390,000 NYC public school students through string music training, providing youth ages 3 to 18 in underserved neighborhoods with professional music education and performance opportunities.
NPF runs music programs in nearly 50 Title I schools and day care centers across the five boroughs, serving more than 2,000 children annually. The organization also helps students pursue admission to specialized schools, conservatories, and colleges across the country.
The new facility will allow the organization to expand its after-school, Saturday, and Summer Strings programs. Offerings range from beginner courses to pre-professional instruction and include ensemble work in cello, double bass, violin, viola, guitar, piano, DJing, composition, and voice, as well as master classes with musicians, one-on-one coaching, and audition preparation.
In a statement, Chinita Pointer, executive director of NPF, called the project a promise that music education will always have a place in underserved NYC communities.
“Over 30 years ago, we founded the NPF to continue Noel’s legacy by giving children access to the string music education that transformed his life at a young age,” Pointer said. “We have operated out of my home, in schools, and in rental facilities throughout Brooklyn, but we never had a dedicated space of our own.”
“Now, we will have our first permanent headquarters at the historic DeGraw Firehouse. This building is more than bricks and mortar. It’s a promise to the next generation that music, opportunity, and hope will always have a place in our community.”
The renovation will restore the firehouse’s brick and terra-cotta facade while converting the existing garage doors into large glass windows to bring natural light into the building and increase visibility from the street.
Inside, the facility will feature specialized acoustic design, soundproofed lesson rooms, offices, a music library and gallery, workstations, storage rooms, and a recording studio. An ensemble room will have a ribbed wood ceiling and acoustic wall baffles designed to scatter sound.
The project will also create a courtyard for multidisciplinary programming, a new elevator connecting all three floors, and an ADA-accessible reception area with an open staircase. The design team will make use of the building’s full footprint by excavating and finishing the cellar to create additional rehearsal and recording space.
New mechanical, electrical, plumbing, information technology, and security systems will modernize the 169-year-old building, while new furniture, modern fixtures, and other updated equipment will also be installed.
“Noel Pointer understood the power of music to change young people’s lives, because it changed his. With this $18 million investment, we will continue his legacy—transforming an empty firehouse into a place where New Yorkers can learn and create,” Mamdani said.
“The arts are essential to the life of every child, and this new home will allow the Noel Pointer Foundation to bring that opportunity to thousands more young people across our city,” he added.
Construction is slated for completion in fall 2028.
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