Empty since 2003, a Degraw Street firehouse gets a second life as a youth music school

A Cobble Hill firehouse that has stood dark for more than 20 years is getting a new purpose. On Tuesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani started work on a $17.8 million conversion that will turn the building into the first permanent headquarters of the Noel Pointer Foundation, a music program for young New Yorkers. Engine Company 204 once operated out of the site, whose address is 299 Degraw Street.

The firehouse went up in 1857 and has been empty since budget cuts shut it in 2003. The Department of Cultural Affairs is the client agency, and the Department of Design and Construction is managing the work. A.P.N. Construction Corp. and MBB Architects are working with the design agency. Completion is planned for fall 2028.

What the Degraw Street firehouse renovation includes

Crews will restore the brick and terra-cotta facade of the 6,000-square-foot DeGraw Firehouse. The old garage doors will give way to large glass windows that bring daylight inside and let people on the street see into the school.

The interior will have specialized acoustics, soundproofed lesson rooms and a recording studio, along with a music library and gallery, offices, workstations and storage. A ribbed wood ceiling and wall baffles in the ensemble room will scatter sound. All three floors will be connected by a new elevator, and a courtyard will hold programs that combine several disciplines.

Who the Noel Pointer Foundation serves

Noel Pointer was a Grammy-nominated violinist born in New York, and the foundation bearing his name was set up in 1995 to honor him. It gives string music training to kids ages 3 to 18 from underserved neighborhoods, and more than 390,000 city public school students have taken part over the years. Each year more than 2,000 children study through its programs at nearly 50 day care centers and Title I schools in every borough. Staff also help students prepare to apply to conservatories, colleges and specialized schools.

Having its own building means the foundation can grow its Summer Strings sessions as well as its Saturday and after-school classes. Students can start as beginners or train at a pre-professional level on violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano or guitar, or study voice, composition and DJing. Master classes, private coaching and audition prep are also offered.

Chinita Pointer, the executive director, said the group has taught in rented spaces across Brooklyn, in schools and even in her own home. “We never had a dedicated space of our own,” she said. She described the firehouse as a promise to the next generation.