By Claudie Benjamin
Even an eternal optimist has likely been shaken by the volatilities of the city, nation, and turmoil characterizing world affairs as 2025 begins. Pick your poison, and all the variables of slashing and other violence are lurking behind the routines of daily life. Where’s humanity, kindness, abiding by rules, respect for others, and heroism? It’s most certainly in the mix, too. Even the most reluctant optimist can recognize and celebrate these attributes of the first responders who serve our city. Yes, locals and tourists wear tee shirts that read “Never Forget,” keeping the memories of the incredibly brave FDNY firefighters and the supportive battalions that joined them at ground zero alive. And they also remind us that we rely on these responders both in the face of potential terrorism and also when confronted by the potential devastation of property and loss of life caused by accident, carelessness, and vandalism.
On July 29, 2024. Fire Station Engine 40/Ladder 35 celebrated its 150 Anniversary 150 years quite old for New York City. Now housed at 131 Amsterdam Avenue within the base of an apartment building. The unit’s nickname: “Cavemen,” refers to the windowless quarters that have housed Engine 40/ Ladder 35 in contemporary times.
This combined unit of two companies has relocated from one historic-looking fire station to another and then to the entry-level of various high rises around Lincoln Square. The station’s original location was on 2nd Avenue and 63rd Street on the Upper East Side. Early photographs show its firefighters responding to fires riding in horse-drawn engines.
In preparation for its 150th Anniversary all the members of Engine 40/Ladder 35 took on assignments to research and record the station’s history for compilation into a celebratory yearbook. Another publication, the book “Firehouse” (2002), written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam, is a testament to the heroism of firefighters who responded to 911 and, in particular, to the 12 firefighters who responded from this station to the attacks of 911. All lost their lives and a thirteenth died later of exposure to toxins and injuries related to his search for fellow firefighters. Halberstam’s book tells the story of each of these firefighters and the families they left behind.
The 150th Anniversary event was recorded by FDNY as a YouTube video. State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal was among numerous dignitaries who spoke movingly about the achievements of this department and the honor and heroism of its firefighters. Providing perspective on the long history of the station that goes back to 1974, Sen.Hoylman-Sigal noted that was the year the first typewriter was invented and the time period when, coincidentally, a French geologist discovered the remains of an ancient “caveman.” Expressing a gratitude that was shared by other speakers, the Senator said, “…I’m really here today to honor the duty, the sacrifice and incredible spirit of the families who wonder every day if their loved ones will return safely. I can’t imagine what that does to a family, but I thank you time and time again when I see your engines roll by on the West Side.” Sen. Hoylman-Sigal concluded his remarks by declaring July 19, 2024, to be Engine 40 Appreciation Day.”
Though the station house is certainly not remarkable from an architectural standpoint, its history and the continued dedication of its members serve as a reminder that heroism does exist and is one of the most admirable qualities humans may possess.
As with all venerable institutions, Engine 40/Station35 has its own snippets of lore and even humor that come with its indelible storied past. According to an article that appeared in The New York World on January 20, 1894, while the company was housed at a new firehouse at 153 West 68th Street, (later replaced by The Dorchester Towers), a forty-eight-pound cat that had been given to the company was essentially shut into a ceiling compartment accommodating a steam pipe; more than a four weeks later when the enclosure was opened to repair the steam pipe, the cat, alive but virtually a skeleton emerged. Nursed back to health, the feline survived. The story somehow tells a lesson about endurance and resilience that is an important part of this station’s history.