A 1961 FDNY workhorse has officially traded fire hoses for frozen drinks. The retired Governor Alfred E. Smith has been refitted as Fireboat, a Caribbean-tinged floating bar now docked at Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6, with front-row views of New York Harbor. The Crew hospitality group restored the vintage vessel and turned it into a laid-back spot for cocktails, snacks and sunset watching on the upper deck.
According to Crew, Fireboat is moored at the northwest end of Pier 6 and operates on a late-afternoon-into-the-night schedule: weekdays from 4 p.m. to midnight, and weekends from noon to midnight. Seating is walk-in only on a first-come basis, though the upper deck can be booked for private events. During the refit, several historic touches were kept in play, including old hoses that have been cleverly repurposed as tap fixtures behind the bar.
What To Eat And Drink
As reported by Time Out, the menu leans small plates first, with ceviche, cod cakes, skewers, three salads and a jerk-chicken sandwich that comes with fries or a pickle. Dessert keeps the island theme going with toasted coconut ice cream and a piña colada option. Drinks stick to bright, summer-friendly flavors, including the Skipper Key (rosé, lemon, strawberry and seltzer), the habanero-spiked Wildfire, and the vodka-and-watermelon Tropicalia, plus a lineup of wines, beers and spirit-free choices.
How It Came Together
Eater's June roundup notes that Fireboat rolled into service the week of June 10 and that the Pincus brothers' Crew bought the Governor Alfred E. Smith at a city auction in 2016, then spent years restoring the vessel. Per Eater, Fireboat has taken over the slip previously used by the wooden schooner Pilot while that boat undergoes restoration. The project plays double duty as a preservation effort and a warm-weather hospitality experiment.
Where It Fits In
Fireboat extends the city's growing roster of dockside drinking rooms, a trend the Crew team has helped define with Grand Banks, Pilot and other waterfront projects. The press page on Crew collects coverage of the group's expansion and frames Fireboat as the latest example of turning maritime salvage into seasonal destinations. With its preserved details and pop-up energy, the boat slots neatly into New York's expanding fleet of water-adjacent bars.
On warm evenings, expect walk-up lines and a casual, linger-as-long-as-you-like vibe, with no reservations to complicate things and an incentive to show up early for the sunset. Between the restored helm, the harbor breeze and those tropical-leaning drinks, Fireboat offers a photogenic new excuse to head for Brooklyn Heights this summer.
