February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
There were fears that the firehouse had succumbed to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s recent plan to close eight firehouses in a cost-cutting measure, but another Fire Department chaplain, Fr. Brian Jordan, said that “we would not let them close this firehouse down.”
Judge, a Franciscan, has achieved almost mythic status since his death, including a drive to have him canonized.
A shrine in his memory, as well as to the other firefighters who died at the World Trade Center, has been moved for safekeeping. The firefighters from Ladder 24, Engine 1, have been relocated to firehouses on 37th and 38th Streets, also on the West Side.
Last week, the firehouse was a forlorn sight, with even its brass lettering above the doors picked off for preservation.
But Fr. Jordan insisted that the move was a temporary one and that any attempts by anyone to close the firehouse of the beloved Judge would be resisted fiercely.
Judge’s rooms at St. Francis of Assisi Church across the street directly overlooked the firehouse.