For everyone else, she's the one that got away, but for two Westchester County restaurant owners, a decommissioned FDNY fireboat is the newest addition to their business empire. Michael Kaphan and Edward Taylor, owners of Purdy's Farmer and the Fish in northern Westchester, bought the 129-foot John D. McKean for $57,400 in an online auction earlier this month, beating out a crowded field of bidders. Last week, the team piloted the boat from its Brooklyn Navy Yard resting place, up the Hudson River to a berth along the Riverwalk in Tarrytown, offshore of where they plan to open a second location of their restaurant.
The boat was sold as is, and it was uncertain from the listing whether the engine ran or the fire cannons worked, but photos from the restaurant's Facebook page appear to show it running under its own power, and blasting water out of its various nozzles. The new restaurant is set to have indoor and outdoor seating, according to LoHud.com, but it is unclear whether people will be able to dine on the boat itself.
"We want to keep it as a historic vessel and hope they return the plaques to us," Kaphan told LoHud.
According to one of the possibly former plaques on the boat, the vessel was named for Marine Engineer John McKean, who was burned by steam in a 1953 explosion on the George B. McClellan. "Although fatally injured, McKean heroically remained at his post, vainly trying to keep the vessel under control," the plaque said.
The boat was built in Camden, NJ, for a whopping $1,426,000, according to a website chronicling fireboat history.
It was on the Hudson River during the September 11th attacks, according to the site, and its crew labored all that day bringing first aid to lower Manhattan and shuttling injured people to Jersey City.
The restaurateurs are in the process of building out the new eatery and are shooting for a July 4th opening.
"We want to take some people out on the boat out and fire off the water cannons," Kaphan said.
