Fire Patrol 2

Anderson gets a hot property
CNN star to live in old Village firehouse

By Tom Topousis
Last Updated: 11:55 AM, January 27, 2010
Posted: 4:12 AM, January 27, 2010

Globetrotting newsman Anderson Cooper will soon be able to cool his heels in an old Greenwich Village firehouse -- complete with brass fire poles -- that he's turning into a new home, The Post has learned.

The century-old building on West Third Street was nominated this week for a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, a status that Cooper can use for a slew of tax breaks if his renovations maintain the firehouse's historic façade.

Neighbors have seen Cooper visiting the firehouse regularly since it was sold in September for $4.3 million by the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, which operated the private Fire Patrol 2 out of the building beginning in 1906.

The fire patrol was disbanded in 2006, and the insurance industry-backed fire patrol finally sold the four-story building last year. The owner of record is Firepatrol LLC, which lists Cooper's business agent as Carolyn Rossip Malcolm.

Malcolm didn't return calls yesterday and a CNN spokesman declined comment on Cooper's new digs.

Construction crews have already begun work inside the building, taking down partitions and ripping out old plumbing fixtures, city building records show.

But plans for a conversion to a residence have not been filed yet. Cooper has hired architect Cary Tamarkin, known for residential conversions.

"I hope the new owner will appreciate what's there and will keep as much of it intact as possible," said Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which nominated the firehouse for historic designation.

"It would be wonderful if that great interior could be preserved," said Berman, adding that his organization recommended the building for historic designation before it was sold by the fire underwriters.

The building, built in the Beaux Arts style, still has its original spiral staircases, brass fire poles, overhead beams used to dry hoses and walls covered with murals marking the fire patrol's history.

Cooper's plans for the old firehouse have yet to be filed, but the 8,240 square feet of space -- not including a two-story former stable in the rear yard -- will give him four times as much space as his current penthouse duplex on West 38th Street.

Known for dashing to disasters and wars around the world, Cooper's new home will fittingly sport a bust of Mercury, the Roman god of speed, atop the firehouse's main door.

How much time Cooper will spend in his new home is anyone's guess. Beside covering world events, like the earthquake in Haiti, he's know for vacationing around the globe, including a trip recently to the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, India, where he was spotted with close pal Benjamin Maisani, who owns an East Village bar.

The Post's Page Six reported that Cooper's room had a large round bathtub that was filled on the first night with bubbles and sprinkled with red rose petals -- a luxury that firefighters probably never enjoyed.