The Engine Company 40 Firehouse in East Boston's Jeffries Point neighborhood operated from 1924-1977, after which it stood vacant for almost 30 years. In 2005, the local youth organization ZUMIX was chosen to redevelop the building. Today the historic Firehouse contains an inspiring cultural and performance space for participants in ZUMIX programs and the East Boston community at large. Hear from Executive Director Madeleine Steczynski how the nonprofit transformed a long-abandoned firehouse into a Gold LEED certified youth development center with award-winning programs, featuring a state-of-the-art recording studio, radio station and gorgeous performance hall. (Image: Zumix)
Madeleine Steczynski is an East Boston resident. She founded ZUMIX in 1991 in response to the worst year of violence in the City of Boston's history. Together with ZUMIX's Board of Directors and Youth Advisory Board, she has grown ZUMIX from a kitchen table project into a vital East Boston community institution. As an advocate for the arts, Madeleine has served on the Executive Committee for East Boston Healthy Boston Coalition; was one of the founding members of Cultural Connections, a three-year effort to integrate arts as part of a Sustainable Community initiative funded by The PEW Charitable Trust; and served as an Artistic Fellow for The Boston Foundation’s Arts and Audiences Initiative. She also served for three years as a Cultural Fellow for the New England Foundation for the Arts Building Communities through Culture Initiative, and as a Community Fellow for Eureka Communities Boston.