The cannons were removed in 1948, but the fort still retains its significance. The garrison houses about 600 soldiers from every branch of the military plus coast guardsmen and members of various federal agencies such as FEMA. It is home to the New York City Recruiting Battalion, is the second largest recruitment installation in the country and serves as the Military Entrance Processing Station, the headquarters of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Perhaps most importantly, Fort Hamilton is now the central hub for the military any time there is something major going on in New York City metro area.

“When there was a bomb up at Times Square that became the central rally point,” said King. “During 9/11, all of the reserves were using that as a central point. When the shit hits the fan, we need Fort Hamilton.”

More recently, after Superstorm Sandy hit, Fort Hamilton became the staging point for the National Guard to set up before going out to help people in Brooklyn, Staten Island and parts of New Jersey.

“We played a big part both directly and indirectly after Sandy,” said Don Bradshaw, deputy to the garrison commander at the fort. “We did rescues during and after Sandy, we housed many federal employees, we provided food and fuel and were feeding many people out of this building for months after the storm.”

Beyond practical military purposes, the fort plays an active role in the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights communities, as many troops and their families live in those neighborhoods and send their kids to school in the area. There is also the Veterans Affairs Hospital, which serves more than 200,000 veterans a year and runs after-school programs and summer camps for kids.

“For such a small post, we have a large footprint in New York City,” said Tyler Gierber, head of marketing and sponsorship for the U.S. Army MWR. “People just think, ‘oh that’s just the army,’ but we are a part of this community and our doors are open.

In total, there are about 2,500 people within Fort Hamilton’s fences at any given time and about 600 people living there. It houses soldiers, coast guardsmen, federal employees and retired military commanders. There are also four civilian families living on the base.

“Fort Hamilton has changed a lot and in recent years there have been big changes,” King said. “They have revamped the entire place. They built a brand new reserve center, it’s a wonderful facility. It’s changed and this was an opportunity for them to display the fort to us.”