A Century Later, Watchtower Leaving Brooklyn
The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, which in the past couple of years has begun to unload its vast portfolio of buildings accumulated in Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo over the last century, is officially pulling up its roots and moving upstate. We have submitted a proposal to the Town of Warwick to build a complex…
The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, which in the past couple of years has begun to unload its vast portfolio of buildings accumulated in Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo over the last century, is officially pulling up its roots and moving upstate. We have submitted a proposal to the Town of Warwick to build a complex there that we’re calling the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Richard Devine told the Brooklyn Eagle yesterday. The liquidation of the Brooklyn properties is not on a fast track at this point, though, because of the relatively weak real estate market. The Jehovahs Witnesses began selling back in 2007, managing to unload the Standish Arms before the market turned. A deal for the Bossert Hotel on Montague Street fell apart when RAL had to walk away from a signed contract in late 2008. In addition to its massive headquarters at 25 and 30 Columbia Heights (700,000 square feet combined), other properties in the area that still need to be sold but are not actively being market include 165, 161 and 183 Columbia Heights as well as 105 Willow Street and 34 Orange Street. We’re particularly curious about what this means for the two large parking lots in Dumbo.
After Century in Brooklyn, Watchtower Pulls Out of Heights [Brooklyn Eagle]
Jehovah’s Witnesses Plan Exodus from Brooklyn Heights [Gothamist]
Watchtower Officially Bugging Out of Brooklyn Heights [BHB]
Photo by madams girl
Benson,
Agreed, there’s no guarantee that all religious organizations would be taxed equally. But there’s no guarantee that all, say software companies, are, or will be taxed, equally. Does that mean we shouldn’t tax them?
Personally I don’t see religious organizations as being inherently morally superior to say, Microsoft. Both try to be good “citizens,” support charity, try to treat people well, etc. Yet Microsoft has to pay taxes on its income and churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. don’t. I don’t see the logic in that.
Yes religious organizations have been a driving force in a lot of good in the world, but I would argue they been just as much a force for evil.
We can agree to disagree.
yawn…i’ll come back later in the week.
“emove TAX PAYER funding for those political organizations that work in direct oppostion to conservative institutions and FOR a particular ideology, fronting as non-baised, not-for-profits!”
In opposition to conservative institutions? You are so kidding, right? Whatever do you think Fox News is? An unbiased, professional news organization? No no no. Really legion. You know nothing about Acorn at all that you didn’t get from Faux News. And I’ll wager there ar far more “conservative” political organizations sucking up taxpayer dollars than even you know. When you find a non-biased one, let me know. Pot. Kettle. Black, I say.
speaking of the secular religion that is liberalism/socialism and ACORN,
has everyone seen the latest video that surfaced of
President Obama talking to ACORN higher-ups about
his involvement with thier organization from his
community activist days to his Senate run?
…kind of makes his previous statement that he
only did peripheral work with them, sound phoney.
Don’t take Americans for idiots, ACORN is a front for the liberal cause as much as Soros funded Media Matters is.
Call it what it is and move on.
Remove the tax exemption from the Church, the Synagogue, the Temple, the Mosque
AND
remove TAX PAYER funding for those political organizations that work in direct oppostion to conservative institutions and FOR a particular ideology, fronting as non-baised, not-for-profits!
….please.
FYI, legion- acorn volunteers signed up everyone- they did not go out and only sign up voters for one particular party. However they areas where they did most of their work- ie, poor and under-represented- were not bastions of Republican believers. In fact, most of the people who were registered to vote by Acorn were those who the Republican Party has long ignored and little cared about. There ain’t no big tent in the GOP.
This whole thread is an ickfest. JW aren’t anymore annoying than any other religion. All religions are as pushy as you deem them to be.
And…the liberal/conservative crap is corny. I’m over that argument too. Liberalism is an independent political philosophy, with no connection to either the left or the right. That’s why you can get a “liberal arts” degree. Conservative is not the opposite of liberal.
bxgrl,
lol, name me one single conservative politician that had ACORN volunteers collecting signatures?
…..I won’t hold my breath.
lemmings- you mean like the kind coming out of Bob Jones University?
oh honestly, legion. Like the Bush conservatives didn’t make neoconservatism the religion of “Patriots?” Tslk about religofascism.
You can bitch about Acorn- and by the way, that little bit of conservative filmmaking has turned out to be a heavily edited piece of muckraking- but Acorn is not a religion. Stop playing semantic games- I expected better from you.