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
“Any time you’re separating people into “kinds,” making assumptions about them without knowing them, and tossing blind hatred around, it’s ugly and can’t be healthy for our neighborhoods.”
I suppose, but I can also say that rich people, generally, support a bunch of crap that I oppose and hold values I find abhorrent. Hence the folks that would move into more luxury condos are a ‘kind’ of people I am likely to think are ‘jackasses’.
You can find lots and lots of rich luxury-condo-living people who are kind/generous/thoughtful, but they’re still part of a socio-cultural system that I find to be Wrong. So I oppose them not as indivduals, but as a group. Their ‘kind’ must be opposed, and the culture reshaped to discourage the development of their distasteful traits.
You know, in my hypocricital socialist hippie opinion and whatever.
I’ve lived around the Jehovahs in the Heights for over 25 years and have had similar experiences as bxgrl. They’re decent neighbors. I like their JC Penney attire.
But they should be taxed, as should other non-profit dodgers such as NYU, Columbia, etc. The Jehovahs would never have amassed this colossal real estate fortune if they didn’t have a non-profit status. They’re making a hell of a profit now.
“Those faiths basically say, “Oh, you’re f*cked, but we’re not. Nothing can change that though! Sorry.”
Actually, the prosletizers do want to change that, by inviting you to join them. It’s annoying, but at least they (assuming they’re sincere in their faith) want you to be saved along with them.
The Lubavitchers are very aggressive in approaching people, asking if they’re Jewish, and inviting them to pray with them. But if you’re not Jewish, as far as they’re concerned you’re treyf and not worth their attention.
benson- you’ve obviously forgotten your American history and the tax laws. Especially the non-establishment clause. When churches try to impose their religious views on the laws of the country, it goes directly against that clause. And if you actually bothered to read what I wrote, I did not ask for blanket taxation of religious institutions- just on those who refuse to follow the law.
I guess we can assume you think it’s not problem for a Jimmy Swaggert to spend his untaxed church money on prostitutes, mansions and expensive cars then? Yes- I’m certain that’s exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind. If that’s your value system, it’s a sad one.
Just an FYI since someone brought it up, JW’s have always actually interacted with the surrounding areas, supporting local businesses and creating taxable income–they’re not isolationists, even if they keep separate living quarters.
“im less of a fan of the kinds of people that these buildings will house in the future.”
That’s what worries me, really. Any time you’re separating people into “kinds,” making assumptions about them without knowing them, and tossing blind hatred around, it’s ugly and can’t be healthy for our neighborhoods. I’m not thrilled about how absurdly expensive brooklyn is now either. But I would never go around calling people I don’t know, people who may have families and probably are perfectly decent and well-intentioned, “trash’ or “scum.”
“Maybe if we tied their tax status to their political action”
In one short phrase, Bxgrl has demonstrated exactly why taxing religions is completely against the values of this country. No sooner would you start taxing religions, then folks like Bxgrl would be clamoring for heavier taxation for churches that espouse a certain viewpoint.
They used to call this type of government favoritism “The Church of (insert your favorite country here)”. It is precisely to prevent this type of system that the non-establishment cause was put into our Constitution, and why organized religions are not taxed.
I think I’m in love with ringo 🙂
How would taxing religious institutions drive them underground? That makes no sense. Maybe if we tied their tax status to their political action, we could get them to butt out instead of advocating turning back the clock on women’s and gay rights. We’ve turned a blind eye for too long to religious meddling in politics.
I’ll just be psyched for there to be less beige in Dumbo. The sheer mass of gross-colored-wall has been much more annoying to me than the religiosity of their occupants.