by nicolaou 24 Replies latest social current
I'll bet it's already been posted and I missed it but if not, I just heard that Brooklyn HQ is to be sold over concerns for safety following the 9/11 attacks. The news has come to me through an incredibly loyal JW sister. I know her, she wouldn't repeat anything like this if she hadn't heard it from the Kingdom Hall or a Circuit Overseer.
Anything to this?
I have no insider knowledge or rumors to pass on but it is possible.
1) The sale of the Furman building
2) The sale of other smaller properties in the Brooklyn area
3) The moving of the printing to Wallkill.
It would make sense for them to sell these very valuable properties and to move what is left to Wallkill and Patterson.
It would certainly free up their cash flow and get some buildings off the market that are a cash drain to maintain.
Blondie
STRANGE....
I just had a song fill my head, it goes like this: Take the money and run..........
L.L.
WHY? Doesn't Jehovah protect them from any harm that might come from a terrorist threat?
Shouldn't the WTS rely on and put their trust in their God? OR did Jehovah reveal to them a message to sell sell sell all property in Brooklyn?
WHY? Doesn't Jehovah protect them from any harm that might come from a terrorist threat?
Dear Tophat,
Just told my husband about the thread, and he said the EXACT same thing!!
Sincerely,
Lady Liberty
blondie:
3) The moving of the printing to Wallkill.
It would make sense for them to sell these very valuable properties and to move what is left to Wallkill and Patterson.
That's what I heard, many years ago, when the operations at Walkill were undergoing major expansion, including (as I recall) the move of Gilead to the Farm.
The "discussion" that went on then (long before 9/11) was that this would facilitate a virtually independent and self-sustainable operation.
onacruse, within the last 2 to 3 years, the WTS has transferred large chunks of the printing up to Wallkill...the books I believe and other products as well as expanding the printing there.
*** w05 12/1 p. 11 A Testimony to Love, Faith, and Obedience ***
2004: All printing, binding, and shipping operations in the United States consolidated at Wallkill.
*** yb05 pp. 12-13 Highlights of the Past Year ***
April 29, 2004: After 84 years of continuous printing, Brooklyn printery is closed down. New printery is at Wallkill.
*** yb05 pp. 22-24 Highlights of the Past Year ***
All printing, binding, and shipping operations in the United States were consolidated at Wallkill, New York, during 2004. The general plan and concept were presented to the town planning board on August 6, 2002. A public hearing was held on September 3, after which final approval was granted. At the annual meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania on October 5, 2002, an announcement was made that the Governing Body had approved the consolidation at Wallkill. Two new MAN Roland Lithoman rotary presses were ordered, and the additional building to house them was scheduled to be ready by February 2004.
How could this mammoth project be accomplished in just 14 months? The brothers looked to Jehovah to direct matters and to move individuals to offer themselves willingly. This confidence was not misplaced. Site work commenced in February 2003, and the addition to the printery was ready by September. The first of three existing presses at Wallkill was dismantled and relocated to the new extension in December. The two new presses arrived in April and May 2004 and began production in June and July. All five presses were fully operational by September.
Previously, the bindery occupied 11 floors in three buildings of the Adams Street complex in Brooklyn. Now the entire bindery is located on one floor at Wallkill and occupies 58 percent less space. Paperback bookbinding began in July 2004. Later that month, the first hardcover books came off the new bindery line, which is over a quarter of a mile [400 m] long and consists of 33 machines connected by 70 conveyors. Book parts are handled just once, at the start of the line. Running at 120 books per minute, the hardcover line requires only 25 operators—a 66 percent reduction in personnel. The entire bindery became fully operational in October 2004.
As of November 2004, the new Wallkill Shipping Department has been processing congregation literature requests by means of a new computerized system that occupies 45 percent less space than its predecessor in Brooklyn. Computers calculate the size of the shipment and select the appropriate carton. A half-mile-long [800 m] conveyor transports each order to a special platform where consignments are prepared for shipment. A drive-through area gives local congregations convenient access to pick up their orders.
Nic - I think it is a rumor. I heard it from the NY loyalists about a year after 9/11, but it never happened. As we know the wtbts is all about buying and selling properties that is partially how they made their millions. It is the greater version of Flip This House. They buy crappy properties, get free help, gut the place, keep it till they can sell it w/o huge consequences.
WHY? Doesn't Jehovah protect them from any harm that might come from a terrorist threat?
Dear Tophat,
Just told my husband about the thread, and he said the EXACT same thing!!
Sincerely,
Lady Liberty
So much for the "FDS's" FAITH in Jehovah, huh, Lady Liberty?
Wow! Was it really that recent? I guess I must be suffering from age-related time-dilation random-access-memory failure...or maybe just too many in my belfry.
