Brooklyn Eagle Article: WT Tunnels - Mysterious, Lingering Remnants Ministerial Heights Presence

by AndersonsInfo 24 Replies latest jw friends

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  AndersonsInfo

  http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/watchtower-tunnels-mysterious-lingering-remnants-ministerial-heights-presence-2013-10-16

  Very interesting article. How much do you think the WT has to pay the City for using their own four tunnels?

  Watchtower Tunnels: Mysterious, lingering remnants of a ministerial Heights presence

  Pedestrian tunnels beneath Brooklyn Heights streets connect this and other Watchtower buildings.

  Pedestrian tunnels beneath Brooklyn Heights streets connect this and other Watchtower buildings.

  Eye On Real Estate: Pricey Shingles on Willow Street; Also, What Next for Unique 76 Montague

  By Lore Croghan

  Brooklyn Daily Eagle

  The Watchtower tunnels are for real – and the city collects thousands of dollars each year for their use, Department of Finance records reveal.

  The underground pedestrian passageways connecting the Brooklyn Heights headquarters buildings of the Jehovah's Witnesses are a long-standing subject of speculation among neighborhood residents who aren't members of the religious organization.

  The tunnels enhance the campus-like atmosphere of the complex, whose inhabitants are “unsalaried ordained ministers of religion who have taken a vow of poverty,” according to a 2005 document signed by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York president M.H. Larson.

  Ten-year agreements between the Watchtower and the city Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DOITT) grant the Witnesses access to four tunnels under Orange Street, Columbia Heights and Willow Street. Each is used as “a passageway” between properties; some are also for steam, electrical and telephone services or for conveying supplies and fuel oil, the documents indicate.

  So what will become of the tunnels when the Witnesses sell their spectacularly situated buildings at 97, 107, 119 and 124 Columbia Heights and 21 Clark St. and move to upstate Warwick, where they are constructing a new headquarters?

  They will be probably be shut down, one real estate source thinks.

  Buyers will find the buildings too pricey to turn into student housing – for which tunnels would be useful – and most likely will convert them to condos. The last thing residents of a pricey condo building want is to provide other people underground access to their property.

  “There would be the issue of security,” the source said.

  The Watchtower doesn't own the tunnels and can't transfer its right to use them without the city agencies' written consent.

  “I think the DOT would not transfer the rights to the tunnels,” the source said.

  Look out below... There's a pedestrian tunnel connecting 21 Clark St. to another Jehovah's Witnesses building. Photo by Will Hasty

  Even if they could get the city's okay, it wouldn't make financial sense for developers to turn the tunnels into fancy amenities like wine cellars. One agreement expires in 2016, the others in 2019, and there would be uncertainty about whether extensions could be negotiated.

  Fees for the use of the tunnels, which increase each year, are not considered a tax, the agreements note. As a religious organization, the Watchtower does not pay property taxes.

  The Witnesses' fee to use the 10-foot-wide, 9-feet-deep tunnel under Orange Street, which connects 97 and 107 Columbia Heights, is $8,158 this year.

  With all four pedestrian tunnels, if the consent agreements are terminated, the Witnesses must cover the cost of having the tunnels “removed, or deactivated” and doing street repairs.

  And a 1988 restrictive covenant stipulates that if the Witnesses sell 97 and 107 Columbia Heights, they must pay to reconstruct a sewer line under Orange Street that was removed when the 37-foot-long tunnel was built.

  This year the Witnesses' fee for the 10-foot, 8-inch-wide, 8-feet, 4-inch-deep tunnel connecting 107 and 124 Columbia Heights is $10,439. A tunnel of similar width and depth between 119 and 124 Columbia Heights cost the Witnesses a $ 28,222 fee.

  The Watchtower paid $7,665 to use the 11-foot-wide, 9-feet, 4-inch-deep tunnel under Willow Street that connects 119 Columbia Heights and former hotel building 21 Clark St.

  This Watchtower building, 107 Columbia Heights, has two tunnels linking it to other Brooklyn Heights buildings. Photo by Will Hasty

  Watchtower officials asked for city permission to operate a free barber shop, beauty parlor and sewing rooms at this building, 119 Columbia Heights, for ministers who took vows of poverty. Photo by Will Hasty
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  PaintedToeNail

  Interesting. Sounds kind of creepy for some reason.
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  Las Malvinas son Argentinas

  I can't see the use in constructing those tunnels in the first place. They brag about all these amenities and build uneccessary things much like a balding and overweight man in his 50's with a small [.....] would buy a Corvette and rev it up to show off to the high school girls as the bell rings. What, is Brooklyn like Reykjavík in winter? Bethelites can't be trusted to cross the street?
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  BackseatDevil

  The tunnels are pretty normal and eveyone in NYC has to pay air rights for space between buildings for a walkway and DOT fees for space under the street. And there were many MANY reasons why they were needed. Mainly it was to keep people off the street because a Bethel worker had to make it from their assigned breakfast table to work in under 15 minutes... then back to a dining room for lunch, then back to work. This cause HUGE traffic issues three times a day as massive brothers are manickly trying to get to wherever in the short amount of time.

  Also there is a (precieved) "safety" issue. Once you had a Bethel key, you could then move about the complex unimpeded. You take and elevator to the basement or up to the sky walk and jet over to eat or a meeting without interruption. If you used the street you had to make sure the door was closed behind you, open the next door, and repeat the process every time you exited a building.

  As mentioned, it is not an uncommon. I'm pretty sure the law univeristy there has tunnels between classes and the dorms. I'm not sure about Columbia Uni. One normally hears about air rights from someone like Donald Trump who buys air rights over his neighboring buildings so his tower's residents can maintain a view (he owns the air rights over Tiffany's New York for example). Once you own them, you can do whatever the hell you want to. That goes above and below ground.
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  braincleaned

  I remember those tunnels... pretty impressive, and yes... kinda creepy. LOL!
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  prologos

  There is more to WT than meets the eye.

  not just tunnel vision.

  Witnessed an "apostate" once with loud volume outside the Columbia heights gates ranting against the building extravaganza. bethel workers were shielded from that.

  No mystery, a very practical solution, ask the Londoners during the Blitz.
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  factfinder

  Very interesting article-thanks for posting it! I did not realize the wts had to pay fees for these tunnels.

  Las Malvinas- they built the tunnels because there used to be 3800 Bethelites in Brooklyn and this helped cut down pedestrian traffic on the streets somewhat.

  Also for convienence of the Bethelites and for moving materials within the complex.
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  Las Malvinas son Argentinas

  Well that makes sense then. Thanks.
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  adamah

  My understanding was the tunnels were used to combat the prevalent problem of urban decay found in Brooklyn in the 1960s-80, rampant with drug dealers/junkies, prostitution, crime, etc. I had a relative who served at Bethel in the 70's, and he was mugged in broad daylight out on the street, EVEN WITH another Bethelite by his side (they were told never to go anywhere alone, but that clearly wasn't enough). Of course, he looked like the typical 'mark' JW (like how the mormons are easily spotted, with their white shirt, nametag, etc), so they were easy targets for crime.

  Using the tunnels was strongly encouraged, where some connected the living quarters with the work areas, and one could stay within the complex without ever leaving the WT property at street-level.

  Of course, no one in the 1970's was counted on escalating property values and urban renewal occurring, with Brooklyn taking off as a trendy renovation spot, which is not exactly a sign of being in "the last days".

  Adam
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  dropoffyourkeylee

  There used to be overhead walkways between the Adams street factory buildings too. I wonder if they are still there considering those properties were all sold. For appearance sake Brooklyn Heights would never have allowed overhead walkways, so it isn't surprising that they put in tunnels. I remember them as being well lit, lightly colored, but long and narrow. Boring to walk through.