Questions for consideration: Society's move to Patterson

by truthseeker 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  truthseeker

  No doubt many of you are aware of the new project that Society is taking on, regarding it's expansion of it's Patterson complex, the sale or soon to be sale of its Brooklyn building and the new printing presses that cost $50 million.
  

  I haven't really thought about why they are doing this, but now I do, some questions come to mind. I have no answers and would be grateful if someone could give me their best guess.

  1) New York is the best center for transporting goods, you have three airports, rail links and major highways. What possible advantage could there be to shipping their literature from Patterson?

  2) Why are they moving to Patterson? Is it really because their new printers won't fit in Brooklyn?

  3) Why do they need new printers?

  4) Is there really a growing demand for books and magazines?

  5) One of Hillary_steps post mentioned their downsizing. If this is true, and I believe that it is, what could they possibly gain from investing enormous amounts of money in new presses and a massive building to accomodate them?

  6) I do have the answer to this one. If the Bethel Family in New York numbers 2,500, and if they are paid $90 a month, the Society spends $2,700,000 a year on their stipends. Would buying $50,000,000 printing presses reduce the need for Bethel workers and save money?

  7) If donations are falling, would printing more books and magazines really improve things?
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  Outaservice

  I've learned from Circuit Assemblies of the past, never have everything paid for, and never no new prodjects in the making, because if you do, the contributions 'stop'!

  As for Patterson, there is not as much a threat from 'terrorists' there also.

  This is just my personal opinion on the Society relocating in Patterson.

  Outaservice
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  r51785

  I think I can answer at least item no. 1. I have worked in the freight business the last 18 years and can tell you that New York is not the best location to ship from. For domestic shipments within the USA it will be less expensive to ship from Patterson. For international shipments via ocean the cost is probably similar. Cartage (the movement of freight from the shipper's door to the air or seaport) in New York City is very expensive. I would daresay that cartage from Patterson to an airport or seaport may be the same as from Brooklyn. As regards domestic shipments (UPS or less than truckload or full truckoad )it would definitely be less to ship from Patterson than from Brooklyn.

  I currently work for USF Corp, a national less than truckload carrier. During my career I have worked for Consolidated Freightways, Fedex and AEI (which was taken over and now is a subsidiary of DHL).
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  Odrade

  Actually, the new expansion is taking place at Wallkill. WTS has shipped from two locations in the past, Wallkill and Brooklyn. The new presses will supposedly save time and labor, reducing the need for volunteers. Also money saving--less waste, ink, etc. It will consolidate production and shipping.

  My personal opinion is that by moving most of the Bethelites from the city, they will reduce the flow of Bethelites leaving the Organization with "insider information." The Wallkill complex is fairly insular, so there is not the accessibility of "normal" activities for the young brothers that city Bethelites have. The less of real life that they see, the easier it is to keep them within their programming.

  Odrade
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  DevonMcBride

  Downsizing labor may be a good thing for them. The less workers, the more "closed" their community becomes. There would be less of a chance to have a mole inside bethel tipping us off.

  Devon
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  CoonDawg

  I agree with r51785. I am in the transportation industry also. Many companies don't even like going into the NYC metro area. Costs are much higher because of the labor union influences as well as the closer scrutiny by governmental authorities. I worked for Central Transport (an LTL carrier), Western Express ( a 48 state truckload carrier), FedEx Ground, and now for a small HazMat company.

  Ern
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  heathen

  What's interesting here is that from what I've seen the WTBTS has officially stated that the move had to do with leaving the realestate to developers who would build something that was more fit for new york city , or some such boooloney . I can imagine in the long run it will pay off big time . I don't know of any truck drivers that want to drive in new york city and I have heard that they are transporting their own literature with volunteer labor .
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  Perry

  If you think about it, what is really the only thing essential to keep the organization running? Simple....... literature. So, that being the case, it makes sense in business from time to time to re-group and ask yourself tough questions.

  It looks like a busines move to me... liquidate the non-essentials and invest heavily in the area that is the true point of entry for the money.
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  shamus

  Absolutley, Perry.

  They are liquidating, b/c they cannot afford things like they used to! Those buildings in Brooklyn are worth a pretty penny and they are getting rid of them for a reason - to cut their losses.

  Too bad, eh? No more Watchtower in New York...
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  Zoewrex

  You mean I have to drive all the way to Patterson to circle the Watchtower complex three times? There goes my annual holiday Mecca

  The area where they curently are is worth a TON of MONEY. They're close to DUMBO (Down under the Manhat. bridge overpass) which is upcscaling their art gallerys, bars - basically becoming the Brooklyn version of SoHo. Overpriced shops with 'culture' attached to it. Plus taxes in NJ are MUCH less than NY, but I don't know how that works for non-profit, NGO, companies. Secluding themselves makes them seem more cultish....very interesting.............