Why the move to Warwick?

by optimisticskeptic 27 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  optimisticskeptic

  I've seen a lot of posts around and about Warwick and the goings on there but was curious as to people's theories on why the move to Warwick? Granted there's the obvious point about all of the money from the sale of properties in Brooklyn but for as massive as Warwick is, the purchase of an apartment complex there, multiple sites and buildings I would be surprised if they had much left from all of the profits. So beyond a financial incentive why move? Other reasons I could think of is getting everyone out of the city to avoid "corrupting influences". And I could see having space to do what they want being a challenge now they're doing all of the videos and the sound stages and all. But it seems that could easily be accomplished via other means within the city and it certainly would be move walkable and convenient then having multiple sites upstate with shuttles and more driving, etc.

  Anyways, curious on everyone's thoughts, please nothing conspiratorial, paranoid, etc. I'm still in the org for a variety of reasons and the only reason I've joined here is that I feel like there are plenty of level headed people here even though there are still some who just troll and post inflammatory and salacious things for little to no reason. So please, keep it constructive! :)
  
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  Diogenesister

  I do think 9/11 would have affected them. I understood some of the old guard didnt want or were not sure it was the right thing to do, isolate themselves and move from the place they had been very successful. I got the impression, and I may be wrong here, that 9/11 pushed them into seeing a move as an option. Let's face it they experienced the whole thing and it must have frightened them.

  As far As I know when they started to plan the move money wasn't an issue...or was it? Does anyone know if they started planning before the slump???
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  optimisticskeptic

  Ah, didn't think about 9/11. I guess I could see that being a fairly valid reason for wanting to get out of an urban center like NYC.
  
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  pontoon

  Corporation no longer needed millions of sq ft of open factory space, and they treat themselves like kings liking everything new, modern, and the best, expensive. To top it all off the money pours in mainly from their thousands of rental kingdom hall's and circuit halls and they can't spend it fast enough. To the corporation it's a big monopoly game and they are winning.
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  Finkelstein

  Old buildings that needed constant up keep, cost of operating right in Brooklyn from a manufacturing perspective and a personal cost to workers., the realization of the value of the buildings $$$ of what the WTS. owned.

  The realization that printing was going to be trimmed down.
  

  Maybe the realization that the Watchtower's doctrines which the organization built itself upon were failing or had failed.
  
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  waton

  first step from the harshness of a blemish that NY is on nature to the PpP of wt dreams.

  I was surprised how long they stayed so close to ground zero, in the near crosshairs of the Mutual Assured Destruction cold war situation.
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  pontoon

  Multibillion dollar corporation not accountable to making profit for shareholders or anyone else, tax free with minimal labor expense, run by people with no skin in the game, why not build a couple hundred million dollar complex for themselves. They're not done yet, on to the next project.
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  Incognito

  All any of us can do is speculate since WT is not transparent when it comes to its finances or reasons for doing things.

  The Warwick land was a vacant contaminated property which they were likely able to buy cheap. Cleanup is normally costly but there are many JWs willing to volunteer labor so the costs may not be all that high compared to hiring a specialized contractor. Perhaps there are government grants available to offset some of the cleanup costs.

  Although the new buildings cover a large area, again, they were built primarily with 'slave' labor. Building costs at least in this area, often equate to 50% labor, 50% materials.

  New buildings are typically more energy efficient so it is likely WT's ongoing energy costs will be substantially reduced.

  With regard to 9/11, WT may have received some bad press for locking their doors and not assisting evacuees on Sept 11.

  I understand Brooklyn property owners were increasingly complaining over WT owning so much tax exempt property. Other property owners are then forced to pay more than their fair share of property taxes to offset those not paid by WT. I think the most complaints were not regarding places of worship, but more due to non-worship properties such as those used for printing, warehousing, equipment maintenance, parking facilities and residences for WT 'staff'.

  Since I assume many of these complaints were made to the city, perhaps the city exerted some pressure or provided some incentive for WT to relocate. If the city didn't place pressure on them, perhaps it had become an expectation.

  With WT cutting back on printing and in reducing staff, the buildings in Brooklyn would likely have required extensive alterations. They also would no longer require easy access for receiving paper or for shipping physical literature since the shift to electronic publications can be sent over a digital pipeline from virtually anywhere in the world.
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  days of future passed

  I also think (after seeing the infamous sprinkling of the protesters) that they feel more secure and able to "defend" their new home. No pesky protesters on their very doorstep. If people do protest, it's not in the big city where thousands may see it as opposed to the smaller amount driving by at Warwick.
  
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  Fisherman

  WT operations have changed, WT no longer needs the Kings County property for their present operations. For some reason, gb chose to go to Warwick at this time.