‘Mysterious’ 85 Jay Street Activity?
January 30th, 2008

An email tip came in with the above photo of the parking lot at 85 Jay Street owned by the Watchtower Society in Dumbo. The email says:
“Mysterious doings this morning on the northwest corner of the huge lot bordered by Jay, Front, Bridge, and York, said to be the largest undeveloped city lot in all five boroughs. Are the JW’s prepping to build? Survey? Sell?”
Past Curbed posts indicate that this 3 acre plot of land is the largest plot of undeveloped land in the city. There are no jobs/filings for 85 Jay on the NYC Department of Buildings website. Does anyone have any information on this “mysterious activity”?
Previously:
{No Truth to Rumor that Witnesses Will Not Develop 85 Jay, 03May2007, Brooklyn Daily Eagle}
{Jehovah’s Abandon Dumbo, 24Apr2007, Curbed}
{85 Jay Watchtower Complex, skyscraperpage.com}
{Jehovah’s Witnesses On Track to Colonize Dumbo, 04Dec2004, Curbed}





January 30th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
check under the department of finance records (ACRIS) – they filed a document there with detailed plans for a 4 building campus a few years ago.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
looks like a landing pad for Jesus
January 30th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
re DOB – you linked the wrong parcel – you actually need to look up 176 front street (block 54, lot 1) – anyway, no relevant filings there either as of today
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?boro=3&block=54&lot=1
look up block 54, lot 1, kings county on ACRIS, and pull up the 32 page declaration recorded on 1/4/05 and you’ll see the detailed building plans.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:08 am
Doesn’t look like any major development is rising, but…
My GUESS here would be:
The northwest corner of the lot usually has an ENORMOUS amount of flooding/draining when it rains or when there’s a lot of snow and it starts to melt…maybe they’re trying to fix that. I hope so…walking through that run-off torrent is like getting stuck in a desert riverbed when the flood comes.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:41 pm
i’m pretty sure it’s a drainage thing. i look out my window at it and have seen cars actually stuck in the mud after heavy rains.
however, a landing pad for jesus is the best answer yet.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I think they are making a bocce court.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
the new jets stadium is goin here.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:43 pm
J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!
February 7th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Jesus does not need a landing pad, since they maintain he has been secretly skulking around there since 1914.
However, they will need a huge shelter, an ark type structure, since the “end of the system of things” is “just around the corner” and they are going to survive, while the rest of you people are so worldly you are going to be toast, and eventually bird food.
June 8th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Kurt, maybe you could explain to us why priest molest children ?
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Doesn't look like any major development is rising, but…
My GUESS here would be:
The northwest corner of the lot usually has an ENORMOUS amount of flooding/draining when it rains or when there's a lot of snow and it starts to melt…maybe they're trying to fix that. I hope so…walking through that run-off torrent is like getting stuck in a desert riverbed when the flood comes.
April 3rd, 2012 at 2:53 pm
[...] seen some activity on the 85 Jay Street parking lot in the past, though nothing came out of it. An email tip came in with the above photo of the parking lot at 85 [...]