85 Jay Street Parking Lot Activity
April 3rd, 2012
[UPDATE: Turns out it's temporary staging for a promotional piece being filmed by the Jehovah's Witnesses.]
We’ve 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 Jay Street owned by the Watchtower Society in Dumbo. The email says:
There’s some construction that started today in the huge parking lot owned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. See the attached photo (above). It looks like they’re doing something in the Northeast corner of the lot that’s bounded by Front, York, Bridge and Jay Streets. Any ideas on what this might be?
As noted before, 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 here?
Previously:
{‘Mysterious’ 85 Jay Street Activity?, 30Jan2008}
{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}
April 3rd, 2012 at 5:09 pm
According to an e-mail I received yesterday from the Jehovah Witnesses it is the following:
“This is actually a temporary outdoor scene being staged for a video
production our organization is producing. It includes a shallow trench
and various set pieces designed to resemble a construction site. Some
temporary lighting is being installed to facilitate filming. Shooting
has already begun and will not last for very long. Once the shoot is
over the area will be restored to its original condition.
Hope this helps answer your question.
Aldona Vaiciunas,President, Vinegar Hill Neighborhood Association
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:56 pm
It’s still full of cars, it’s still a parking lot,,,get a life!
April 4th, 2012 at 12:34 am
[...] 85 Jay Street Parking Lot Activity [Dumbo NYC] Breaking: Building Collapse 40 Frank Ct [Gerritsen Beach] Bergen St. Dog Owners File Razor-Wire Complaint [CG Patch] St. Marks Avenue: Bridge v. Truck, Bridge Wins [I Love Franklin Ave] Welcome Cherry Blossoms, a Little Early This Year [BoCoCa Land] As Dumbo teems with tech, Downtown Brooklyn Eyes Leftovers [TRD] ATTENTION: TWO Lien Sale Outreach Sessions In Brooklyn [Team Tish] Camping at Floyd Bennett Field Costs More This Year (but there’s a sink!) [Brokelyn] Map of the Month: “Country Thirty Miles Round the City of New York” [Brooklyn Historical Society] Photo by ekonon input, textarea{} #authorarea{ padding-left: 8px; margin:10px 0; width: 635px; } #authorarea h3{ border-bottom: 1px solid #B0B0B0; color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; margin:0 4px 5px; padding-left: 8px;} #authorarea h3 a{text-decoration:none; color:#333; font-weight:bold} #authorarea img{margin:0 5px; float:left; border:1px solid #ddd; width:40px; height:40px;} #authorarea p{color:#333; margin:0} #authorarea p a{color:#333} .authorinfo{ } [...]
April 4th, 2012 at 7:14 am
[...] addition to the filming at 85 Jay Street yesterday, there are four filmings for TV, Movies, and commercials in Dumbo Brooklyn between April [...]
April 4th, 2012 at 11:52 am
Howard,
Keep up the unnecessary negativity buddy!! Good work.
April 4th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
I thought the witnesses were moving to Buffalo, or some major city in upstate NY. Let others park there, but please no apt buildings or other commercial use!
April 4th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Wallkill, NY, which is not quite a major city in Orange County. One might even call it a small town.
April 4th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Correction: Watchtower is moving to Wallkill, NY which is a “hamlet” in Ulster County. The Town of Wallkill is directly south in Orange County. The hamlet was severed from the town after a particularly vicious and brutal commenting session in the 19th Century version of facebook.
April 4th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
David, you like a city block bound by barbed wire with a couple of crappy cars parked in it. Good for you! You should move to Detroit, you’d be surrounded by them!
I would prefer a nice building ringed by retail and street lights uniting the two neighborhoods of Vinegar Hill and Dumbo. That is the next necessary step in our evolution as a great NYC neighborhood.
April 6th, 2012 at 12:07 am
Wait till we announce a 40 story building here with sweeping views of the bridge, water, Manhattan skyline. Pritzker star architect plus dedicated 10 floors for our growing kids in the neighborhood. News will be coming out shortly.
April 6th, 2012 at 12:11 am
For those with short memories, or who haven’t been here that long, the City Planning Commission approved a zoning variance for this lot back in 11/2004. The proposed building(s), as revised, would have an envelope with setbacks at heights of approximately 81 feet, 145 feet, 164 feet and 184 feet and maximum building heights of approximately 120 feet, 184 feet, 203 feet and 222 feet from grade. See http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/cpc/040216.pdf
April 6th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Jedd= mouthbreathing idiot alarmist uninformed douchenozzle assclown with a vested interest in spreading completely baseless rumors.
April 9th, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Watchtower moved printing operations to Wallkill, the rest are heading to Warwick, NY in Orange County.