Watchtower tunnels unlikely to be around much longer

It’s true: a series of tunnels snakes under the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Watchtower buildings in Dumbo. But they will most likely be shut down in the wake of the Kushner Companies, RFR Realty and Invesco acquisition of the $375 million portfolio.

The Watchtower had ten-year agreements with the city Department of Transportation and Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications that permitted the use of four tunnels beneath Orange and Willow streets and Columbia Heights, the Brooklyn Eagle reported. They used some of the passageways as thoroughfares for people and others for steam, electrical and telephone services.

While tunnels might be useful for something like student housing, the Kushner-RFR-Invesco partnership has already said they will be using the properties for office space, retail and a hotel.

Plus, fees for the use of the tunnels would likely rise every year. Watchtower, as a religious organization, didn’t have to fool with property taxes. The complex’s next buyers, most likely, won’t be so lucky. [Brooklyn Eagle] — Julie Strickland