Brooklyn 90 Sands into Rentals

[steeringwheel]

New affordable housing units open at 90 Sands St. (news12.com)

[Sheep]

Quote

. . . former Jehovah's Witnesses hotel.

[Qapla]

I'm sure the housing in that building was much more affordable when we still owned it ...

 

 

[minister159]

As best as I can tell, they're referring to the former 30 story residence building directly across the street from the factory building #2 directly behind the 117 Adams St. building and connected by an elevated bridge.

[jwhess]

The 90 Sands resident building was originally rezoned as a "hotel". That is why it was called that (reference to the zoning permit).

 

*** w96 4/15 p. 27 Expansion With Jehovah’s Blessing ***
In an interview conducted by Governing Body member Theodore Jaracz, the Society’s Brooklyn factory overseer, Max Larson, described how permission was granted for building the 90 Sands Street residence. What happened back in 1965, Brother Larson explained, was crucial.
Back then the Society wanted to put up a ten-story factory on a block next to its other factories, but that block’s zoning allowed for only two-story construction. An architect agreed to prepare building prints for the newly proposed factory, but he said: “I won’t embarrass myself by presenting them to the board.” He was convinced that the Board of Standards and Appeals would never change their zoning regulations for the block. When the building prints were approved, he exclaimed: “How in the world did you get that!”

The reason, Larson continued, was that when that block was rezoned for our ten-story factory, nearby blocks were also rezoned, including the one with the 160 Jay Street building. And, amazingly, the rezoning allowed for a hotel. But, Larson noted, it was something no one ever took note of—at least not until some 25 years later, after we began looking for a site for building a new Bethel home. Then the zoning regulation was rediscovered!
Brother Larson explained what happened: “When we prepared the prints for our 30-story residence and took them down to the building department, we were told: ‘You can’t have a residence there. That’s all manufacturing, and they won’t change the zoning for you.’
“‘They don’t have to change it,’ we informed the officials. ‘It’s already zoned for a hotel.’ When they looked up the records, they could hardly believe it! Well, that’s how we got our 30-story building,” Larson concluded.