NEW YORK—On Saturday, April 29, 2017, Jehovah’s Witnesses hosted the second of two special open-house receptions at their new world headquarters in Warwick, New York, drawing a larger crowd than the first event.

There were 468 visitors for the event this past Saturday, an 18 percent increase over the previous Saturday. “We are thrilled that so many of our neighbors, especially town officials, joined us to tour our completed campus,” states Troy Snyder, facilities manager for the headquarters complex. “We also had some local residents who came back for a second visit, based on what they saw and experienced during our first open house last week.”

The two open-house events, held on successive Saturdays between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., had a combined attendance of 863. “We consider the open house a tremendous success,” adds Mr. Snyder. “We received many favorable comments from those who attended. We look forward to welcoming our neighbors again the next time they would like to visit and tour our facility and museum.”

Ingrid Magar, a resident of nearby Tuxedo Park, New York, was one of the many neighbors welcomed at the open house. She had worked for former site occupant International Nickel Company for 18 years in the metallurgical research laboratory. Remembering the way the site was formerly used, she comments: “I’m delighted with what has happened to this site. It stood empty for so long and there was a big question as to what was going happen to it. It is a beautiful spot, and you’ve enhanced it.” Ms. Magar also commented on the current occupants: “I think that you [Jehovah’s Witnesses] are good neighbors. You are compassionate, you’re caring, you care about the environment, you care about the community, and I think that we are very fortunate to have you as our neighbors.”

“It was clear that they wanted the highest standard of work possible.  . . . It really shows in the workmanship of the final product,” stated William Hoppe, an engineer who performed inspections of the project for the Town of Warwick during the final two years of construction. “I am just very, very impressed with the level of attention that was paid to the ecosystem and the environment during the construction of this project, and the maintenance of it, just how ‘environmentally aware’ the whole construction was. And I think it’s a great example for other construction projects to follow.”

Media Contact:

David A. Semonian, Office of Public Information, +1-845-524-3000