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Long-Time Renters Feel Like They’re Losing A Home and A Community
By Tina Traster
In Sept. 2020, during the COVID Pandemic, Helen Gaber and her husband moved into a newly constructed apartment complex on Route 17 in Sloatsburg. Then called Woodmont Hills, and later re-named Woodgrove at Sterlington, the Gabers were one of the first tenants paying $2,500 for a two-bedroom corner apartment. Having sold their Montebello house, Gaber loved her new digs, which had no upkeep responsibilities and great amenities. But the best part of the transition was finding a new community of friends.
Now Gaber, along with a dwindling number of paying tenants, are being forced to leave because the Jehovah’s Witnesses-owned property is turning the entire 384-rental complex into housing for its volunteers who are building a headquarters for an audio/video production center at 155 Sterling Mine Road in the Town of Ramapo. Until recently, nine of the 15 buildings’ apartments were market-rate rentals. Gaber’s rent, for example, had increased to $3,400 in four years.
Gaber, who’s been battling several cancers over the last five years, was devastated when she received a letter from Greystar Management Company, which manages the property, saying the Woodgrove apartments are transitioning to “corporate housing,” and that tenants will not be offered renewals of their leases “after July 27, 2025.”
While Gaber, like a few of the tenants, has been able to negotiate and extend leases for a few months, they are angry over being forced to leave a community that has become a home.
“I moved into this neighborhood and met nice people,” said Gaber. “Now I’m being forced to leave everyone I know. My life is here. When I’ve been sick, neighbors have sent meals, they’ve helped my husband. My Sloane Kettering doctors are close by in Montvale. This was a life move. We don’t know where we’re going to go, and how we will find something affordable.”
Tenants said they’ve seen the writing on the wall, saying the property management company has used arbitrary measures to raise rents, and that access to amenities paying renters finance have been commandeered by the volunteers and contractors who live for free. The property has become increasingly transient, with lodgers living in apartments for brief periods of time. Large Mercedes vans parked at the northern end of the 54-acre site transport volunteers back and forth to the Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society) building site, which is slated to open in 2026.
What angers tenants the most is a broken promise.
In 2021, after the religious order purchased the property, a Jehovah’s Witnesses’ spokesperson told RCBJ that the already-leased nine rental buildings would not be affected by their ownership. The group planned to use the then-slated to be built seven rental buildings along with the restored Smith House, for their volunteers. At the time, spokesman Keith Cady said, “We bought the property with the goal of reserving the empty buildings to support the project on Sterling Mine Road.”
The 168 units, he had said, will house the Order’s volunteers and contractors. When the project is complete, the complex will be sold and the tenants will move on, adding, “Nothing is being changed,” he said. “Not the leases. Not the price of the units.”
When asked why the Jehovah’s Witnesses have pivoted in their tenancy plan, spokesman Daniel Rice said, “We intended to retain seven buildings to support those involved in pre-construction planning and initial works on site. That allowed for leasing the remaining nine buildings for a period. We apologize for not communicating that clearly. We remain committed to assisting the tenants to make a smooth transition.”
But little about this transition feels smooth for tenants who’ve put down roots in the community. Many are reeling over the must-vacate letter that said: “we kindly ask you to vacate the premises by July 27 and leave the property in good condition as outlined in your lease.” Tenants’ letters were staggered over the winter months, and some have negotiated extended leases for different increases beyond the July 27 date. But the extensions are final.
“I moved in in Sept. 2022 and there was no indication whatsoever that this would be temporary,” said Stacie Mazza, who viewed the apartment as a refuge from a previously tough personal situation. About a year ago, tenants were given large but inconsistent rent increases for the same units. “There was no rhyme or reason. It was inconsistent. They were making it up as they went. They did not communicate or clarify what was going on.” One tenant was faced with a $1,000 monthly increase. Everything was ad hoc. Uncertain. We were being left in the dark.”
The paying tenants are mostly 50 or older; former Rockland homeowners who were looking for a luxury complex, which is in short supply in the county. Many chose the location to be close to work, grown children, and grandchildren.
Sheryl Gerson, who is going through a divorce, is crushed.
“I’m alone here,” she said. “So many of my friends have left. And for what? I’ve never heard of just being pushed out. Everyone has different circumstances but many of us are in our late 50s and 60s. We’re being pushed out because we’re not wanted. And the sad part is that we’re losing a home and a community.”
Patricia Culianos and other tenants agree the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ volunteers are generally “nice and polite,” but a pattern has developed in which the rent-paying tenants have less and less access to the clubhouse, theater, game room, and more recently, the outdoor barbeque grills. Tenants say they can be using one of the facilities and a Jehovah’s Witnesses volunteer comes in and says they’ve rented the space. When tenants balk the volunteers say they’ve reserved the space and if there is a standoff, they threaten with, ‘I’m going to make a phone call’.
“So we have to leave,” said Culianos, adding that paying tenants are the ones who support the amenities. “It’s insane how many fights there are. It’s disgusting.”
Tenants doubt that they have any legal recourse, but they feel aggrieved and victimized.
“I’ve listened to and seen a few unhappy people,” said Sloatsburg Mayor Darrell Frasier. “These are private owners. I guess things changed in their business plans. It’s not illegal, they’re within their rights. But I’m not saying it’s 100 percent acceptable.”
The religious order purchased the land on Sterling Mine Road for its headquarters in 2009 for $11.5 million.
The Worldwide Order of Special Full Time Servants of Jehovah’s Witnesses, as they are known, is building an A/V production center with audio and video production studios and facilities to support operations of the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The facilities include offices, maintenance and set production workshops, and a central chilled/hot water plant with geo-thermal heat recovery system. Housing for resident staff will include 645 residential units (545 one-bedroom and 100 studio units), dining/assembly space, recreation/wellness/fitness facilities, and a clinic. The project also includes a Visitors Center, which will be open to the public and offer Bible-related exhibits as well as exhibits on the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The Town of Ramapo greenlighted the project in 2022, but the proposal called for rezoning the portion of the project site within the Town of Ramapo to a new MU-3 Mixed-Use Zoning District to permit the applicant to develop an integrated residential and commercial campus.
Asked about the tenants’ distress, Town Supervisor Michael Specht said, “The Town has no involvement in a private landlord-tenant matter, but I would expect that any leases in effect should be honored and the tenants’ rights under New York law respected.”
The religious order says it will sell the property once the headquarters is built. However, if the property is retained, it raises the possibility of securing a property tax exemption. According to a spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance, any owner seeking exemption must file for it with the local assessor’s office by a state deadline each March 1. A section of state law allows religious or other specified nonprofit groups to claim exemption for a property but must meet two tests. One is that the owner organization itself must qualify; the other is that the property must be used exclusively for the exempt purposes.
