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Quoted End is nigh for Watchtower sign: Iconic placard to come down after $340M sale (2017) by Kathryn Brenzel (therealdeal.com)
The iconic Watchtower sign, a glowing fixture over Brooklyn Heights, will soon disappear from the skyline. Earlier this month, the Jehovah’s Witnesses filed a permit application seeking to remove the 15-foot-tall letters from the roof of the organization’s now-former headquarters ... Removal of the letters will cost an estimated $70,500, according to documents filed with the city’s Department of Buildings.

In the March 12 edition of Pook-Emu Bee, I shared a link to a story about a proposal to turn the former Jehovah’s Witness Watchtower buildings on Columbia Heights (between Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO) into apartments. When the Jehovah’s Witnesses owned the building, they had a giant red “WATCHTOWER” sign over their headquarters that was something of a landmark in the “Brooklyn skyline.” I remember when the WATCHTOWER sign came down in the late 2010s. While reading more news about what may be done with the buildings, I came across a June 26, 2017 report in The Real Deal on news that the Jehovah’s Witnesses had filed permits to take down the WATCHTOWER sign. According to the report, the estimated cost of the removal was $70,500. While I do not know if that ended up being the final cost, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were responsible stewards of their properties (if not champions of great aesthetics), so I would not be surprised if they were able to remove the sign for the price they estimated.