Hold on to your tinfoil hats, Brooklyn! The Nuwaubian Nation, a UFO-believing cult with a bizarre history, is looking to cash in on its colorful and mysterious Bushwick property.
According to The New York Post, that the oddball building covered in ancient Egyptian motifs, is now up for sale for a whopping $6 million! Located at the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Hart Street, this quirky complex isn’t just a feast for the eyes—it’s the last stronghold of a group once notorious for its outlandish beliefs and even more outrageous leader.
The building, which currently functions as a community center and place of worship, has been home to the Nuwaubian Nation for more than four decades. But now, it’s time for the cult to cash out!
Inside the Egyptian-themed NYC compound that’s home to ‘extremist’ UFO cult — and is now on the market for $6M https://t.co/o4MOcO6mVy pic.twitter.com/GStHQ2cvc1
— New York Post (@nypost) August 30, 2024
“We got an offer for $6 million,” a man named Thomas Smith told the Post. Smith, who claims to be acting as a middleman between potential buyers and the cult, added that they’re selling the properties as a bundle and are asking for $5 to $6 million for both. The 5,000-square-foot golden temple sits next to a three-story apartment complex and the “All Eyes on Egipt” bookstore, both owned by the Nuwaubians under the LLC Holy Trinity Seed Ministries.
The sale marks a potential new chapter for the Nuwaubian Nation, which the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describes as a “hate group” mixing Black supremacist ideas with Egyptian worship, UFO conspiracies, and Illuminati paranoia. The group, once at its peak in the 1970s and ’80s, owned dozens of properties in Bushwick, including 20 apartment buildings and various storefronts. Now, this temple is all that remains.
The group’s leader, Malachi Z. York, once forced followers to give up their possessions and work for free. He even handpicked their spouses! But the leader’s dream of a UFO saving 144,000 chosen people in 2003 was dashed when he was sentenced to over 130 years in federal prison on multiple charges, including child molestation. Despite his conviction, his followers have stayed loyal, even erecting a sign on the bookstore demanding that Liberia repatriate York.
As for the Bushwick property, its future is uncertain. Senab York, Malachi York’s son and the current building manager, expressed his sadness over the possible sale, saying, “A lot of people, they love taking pictures of this building. They love it. People love Egypt… To see it in Bushwick, like, ‘this came out of nowhere.’”
But if history is any guide, there’s money to be made in UFO real estate! This wouldn’t be the first time a property tied to out-of-this-world beliefs fetched a pretty penny. In Utah, a former UFO research ranch known as Skinwalker Ranch was sold for $4.5 million in 2016, and more recently, the infamous Scientology organization has been snapping up properties worldwide, amassing a real estate empire worth billions.
As Brooklyn’s gentrification continues, the question remains—who will be the new owners of this peculiar piece of Bushwick history? Will it be a trendy new condo development, or will another eccentric group take over the space?
Check out the tweet above for more details on the property.
