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The Guardian canceled plans to move to a WeWork co-working space in Dumbo Heights, Brooklyn, after outcry from staff that the space was in a Jared Kushner-owned property.
After a round of layoffs, senior management at The Guardian told staffers they had planned to move from a WeWork in Manhattan to the building at 81 Prospect St., Buzzfeed reports.
The plan rattled The Guardian's reporters, who claimed their sources would not have full confidence in the new office's secure communication, according to Buzzfeed.
The Guardian, a publication based in the UK, became a household name in the U.S. after it published leaks from Edward Snowden, beginning in 2013, that exposed the federal government's vast extrajudicial surveillance operations and led to Snowden living in exile. Reporters doubted their next potential source would feel comfortable leaking to a news organization headquartered in an office linked to President Donald Trump's son-in-law.
A spokesman for Guardian US told Buzzfeed the company changed plans when it learned about Kushner's relationship to the building. The Guardian plans to move to an office in Midtown Manhattan in May, the spokesperson said. Guardian staff was also reportedly less than thrilled with the idea of commuting to Dumbo.
A spokesman for WeWork declined comment.
Although Kushner has resigned as CEO of his real estate company, Kushner Cos., and divested his interest in several former holdings, it is not clear that he has completely divested his interest in the 1.2M SF Dumbo Heights office-and-retail complex in Brooklyn that he developed with RFR and LIVWRK.
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