In a metropolitan area of over 20 million souls, riding 665 miles of subway, eating at 10,000 restaurants and speaking more than 800 languages—all in a nearly 5,000-square-mile zone—they may be excused if they occasionally seem preoccupied. When 6 percent of America’s population is concentrated in one place, a high degree of hustle and bustle can be expected.
But in the stormy sea that is New York, the Church of Scientology is an island of calm.
Located in the heart of Times Square, the beating pulse of the city, the Church has served the community for two generations. And now, New York Scientologists celebrate their Church’s 20th anniversary as an Ideal Organization. As Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard put it, “The Ideal Org would be an activity where people came to achieve freedom and where they had confidence they would attain it.... The end product is not just an Ideal Org but a new civilization already on its way.”
An Ideal Church of Scientology isn’t just a church where one goes to hang one’s hat and find a sympathetic ear. It is an active noun, reaching into the community and beyond with humanitarian initiatives and practical answers designed to better lives. It is also a place where anyone who seeks a path to freedom—be it spiritual freedom or freedom in the form of tools to remedy his or her personal problems—may find it.
An Ideal Church of Scientology is, in short, a home for the entire community, one that emanates tangible solutions.
“You are giving hope to a troubled world.”
In that spirit, two decades ago today, 10,000 Scientologists and guests gathered at the unveiling of their 75,000-square-foot, six-story Ideal Church—fully renovated as a gift from the International Association of Scientologists to the people of New York in recognition of their courage and spirit in the face of the 2001 World Trade Center disaster.
With that tragedy still fresh in the city’s memory, Scientology ecclesiastical leader David Miscavige urged New Yorkers to focus on the future and healing: “As we look out across the world, we can speak of international conflict, of economic instability, and yes, of terrorism. But if we do, my friends, let us not speak in terms of those problems. Let us speak in terms of solutions, solutions that can solve every one of them.”
Dignitaries and leaders joined Mr. Miscavige, each with their own reasons for taking joy and hope from the religion’s expanded presence in the city.
Speaking on behalf of 27,000 residents and 321,000 employees of Times Square, Vice President of the Times Square Alliance Mr. Bob Esposito thanked the Church of Scientology for contributing “to the magic that is Times Square.”
“While I could go on endlessly about the care you took as I watched your progress month by month,” he said, “the real point is not the material lift to West 46th Street. Rather, it is what you do inside these walls.”
United Nations Under-Secretary-General Maurice Strong was quick to point out that the Church’s influence expands well beyond those walls: “You are giving hope to a troubled world,” he said.
He could have been referring to the largest nongovernmental antidrug information and prevention campaign on Earth, sponsored by the Church of Scientology. The New York chapter has partnered with NYPD and dozens of other organizations and agencies to bring the Truth About Drugs to tens of thousands of students, teachers and everyday New Yorkers, including training thousands of school safety officers across all five boroughs. It’s the kind of help that’s badly needed in a city where overdose deaths reached their peak at 3,026 in 2022.
As a city that unites both the worst and the best of humanity, New York is a place where our shortcomings present themselves in high definition, but is also a microcosm of our hopes and dreams—a place where art, music, entertainment, technology and many of the finer achievements of our species are centered.
Over three generations, New York welcomed 12 million immigrants under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. They were looking to America as a solution to their problems.
Specifically, they were looking to New York.
Generations later—and every day in Times Square—the Church of Scientology is offering real solutions in this great city.
And as Mr. Miscavige put it, “This is New York, and to help her is to help the world.”
