Property and business owners who stand to lose big from Amazon’s decision to withdraw from a planned headquarters in Queens are reacting in fury to the news.
Amazon’s announcement on Thursday that it would withdraw from plans for a campus in Long Island City was cheered by area renters, who feared rent hikes, as well as local politicians furious about the billion dollar business’ tax breaks.
But the move was blasted by business leaders, developers and wealthy property owners who hoped it would boost business for them.
‘My big question for those who opposed this is: What is their plan to replace those 25,000 jobs?’ Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Grech told DailyMail.com. ‘That’s the question that people in business are furious about.’
Announced with fanfare in November, Amazon’s plan to split its second headquarters between Queens and Metro DC was trumpeted by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, but loudly opposed by some city and state lawmakers, as well as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose congressional district spans parts of Queens and the Bronx.
Many local residents had also raised fears about being pushed out of their homes and neighborhoods by soaring rents if the headquarters went ahead.
Business leaders blasted Amazon’s announcement on Thursday that it was reversing course on plans to build a major campus in the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City (file photo)
Amazon faced fierce opposition over the nearly $3 billion in tax breaks officials offered, with critics complaining that the project was an extravagant giveaway – or worse, a shakedown – and that it wouldn’t provide much direct benefit to most New Yorkers.
A Quinnipiac University poll released in December found New York City voters supported having an Amazon headquarters 57 percent to 26 percent. But they were divided over the incentives: 46 percent in favor, 44 percent against.
The death blow to the project was dealt by state Senator Michael Gianaris, whose district includes Long Island City.
Earlier this month, Gianaris was appointed to the Public Authorities Control Board, a little-known state panel that could have ultimately rejected the state subsidies.
Restaurants in the area had anticipated a big bump in foot traffic from HQ2 (file photo)
‘Amazon underestimated the very, very small yet vocal opponents,’ said Grech.
Construction industry groups and some local business leaders had urged the public and officials to get behind the plan.
Eric Benaim, a realty executive who gets most of his sales and rentals in Long Island City, had led a petition in support of Amazon, drawing 4,000 signatures.
‘I woke up this morning and I had no clue this would happen. Zero. This news is a shock, and I’m devastated,’ he said.
Local restaurants and retail outlets also bemoaned losing the anticipated bump in business that the tide of Amazon employees would have brought.
‘It’s definitely heartbreaking,’ Steve Logiudice, owner of the Centro Pizza Bar & Italian Kitchen, told the New York Post. His restaurant is about two blocks from where Amazon planned to build.
‘There’ll be less foot traffic, and we depend on foot traffic. We depend on, obviously, the locals, but we depend on the construction workers, the business workers, so we depend on all that.’
Restaurateur Sam Musovic, who owns an apartment in Long Island City, called for a nationwide boycott of Amazon, and planned to hold a protest outside of the Amazon Books in Manhattan on Friday afternoon.
Muscovic’s spokesman said in a statement that he had ‘invested over a million dollars into his facility, only for Amazon to stand him up on Valentine’s day.’
But Grech, the chamber of commerce honcho, dismissed calls for a boycott.
‘There’s no reason to boycott, there’s reason to say thank you to Amazon for considering us in the first place,’ Grech told DailyMail.com. ‘We were unbelievably fortunate and blessed to be chosen as one of the two locations.’
Grech said that he hoped there was still a chance to salvage the deal. ‘Maybe in 60 to 90 days, cooler heads will prevail.’
The decision was a serious blow to Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had both lobbied intensely to land the campus within city limits.
The Mayor responded to the news by criticizing Amazon in a series of tweets, saying the company ‘threw away’ an opportunity and failed to work with the community.
‘You have to be tough to make it in New York City. We gave Amazon the opportunity to be a good neighbor and do business in the greatest city in the world. Instead of working with the community, Amazon threw away that opportunity,’ de Blasio said.
‘We have the best talent in the world and every day we are growing a stronger and fairer economy for everyone. If Amazon can’t recognize what that’s worth, its competitors will.’
Newly-elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the more high-profile critics of the deal from the Democratic Party’s leftward flank.
‘I think it’s incredible. It shows that everyday Americans still have the power to organize and fight for their communities and have more say than the richest man in the world,’ she said on Thursday afternoon.
When questioned about the loss of a promised 25,000 jobs for New Yorkers, Ocasio-Cortez hit back saying the city was ‘subsiding those jobs’ anyway.
‘So if we were willing to give away $3 billion for this deal we could invest those $3 billion in our district ourselves if we wanted to. We could hire out more teachers, fix our subways,’ she said.
‘Additionally, there was no guarantee those jobs were for the New Yorkers that were here. I think we can come absolutely together to create an economic plan that actualy invests in New Yorkers and higher wages.’
Amazon’s search for a second headquarters, which it described as HQ2, was deemed a massive, year-long public relations success, garnering worldwide publicity and interest from cities across the U.S.
The Seattle-based company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had planned to bring 25,000 jobs to New York and spend $2.5 billion building its offices.
The online retailer’s billionaire founder has been embroiled in his own personal saga of late following revelations of his affair with TV anchor Lauren Sanchez and subsequent divorce from his wife MacKenzie.
‘We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion – we love New York,’ Amazon said in a statement on Thursday.
‘For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term.
‘While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.’
The online retail giant announced its plans back in November to build the complex in Queens as one of two new headquarters. The other is planned for northern Virginia. Nashville, Tennessee was a finalist that was awarded a consolation prize of a 5,000-employee location.
Amazon said on Thursday it did not plan to re-open the yearlong search that drew 238 proposals from cities across North America.
‘We will proceed as planned in Northern Virginia and Nashville, and we will continue to hire and grow across our 17 corporate offices and tech hubs in the U.S. and Canada,’ the company said Thursday.