Amazon’s decision to drop plans to build a headquarters in New York has been slammed by the city’s Mayor Bill de Blasio, who criticized the online retailer for throwing away an opportunity in the face of political opposition.
The online retail giant said on Thursday it was canceling its plans to build in Long Island City, Queens in a stunning reversal to an ambitious plan that would have brought an estimated 25,000 jobs to the city.
Amazon had faced fierce opposition from local politicians, including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who were unhappy with the nearly $3 billion in tax incentives Amazon was promised.
The decision was a serious blow to 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.’
Amazon said on Thursday it was canceling its plans to build a corporate campus in New York’s Long Island City after rising opposition from local politicians
Amazon’s decision to drop plans to build a headquarters in New York has been slammed by the city’s Mayor Bill de Blasio
The decision was a serious blow to de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had both lobbied intensely to land the campus within city limits
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.
‘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.
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.
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.
The decision was a serious blow to Mayor Bill de Blasio (right) and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (left), who had both lobbied intensely to land the campus within city limits. They are pictured at the news conference announcing the headquarters last year
Amazon faced fierce opposition from local politicians in New York who were critical of the $3 billion in tax breaks and incentives Amazon was set to receive
Accustomed to fawning advances from municipal leaders around the country, Amazon seemed startled by the brusque, even rude, welcome it got from some New Yorkers when the plans were first announced last year.
Amazon faced fierce opposition from local politicians in New York who were critical of the $3 billion in tax breaks and incentives Amazon was set to receive.
Newly-elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the more high-profile critics of the deal from the Democratic Party’s leftward flank.
‘Can everyday people come together and effectively organize against creeping overreach of one of the world’s biggest corporations?’ she wrote on Twitter last week. ‘Yes, they can.’
Last year, she tweeted: ‘Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here.’
Critics saw the project as an extravagant giveaway to one of the world’s biggest companies and argued it wouldn’t provide much direct benefit to most New Yorkers.
Some residents of the Queens neighborhood mounted protests.
Residents in the neighborhood, once a scruffy haunt of artists that has rapidly gentrified with a burst of recent high-rise development, had also opposed the plan.
Long-time residents also feared being forced out by rising rents and untenable pressure on already overburdened subway and sewage systems.
In its statement on Thursday, Amazon said they loved New York and were grateful to both Cuomo and de Blasio for their support during the process.
‘Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio have worked tirelessly on behalf of New Yorkers to encourage local investment and job creation, and we can’t speak positively enough about all their efforts,’ the statement said.
‘We hope to have future chances to collaborate as we continue to build our presence in New York over time.’
Amazon added that it has 5,000 workers in the city and plans to grow those teams.
People briefed on the decision said Amazon had made the decision early Thursday after intense talks starting Wednesday and amid rising concerns about the small vocal minority.
The people said Amazon will not shift any of the planned jobs to Tennessee or Virginia but plans to grow its existing network of locations.
Amazon had planned to have 700 employees in New York as part of the HQ2 project by the end of the year and did not plan to hit 25,000 in Queens for 10 years.
Newly-elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the more high-profile critics of the deal from the Democratic Party’s leftward flank
The company had begun considering alternatives last week. The online retailer had not yet acquired any land for the project, which would make it easy to scrap its plans.
Chicago, Miami and Newark are among the passed-over finalists that have expressed interest in another chance to become the home of an Amazon project that could bring 25,000 jobs.
Nashville, which was awarded a 5,000-person center, also said it was open to taking on a bigger role should New York withdraw from consideration.
Rival Alphabet Inc’s Google said in December it plans to invest more than $1 billion on a new campus in New York to double its current headcount of more than 7,000 people.
Shares of Amazon were down 0.3 percent after the announcement.
The online retailer’s billionaire found Bezos 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.
Hours before the announcement, Amazon officials in New York betrayed no knowledge of the deal’s cancellation when they met with local community members on Thursday morning, said Kenny Greenberg, a neon artist and member of Long Island City’s community board.
‘Either they are really good poker players or they were not aware,’ Greenberg said of the Amazon representatives. ‘There was no hint of this at all.’
Greenberg said he had been open to Amazon’s arrival if it had led to improvements in infrastructure, but that ‘unanswered questions’ continued to mount as time went on.
The meeting with Amazon officials had been held to answer concerns from the community about labor conditions for Amazon’s warehouse and delivery workers and the company’s opposition to labor unions.
Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos has been embroiled in his own personal saga after it was revealed he was having an affair with TV anchor Lauren Sanchez