Amazon Cancels Plans for New York City Headquarters
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Amazon has reportedly cancelled plans to locate one of its two "HQ2" offices in New York's Long Island City.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the New York Times reports that pushback from local lawmakers prompted Amazon to pull out of the deal.
"After much thought and deliberation, we've decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens," an Amazon spokeswoman told J. David Goodman, a City Hall reporter for the Times.
"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," Amazon told the paper. "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."
Amazon has no plans to select a location to replace Long Island City. "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 US and Canada," Amazon said.
After a lengthy search, Amazon announced in November that it would locate its two new headquarters in Long Island City, New York, and the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. To land Amazon, however, both cities awarded Amazon some hefty tax breaks.
In New York, Amazon negotiated "performance-based direct incentives" of $1.525 billion from New York State as part of the deal, a refundable tax credit through New York State's Excelsior Program of up to $1.2 billion, and a cash grant from Empire State Development of $325 million based on the building square footage of the new headquarters.
Though the deal was championed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, local lawmakers—including State Senator and Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—voiced concern about potential neighborhood disruption, strains on an already congested public transit system, and rising rent and property prices that could push out existing residents from nearby neighborhoods.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
