Bezos Pulls Out: Amazon Scraps Plan for HQ2 in New York City
(ZH) — As it turns out, those reports about Amazon reconsidering its plan to build one of its “HQ2s” in the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City weren’t just trial balloons intended as a warning to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to get his people in line.
Because in a Thursday announcement that will undoubtedly be heralded as a major victory by “Democratic Socialists” like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the e-commerce giant announced that it would scrap its plans to move to New York City, much to the chagrin of Cuomo and de Blasio, who signed off on a $3 billion package of “performance-based” state, city and public-private incentives offered to Amazon.
Amazon shares have rallied in the aftermath of the announcement.
But the ramifications for New York State politics will be far more profound.
Amazon didn’t mince words in its statement, placing the blame for its decision to deprive the state of what Cuomo’s office once described as one of the biggest economic boons in recent decades squarely on the shoulders of progressive New York lawmakers who objected to the deal.
Marking Amazon exit as the moment when @AOC's potent rhetoric first translated into policy
— Harry Siegel (@harrysiegel) February 14, 2019
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. 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% 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.We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion — we love New York, its incomparable dynamism, people, and culture — and particularly the community of Long Island City, where we have gotten to know so many optimistic, forward-leaning community leaders, small business owners, and residents. There are currently over 5,000 Amazon employees in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island, and we plan to continue growing these teams.
We are deeply grateful to Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, and their staffs, who so enthusiastically and graciously invited us to build in New York City and supported us 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 steadfast commitment and dedication that these leaders have demonstrated to the communities they represent inspired us from the very beginning and is one of the big reasons our decision was so difficult.
We do not intend to re-open the HQ2 search at this time. 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.
Thank you again to Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, and the many other community leaders and residents who welcomed our plans and supported us along the way. We hope to have future chances to collaborate as we continue to build our presence in New York over time.
The decision to pull out of NYC comes after New York State lawmakers nominated one of the deal’s fiercest opponents to a state board that would grant him the power to unilaterally kill the state component of the incentive package. NYC progressives and “Democratic socialists” like AOC can claim a major victory over their corporate adversaries. Queens real-estate brokers, on the other hand, are reacting with a mix of “shock, anger and disbelief”…
However, New Yorkers who opposed the Amazon deal will probably be disappointed to find that driving away the e-commerce giant won’t help fix the subway.
The prospect of luring Amazon to NYC was an all-consuming project for the Democrats who run the state. Cuomo and de Blasio set aside their fierce rivalry to work together to court Amazon, we wonder who will be the first to point the finger at their rival as what we imagine will become one of the most epic blame games in the history of New York politics.
Because it looks like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has taken a break from snapping dick pics to send Cuomo and de Blasio a giant middle finger.
By Tyler Durden / Republished with permission / Zero Hedge / Report a typo
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