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Originally Posted by Crawford
They'll almost certainly take One Court Square to start, since Citi is vacating that space, but the long-term expansion plan will likely be on the Sunnyside Yards, where there's massive space for tens of thousands of employees.
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Yeah, the sunnyside yard thing came to mind, but that will take time. I do believe that there was a small portion of the yards that was supposed to be out for RFP, there's a thread here somewhere. But the Court Sq place would be a plus since it would help attract Amazon, and the issue of filling that space would be solved before it really became an issue.
If Amazon ultimately decided to go somewhere else, I wouldn't be upset with that. But I do think that it would be huge for LIC.
In either case, people are never pleased, and most people weren't going to be happy with the decision no matter where it turned out...
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture...rginia-752498/
New Yorkers, Virginians Wary of New Amazon Headquarters
New offices could mean thousands of jobs and an economic boost — but can the city infrastructures handle the influx of new residents?
By LILLY DANCYGER
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters on Monday that he’s doing everything he can to court Amazon and secure the Long Island City deal, after a cities across the country competed to lure the company with massive tax incentive packages for the past year. “I’ll change my name to Amazon Cuomo if that’s what it takes,” he said. “Because it would be a great economic boost.”
Local residents and community activists are not as enthusiastic as the governor.
“If they bring [tens of thousands of] new corporate employees to Long Island City, then those people are going to have higher incomes and want to live in a convenient location along the 7 [train] line, which is going to put pressure on rents that people in Queens haven’t really dealt with before” says Michael Forest, an organizer with the Queens Anti-Gentrification Project. “Everyone in Queens is at risk for increasing rent prices if this happens. It’s a scary prospect.”
Long Island City, located at the southwest corner of the borough, is already struggling to accommodate the rapid growth the formerly-industrial neighborhood has seen in the last two decades, with residents consistently speaking out against rezoning proposals that would allow even more build-up. “Since the early 2000s there’s been such a profound change in the skyline of Long Island City, and now we literally live in the shadow of these sky scrapers,” Forest says. “People are pretty much unanimously opposed to big development in Long Island City, but our voices get drowned out as the city keeps moving forward with this agenda.”
“When Amazon drops on Long Island City, it’ll set off a tsunami of hyper-gentrification that will push out whatever remains of the working class — and much of the middle class,” says Jeremiah Moss, who runs the blog Vanishing New York and published a book of the same name, documenting the small businesses and culture lost to gentrification and development. “We’ve seen it in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan when Google moved in. Real estate speculation skyrockets. Landlords get crafty about kicking out rent-regulated tenants. Portfolios of buildings are sold, emptied, and converted to market rate for the new upper class coming in.”
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Moss suggests that it’s not only residents that would be hurt by the changing landscape and rising rents brought on by such a large corporate office moving in, but local businesses as well.
“The workers at these big tech companies generally don’t patronize small, local businesses,” Moss says. “They work inside a bubble where all is provided, or where large food-hall type places, like Chelsea Market, spring up to feed them. So we often see small businesses die around these big tech companies.”
In addition to these economic concerns about gentrification and hyper-development, there’s also the practical question of whether the city’s subway system, specifically the 7 line that serves Long Island City, could handle that many new residents. Easily accessible public transportation was one of Amazon’s chief concerns in searching for a new home (or homes) for their new offices, with cities with more developed and efficient public transit quickly pulling to the front of the pack.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...uge-tax-breaks
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Long Island City was preparing for its breakneck development to pick up speed even before news that Amazon.com Inc. may move in.
Earlier this year, much of the neighborhood was designated as an “opportunity zone,” a classification that comes with a suite of generous tax benefits for real estate developers. If Amazon selects the neighborhood for a major new North American campus, as is widely expected, it’ll bring thousands of new, highly paid employees to the area and create a unique and irresistible combination for New York City builders.
“We’ve been seeing so much activity in Long Island City,” said Jessica Millett, co-chair of the tax department at Duval & Stachenfeld LLP, a law firm. “The opportunity-zone activity ramps it up a level. Amazon threw fuel on that fire -- my phone started exploding.”
At the center of both decisions is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who joked with reporters Monday he’d even change his name to “Amazon Cuomo” to win over the internet giant. Cuomo’s administration, expected to grant the company a bevy of concessions to open an office hub there, was also charged with picking New York’s opportunity zones.
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Long Island City, once a decrepit post-industrial neighborhood, has seen billions in investment in recent years, driven in part by its proximity to Manhattan. Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced another $180 million to improve the neighborhood’s infrastructure, including sewer upgrades and a new school.
It isn’t yet clear exactly where Amazon would situate its offices in the neighborhood, or if it would be able to take advantage of the tax breaks. But developers that build or renovate real estate for Amazon could potentially use the breaks, in addition to whatever deal-sweeteners offered by Cuomo to woo the tech giant. Either way, its decision will boost interest in the area.
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Already, political opposition to Amazon’s potential move is mounting, with calls to extract concessions from the tech giant and even levy a “gentrification” tax. Jimmy Van Bramer, a city council member who represents the area, said that not all his constituents are excited about the prospect.
“We need to know what Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio have promised Amazon, and what Amazon has offered the city in return,” he said.
For Long Island City developers and brokers concerned about the abundance of planned apartments, Amazon’s an answer to their prayers. Almost 1,700 units were proposed and more than 4,500 were already under construction in the neighborhood, according to an April report by the Long Island City Partnership, an economic development group.
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NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Last edited by NYguy; Nov 7, 2018 at 12:42 AM.
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