Amazon HQ2 thread

[Via Chicago]

[chris08876]

Midrisepage.com

WHich now that I think about it, would be a good idea. Because a bulk of development in many cities is in the form of mid rises and low rises.

MidRISEPAGE... the place for the vertically displaced.

[RCDC]

Originally Posted by fleonzo

Apparently not enough of them on a site titled "Skyscraper"page.......

Or maybe we're just not into that petty bullshit.

[Mentallect]

Originally Posted by RCDC

Do you see DC residents bragging here? Because I sure as hell don't.

I do not see DC residents bragging either, nor Northern Virginia residents. We expected HQ2 to come to Virginia. It was never a if, but a when they would come. NYC residents were caught off guard because they were never listed as a top 5 likely destination. In fact, I had in order of likelihood after NVA, Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago, but not NYC.

[Via Chicago]

it's cool to see gilded age cartoons about the sovereignty of capital over governments reenacted very literally a hundred years later.

[RCDC]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

I do not see DC residents bragging either, nor Northern Virginia residents.

It's funny how more people talk about DC than actual resident posters here. It's really weird. Amazon is just another corporation, they'll move in and occupy a bunch of now-vacant office space. Big deal.

[pico44]

Originally Posted by RCDC

Or maybe we're just not into that petty bullshit.

[fleonzo]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

I do not see DC residents bragging either, nor Northern Virginia residents. We expected HQ2 to come to Virginia. It was never a if, but a when they would come. NYC residents were caught off guard because they were never listed as a top 5 likely destination. In fact, I had in order of likelihood after NVA, Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago, but not NYC.

That pretty much sums it up and as a LIC resident most of us (neighbors, etc) weren't even paying attention until last week and today. Up til then....NO ONE I know in the neighborhood ever brought it up over the past year.

[YSL]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

Actually, we do know. It was an open secret for months on end HQ2 was coming to NOVA. The Governors of VA, MD knew, the mayor of Washington, DC knew it. There was a nod and wink. JBG stopped leasing office space 6 months ago in CC, not just recently. NVA turned down another multibillion dollar company's offer to relocate to NVA because they already had all but a written contract HQ2 was coming to NVA. There was the Amazon intranet website leak about record number of Amazon employees looking at awards Arlington won for sustainability, the numerous times Amazon's leadership team met with developer JBG Smith, the fact Potomac Yard area land permits were being turned down for other developers for months with no explanation, etc. Everyone knew, no one could say, and NYC was likely the afterthought, but NVA was always the prom date.

Again, wrong. The chattering pundit class presumed it would be near DC because WaPo and Jeff Bezos house. Knowng what we know now, Amazon was clearly planning to come to New York months ago too since one of the towers (Citi tower) has been emptying out for months in anticipation for Amazon.

And notice which city they first list in their press release. New York of course. Clearly it is the more important of the two.

I guess New York is just better at keeping secrets. Virginia only has like 5 Fortune 500 Companies while New York City has 70. Its clearly a bigger deal in the DC area than it is in NYC. Just like Bezos house is a bigger deal there too

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I remember I how I loved my short week in Long Island City during my first year in grad school. I love that neighborhood how I love small towns in Alabama that have retained their charachter as times have passed. However, I don't think that Amazon will be a cool citizen in Long Island City. While I was a visitor, I could run (or walk briskly) to Queensboro Plaza and expect a brisk ride to Grand Central or Penn.

I... (and I think others share this feeling) dought that the trip from Long Island City will remain brisk at any time short of brisk once Amazon employees begin to arive.

The Governor and Mayor will praise Amazon, but neither will have any idea how to address any additional subway traffic from Queens! This is F***ing maddening.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by RCDC

Do you see DC residents bragging here? Because I sure as hell don't.

Do you forecast that the coming of Amazon will constitute an eruptive vent of wealth for the area...?

(That was for the opening of a KFC in China, if memory serves, right? )

[mhays]

All of that real estate activity in both cities sounds like precursors to a deal, not evidence of a deal being done. If you're told it's down to four cities and they kinda want to pick you but you gotta sort some stuff out first.... that's the stuff people have posted here.

Components of the deal would obviously have come together over a period of time, because a lot of parties would need to be on board before an announcement. But I suspect the actual confirmed selection was very recent, like Monday morning...just enough to call the mayors the night before etc.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by lio45

Do you forecast that the coming of Amazon will constitute an eruptive vent of wealth for the area...?

(That was for the opening of a KFC in China, if memory serves, right? )

I don’t see how. Amazon doesn’t pay well in comparison to the rest of FAANG. Seattle employees at Amazon make around $110K. That's a solidly middle-class job especially in NYC.

[mrnyc]

321 blame unions!

https://nypost.com/2018/11/13/blame-unions-for-new-yorks-pricey-giveaway-to-amazon/

[Orion1]

Congratulations to the chosen locations!

[Mentallect]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

321 blame unions!

https://nypost.com/2018/11/13/blame-unions-for-new-yorks-pricey-giveaway-to-amazon/

The NY Post still has readers? Garbage Journalism at its best like the Moscow Times except the NYP is even less credible than KGB News.

[Sun Belt]

HQ2 HQ3 BACKLASH: Democrats from Queens seem to be against HQ2 coming in with plans to hire 25,000 people.

Originally Posted by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

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.

Then there's this:

Originally Posted by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Queens City Councilman @JimmyVanBramer and State Senator @SenGianaris have come out against HQ2 deal:

“The burden should be... on Amazon to prove it would be a responsible corporate neighbor.”

Both announced they will stop accepting real estate developer money last month.

Then she retweeted this from @davidsirota:

"BREAKING: New York Democratic lawmaker @RonTKim moves to block Amazon deal with legislation to take $1.7 billion of taxpayer subsidies proposed for Jeff Bezos and redirect them into reducing New Yorkers’ student debt"

and then said this:

Originally Posted by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

‘If we have $1.7b to give to Amazon, then that means we have $1.7b to forgive NY student loan debt.’

There are more tweets, but I think we get the picture. She was pretty active on the Twitter yesterday.

[The North One]

She's totally right, not sure what your problem is.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by YSL

Again, wrong. The chattering pundit class presumed it would be near DC because WaPo and Jeff Bezos house. Knowng what we know now, Amazon was clearly planning to come to New York months ago too since one of the towers (Citi tower) has been emptying out for months in anticipation for Amazon.

And notice which city they first list in their press release. New York of course. Clearly it is the more important of the two.

I guess New York is just better at keeping secrets. Virginia only has like 5 Fortune 500 Companies while New York City has 70. Its clearly a bigger deal in the DC area than it is in NYC. Just like Bezos house is a bigger deal there too

Yeah I dont think "Crystal City" carried enough of a caché to be a single site.

All along I've held the opinion that if they chose a city with lesser stature than Seattle, then what's the point?

[suburbanite]

I understand where she's coming from, but debt forgiveness is not a financial equivalent to a tax break.