One of the things I hate is when people who should know better, for example the media, don't read things they should.
https://www.gq.com/story/amazon-helipad-tax-payers
Amazon's New York Helipad Will Be Funded by... Taxpayers
BY LUKE DARBY
Quote:
Per Quartz:
The state Urban Development Corporation, the city Economic Development Corporation and the mayor’s office will help Amazon “secure access to a helipad on the Development Sites,” states the memo, dated yesterday (Nov. 12). If for some reason they can’t, officials say they will help the company get one “in an alternative location in reasonable proximity to the Development Sites” in Long Island City, where Amazon intends to build one of its two new headquarters.
A helipad may seem like an odd thing to single out, but in a way it represents a lot about Amazon's relationship to money, taxes, and community. Amazon already legally paid no federal income tax in 2017. If there's any company in the world that doesn't need tax breaks, it's arguably Amazon. And some people find the idea that the richest company in the world will get public money to set up private infrastructure in a city where public transportation is falling apart to be a little, well, galling. It prompted Fast Company to declare, "New York got played by Amazon."
There are, obviously, a lot of things that Bezos could do with that $1 billion a year, the least of which would be getting his employees off of food stamps. The very least he could do is fund his own helipad.
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If that idiot had bothered to read it himself, he would have known better:
It clearly says any construction would be at the companies sole expense.
As far as what will be built on the campus, it seems that the plan is for 6 to 8 msf of commercial office space. There is nothing in the document about developing any residential space. That makes sense, LIC isn't short on new residential space being built. And that would be just one more thing for the critics to complain about, as even now there is talk of a residential glut coming to LIC.
As we wait for the development plan to be submitted and approved by the state, at least we know that the first phase will be on the norther portion of the development site, and inclue
at least 1.5 msf of a "mixed-use" building, probably with some hotel component. This would have to commence within a year of approval of the project plan, and be completed within 4 years of that.
Amazon will be responsible for much on the infrastructure on site.