NEW YORK | Amazon - Long Island City | CANCELED

[NYguy]

https://www.newsday.com/business/ama...sky-1.27228504

State official: Amazon's HQ2 will generate $27.5B in tax revenue
Howard Zemsky, CEO of Empire State Development, testified before the State Legislature that the retail giant's Queens project will bring 25,000 jobs that will produce billions in tax dollars.





By James T. Madore
February 12, 2019

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s economic development czar said Tuesday the Amazon HQ2 project in Queens will generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for local schools, mass transit, housing and other community projects that wouldn’t exist otherwise.

Howard Zemsky, CEO of Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency, testified before the State Legislature that Amazon's proposed headquarters will bring 25,000 jobs to Long Island City. They will produce $27.5 billion in tax revenue over 25 years, he said. The positions will pay more than $150,000 per year.

“Amazon will have an annual payroll of $3.75 billion. …There’s been nothing like it in history,” he said at a hearing in Albany on Cuomo’s proposed 2019-20 budget. “We give them back a small percentage of what they give us. This isn’t money sitting in any account,” Zemsky said, referring to the projected tax revenue from the Amazon project.

State Sen. John Liu (D-Flushing), a critic of the project, questioned whether the online retailer really needs nearly $3 billion in tax breaks from the state and New York City.

He said many city residents are skilled workers. Amazon "probably would have come here anyway,” he said, adding that two-thirds of the private-sector jobs created in the state since 2011 were not supported by state tax breaks.

Zemsky responded that other states offered Amazon much more in the North America competition for its HQ2 project. New Jersey offered $7 billion in tax incentives; Maryland, $8.5 billion, while New York negotiated a deal valued at $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion.

In addition, New York City has promised a $1.3 billion tax break.

An Amazon spokesman noted that support for HQ2 was strongest on Long Island and in the city's northern suburbs, 66 percent to 25 percent. "From construction to hospitality to software engineers, we plan to create opportunities for families across New York. We’re very appreciative to have seen so much support from everyday families on Long Island and across the five boroughs,” the spokesman said.

Last year, Seattle-based Amazon selected Long Island City, Queens, and Crystal City, Virginia, a Washington, D.C., suburb, for its two East Coast headquarters. In Queens, the company plans to invest $2.5 billion and hire up to 25,000 people.

"This is an outcome that we worked very hard to achieve and we should be proud of," Zemsky testified. "We were one of only two winners out of 237 cities that submitted."

[JMKeynes]

[Skyguy_7]

Sorry guys, NO AMAZON! The news just came out. This is what happens when you let liberal whiners run the show. Serves them right. Pure idiocy.

They'll choose a business-friendly city instead.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics...ter-nyc-strife

[Austin55]

Wow, this is one of the most shocking things I can ever remember.

[yankeesfan1000]

Jesus Christ... NYC Politicians continue to absolutely disgust me. These people should be ashamed of themselves, of course, they'll cheer this and run on this as part of their re-election efforts.

NIMBY's/community input adds zero value to this city.

AP NewsAlert: Amazon Drops New York City as One of Its New Headquarter Locations, Will Not Search for Another

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by Austin55

Wow, this is one of the most shocking things I can ever remember.

I am not shocked at all. There is nothing so amazingly special about Long Island City that Amazon needed to go there unless it was on their terms. So they didn't.

[NYguy]

Oh well, SO LONG!

Shame on the city council and the other politicians who chose to grandstand other than welcome economic growth.

And those incentives they were complaining about? Now they can go into something like fixing the subways, or building affordable housing.

What's that you say? Oh Amazon WON'T be providing that imaginary money? Oh well then, carry on.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Oh well, SO LONG!

Shame on the city council and the other politicians who chose to grandstand other than welcome economic growth.

And those incentives they were complaining about? Now they can go into something like fixing the subways, or building affordable housing.

What's that you say? Oh Amazon WON'T be providing that imaginary money? Oh well then, carry on.

Perhaps it will be a lesson. But I'm not holding my breath...

[jackster99]

I wonder if Brookfield and Silverstein will backtrack on building MW2 and 2WTC on spec now.

I understand Amazon wasn't involved with either project, but the developers might have expected overflow interest from other companies due to Amazon being in the city

[chris08876]

NY Times on the disaster: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/n...q2-queens.html

Shame on NYC, shame!

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by jackster99

I wonder if Brookfield and Silverstein will backtrack on building MW2 and 2WTC on spec now.

I understand Amazon wasn't involved with either project, but the developers might have expected overflow interest from other companies due to Amazon being in the city

Maybe Amazon should of just outright bought 2 WTC and used it for the HQ 2. Less probability for NIMBYism near the WTC than LIC.

[Skyguy_7]

Originally Posted by jackster99

I wonder if Brookfield and Silverstein will backtrack on building MW2 and 2WTC on spec now.

I understand Amazon wasn't involved with either project, but the developers might have expected overflow interest from other companies due to Amazon being in the city

It's very likely. Trickle-down economics works both positively and negatively, unfortunately! Sad day for NYC. I'd be livid.

[chris08876]

Its just a drop in the bucket for NYC, still a loss, but a drop in the bucket. If they do stay in the Northeast, I wonder if they would seriously consider Newark. The benefit to that city would far exceed any urban transformation for LIC.

[yankeesfan1000]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Its just a drop in the bucket for NYC, still a loss, but a drop in the bucket. If they do stay in the Northeast, I wonder if they would seriously consider Newark. The benefit to that city would far exceed any urban transformation for LIC.

This empowers the incredibly vocal/ignorant minority who pushed for this though.

I could be behind their objections, IF, they simultaneously said, we need to get to a place in terms of lowering taxes where NYS/NYC don't need to offer tax incentives, but instead, they just complained loudly. Vile vile vile.

[chris08876]

I think the idea of compromise would of been ideal. But with NIMBYS, its often a one sides argument with them, especially on this. Maybe a push for negotiations, instead of a flat out no.

But the damage is done.

Hopefully the city/state will use this as a case study as to why private feedback on developments should be limited.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Perhaps it will be a lesson. But I'm not holding my breath...

Nope. They'll try to spin it as some sort if victory. And the ones that don't will try to shift blame to De Blasio and Cuomo.

Originally Posted by jackster99

I wonder if Brookfield and Silverstein will backtrack on building MW2 and 2WTC on spec now.

I understand Amazon wasn't involved with either project, but the developers might have expected overflow interest from other companies due to Amazon being in the city

I doubt they were expecting any overflow at either project. Leasing at both those respective sites have been going well, that's the only reason they are even considering moving forward.

Originally Posted by chris08876

Shame on NYC, shame!

The city will be ok, the NIMBYs haven't stopped the tide of what they were supposedly against. Sadly, it's the people who will lose out the most. Amazon will be fine, the politicians will be fine. But whatever hope and fire was in the eyes of anyone even dreaming of perhaps getting a job there or someplace else in the area as a result of the growth, it's very disappointing. And what are they getting for it? Rents will still rise. Subways will still be crowded. For some, a closer commute just got out of reach. All for some grandstanding politicians who should have had enough sense to explain to the minority who were against it why it was a good deal, instead of just complaining about not getting a say in it, which apparently was more important to them. At least now that final sham of a city council hearing should be canceled. Shame indeed.

Amazon itself doesn't go free of some criticism from this debacle. Because they knew coming in there would be some opposition. So what, this is still America. People do get to vouce dissent. It's just weird to let that be a factor, where previously you made a decision. It could be that Amazon just got cold feet, and is just using the NIMBYism as an excuse to back out. And why did it take a week to make a statement after the story initially broke? Just poor handling by Amaxon, but they still look good compared to those foolish politicians

[chris08876]

I think if the community wants to shape the future, as they want to be involved, they need to sit at the round table and work out solutions and compromises. Good old fashion negotiation and deal making. I think the utter cry for them to leave, with little to no compromise is the failure here.

It became a game of adding a win to the political resume of a few of the hacks involved in downgrading this.

This was politics at its finest, and I hope people see this through the microscope.

I just hope this doesn't act as a deterrent for future companies that could see this as the city becoming hostile towards business or in other words, not having a business-friendly environment.

[NYguy]

^ It's a black mark on the city. But it's also a black mark for any potential major corporate expansion outside of Manhattan.

People: "They say there is a lot of job growth, but it's just low paying jobs."

Same people: "Amazon is bringing 25,000 high paying jobs, but it's not for the people."

[chris08876]

I agree. I think from a city planning perspective, the idea that the city is seeing the power distribution share relocate (even if tiny relative to Manhattan) to the outer boroughs is a positive. For so long, Manhattan has had a stranglehold on the outer boroughs.

But the opposition is fierce in Brooklyn, and increasing in Queens I feel due to what has happened in LIC within the last 5 years.

Any sort of multi-nodal prospect now seems like a struggle. I think of it in a manner that would benefit folks, and neighborhoods. Set a new trend on where housing is built. Allow for the cheaper land in the outer boroughs to be developed (as developers prioritize neighborhoods that weren't really looked at due to business or jobs being closer by) and place priority on the outer borough transit projects.

The optics look good if the multi-nodal approach continues, but with increased opposition, makes ya wonder.

[NYguy]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/tech/...ent/index.html

Read Amazon's full statement on why it scrapped its New York City HQ2

By Taylor Nicole Rogers,
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 reopen 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 US 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.