By Moises Taveras
Amazon announced it is halting its plan to establish half of its second headquarters (HQ2) in Long Island City on February 14, following staunch push back from local residents and politicians.
HQ2 was initially advocated and pushed by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who offered the e-commerce giant about 3 billion in tax cuts and subsidies. In return, Amazon offered to create 25,000 full-time tech jobs over the next few decades.
In a blog post on their site, Amazon cited that the negativity the decision had been met with would not help “build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.”
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents a part of Queens but not Long Island City, was among the first dissenting voices against the coming of HQ2 upon the announcement, and a catalyst for motivating protests. These protests were comprised of local residents, as well as Brooklyn College’s chapter of the Young Progressives of America (YPA).
YPA Chapter President Corrinne Greene told WBCR News, “It’s great that community voices were heard when it came to Amazon. However, when our elected officials are actually working for the people, community input happens before backroom arrangements like the failed Amazon deal are announced.”
Since the announcement in November, opposition arose in response to land usage and the private sector growth an Amazon campus in New York would stimulate. The community was just as bothered by the tax breaks from which Amazon would have benefited, the hike in housing, the possibility of labor crises, and the nature of how the deal was made.
In a statement on Thursday, Gov. Cuomo placed the blame on “a small group politicians [who] put their own narrow political interests above their community,” and members of the New York State Senate who should be “held accountable for this lost economic opportunity.”
Mayor de Blasio took a different approach, lumping Amazon as part of the reason for the sour relationship. The Mayor tweeted, “You have to be tough to make it in New York City. We gave Amazon the opportunity to be a good neighbor and do business in the greatest city in the world. Instead of working with the community, Amazon threw away that opportunity.”
Amazon still plans to move forward with plans for the second half of HQ2 located in Arlington, Virginia. The company is also still on track to open a new distribution center in Nashville, Tennessee.