Tall & Urban News

Tech Giant Cancels HQ2 Plans for New York City

15 February 2019 | New York City, United States

Amazon has withdrawn its plans to bring half of its second North American headquarters to New York City. This comes after a report last week in the Washington Post that the tech giant was reconsidering locating HQ2 in Long Island City as originally planned.

Amazon would have set up its HQ2 in Anable Basin, located on the Long Island City waterfront, on a site owned by Plaxall Realty. In a statement, Plaxall managing directors Paula Kirby, Tony Pfohl, and Matthew Quigley said they were “extremely disappointed” by the decision.

Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, also shared disappointment in a statement, saying “we are stunned by today’s unfortunate news.”

Opposition has been swift, and fierce, since Amazon announced in November of 2018 that it would bring its HQ2—and, reportedly, 25,000 jobs and $27 billion in tax revenue—to Long Island City.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have both touted the deal as an economic development win for New York City. But much of the criticism has focused on the subsidies that Amazon would have received: as much as $3 billion, through a combination of tax incentive programs from the city and state.

Critics of the deal include City Council member Jimmy Van Bramer and State Senator Michael Gianaris, who represent Long Island City, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

For more on this story visit Curbed New York.