LONG ISLAND CITY, NY — Amazon has canceled its plan to build a sprawling new headquarters in Long Island City, the company announced Thursday, killing the largest economic development deal in city and state history. The move followed aggressive protests from local elected officials and activists opposed to the nearly $3 billion incentive package the firm was to receive for the project.
“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,” the online retail behemoth wrote in a blog post.
After a nationwide search, Amazon picked New York as the home of one of two new headquarters in November. But reports emerged last week that Amazon might scrap the project, which was supposed to create at least 25,000 jobs and generate more than $27 billion in tax revenue.
Despite broad public support for its plans, Amazon said, several critical state and local officials made clear that they “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,” the company wrote.
Amazon said it does not expect to reopen its search for a new headquarters location but plans to continue growing its workforce in New York City, where it already has 5,000 employees. The Seattle-based firm is also slated to open a headquarters in the Washington suburb of Arlington, Virginia and a new operations center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Among the most vocal critics of Amazon’s move were state Sen. Michael Gianaris and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who both represent Long Island City. Along with liberal activist groups, they panned the incentive package as a giveaway to a massive corporation with a record of mistreating workers and flexing its political muscle.
Thursday’s announcement proved Amazon was not working in good faith to address concerns — and that persistent activism could defeat even one of the world’s most powerful firms, critics of the deal said.
“Today’s behavior by Amazon shows why they would have been a bad partner for New York in any event,” Gianaris, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Rather than seriously engage with the community they proposed to profoundly change, Amazon continued its effort to shakedown governments to get its way.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio championed the deal as an economic boon to the city and state. City officials argued Amazon would shore up the city’s economy against future downturns and help make New York City a center of the tech world.
But de Blasio, a Democrat, changed his tune after Amazon backed out. In a prepared statement Thursday, he said the firm “threw away” the opportunity to “do business in the greatest city in the world.”
“We have the best talent in the world and every day we are growing a stronger and fairer economy for everyone,” de Blasio said. “If Amazon can’t recognize what that’s worth, its competitors will.”
Amazon thanked Cuomo and de Blasio for their support and praised their economic development efforts. Their commitment to their consituents “is one of the big reasons our decision was so difficult,” the company said.
Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Community leaders in Long Island City, including the heads of public-housing tenant organizations, tried to rally support for Amazon this week, arguing the deal had the potential to develop the neighborhood.
In addition to thousands of jobs with an average salary of $150,000, the headquarters project was slated to create green space, community and business facilities, and technology training programs for local residents.
Amazon’s payments in lieu of taxes stemming from the project were also expected to generate more than $600 million for infrastructure improvements in the surrounding area.
“No words at this moment can convey the sadness and dismay at the loss of this historic opportunity,” Tom Grech, the president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “… An entire generation will look back at these last few months and ask us why.”
The company scrapped its plans about two weeks ahead of a third City Council hearing on the deal. At the first two hearings, local lawmakers lambasted the company and the city’s Economic Development Corporation and lamented the fact that the project would be planned without Council approval.
An Amazon executive acknowledged at the second hearing last month that the firm would not remain neutral in its workers’ efforts to unionize. That admission was “the end of Amazon,” Van Bramer said.
“I believe that the blame for this rests with the governor and the mayor and the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos,” the Democratic lawmaker told NY1, referring to Amazon’s founder and CEO. “Since they announced the deal, they have not budged on one single aspect of the deal. They refused to budge or even talk.”
But Cuomo blamed Thursday’s reversal on a “small group of politicians” who put their own interests ahead of their community. He noted that polls showed support among New Yorkers for Amazon’s move to Long Island City.
Cuomo pointed a particular finger at the state Senate. Democrats in the chamber reportedly nominated Gianaris to the Public Authorities Control Board, an obscure but influential body that could have blocked the deal.
“They should be held accountable for this lost economic opportunity,” the Democratic governor said. “The fundamentals of New York’s business climate and community that attracted [A]mazon to be here – our talent pool, world-class education system, commitment to diversity and progressivism – remain and we won’t be deterred as we continue to attract world class business to communities across New York State.”
Labor unions were divided on the project. Amazon reportedly had deals with two unions, 32BJ SEIU and the Building and Construction Trades Council, agreeing in one case not to oppose unionization efforts.
“Politics and pandering have won out over a once-in-a-generation investment in New York City’s economy, bringing with it tens of thousands of solid middle class jobs,” Gary LaBarbera, the Building and Construction Trades Council’s president, said in a statement Thursday.
But groups such as the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union vehemently opposed the company’s presence, citing its previous hostility to unions and its reportedly poor treatment of workers.
“Rather than addressing the legitimate concerns that have been raised by many New Yorkers Amazon says you do it our way or not at all, we will not even consider the concerns of New Yorkers – that’s not what a responsible business would do,” Chelsea Connor, RWDSU’s director of communications, said in a statement.
Amazon has received a warmer welcome in Virginia. Lawmakers there overwhelmingly approved an incentive package for the company worth up to $750 million that embattled Gov. Ralph Northam signed last week, according to news reports.
Patch editors Adam Nichols and Maya Kaufman contributed to this report.
(Lead image: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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