Amazon finally announced the selected cities for its big HQ2 locations this week, revealing that its existing satellite offices in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York, and the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia, would be expanded by about 25,000 jobs each. The news was met with jubilant celebration from Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and apparently, the person who controls the lighting scheme for the Empire State Building.
However, it was met with fierce backlash from other NY politicians who say they were left in the dark due to backroom dealings, as well as those who fear Amazon will bring gentrification and displacement. Making the whole matter more complicated is the more than $2 billion in tax breaks New York City gave the company, one of the most valuable in the world, for its Queens office. Amazon now faces a policy and PR boondoggle it may not have expected after forcing hundreds of cities and regions to compete for the chance to become a home to its second headquarters.
Feb 14, 2019
Amazon HQ2 defeat is a win for Queens activists but a ‘facepalm’ for tech leaders
Amazon’s decision to drop plans for a New York City headquarters was so abrupt that its own employees had been meeting with local leaders just hours earlier to move the commitment forward. Now that the deal is off, New York tech leaders are trying to figure out what it means for the city’s tech scene.
Read Article >The decision to leave New York has been disappointing for local tech leaders like Julie Samuels, who runs Tech:NYC, a nonprofit that helps grow tech companies in the city. “This is terrible for New York. You’re talking about tens of thousands of jobs that were going to be in New York City that now aren’t,” Samuels says.
Feb 14, 2019
Amazon cancels HQ2 in New York after backlash
Amazon has canceled plans to build a second headquarters in New York City, following pushback from residents and local lawmakers who were concerned about what the influx of high-skill, high-paying jobs would do to an area that’s already facing fast gentrification.
Read Article >“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,” Amazon wrote in a statement this morning. Amazon said it is canceling the plans because a “number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence.”
Feb 8, 2019
Amazon reportedly reconsidering New York headquarters after widespread backlash
Amazon’s proposed 25,000-employee office in Queens, New York, may not go forward after all, according to a report from The Washington Post. Citing local opposition from activist groups and politicians, two sources tell the Post that the company is reexamining the deal and mulling over whether to move its planned second headquarters elsewhere. Amazon has not yet leased or purchased office space in the Long Island City area where it’s scheduled to expand upon an existing satellite office, which may make the matter a little easier.
Read Article >Additionally, in Virginia, where Amazon announced its other 25,000-employee expansion in the Crystal City suburb in Arlington, legislators spent a mere nine minutes debating a $750 million incentive package for Amazon late last month. In New York, approval isn’t expected until 2020 at the earliest, according to the Post. That makes the idea of taking its planned office expansion to another state all the more possible, given that nothing in New York has been set in stone.
Feb 6, 2019
Virginia governor signs bill paving way for Amazon’s HQ2
On Tuesday, embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill that paves the way for the state to eventually provide up to $750 million in cash incentives for Amazon to build its new headquarters in the northernmost part of the state.
Read Article >The deal, which was announced last November, would split up the new Amazon headquarters between Virginia and New York City. State governments from all over the country sought to make this deal which promised to bring thousands of “high-paying” jobs to the area. In the case of Virginia, that’s nearly 40,000 over several years.
Nov 20, 2018
For Queens residents, Amazon’s HQ2 isn’t arriving without a fight
Syed Rahman is caught in the middle. The Vanderbilt University sophomore from Long Island City, Queens, has long dreamed of a job in the tech industry, but the public housing projects in his neighborhood convinced him that the only way to make it is to find a job in the so-called “Silicon Alleys” of Manhattan.
Read Article >That was until Amazon announced plans to build one of its HQ2 corporate campuses in his hometown just five blocks from the Queensbridge Houses near where he grew up. According to city agreements, the office, located along the Anable Basin, could reach up to 8 million square feet in the most ambitious scenarios, which is roughly the capacity of four Empire State Buildings. The move is expected to bring 40,000 jobs with an average wage of $150,000 annually, putting young job seekers like Rahman in a desirable position.
Nov 15, 2018
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says Amazon shouldn’t be receiving tax breaks for HQ2
The latest high-profile public figure to criticize the deal New York made with Amazon to bring half of the company’s new headquarters to Long Island City, Queens is none other than New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Announced on Tuesday, Amazon ended a months-long search for a second headquarters by choosing to expand two existing satellite offices in New York City and Arlington, Virginia, disappointing the hundreds of cities and regions in the US that vied to secure the promised 50,000 jobs and the income tax and infrastructure spending it could bring with it.
Read Article >Alongside fellow New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gillibrand was silent all yesterday and today following the announcement while backlash built against the decision to cut Amazon more than $2 billion in tax breaks to expand its presence in the fast-growing borough. Now, Gillibrand says she’s “concerned” about how little input local community leaders and politicians were given, as well as the idea of giving billions of dollars in tax breaks to one of the wealthiest corporations on the planet. Other concerns include the gentrification effects and displacement Amazon might bring to Queens, an area of New York City already experiencing breakneck growth as Manhattan and Brooklyn continue to crowd.
Nov 14, 2018
Politicians and protestors are looking for ways to stop Amazon’s New York HQ2
When New York’s governor and New York City’s mayor appeared alongside an Amazon executive yesterday to announce Amazon’s HQ2 setting up shop in the city, the mood was celebratory. But some locals are pushing back and considering what would need to happen to scuttle the deal.
Read Article >Amazon’s decision to build a new facility in Long Island City, Queens, as well as in Northern Virginia, has been met with stiff resistance. Two local politicians, State Sen. Michael Gianaris and City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, have said an “unprecedented amounts of tax dollars” will be going to Amazon through tax incentive offers.
Nov 14, 2018
New York senators ominously quiet after Amazon deal
After months of speculation, Amazon announced yesterday that it will divvy up its second headquarters between New York City and Northern Virginia. Strangely, both New York senators have been silent on the deal.
Read Article >Just moments after the announcement, Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine blasted off statements welcoming the HQ2 headquarters to their state, touting the economic activity it would bring. “As a former Governor, now Senator, but also as a former technology executive, I’m really excited about the potential Amazon offers not only to Northern Virginia but the whole capital region and the entire Commonwealth,” Sen. Warner said.
Nov 14, 2018
Amazon’s HQ2 stunt could come back to haunt it
There was always something distasteful about Amazon’s quest to find a home for its HQ2. Even when it seemed like it might be a fair fight, it was depressing to watch so many cities and towns prostrating themselves before a tech giant in hopes they would score a windfall of jobs and infrastructure investments. Today, after a nationwide search, the entire stunt was revealed to be a kind of ruse — Amazon’s singular HQ2 turned out to be a pair of regional offices, and they would be located in two thriving metropolitan areas with strategic significance to Amazon and no dearth of high-paying jobs to start with.
Read Article >I rarely write about Amazon here, but I’m making an exception today, if only because its big office move represents such a high-profile collision of big tech and our democracy. It also triggered a significant backlash that ricocheted around social media and has gotten the attention of elected officials — and I wonder if Amazon, as the least socially savvy of the big tech companies, is prepared for what’s next.
Nov 13, 2018
How Amazon landed up to $2 billion in subsidies for its new headquarters
Amazon has just announced the sites for its HQ2. Soon, the company will be expanding into Long Island City, Queens, and Crystal City, in Arlington, Virginia. The expansion, the retail giant says, will bring 25,000 employees to each of the areas, and the company said it would invest $5 billion in the offices. Already, the announcement is raising questions about what the deal will mean for the cities, the scope of the agreement, and how Amazon conducted the search in the first place. With more than $2 billion in potential subsidies available across the three sites, the secretive and dramatic search seems to have paid off.
Read Article >The incentives the company will receive as part of the deals are already eye-popping: Amazon announced that, in New York, it will receive up to $1.2 billion in a refundable tax credit, tied to the creation of jobs, and a $325 million cash development grant. Amazon said it will also apply for existing tax incentives, likely raising that total even higher. The company will meanwhile earn up to $573 million in cash grants for the Arlington investment if it creates the promised jobs. Amazon said it will also build an operations hub in Nashville, and it plans to bring 5,000 corporate jobs to the city.
Nov 13, 2018
Amazon announces Long Island City and Crystal City as its secondary headquarters
Amazon has announced that its second US headquarters will be split between two cities, with smaller-than-expected offices in the New York City borough of Queens and the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia. The announcement caps a year of deliberations that saw over 200 frenzied proposals offering billions in incentives to the e-commerce giant. Amazon had promised 50,000 jobs and $5 billion of capital spending for the so-called HQ2, which will now be split equally between the two chosen locations.
Read Article >The choice of the Long Island City, Queens neighborhood and the Washington, DC suburb has some calling the so-called contest a con job since Amazon already employs more people in those two areas than anywhere outside of its Seattle HQ and the Bay Area. In other words, the ruse of uprooting operations probably helped Amazon extract more favorable tax subsidies and incentives from local governments. News of the possibility that Amazon would choose multiple locations was first reported by The Wall Street Journal in early November.
Nov 5, 2018
Amazon will reportedly split its second headquarters between two cities
Amazon is reportedly going to split its second headquarters between two cities, according to The Wall Street Journal. It’s a surprising development in Amazon's long journey to find another headquarters location. Each city location would employ 25,000 people. The decision has to do with recruiting enough talent and also preemptively addressing issues with housing and transit, the WSJ reports.
Read Article >Amazon still hasn’t announced where its new headquarters will be located, although The Wall Street Journal has said the company is looking into Crystal City, Virginia; Dallas, Texas; and New York City. The Washington Post also reported that Amazon held “advanced discussions” in Crystal City that were “more detailed” than similar talks with other candidate locations.
Nov 3, 2018
Amazon is reportedly in ‘advanced discussions’ to locate its HQ2 in Northern Virginia
Amazon is apparently narrowing in on its location for its second headquarters: Crystal City, Virginia, on the outskirts of Washington DC in Northern Virginia. The Washington Post says that the company has “held advanced discussions” that are “more detailed” than similar talks happening in other candidate locations in the immediate region and around the country.
Read Article >The Post says that the talks have included discussions about which buildings the company can occupy, and how quickly it can more employees there. It cites two people “close to the process” that indicate that Amazon could likely move “several hundred employees” into a pair of office buildings within nine months if the city is ultimately selected.
Jan 18, 2018
Amazon announces 20 finalist locations for its second headquarters
Amazon has narrowed the search for its second headquarters down to 20 locations, which it intends to work with to make a final pick by the end of 2018. The finalists are: Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Indianapolis, Indiana; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Montgomery County, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; New York City, New York; Northern Virginia, Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; Toronto, Ontario, and Washington, DC.
Read Article >Now that it’s down to a final list, Amazon says that it plans to “dive deeper into their proposals” and evaluate whether these locations can actually support the company’s plan to add up to 50,000 jobs. The final list is full of mostly expected choices. Amazon is looking primarily at major metro areas with lots of people, transit options, and access to airports.
Sep 7, 2017
Amazon announces plans for second HQ, looks to be wooed
Amazon has announced plans to open a second company headquarters called HQ2 somewhere in **North America, equivalent to its massive base in Seattle. Amazon says it will invest around $5 billion in the construction and operation of the new headquarters. It’s planning to grow it to provide 50,000 jobs, and has opened up proposal requests for cities interested in hosting the company. Amazon says it has preferences for a city that has more than 1 million people, a stable and business-friendly environment, and locations that can attract and retain technical talent.
Read Article >Under a “decision drivers” part, Amazon asks cities to identify incentive programs available for HQ2 including tax credits/exemptions, relocation grants, workforce grants, utility incentives, permitting, and fee reductions. Amazon notes that “the initial cost and ongoing cost of doing business are critical decision drivers.”