Real Estate
Amazon in LIC
BY ANGELA MATUA
AMATUA@QNS.COM
fter sifting through
238 proposals, e-commerce
giant
Amazon has whittled
down its choices for
a second headquarters to 20 locations
— and Long Island City is one of them.
In October, the city chose four neigh-borhoods
to pitch to Amazon — Mid-town
West, Long Island City, Brooklyn
Tech Triangle and Lower Manhattan.
These places were chosen because
they met two key criteria: they have
the square footage available for devel-opment
(8.1 million square feet) and
are close to public transportation and
major airports.
Though Amazon did not specify
which of the neighborhoods it is lean-ing
toward, Queens may have a shot at
becoming the place where the company
brings as many as 50,000 jobs and
invests more than $5 billion in con-struction.
Cities around the country tried mak-ing
the case for why their location
would best serve Amazon and many
offered large tax incentives to entice
the company. Former New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie offered the
company $7 billion in city and state
tax incentives. Newark is one of 20
cities in contention.
New York City officials have said
the company will not be eligible for
any special incentives beyond what is
available to other companies.
16 FEBRUARY 2018 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
“Getting from 238 to 20 was very
tough – all the proposals showed tre-mendous
enthusiasm and creativity,”
the company said in a tweet.
In the proposal, Long Island City was
described as a “creative, mixed-use
neighborhood” and “the city’s industrial
innovation center.”
Its proximity to JFK Airport, LaGuar-dia
Airport, Penn Station and Grand
Central were touted along with its variety
of restaurants, bars, museums and other
cultural institutions. The neighborhood
also has more than 13 million square
feet of “first-class real estate,” according
to the proposal.
Thomas Grech, president and CEO
of the Queens Chamber of Commerce,
said that he is “optimistic” about Long
Island City’s chances.
“The Queens Chamber of Commerce
is thrilled to learn that New York City,
in particular, Queens County is one
of the 20 finalists for hq2,” he said.
“From day one, we rallied together,
led by our Borough President Melinda
Katz, along with NYC Deputy Mayor
Alicia Glen and EDC President and
CEO James Patchett to put together
the very best proposal. I am optimistic
that once all the boxes are checked
by the leadership of Amazon, they,
too, will understand why they need
to put a flag in the ground of Queens
County. Our educational resources,
infrastructure and diversity sets us
apart from all others.”
It is not clear when the company will
announce its final decision.
A Photo courtesy of Flickr/Gabe Shore
