What’s New
Amazon Primed
for Possible LIC Home
BY BILL PARRY
The fastest-growing
neighborhood in the
country appears to be a
big winner in Amazon’s
search for a second headquarters —
or at least a large part of it.
Long Island City and Arlington,
Virginia, suburb of Washington, D.C.,
are nearing a deal to split the Seattle
based retail giants East Coast
campus known as HQ2, according
to reports in The New York Times
and Wall Street Journal on Nov. 5.
More than 200 hundred metropolitan
areas across the country have
been wooing the project for more
than a year in what was billed as the
“biggest economic development deals
of the century,” with the promise of
50,000 high-paying jobs and more
than $5 billion in investment. Long
Island City made the shortlist of 20
finalists last January.
The New York Times reported that
Governor Andrew Cuomo recently
met with Amazon executives as part
of the state’s efforts to attract the
retailer.
“I am doing everything I can,” Cuomo
was quoted as telling reporters
on Monday, as the Times reported.
“We have a great incentive package,”
he said. The Amazon team also met
separately with Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“They have not made a final decision
that I’ve heard of but I can tell
you that it’s been a long, detailed
process in which the city of New
York has tried to make very clear the
reasons why this is a great place for
a company to be because we have
the talent base here,” de Blasio told
NY1 Tuesday. “I think we’re a good
fit for them but they have to make
their final decision.”
Seth Bornstein, the executive
director of the Queens Economic
Development Corporation, was not
surprised that LIC was a big winner
in the sweepstakes.
“I think this demonstrated that
NYC, and especially Queens, are
attractive to new businesses for all
the reasons we know but the main
driver I venture to guess in that NYC
and Queens have the brain and brawn
to fill any position Amazon would
ever need,” Bornstein said. “We have
the technology, especially now with
Cornell Technion, on one side and
transportation and a workforce that
continues to expand. Despite the
effort of some who want to prevent
people from moving to the United
States, NYC will always welcome
those with drive, determination and
deal making skills — and it’s been like
10 NOVEMBER 2018 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
that since Peter Minuit cut that first
deal in 1626.”Minuit was the Dutch
governor who purchased Manhattan
from local tribes for the equivalent
of about $24.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer,
who has represented Long Island City
during its unprecedented growth over
nearly a decade, sounded a cautious
tone about the Amazon deal.
“HQ2 has to work for Queens, not
just Amazon,” Van Bramer said one
week after the de Blasio administration
announced it would invest $180
million in new funding to alleviate
Long Island City’s stressed infrastructure,
addressing improvements
to schools, transportation, parks and
sewage and water systems after a
series of listening sessions with Van
Bramer and civic leaders.
“We already have an infrastructure
Photo via Shutterstock
deficit in LIC,” Van Bramer added.
“We must ask how such a complex
would impact the people who live in
the surrounding neighborhoods. This
isn’t a done deal. The local community
must be heard.”
Brent O’Leary, the president of
the Hunters Point Civic Association,
who announced he would run for
City Council in 2021 to replace Van
Bramer at the end of his term limit,
believes Amazon and Long Island
City could coexist.
“Long Island City has become an
important tech hub and a great place
for businesses,” O’Leary said. “We are
hopeful Amazon will bring good jobs
to the area and be a good partner
with the community.”
Amazon owner Jeff Bezos has
declared he would make his decision
final by the end of the year.
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