4 NOVEMBER 15, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cheers and jeers boroughwide as Amazon chooses LIC for HQ2
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@CNGLOCAL.COM
Amazon offi cially announced it
would split the location of its
second headquarter between
Long Island City and Arlington, Virginia,
on Tuesday morning, ending
a yearlong search among more than
230 municipal areas across North
America.
The e-commerce giant will invest
$5 billion between the two and create
more than 25,000 jobs at each location.
Amazon and Plaxall, the family-owned
plastic company that has been headquartered
in Long Island City for more
than 70 years, will partner together to
develop an HQ2 campus on a nearly
14-acre piece of land surrounding
Anable Basin.
Plaxall, which had its own plans to
develop 14.7 acres of land into a mixeduse
district surrounding the inlet, said
it was proud to partner with Amazon
and its vision for Anable Basin. TF
Cornerstone, another LIC developer,
is also partnering on the project.
Before moving into the new campus,
Amazon will lease numerous fl oors of
nearby One Court Square, the highrise
formerly known as the Citicorp
Building. The retail giant is expected
to move in next year.
Amazon said it will receive performance
based direct incentives of
$1.525 billion based on the company
creating 25,000 jobs in Long Island
City. These incentives include a refundable
tax credit through New York
State’s Excelsior Program of up to $1.2
billion calculated as a percentage of
the salaries Amazon expects to pay
employees over the next 10 years, in
addition to other incentives provided
by the city.
“We are excited to build new
headquarters in New York City and
Northern Virginia,” Amazon founder
and CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement.
“These two locations will allow us to
attract world-class talent that will help
us to continue inventing for customers
for years to come. The team did a great
job selecting these sites, and we look
forward to becoming an even bigger
part of these communities.”
In its announcement on Nov. 13,
Amazon said its Long Island City
headquarters would occupy 4 million
square feet of “energy-effi cient offi ce
space,” with an opportunity to expand
to a total of 8 million square feet if
needed.
In a map released by Amazon, a locator
points to the area where Plaxall’s
property begins near Vernon Boulevard
and 46th Avenue.
“When I took offi ce, I said I would
build a new New York state — one that
is fi scally responsible and fosters a
business climate that is attractive to
growing companies and the industries
of tomorrow,” Governor Andrew
Cuomo said in a statement. “We’ve
delivered on those promises and more,
and today, with Amazon committing
to expand its headquarters in Long
Island City, New York can proudly
say that we have attracted one of the
largest, most competitive economic development
investments in U.S. history.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was
thrilled with Amazon’s decision.
“New Yorkers will get tens of
thousands of new, good-paying jobs,
and Amazon will get the best talents
anywhere in the world,” de Blasio said.
“We’re going to use this opportunity to
open up good careers in tech to thousands
of people looking for a foothold
in the new economy, including those
in city colleges and public housing.
The city and state are working closely
together to make sure Amazon’s
expansion in planned smartly, and
to ensure this fast growing neighborhood
has the transportation, schools
and infrastructure it needs.”
However, two of the elected offi cials
that represent Long Island City are
opposed to the Amazon deal.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer
and state Senator Michael Gianaris
announced they would hold a rally
on Nov. 14 in Long Island City to
“say no to the richest company in
the world,” according to the protest
announcement.
“New Yorkers have real unmet
needs from their government. Our
subways are crumbling, our children
lack school seats, and too many
of our neighbors lack adequate
health care. It is unfathomable that
we would sign a $3 billion check to
Amazon in the face of these challenges,”
Gianaris and Van Bramer
said in a joint statement Tuesday
following Amazon’s announcement.
Gianaris and Van Bramer are
outraged by reports that the Cuomo
administration would create a
general project plan like it did at
Atlantic Yards and the World Trade
Center that would allow the state to
go forward on the project without
going through the city’s public approval
process.
Photo via Flickr/Governor’s offi ce
The Long Island City skyline
Queensboro UNICO donates food to pantry
Members of the Queensboro Unico fraternal organization recently donated food and clothing to the St. Matthias
Church food pantry in Ridgewood serving homeless and other needy families. Shown at the presentation
are (from left to right) Craig Montalbano, Gail Sands and Leo Galante.
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