16 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 21, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM in Queens
THE BIG DEAL DEAD
Biz leaders say Amazon failure a bad omen for Queens
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
AND BILL PARRY
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e fallout over Amazon’s cancellation
of its order for a multibillion-dollar development
of a second headquarters campus
in Long Island City continues to be felt
across the borough and country.
Th e plans to develop a new campus
on the Anable Basin waterfront in Long
Island City and bring at least 25,000 jobs
to the community were ended on Feb. 14
in a lengthy statement from Amazon to
its DayOne blog.
“Aft er 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 company wrote. “While polls show
that 70% of New Yorkers support our
plans and investment, a number of state
and local politicians have made it clear
that they oppose our presence and 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.”
Th e Valentine’s Day breakup deprives
the city of an estimated $27 billion in economic
revenue that the Amazon project
in Long Island City was projected to generate
over the next 25 years. Amazon had
touted that the average annual salary for
the each job would be $150,000.
One of the partners in the project was
to have been Plaxall, which owns much
of the land around the Anable Basin that
would have been developed under the
Amazon proposal.
“We’re extremely disappointed by this
decision,” Plaxall Managing Directors
Paula Kirby, Tony Pfohl and Matthew
Quigley said in a joint statement to Th e
Courier. “Since our grandfather opened
Plaxall’s doors on the waterfront seven
decades ago, our family has believed in
the overwhelming promise of Anable
Basin and Long Island City as centers of
productivity and innovation. We continue
to believe that today.”
Amazon reached the deal with the city
and state in November 2018 in exchange
for receive up to $3 billion in tax incentives.
Local elected offi cials opposed the
plan, citing the reported tax breaks and
Amazon’s corporate history — and a need
to use public funding for infrastructure
improvements and housing.
Th e decision came less than a week
aft er Th e Washington Post — which is
owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
— reported that sources within Amazon
were reconsidering its HQ2 deal with
New York City. Th at report came out
days aft er state Senator Michael Gianaris
— whose district includes Long Island
City and is staunchly opposed to the deal
aft er its November 2018 announcement
— was named to the Public Authorities
Control Board, giving him potential veto
power over the plan.
Gianaris and other lawmakers —
including City Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer and Assemblyman Ron Kim —
believed the $3 billion incentive package
would be better spent on aff ordable
housing and the crumbling subway system
instead of “corporate welfare” to the
e-commerce giant.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, however,
was apoplectic about the developments.
Referencing Queens lawmakers
who opposed the Amazon project, he
said “a small group of politicians put
their own narrow political interests above
their community — which poll aft er
poll showed overwhelmingly supported
bringing Amazon to Long Island City —
the state’s economic future and the best
interests of the people of this state.”
Modern Spaces co-founder and CEO
Eric Benaim, who launched an online
petition last week imploring Amazon to
stay in the deal, said that Amazon’s loss
would have troubling repercussions for
Queens and the city.
Jukay Hsu, the founder and CEO of
Pursuit (formerly known as the Coalition
for Queens) which teaches coding to
low-income residents of Queens while
fostering the burgeoning tech sector in
Long Island City said, “I am very surprised
by this, very surprised.”
Hsu, a member of the Amazon
Community Advisory Committee, added,
“Th ey said ignore the press, we’re not
reconsidering. Everything is fi ne they
said. Th is was going to be a great project
for New York City and it’s unfortunate it
all stopped. It’s a very big setback for the
tech community.”
Th omas Grech, president and CEO of
the Queens Chamber of Commerce, predicted
that “an entire generation will look
back at these last few months and ask us
why.”
“I hope those that opposed this Amazon
deal have the answers to what we lost
today,” he said. “It is a shame to lose the
File photo/Shutterstock
opportunity, investment and jobs that
Amazon off ered but there are many more
ways for businesses in Queens to thrive,
and we will be welcoming them with
open arms.”
De Blasio, who along with Cuomo
gushed about the Amazon deal last
November, was angered on Feb. 14 that
Amazon seemingly spurned the city.
“You have to be tough to make it in
New York City,” de Blasio said. “We gave
Amazon the opportunity to be a good
neighbor and do business in the greatest
city in the world. Instead of working with
the community, Amazon threw away that
opportunity.”
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz seemed to echo the mayor’s sentiments,
pointing a fi nger of blame at
Amazon for turning its back on the borough.
“We all want jobs to come to Queens,
and Amazon used the promise of job creation
to extract major concessions for
this project. But aft er last month’s City
Council hearing, it became increasingly
clear that they had no intentions of being
good neighbors and committing to the
required negotiations,” Katz said.
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