FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 15, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
THE BIG DEAL DONE
Amazon HQ2 plan in LIC gets thumbs up & down
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@cnglocal.com
@QNS
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.
Th e 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.
“We have seen fi rsthand in Seattle
how the company has worked to integrate
its campus and employees into the
surrounding community, and we know
Amazon intends to execute a similar
vision here,” the company said in a statement.
“It is therefore meaningful for us,
as a family, to be able to work closely with
Amazon on a plan for Anable Basin that
honors the character of LIC and stays true
to the same vision of innovation and productivity
that drew our grandfather, Louis
Pfohl, here seven decades ago.”
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. Th ese
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. “Th ese two
locations will allow us to attract worldclass
talent that will help us to continue
inventing for customers for years to
come. Th e 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. With an
average salary of $150,000 per year for the
tens of thousands of new jobs Amazon is
creating in Queens, economic opportunity
and investment will fl ourish for the
entire region.”
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. Th e 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, one of the
nation’s fastest growing neighborhoods,
are they 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.
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