No New Yorker was happy about the subsidies, especially since it was x4 the amount of the one Amazon got in D.C. Subway is running at full capacity, and real estate prices are already high.<p>It was seen as a bad deal, and new yorkers just don't have a positive view of amazon. When your restaurant is already almost at full capacity, there is no need to lose money on a groupon campaign.<p>I don't think anybody would have complained if these subsidies were done somewhere upstate, where the jobs are truly needed.
Its pretty much crystal clear that the entire HQ2 song and dance was designed from the outset to extract concessions from Washington D.C. and NYC (and also collect a shitload of data on leverage they might have in other locales for stuff like amazon warehouses).<p>Ask yourself if amazon needed this huge competition to build in the two default-choice locales. It is absolutely a total sham.<p>Good on NYC for opposing this, its likely that this is just Amazon trying to get even more out of the deal.
I don't understand the indignant opposition towards this deal to be honest.<p>All but $505m of the ~$3b in subsidies here comes from programs that already existed in NY State and NYC (Excelsior, ICAP, and REAP). Would you give up $3b over 10 years (and just $505m above programs that are broadly available) to attract business that will provide an incremental $13.5B in new tax revenue and $186B in GSP over 25 years? That is a _tremendous_ ROI, the kind that typically does not exist in the market, and a $505m capital grant (the primary Amazon-specific concession) is a small price to secure it. The 9:1 return they projected on this deal is the best such program NY State and NYC will have ever run. To put it into context, the Film Tax Credit program had a 1.15:1 ROI.<p>We can argue all day about whether the HQ2 search was a bluff or sham or whatever, but there is no reasonable claim to certainty here - and hence negotiation enters the picture to turn something uncertain (Amazon MAY come to NYC) into certain (Amazon WILL come to NYC).<p>> The construction is expected to create an average of 1300 direct construction jobs annually through 2033. Overall, the project is estimated to create more than 107,000 total direct and indirect jobs, over $14 billion in new tax revenue for the State and a net of $13.5 billion in City tax revenue over the next 25 years. The project provides a 9:1 return on investment.<p>> According to an economic impact study by REMI, Inc., a world leader in dynamic forecasting and policy analysis, the Amazon project will generate over $186 billion in Gross State Product for the New York State economy over the initial 25 years. REMI also projects over $14 billion in total new tax revenue for the State (in 2019 dollars), with annual revenues growing from $10.8 million in 2019 to nearly $1 billion in 2043. The City forecasts $13.5 billion in total new tax revenue.<p><a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-and-mayor-de-blasio-announce-amazon-selects-long-island-city-new-corporate" rel="nofollow">https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-and-mayor-de...</a>
Atlanta would be a good city for Amazon I think. World's busiest airport. They could eventually acquire Turner Broadcasting Systems, CNN. Really aim for world domination.<p>Maybe partner with UPS? Delta? Coca-cola?<p>They could benefit from the booming entertainment industry as well.
Amazon should put their headquarters in Las Vegas. Preferably some distance from the strip in some big generic suburbia office park. That place feels soulless and it will be perfect for techies who live in Internet land and just use meatspace for working out, dating and the bathroom facilities.