Anti-Amazon protesters before a New York City Council hearing in January. The deal to build a sprawling Amazon campus in Queens had also run into opposition from some local lawmakers. Credit Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
By J. David Goodman
Amazon on Thursday canceled its plans to build an expansive corporate campus in New York City after facing an unexpectedly fierce backlash from some lawmakers and unions, who contended that a tech giant did not deserve nearly $3 billion in government incentives.
The company, as part of its extensive search for a new headquarters, had chosen Long Island City, Queens, as one of two winning sites, saying that it would create more than 25,000 jobs in the city.
But the agreement to lure Amazon stirred an intense debate about the use of government incentives to entice wealthy companies, the rising cost of living in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, and the city’s very identity.
For more details, read the New York Times article here https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/nyregion/amazon-hq2-queens.html