Amazon canceled its New York City HQ2 plans. Here's everything we know about how the massive deal unraveled.
Amazon's current headquarters are located in Seattle, Washington, and employ more than 45,000 workers.
However, in 2017, Amazon announced it was on the hunt for a second headquarters, dubbed HQ2.
Amazon said that the new headquarters would bring 50,000 new jobs and a $5 billion investment.
Amazon received 238 proposals as cities across America tried to win over the e-commerce giant.
Read more: 238 cities and regions are duking it out to be the site of Amazon's new $5 billion headquarters
In January 2018, Amazon revealed its shortlist of 20 regions.
The list of candidates included Atlanta; Austin; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia; and New York, New York.
Read more: Amazon reveals the 20 cities that could be the home of its next headquarters
After months of deliberation and rumors, Amazon announced in November 2018 it would actually split the second headquarters between New York and Virginia.
One office would be located in Long Island City, Queens, and the other would be in National Landing, a newly formed area in Northern Virginia. Both headquarters were set to receive roughly 25,000 new jobs.
New York's HQ2 bid was strongly supported by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"I'll change my name to Amazon Cuomo if that's what it takes," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters at an event hours before a report surfaced saying that Amazon would soon announce its HQ2 plans.
However, while Virginians and local politicians there reacted mostly positively to the news, New Yorkers were less optimistic about HQ2.
Amazon's plans raised concerns that the second headquarters could increase homelessness rates, send rents skyrocketing, paralyze public transportation, and create other problems for local residents.
New York politicians began speaking out against Amazon's HQ2 plans almost immediately after plans to develop the headquarters in Queens were announced.
"Amazon is a billion-dollar company," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in November. "The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here."
"Offering massive corporate welfare from scarce public resources to one of the wealthiest corporations in the world at a time of great need in our state is just wrong," City Council member Jimmy Van Bramer and state Sen. Michael Gianaris, both of whom represent Long Island City, said in a scathing joint statement.
"We were not elected to serve as Amazon drones," they added.
A proposed $3 billion in tax incentives infuriated politicians and New Yorkers.
The state and city offered up to $3 billion in tax incentives to convince Amazon to build its second headquarters in New York. A December poll found that 46% of New Yorkers supported the incentives, while 44% opposed it citywide.
Read more: Most New Yorkers support Amazon coming to town but many hate the deal, a new poll says
In late November, protesters stormed an Amazon Books store in Manhattan.
Armed with signs and "F--- Off Amazon!: A Black Friday Action Songbook," protesters took action to highlight their concerns about the new headquarters.
Amazon was slammed in the first of a series of planned hearings about Amazon's HQ2 deal in December.
Protesters gathered outside New York City Hall prior to the hearing.
Jimmy Van Bramer, the council's deputy leader and the member whose district the new HQ2 project would have resided in, gave an opening statement in which he said "we should all be concerned" given Amazon's sometimes contentious relationship with the city council in Seattle, where its first headquarters resides.
"I was not elected to be a cheerleader for Amazon, and neither was the mayor," Van Bramer said, adding that Queens "must not become another Amazon company town."
In January, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson told Business Insider that HQ2 was not "a done deal."
"I don't think anyone should assume that this is a fait accompli, and that this is a done deal," Johnson said. "This is the beginning of a process where the public and the City Council and other elected officials are going to continue to seek answers and understand whether or not this is a good deal for New York City, or if we got played."
Amazon began mailing New Yorkers ads touting the benefits of HQ2.
Many Queens residents received mailers from Amazon in early January. On the front, one says "Amazon is investing in Long Island City," as well as a laundry list of the announced benefits the tech giant had agreed to bring to the area.
In late January, Amazon unveiled a new set of plans to win over New Yorkers.
In a second New York City council meeting, Amazon pledged to reach out to small businesses, offer customer-service jobs to residents of local public housing developments, and work on secondary and higher education initiatives.
"We were invited to come to New York, and we want to invest in a community that wants us," Brian Huseman, VP of public policy at Amazon, said in prepared remarks. "That's why we're excited to announce several new developments since we were last before the City Council."
Read more: Amazon unveiled a new set of plans to win over New Yorkers to HQ2 as both sides dig in
In early February, news broke that a noted Amazon critic had been nominated for a position in which he could veto HQ2.
The New York State Senate majority nominated Gianaris, a vocal opponent to HQ2, to a seat on the New York State Public Authorities Control Board. While he has not yet been confirmed in this position, Gianaris could have vetoed financing and construction of Amazon's campus.
Read more: A huge opponent of Amazon's HQ2 in New York may soon have the power to kill it
On February 8, The Washington Post reported that Amazon was reconsidering its plan to open a campus in New York.
"The question is whether it's worth it if the politicians in New York don't want the project, especially with how people in Virginia and Nashville have been so welcoming," one person familiar with Amazon's plans told The Post.
On February 14, it was official: Amazon had canceled New York's HQ2.
Amazon said it made the decision because "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."
- Read more on Amazon abandoning New York:
- Amazon says it won't reopen its HQ2 search after bailing on New York City
- Amazon isn't coming to New York City — and it's a kick in the face for the people who bet big on property in Queens
- Virginia is now the sole winner of Amazon's HQ2. Here's what its planned neighborhood could look like.
- Amazon's HQ2 deal with New York is officially off — and it means that the state and city will lose out on $27.5 billion in tax revenue
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