NYC mayor says Amazon is 'very destructive to communities' hours after submitting a bid for the company's second headquarters

Getty/Theo Wargo

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio.

• Amazon HQ2 proposals are due today.
• New York City just submitted its bid.
• NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio was quoted: "Something different is happening now that is very destructive to communities," he said. "A lot of people are turning to Amazon and other online options."

New York City's mayor is doing one thing and saying another.

The same day New York confirmed it submitted a bid to host Amazon's new HQ2, de Blasio criticized the company, according to Politico.

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"Something different is happening now that is very destructive to communities," he said. "A lot of people are turning to Amazon and other online options."

The comments were made during a town hall in Brooklyn less than an hour after the city released its final proposal.

De Blasio, who famously said last year he's never purchased something from the company, has led a bit of half-hearted play for the company's HQ.

Though the city said it is the "natural choice" for the company because of its economy and the strength of its workforce, officials said they would not offer any city financial incentives. Amazon would still receive incentives from New York State, though the state did not elaborate.

Alicia Glen, the city's deputy mayor in charge of economic development, told Bloomberg in September that the diversity of the city's economy and industries - as well as the desire of many young people to work in the city - are enough to lure Amazon without big financial incentives.

"Kids want to work in NYC. They don't want to be in a suburban office park," she said.

Since then, the city has solicited numerous bids for sites around the city to host the headquarters. Amazon has also since announced a new fulfillment center on Staten Island and a new 360,000-square-foot office that will be part of the Manhattan West mega-development.

The state also mandated landmarks including the Empire State Building, some bridges, and One World Trade Center turn "Amazon orange" at 9 p.m. on October 19.

It may not matter. With high housing costs and a low possibility of tax subsidies, New York faces steep competition to win over Amazon.