New York City is reportedly nearing a deal to host Amazon's second headquarters. Here's what New York promised the company - from millions of dollars in subsidies to Gov. Cuomo changing his name - to win Amazon over.
A "creative, mixed-use neighborhood."
New York City's initial proposal to Amazon, submitted in October 2017, listed four potential HQ2 sites: Midtown West, Long Island City, Brooklyn Tech Triangle, and Lower Manhattan. According to The Times, it seems that Long Island City has won out.
The proposal described the neighborhood, in Queens, New York, as a "creative, mixed-use neighborhood with a rich legacy as the city's industrial innovation center." The proposal also highlighted the neighborhood's more than 150 restaurants, bars, and cafes, as well as its art galleries, museums, and theatres.
More than 13 million square feet of real estate.
Real estate — at lower prices than in other boroughs of New York City — was a key part of the Long Island City pitch. The neighborhood has been swiftly growing in recent years, with 41 new apartment buildings constructed since 2010, The Times reports.
Speedy commutes.
The Long Island City pitch promised Amazon that workers would have short commutes and that the airport is just minutes away. According to the proposal, getting to LaGuardia Airport from Long Island City takes 25 minutes by public transportation and 15 minutes by car; John F. Kennedy Airport supposedly takes 45 minutes.
As for commutes, the proposal promises a five-minute trip to the Brooklyn G train, 15 minutes to Midtown New York, and 45 minutes on the LIRR to Nassau County on Long Island. Cornell Tech, located on Roosevelt Island, is just a five-minute ferry ride.
Last week, New York City released a proposal that would add more transportation options to Long Island City, including a potential new subway stop.
"Work with M.T.A./L.I.R.R. and Amtrak to study the feasibility of creating a new rail station in Sunnyside Yard at Queens Boulevard," the city's plan states, according to The Times.
Plenty of tech talent.
New York City's proposal highlights that 2.3 million New Yorkers have a bachelor's degree or above, and that the metro area has the largest population of tech workers in the nation, with 296,000. The 105 institutions of higher learning could provide a pipeline for the company — including students from Cornell Tech, which is just a five-minute ferry ride away.
Up to hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives.
While New York is known for providing economic subsidies to entice companies to open up shop in the area on both the state and city level, New York City has not released any official figures on how much it is willing to spend to attract Amazon.
Cuomo has said that the state has created a "great incentive package" for Amazon, which sources told The New York Daily News and The Times could include hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies.
Last year, Cuomo announced Amazon would receive $20 million in tax incentives for locating an administrative office with 2,000 jobs in New York City. Even with half of the 50,000 jobs Amazon promised, HQ2 would create would have a much bigger impact.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio has publicly resisted offering special subsidies to Amazon.
For comparison, New Jersey approved tax breaks that would total about $7 billion in an attempt to get Amazon to pick a location in the state for its second headquarters.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo changing his name to "Amazon Cuomo" and renaming a polluted creek the "Amazon River."
Cuomo also said, apparently jokingly, that he would "rename the heavily polluted Newtown Creek in Long Island City the Amazon River," The New York Daily News reported.
While this was likely a joke, it reveals just how desperate — and gimmicky — states and cities have gotten in their attempts to win over Amazon.
In October 2017, for example, New York City buildings including the Empire State Building and One World Trade lit up "Amazon Orange" to show support of the city's HQ2 bid.
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