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Amazon kills its proposed HQ2 project for New York City

Posted at 11:41 AM, Feb 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-14 12:41:28-05

Amazon has canceled its ballyhooed HQ2 project for New York City, the company announced on Thursday in a blog post.

“After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens,” the company wrote.

The company had announced in November that it would bring an estimated 25,000 jobs to a large campus in a western section of Long Island City, Queens.

Now, the program has been completely scrapped.

The decision was scrapped, Amazon said, because of intense opposition from local and state politicians.

Opposition to the deal materialized soon after the announcement of the deal.

Business Insider.com reports that several members of the New York City Council, most notably speaker Corey Johnson and member Jimmy Van Bramer, were critical of the company’s decision to accept massive tax breaks from the state valued at $3 billion and their willingness to circumvent the land-use process.

Amazon also announced that they will not seek another city to replace New York. The company instead will proceed with plans of extensive developments in Northern Virginia and Nashville, Tenn.

The company effectively has thumbed its nose at “The Big Apple.”

Will the city miss out on anything by turning its back to one of the world’s most growing, innovative companies?