Senator Michael Gianaris, who is deputy majority leader of the Senate and was recently nominated to the Public Authorities Control Board, said that between the state and city, incentives to the Amazon projet totaled up to USD 3 billion. The announced number had been USD 1.525 billion.
The sources noted that no specific plans to abandon New York have yet been made and that the talk about pulling out could be a way of putting pressure on New York officials. “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 source said. But, as Amazon has not yet leased or bought any office space for its headquarters in the Queens neighbourhood of Long Island City, it could be easy still at this point to walk away.
Still, a company spokesperson said the company was focused on engaging with its new neighbors: “Whether it’s building a pipeline of local jobs through workforce training or funding computer science classes for thousands of New York City students, we are working hard to demonstrate what kind of neighbor we will be.”
Amazon has also hired a lobbying and a public relations firm in New York and recently advertised for a “senior community affairs manager” to “focus on developing a positive partnership with local stakeholders, community groups and nonprofits.”
