Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

blog.aboutamazon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 279 posts

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#91

Post by AnimalMuppet »

drfuchs wrote: post #66
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you state what the false pretenses were, and how those conditions no longer apply? All you have here is a dogmatic assertion with no supporting information. Often that is done by people who have strong beliefs but no basis for them, so if you have a basis, stating it can prevent you from getting lumped in with the "dogmatic unreality" people.

Uh, that there will only be 25,000 jobs, and not the 50,000 promised.

If the subsidies are per job, is that a problem? Pay half as much for half as many jobs - seems reasonable to me. Doesn't seem like "false pretenses" in a way that materially affects the deal.

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#92

Post by prolikewh0a »

m23khan wrote: post #78
prolikewh0a wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Toronto dodged a bullet.

No, it didn't dodge a bullet, it lost the competition and hence the opportunity. Unless you are a subject matter expert and know exactly how this benefits Toronto (In which case then, I apologize). By virtue of moving into Toronto, all Canadian cities starting from Pickering/Oshawa all the way down to Hamilton/Waterloo would have seen a boost overtime to real-estate and hence towards economic activity - remember citi…

I live in Seattle and have lived in Seattle. I know exactly the effects this has, and it's not beneficial except to the already wealthy. Great if you're rich, terrible if you're anything other than rich (hint: most people aren't rich).

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#93

Post by zjaffee »

SippinLean wrote: post #12

> Long Island City is a mixed-use community where arts and industry intersect It's mostly empty warehouses, housing projects, and luxury condos. There's very little in terms of culture or even basic needs, like grocery stores. > Long Island City has some of the best transit access in New York City, with 8 subway lines, 13 bus lines, commuter rail, a bike-sharing service, and ferries serving the area Realistically it'…

Considering Amazon helped pay for the South Lake Union streetcar, I imagine that this announcement will expedite the approvals for and the construction of the BQX street car.

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#94

Post by AnimalMuppet »

imgabe wrote: post #62
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you state what the false pretenses were, and how those conditions no longer apply? All you have here is a dogmatic assertion with no supporting information. Often that is done by people who have strong beliefs but no basis for them, so if you have a basis, stating it can prevent you from getting lumped in with the "dogmatic unreality" people.

Did you read any article about this at all over the past year? The original proposal was for a single HQ2 in one city, not half of one in two cities. Are you just an Amazon shill who jumps in to try and suppress any criticism of them?

> Are you just an Amazon shill who jumps in to try and suppress any criticism of them?

No, I'm not. Are you the kind of commenter who accuses everyone who disagrees with you of being a shill, so that you can control the conversation? (There's at least as much evidence of that than there is of me being a shill...)

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#95

Post by merolish »

schnevets wrote: post #38

As a New Yorker, I am super disappointed that they chose Long Island City. There were contenders where this stimulus could have been a paradigm shift. Instead, it's just a drop in the bucket for a city that is already growing recklessly. My vote was for Newark, personally. Plenty of office space; access to NJIT, Rutgers, and Princeton; and good public transit that connects directly into NYC. Bezos and co. could have…

Newark would be a painful commute for anyone wanting to live in the boroughs, LI, or Westchester/CT, i.e. a ton of people.

I do hope NYC deals with its growing pains -- I finally left last year, in part because of rising costs and aggravation.

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#96

Post by zjaffee »

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #44
SippinLean wrote: post #12

> Long Island City is a mixed-use community where arts and industry intersect It's mostly empty warehouses, housing projects, and luxury condos. There's very little in terms of culture or even basic needs, like grocery stores. > Long Island City has some of the best transit access in New York City, with 8 subway lines, 13 bus lines, commuter rail, a bike-sharing service, and ferries serving the area Realistically it'…

I spend a lot of time passing through in this neighborhood, and can mostly confirm this. In fact, about those luxury condos and housing projects… they're _very_ new, popping up within the past two years and more coming all the time. I’ve been wondering for years what kind of people make the sort of money to afford these places and would also _want_ to live in that area… now I wonder if this decision wasn't made long…

The development in LIC wasn't about Amazon in particular, but amazon is choosing that location for the same reason. People were given huge tax breaks to redevelop LIC.

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#97

Post by imtyler »

matchbok wrote: post #69
imtyler wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You say gentrification like its a pejorative term. I mean, it kind of is. It not only refers to 'improvements' but also the displacement of anyone below the middle class as a result of those improvements.

Displacement is a fact of life. Nobody is entitled to live in a certain area for a certain amount of money. What ever happened to living within your means?

>Nobody is entitled to live in a certain area for a certain amount of money.

Not inherently, no. But legally speaking there are concepts like "rent control" and "adverse possession" that were created to assert on some level that people do, in fact, have a right to continue living in a space that they've occupied for a reasonable duration.

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#98

Post by basseq »

mikeash wrote: post #3

What the heck is “National Landing”? I’ve lived in this area for over a decade and that’s the first time I’ve heard the name.

I'm skeptical at the choice of Crystal City. (Sorry, that's where it is, call it what you want.) I think being "urban" mattered a lot to them, and Crystal City has the most opportunity for a significant tenant to move in.

But that "opportunity" is there because it's a secondary or tertiary choice for employers. Considering that 70%+ people are commuters, a) there are more desirable locations no matter where you're coming from, and b) there's no direct way to get there, other than Route 1, which is going to be a disaster.

No major highways or arteries, Metro goes through Arlington first, etc.

If you live in DC, you have to leave the city. If you live to the west, you'd prefer Dulles, Tysons, or Arlington. If you're to the south, it's Alexandria. To the north, Bethesda. To the west... probably Baltimore, or you have to drive all the way through DC.

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#99

Post by imgabe »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #94
imgabe wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read any article about this at all over the past year? The original proposal was for a single HQ2 in one city, not half of one in two cities. Are you just an Amazon shill who jumps in to try and suppress any criticism of them?

> Are you just an Amazon shill who jumps in to try and suppress any criticism of them? No, I'm not. Are you the kind of commenter who accuses everyone who disagrees with you of being a shill, so that you can control the conversation? (There's at least as much evidence of that than there is of me being a shill...)

There have been stories about this for months. It's reasonable to assume that most people reading and commenting on them are familiar with the history of this long running story and the well publicized last minute change in the terms of the agreement by Amazon in the last week.

If you are honestly unaware of this and need it explained to you, then in the future take some time to familiarize yourself with the context of what's going on or ask some questions before you jump in and start insulting people.

Re: Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

#100

Post by matchbok »

bsanr wrote: post #88
phoenixstrike wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is gentrification negative?

Drives up rent. Breaks up existing, stable (if often impoverished) communities. Increased, concentrated development can have a negative environmental impact.

Nobody is entitled to live in a certain area for a certain price. Such things lead to distorted markets and tons of other issues.
Post reply on HN