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Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

nytimes.com

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Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#471

Post by driverdan »

zelias wrote: post #55

If Amazon had just quietly announced plans to expand to LIC without the "HQ2 Search" dog and pony show they almost certainly would still be here. Google buys entire city blocks and nobody bats an eye. Turns out that publicly shaking down cities across the US tends to draw out the opposition. More publicity = more scrutiny = more angry opponents of your business decision

> Google buys entire city blocks and nobody bats an eye.

Was it highly subsidized by taxpayers like Amazon's purchase would have been?

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#472

Post by asdff »

prepend wrote: post #406
bobthepanda wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LIC is one of the most heavily redeveloped areas in the city with 40+ story towers popping up like candy. It didn’t need a development boost. In fact they tore up an existing redevelopment plan for HQ2

I expect the number of tech workers and high income workers will be much less without hq2. Although I hope that it’s a bustling tech hub in 5 years.

Not all of those 25k jobs are highly paid tech workers. There will still be highly paid workers living there as they do now, commuting to Manhattan.

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#473

Post by CydeWeys »

devmunchies wrote: post #415
ctvo wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a very weak justification. Are we in high school in America on this site?

what? I didn't justify it at all. Of course we're not in high school and no it shouldn't be used on this site. just pointing out how it has nothing to do with 4chan and that its just a childish insult.

Probably best to just not defend childish insults at all then.

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#474

Post by msie »

munificent wrote: post #179
raiyu wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but they will get that tax break regardless at least this we can continue to make NYC a powerhouse tech center. And it's in Long island City not in Manhattan like Facebook and Google.

> Yeah but they will get that tax break regardless I just don't understand this argument. It's like "Someone's gonna get fucked, so I'd prefer it be me." That tax break is real money . Money that your community will not be able to spend on education, infrastructure, police, parks, all the things that make a place worth living in. Why would you hand that over to a company that doesn't need it?

Depends. If nothing is being constructed on that site like HQ2 then you won't get the money you 'lost' on the tax break. Unless these tax breaks include refundable tax credits?

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#475

Post by rexreed »

As someone from the N. Virginia region I think this is a huge win for our region. And I think it will do great things to continue the grow the region's technical strength. I'm glad they can focus on building a single larger HQ and not two equal HQs, which always seemed odd to me anyways. NYC is not too far on the Acela line to DC. And this might spur development of more high speed rail or hyperloops or whatever.

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#476

Post by pxue »

nodesocket wrote: post #460
raiyu wrote: post #70

After being a resident of NYC for 30 years and seeing the city change and become a technology hub and just a financial center I think this is a real loss for NYC. It would also be in Long island City which would provide a huge influx of new workers and move that neighborhood forward in development rapidly. The down side would be that it would push some residents and business owners out but this is simply a fact of li…

I just don't understand the logic of politicians such as Ocasio-Cortez. Amazon HQ was going to bring 25,000 high paying jobs to the area, providing growth and opportunities for her constituents. Her argument against is that the Amazon HQ would further gentrification and she was appalled by the government subsidies. So she'd rather limit new growth, prevent new jobs, and stifle wealth to prevent luxury condos and Star…

the whole argument of left is flawed.

she's anti status-quo but are unwilling to sacrifice short term for it.

basically her dream case scenario is to tax amazon 5B and then invest 3B it to bring them to Queens.. and then rake the returns going forward. In what fantasy world would that ever play out?

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#477

Post by stale2002 »

specialp wrote: post #305
jhall1468 wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ugh... any company moving into NY can get these same large tax concessions. Amazon got nothing special outside of reduced regulatory burden. Why is this not understood? This same subsidy is now going to go to 15 companies who all probably pay less on average than Amazon. There are skilled workforces outside of NY, believe it or not. And they aren't going to go through the regulatory burdens to expand NY to a major ca…

Not many corporations I know of get a deal brokered by the mayor and governor privately with multibillion dollar cut after a large spectacle. I realize you might think differently as an Amazon employee.

Are you aware that there are existing tax programs in NYC, and that most of the money "given" to Amazon came from those existing programs that are available to anyone who qualify?

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#478

Post by skh »

mc32 wrote: post #397
skh wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disallowing a film being shown 60 days before an election because the person is not a bona fide film maker is very much different than disallowing a film 60 before an election because the person is not a bona fide commercial film maker. The word commercial is important. Citizen's United was not a commercial enterprise. No one disputes this. No one thinks their film wasn't done by a bona fide film maker.

It would seem that unnecessary distinction has severe first amendment rights implications.

Exactly. That's why we should just dispense with the facade of elections and have the Fortune 500 companies decide who will be President. The free speech rights are too severely restricted if there is a rule that applies equally to everyone that regulates political ads 60 days before an election. It's just too suffocating to live in such a system. Hopefully we can export of our freedom to Europe and get them to get rid of their electioneering laws. Then they too will be free like us.

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#479

Post by lsllc »

jcroll wrote: post #444
SCAQTony wrote: post #208

Hey, remember those Amazon insiders that bought property on the cheap? "...Amazon employees are apparently eager to get a head start on the New York City real estate game. Condo sales in Long Island City are soaring following the announcement that the Queens, New York, [a] neighborhood will host part of Amazon's HQ2, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to The Journal, one brokerage firm sold 150 units in four…

If they bought before people knew Amazon was coming and sold now would they really lose anything? Probably still kept up with the price of inflation even now

They'll lose 5% to the realtor upon selling.

Re: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Campus

#480

Post by robterrin »

cletus wrote: post #330

So this was (IMHO) a shit show from go to whoa. The dog and pony show was a transparent shakedown where Amazon would still probably go where they were always going to go. The whole splitting HQ2 I think showed this. Like it's not even an "HQ" in any sense of the word. It's just an expansion. Also with talk of "25k jobs"... what jobs? Are we talking software engineers or warehouse workers? There's a difference. I don'…

Best comment on the thread so far.

Property tax reform could work for single family homes if we decoupled property tax from land tax. NYS should only raise taxes on the value of land given the surrounding population density, natural properties and accessibility to public infrastructure. Check out some Henry George, if you're interested in learning more.

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