Amazon’s choice to expand its New York City and Virginia offices has resulted in massive backlash
Amazon finally announced the selected cities for its big HQ2 locations this week, revealing that its existing satellite offices in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York, and the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia, would be expanded by about 25,000 jobs each. The news was met with jubilant celebration from Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and apparently, the person who controls the lighting scheme for the Empire State Building.
However, it was met with fierce backlash from other NY politicians who say they were left in the dark due to backroom dealings, as well as those who fear Amazon will bring gentrification and displacement. Making the whole matter more complicated is the more than $2 billion in tax breaks New York City gave the company, one of the most valuable in the world, for its Queens office. Amazon now faces a policy and PR boondoggle it may not have expected after forcing hundreds of cities and regions to compete for the chance to become a home to its second headquarters.