New York City's Response to Making Amazon's Shortlist: Of Course We Did
January 18 2018 - 6:20PM
Dow Jones News
By Joseph De Avila and Keiko Morris
Don't count New York City politicians among officials surprised
to make the shortlist for Amazon.com Inc.'s second
headquarters.
In a tweet, Mayor Bill de Blasio said: "No city in the world has
the talent New York City can offer."
"New York continues to attract top companies from all over the
world," said Howard Zemsky, commissioner of Empire State
Development, the state's economic development arm. "We look forward
to building on this incredible momentum."
While New York is best known as the center of financial markets
and the media industry, its tech sector has grown in recent years.
Technology companies such as Google parent, Alphabet Inc., Facebook
Inc. and Twitter Inc. have expanded in the city. Cornell University
invested in a new engineering presence, opening its first permanent
campus on Roosevelt Island last year.
Alicia Glen, the city's deputy mayor for housing and economic
development, said it is a misconception to think New York doesn't
have enough engineers to support a new employer like Amazon.
"We are really going to put that falsehood to bed," Ms. Glen
said. "We do have the talent."
The prospect of Amazon's second headquarters -- New York is
among 20 finalists -- underscores the need for improving
infrastructure such as transportation and continuing to expand
workforce training and education and affordable housing, business
advocates and real-estate executives said.
"I think we need to show Amazon that we are serious about
infrastructure, " said Bill Rudin, chairman of the Real Estate
Board of New York, an industry group, and chief-executive Rudin
Management Co. "And education is an important component from pre-K
all the way up to masters degrees."
The city is pitching Amazon locations in Midtown West, Long
Island City in Queens, Brooklyn Tech Triangle and lower Manhattan.
City officials are prepared to take Amazon staff on tours at the
four sites, Ms. Glen said.
In the last several years, Brooklyn has become an office
destination for small to midsize companies in advertising, media,
architecture and fashion, but the relocation of a large corporate
tenant has been elusive.
"Brooklyn doesn't have those corporate institutions, anchor
institutions, " said Andrew Hoan, president of the Brooklyn Chamber
of Commerce. "This is a big moment to say that we play in that
arena."
New York City isn't offering any tax credits to bring Amazon to
town. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration has said it would
assist Amazon with an undisclosed amount of tax incentives.
Unlike other cities that went to extravagant lengths to catch
Amazon's eye, New York City officials said they wanted the region's
strengths -- 5.8 million residents with a bachelor's degree or
higher and the largest public-transportation network in the U. S.
-- to seal the deal.
"We don't need to send them 10,000 bagels and keep harassing
them," Ms. Glen said. "Our bid speaks for itself."
Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com and Keiko
Morris at Keiko.Morris@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 18, 2018 18:05 ET (23:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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