Blowback has been fierce ever since the announcement that online mega-giant retailer Amazon would be receiving billions of dollars in subsidies to build one of two new headquarters in Long Island City, New York. Besides questions surrounding the company’s labor practices, the fact that the multi-billion-dollar company, headed by the wealthiest man in the world, needed to be paid off to locate in the City That Never Sleeps has infuriated many. Politico reports that, on top of the huge price tag, two of the sites that will house Amazon were slated for affordable-housing development.
Plaxall, which owns land around the Anable Basin, was prepared to ask New York City for permission to build up to 4,995 new homes on a 14.7-acre site on the East River, 1,250 of which developers would have set aside for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. Most of that site will now be subsumed into Amazon’s office campus.
A small portion of it — about two acres — can still be used for housing because it won’t be part of Amazon’s campus. But Plaxall hasn’t decided if it wants apartments or office space there, and either way, it won’t be able to accommodate nearly as many homes as originally planned.
A second developer was set to build 1,000 units, 250 of which would have been affordable housing. Amazon has said there will be no housing in any of its developments.
Everything about the devil’s bargain that New York City officials have made to woo Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to locate one of his company’s two headquarters there is rotten. The stated cost to the Big Apple was first reported in the $2 billion range. Leading corporate subsidy trackers have analyzed the deal, and found that the real cost to New York City is potentially well over $4 billion.
“The taxpayer costs of these two deals is high, both in absolute terms and on a per-job basis, contrary to Amazon’s artful spin. Together, we believe they exceed $4.6 billion and the cost per job in New York is at least $112,000, not the $48,000 the company used in a selective and incomplete press release calculation.”
The results of what one Daily Kos community member called “Amazon’s beauty contest” have been predictable. The overwhelming frustration is that New York City is … New York City. It is one of the largest, most vibrant cities in the world. The biggest issue the city faces these days is figuring out the best ways to make the city more livable and affordable for people who aren’t billionaires trying to live in space.