Amazon has officially announced it will no longer pursue plans to build its much-ballyhooed, much-criticized headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
Calling their decision “disappointing” Amazon announced in a press release that, “After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens.”
For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term. While polls show that 70% of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.
Amazon’s plan to build it’s sprawling HQ2 corporate complex, which it claimed would have created some 25,000 new jobs in exchange for approximately $3 billion in public subsidies, ran into massive opposition from local labor unions over the company’s stance against organized labor.
The company had initially chose New York as the home for its new headquarters, following an embarrassing national search for a host city in which metropolises across the country debased themselves in hopes that Jeff Bezos and Co. would choose them for the eventual site.
As rumors of Amazon’s backtracking began to leak earlier this week, many cities leapt at the renewed opportunity to grovel at the internet giant’s feet.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information is made available.
Update: 1:30 p.m. ET: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has responded to Amazon’s announcement.