De Blasio slams Amazon as 'disrespectful' for abandoning HQ2 plans
A furious Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted Amazon and opponents Friday for pulling out of a $3 billion deal that would have brought Amazon’s second North American headquarters to Long Island City.
“It’s over and it’s astounding and it’s disappointing,” de Blasio said on WNYC’s The The Brian Lehrer Show. “It’s disrespectful to the people of NYC to get a call after months of attempting to build a productive partnership on behalf of this city, to get a call out of the blue saying, ‘See ya, we’re taking our ball and we’re going home.’”
Amazon announced the abrupt about face in a Thursday blog post after months of relentless opposition waged by some elected officials and skeptical residents who felt the deal lacked transparency and gave away too much in a $3 billion incentive package.
The mayor and Gov. Andrew Cuomo championed the deal—which was slated to bring at least 25,000 jobs to the city, some $27 billion in tax revenue, and other commitments. Amazon’s retreat is a major blow to the Mayor’s efforts to make New York City an attractive destination for the technology industry and he wasn’t shy about lashing out at the company and those who opposed the deal.
“I have a lot of frustration with the opponents because I do not think they represented what their constituents fully needed,” he told Brian Lehrer. “I think they did a disservice, but I have much more frustration with Amazon for just pulling out in the dead of night and not even attempting a dialogue.”
https://ny.curbed.com/2019/2/15/18226518/amazon-hq2-new-york-city-canceled-bill-de-blasio
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