Amazon cancels New York HQ2 plans

It’s official: Amazon is cancelling its plans to open its new headquarters in New York.

According to the New York Times, Amazon has decided to reverse course and not move forward with plans to make Long Island City in the New York City borough of Queens one of its new “HQ2” headquarter locations.

Amazon will, however, proceed with its HQ2 plans in Arlington, Virginia as well as a third location in Nashville, Tennessee. The AP reports Amazon will not be searching for a location to replace the New York City site.

This announcement comes less than one week after the Washington Post reported that the e-commerce giant was rethinking its decision to open a headquarters in New York due to protests from local politicians and activist groups. At the center of the criticism were the billions of dollars in tax breaks being offered to the company to bring them to the state.

The following is Amazon’s statement on its HQ2 reversal, as obtained by the New York Times:

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.

We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion — we love New York, its incomparable dynamism, people, and culture — and particularly the community of Long Island City, where we have gotten to know so many optimistic, forward-leaning community leaders, small business owners, and residents. There are currently over 5,000 Amazon employees in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island, and we plan to continue growing these teams.

We are deeply grateful to Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, and their staffs, who so enthusiastically and graciously invited us to build in New York City and supported us during the process. Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio have worked tirelessly on behalf of New Yorkers to encourage local investment and job creation, and we can’t speak positively enough about all their efforts. The steadfast commitment and dedication that these leaders have demonstrated to the communities they represent inspired us from the very beginning and is one of the big reasons our decision was so difficult.

We do not intend to re-open the HQ2 search at this time. We will proceed as planned in Northern Virginia and Nashville, and we will continue to hire and grow across our 17 corporate offices and tech hubs in the U.S. and Canada.

Thank you again to Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, and the many other community leaders and residents who welcomed our plans and supported us along the way. We hope to have future chances to collaborate as we continue to build our presence in New York over time.