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The state of New York has not given up on winning a future Amazon expansion project, Governor of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
"We should never break the bridges," said Howard Zemsky, CEO of Empire State Development, the state's leading business support agency. "The governor does not burn any bridges – certainly with Amazon. They are a huge employer here in the state.
"And you sometimes know that" no "means" not now "; Sometimes "no" means "heck, no". It depends in part on how we respond to this type of situation, "he told a meeting of ESD's board of directors in Manhattan.
These were Zemsky's first public comments since Amazon closed the second proposed seat in Long Island City, Queens, a week ago. The HQ2 project is expected to create 25,000 jobs with an average salary of more than $ 150,000 a year and $ 27.5 billion in tax revenue for the state and the city over 25 years.
By canceling the deal on Feb. 14, Amazon has not announced an alternative home for the Queens office. The online retailer has announced plans to set up an office in Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC, and an operation in Nashville. Both, as well as Queens, were the winners of a year-long Amazon contest to choose venues to strengthen its presence outside of its Seattle headquarters.
Amazon also announced that it would continue to hire in its three facilities in New York City, where currently work more than 5,000 people. A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Zemsky, a Buffalo real estate developer who grew up in Woodbury, expressed his sadness and shock at the loss of what he said was the largest economic development agreement in the history of the city. 39; State. Amazon had pledged nearly $ 3 billion in tax incentives from the state and the city.
He said that he had never anticipated the fierce opposition to QG2 from some of Queens' politicians and activist groups.
Zemsky also said that critics of the successful career of Amazon's founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, by the project's opponents were irrelevant.
"This is not a person born in royalty.He set up a business in his garage and has become, in many ways, the most successful businessman in the world," he said. said Zemsky in Bezos, who had the idea of 25 years ago, Amazon was driving from New York to Seattle. "We should never talk about this, in my opinion, in a way that suggests that it is immoral, unethical, or in any way inappropriate.
Zemsky vowed not to be discouraged by the scuttling of the Amazon project. "There is a lot to do … We are not done with economic development," he said. "We are providing people with opportunities."
Robert R. Dyson, a member of the EDD Board of Directors, a professional investor from Northeast Millbrook State, called for an Amazon HQ2 post-mortem, stating, "Let's make sure that it does not happen again … … How to bring all these opponents to our side? "
James T. Madore writes about the economic news of Long Island, including about the economy, development and relations between government and business. Previously, he was bureau chief in Albany.
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