After fierce opposition from lawmakers, Amazon reportedly is reconsidering opening part of its second headquarters in New York.
According to a report from The Washington Post, which is also owned by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the tech giant is yet to lease or purchase any land or office space in New York and is reportedly reconsidering the plan.
“The question is whether it’s worth it if the politicians in New York don’t want the project, especially with how people in Virginia and Nashville have been so welcoming,” someone close to the plans of the company said to Amazon.
Despite Amazon's promises of 25,000 jobs and more than $27.5 billion in tax revenue in 25 years, Ocasio-Cortez has been extremely negative toward them.
Can everyday people come together and effectively organize against creeping overreach of one of the world’s biggest corporations?
Yes, they can.https://t.co/DqQoL7VH7O
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 8, 2019
The people from Amazon, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity for obvious reasons, said that Amazon execs have had discussions that have led to reassessing the situation in New York and they are now checking out other locations.
Per Fox News:
The Post added that no specific plans to abandon New York have been made and it's possible Amazon could use them as a threat to pressure New York lawmakers. According to a December Quinnipiac University poll, 57 percent of New York City residents support Amazon’s arrival in the region, compared to just 26 percent who oppose the deal, Fox Business reported.
Amazon has not yet returned a request for comment from Fox News, but it did tell TechCrunch it is "focused on engaging with our new neighbors – small business owners, educators, and community leaders."
"Whether it’s building a pipeline of local jobs through workforce training or funding computer science classes for thousands of New York City students, we are working hard to demonstrate what kind of neighbor we will be,” Amazon added in the statement
Late last year, newly elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez railed against the company for getting tax breaks at a time when she bemoaned of crumbling infrastructure.
Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 13, 2018
It seems as if a Congresswoman would welcome a company that is going to bring thousands of jobs to her district. We all know that AOC is far from your average Congresswoman.