Mind you all - Amazon is a publicly traded company, not a philanthropy handing out goodies, Okay?
101
@JW
Handing out goodies?? Expecting local and state officials to handover massive tax breaks is more like it.
5
This is yet another situation seen through fuzzy glasses. First of all, Amazon owes the community nothing. They are a business and America loves capitalism (let’s look here, perhaps?) The company can contribute goodwill, and that would be great, they we should not have to rely on that. It would make sense for the local government to demand contributions such as free or subsidized training, volunteer events that help the local community, etc., but Amazon is a publicly traded company, beholden to shareholders. They were given an opportunity to locate to a site in LIC, and they took it (so far as we know).
Corporations are not required by law to do the work of government; the welfare of citizens is a government responsibility. If we keep allowing ourselves to be distracted without holding the truly responsible parties accountable, we will never make progress.
This whole babysitter mentality needs to go. We should not stand idly by and wait for a large company to improve everyone’s life within a certain proximity. If given half a chance, a fair amount of the people represented in the article would jump at the chance to improve their lives if provided with the proper opportunities to do so, but, again, this is not the responsibility of a publicly traded corporation.
Seriously, what kind of mindset is that? Simply put: Help those who show they want the help, place blame where it belongs, focus energy appropriately when attempting to make a difference.
105
@Ty
The issue is not hand-outs.
The issue is equal employment opportunity for those citizens in the neighborhoods in which these corporations reside.
The issue is whether these corporations pay their fair share of taxes since they drain significant resources from these neighborhoods.
The issue is whether extremely wealthy corporations, which fight very hard to be treated under the law as citizens under the Supreme Court's Citizens United decisions exercise undue political influence that favor themselves at the expense of New Yorkers.
Success in capitalism should not give one the right to abuse and dictate policies that push capital at the expense of those without whom that capital would not be possible.
Good citizenship demands ethics in how a corporation meets its civic responsibilities.
It's an immoral proposition to propose that corporations owe nothing to the neighborhoods where their presence has significant impact on infrastructure, the environment and resources.
Corporations as powerful as Amazon must be tasked by New York City residents and politicians to be responsible citizens who pay their fair share of taxes, consider their impact on the environment, abide by the rules of governance that affect local citizens, and grant equal opportunity for employment.
78
@Ty: Now, now, remember, "corporations are people, too"! And as such, NYC owes Amazon nothing - nada, zip, zero.
If NYC is such a good place that Amazon wants in, then AMAZON should pay NYC for the privilege of being here. THAT is capitalism!
26
It's easy to think that Amazon or other big corporations exist in a vacuum.
But with tax breaks given at the city or state level (money that would have ostensibly gone to serving the surrounding communities), in addition to extra pressure on public resources like the train system, not to mention the risk of being ppl being priced out of their own neighborhoods (i.e. gentrification) --isn't it then reasonable to expect Amazon (or similar corporations) bring some clear benefits to the existing community?
11
I watched the last segement of Anthony Boudain on CNN last night and the segment was devoted to the lower east side in the 70's. One of the last people being interviewed was talking about how corporate Amreica decides to take over the area,everyone is pushed out from their living quarters. He stated that nothing is ever the same when corporate America moves in. All we have to do is look at Harlem, Washington DC, Boston, San Francisco, minorities have been priced out and made to feel like strangers in there own town. Bike paths, dog parks anything white people want they get and when minorities lived there as the article said we had to beg for basic rights.
We all know there needs to be change but unless Amazon comes in with a real plan to assist the neighborhood not take over, not put all of the great family stores out of business, not destroy the core of the area I will make sure the city councilor for that area doesn't allow to take advantage of New Yorkers. We want to see a concrete plan that hold Amazon accountable when they don't do what they claim they are going to do. However we don't know because we don't see the plan.
Amazon wants to do nothing more than push people out and make Long Island City another Manhattan and we know what has happened in Manhattan.
These are our lives, homes,schools and I speak only for myself that as a minority I am tired of being sold on the cheap for white advantages.
SHOW us the plan?
88
@Tony Sorry buddy. I live in Harlem and it is now a very mixed neighborhood, not one in which minority residents are being pushed out in favor of white people. In fact, it's an example of gentrification done right. And what large corporations are you talking about in Harlem? They don't exist up here.
15
@Tony I live in a transitional area. I understand the desire to not have a corporation come in and take over the neighborhood. However, the existing reality is gangs, shootings, crime, and poor housing choices. It's frustrating when gentrification or neighborhood change is protested as the main issue, when there are so many existing problems that don't get addressed. I would like to know, what is the ideal neighborhood? How is this achieved? Could Amazon or any company really come in and effect this change?
14
@Tony
You're living off taxpayers as it is! Median income of $15,000 or so? What else do you want?
9
i live in queens and queensbridge houses in relation to LIC might as well be on the moon! if one is expecting amazon to help out queensbridge don't hold your breath! would be nice if they did but LIC for being so close it's truly in a different universe!
11
As someone who grew up in Long Island City I wish I had kept my parents co-op!!
4
I've lived on nearby Roosevelt Island for over 36 years, and I've seen the LIC neighborhood expand from a seemingly sleepy non-place to what it is today, and it's mostly been residential development. Queens West was largely a state initiative, and a highly successful one begun in the Cuomo I days. But you can't just build housing - you need to attract jobs, which is why Cuomo and DeBlasio worked together for this. Regardless of whether they've been too generous with incentives, what is not even being counted is the many ancillary jobs that will come from this. LIC used to be home to thousands of manufacturing jobs which have atrophied over the years. Even if it was a fait accompli from the start, the parties still got this done. I understand the frustration on the part of local representatives and community leaders feeling left out, but this deal is almost a form of eminent domain which state and city leaders need to have - otherwise, while all the parties bicker and nitpick, the Amazons of the world move on, to Texas or who knows where else. And these big things which shape the future of communities cannot happen.
3
I am looking at this scenario and while I am sympathetic to the residents in this article, I am struck by the absolute insanity of locating a business of this size in an area that is suffering from all that goes with the word few want to use: CONGESTION
If Amazon were a socially responsible corporation, it would locate it's new headquarters to a spot that could accomodate the increased "hip" population required to run it's business. Amazon will not be hiring "locals". These new employees will gentrify the area and drive out the folks who have lived there for generations.
NYC already has too many people and is scheduled for ocean immersion in the near future by rising tides "100 year storms".
Want to do some sensible planning? Begin the strategic and inevitable withdrawl to higher ground now. There are thousands of more sensible places for Amazon to place this headquarters.
But that would require serious community planning. Hey Jeff! You could actually form a town around your chosen location. What a fun social experiment. But I guess you are more interested in the ego trips of rockets into space.
I live in eastern MA and am so thrilled you didn't land this thing in Boston. Thanks, Jeff. We have enough congestion already.
3
Why would anyone in their right mind live in New York? High taxes, crime, congestion, and the ever-present stench of residents living on top of each other. What a waste of real estate. Sheesh. Amazon, you are throwing corporate profits down the drain on this project.
@Griffco76 Amazon has clear reasons why it wants a headquarters nexus near NYC and DC. Do not discount the fact that it has over 600,000 employees, and you're only reading about around 125,000 of them. The other locations get less press.
Has anyone noted that the opening paragraph of this article is more than just bad, lazy writing. It's false, sensationalistic, unnecessary, and offensive. In fact, the most important things to know about Amazon for QB residents have been the same as the things for the people in the glass towers- the prices of diapers and milk and things like that. The opening statement, "Until recently, the most important thing to know about Amazon for residents of the Queensbridge Houses, the country’s largest public housing project, was that any packages left in a lobby would likely be stolen," does nothing to further this article. Shame on the writer, more shame on the editors.
Also, the article fails to make the more interesting observation that, because their housing is protected, even though they may not get Amazon jobs, most QB residents will at least be assured that Amazon's arrival won't mean they have to move. The same cannot be said for many of the middle-class and even upper middle-class people in the surrounding area trying to hold on to their neighborhoods.
5
In some respects, for some folks in the Queensbridge Houses, they have hit the lottery with Amazon's expected arrival! JetBlue should benefit too!!!
1
*The diversity—in age, occupation, class, race— is gone.
Good god what's with all the hyper-intense judgement comments here- people pointing fingers- calm down~
2
This headline is such a gross misrepresentation of the facts. Queens Bridge Houses is as much "a neighbor" of the envisioned Amazon LIC site as is the UN Headquarters across the East River. What community in NYC doesn't have a housing project nearby or in it? If Amazon had picked its new site in the middle of Central Park, guess what, there would be a NYC housing project neighboring it!
3
Only in New York would people complain about an influx of 25 thousand jobs....No, please. Keep your jobs. we all want to work at the local bodega and avoid increased congestion.
3
"The stark contrast amplifies some of the social and economic tensions coursing through American society — a widening income gap, a lack of access to high-paying jobs for many minorities and a technology sector struggling to diversify."
Income equality isn't a given. Some people work harder than others, don't drop out of school, and pull themselves up by the bootstraps to achieve success. Clearly, those who try harder are going to increase their "luck" at achieving a higher income. Some people choose to develop skills in high demand industries, others don't. Those who do are more likely to achieve economic success. Businesses don't care about race, creed or national origin, but they do care about skills. Otherwise, how can you explain the economic success in tech achieved by people from India, China, Russia and the Philippines?
NYT: Of course these jobs will not be going to low income local residents ... ask first what their skills are and would you hire them for jobs they aren't qualified to perform? Obviously not because the NYT hasn't already hired them ... they just write about it.
2
Now if this was going to be a warehouse. All kinds of people could get a job. But Vegas has it 95 to 1. Amazon will import about 95% of it's workers. They will be high tech jobs.
Just saying.
2
I am VERY curious to see how this unfolds. I think the people of queensbridge already know how this will turn out. It will be similar to when those hotels moved a block away and LIC began developing high rises in Vernon Blvd. All of a sudden people will renovate Queensbridge Park so that the newcomers can have a place to run and bike around to. They will install lamps so that to lost and confused tourists can see where they are going while they get lost in the projects. All of these "renovations" are a cover up. The city does not care about us in Queensbridge. Our apartments are infested with mice and roaches, we have lead based paint, senior citizens can't even get a ramp to go home. When Amazon moves in, I DOUBT anyone will pay any attention to the needs of us in QB. I see many people in the comments say "Jeff should buy the property" or "just tear it down and start over". Tell me, how would you feel if YOUR home was changed completely. The people of Queensbridge don't want nor need gentrification. There was been a very clear division of class I the last 10 years (clearly seen in Vernon). Also, think about why people are living in the projects. These apartments were once filled with Irish Americans, but when the FHA decided to implement racist policies leading to white flight, black people came to QB. NYCHA stopped upkeeping it's own buildings, leaving people to live in terrible conditions. Amazon, please don't mess this up more.
4
"I welcome the jobs if it means Amazon investment in L.I.C. infrastructure, without us having to pay a ransom for them to be here,” Mr. Gianaris said.
The key thing to this statement is "without us have to pay a random to them to be here. This is a company that will negotiate lower taxes every year. This type of growth and impact will be painful and many people will feel left out and disenfranchised.
I wish all of you in the Queens area all the best in dealing with this new situation.
Rox of Spazhouse, Intuitive Research
2
Sounds like the residents of Queensbridge Houses will get the benefits of gentrification (safer area, more businesses, more opportunity) with few of the downsides (because I don't believe rent can rise in public housing). Now the story is surely different for the rest of Queens but I think the focus on this development is misplaced.
3
That picture of April Simpson looking all leery-- She can be leery all she wants. Give Amazon the stink-eye if you wish. But that's not how jobs are obtained. If Amazon decides to come into the neighborhood, that's what they'll do and they don't have to guarantee any jobs, not even to the people who happen live near by. The city's neglect of housing developments notwithstanding!
3
I don't understand why there are so many negative views about amazon coming to Long Island City. The Amazon headquarter will not only hire 25K workers in itself, but will inevitably bring in new jobs and opportunities for the service sector, like catering and restaurants, entertainment, gyms, day cares, convenience stores, etc. Why is that bad? Of course, if you say the public transit system will further be strained, then that is true. But that is a bad situation in the entire NY City -- which is not Amazon's fault and should be addressed even if Amazon doesn't come.
5
These people have a whole lot in common with residents in flyover country. They expect minimal personal investment then complain when private industry opportunities pass them by.
My parents and relatives knew the way to prosperity from the jim crow south was education and/or skills based training. Of course they had to move north leaving behind friends and family however the sacrifice was worth the potential opportunity.
Was is it easy for them? Of course not however they busted their humps and instilled that work ethic in me and my siblings. Today we are all established and middle class.
At one point as a child I can vividly remember having to live in subsidized housing and eating USDA food handouts from the food bank. The difference from some (though not all) of these residents as well as those in flyover country is we utilized those experiences as a stepping stone not a soapbox to constantly complain.
My advice to these folks would be to make the sacrifices now as this is the best things will get and standing around griping isn't gonna change their fortunes.
6
New Yorkers, do what you can NOW to save the soul of your city from the Amazombies storming your gates. Seattle— once quirky and home to a diverse middle class that included immigrants, refugees, and African Americans— has lost too much in the less than five years since Amazon planted its flag in our soil. Mostly we’ve lost our independence— the small businesses, the locally-grown arts and culture scene that flourished in neighborhoods with cheap rent. Those neighborhoods are gone. The bohemian spirit is gone. The diversity— in age, occupation, clad, race— is gone.
1
*The diversity—in age, occupation, class, race— is gone.
A strange location. Amazon jumps right into a quagmire of poverty and social inequality without any publicly stated program to address either. That can only mean a piecemeal effort is coming.
It was inevitable Amazon would choose a region with much middle and upper class management skills, and especially tech skills. There are dozens of locations with lower and lower-middle class talent, but New York City has all these, and Washington, DC as well. The best part about NYC is there is so much Talent of all levels, plus an existing infrastructure of transportation as well. Hundreds of miles of subways (about 500, the last time I was there in 2016), and at least the same by bus. This is not counting the PATH trains to New Jersey, plus Metro North and The Long Island railroad (the largest in the country). The first paragraph is quite funny (to me, anyway), as I lived in lower Manhattan and Queens for decades. I think they hedged their bets by choosing DC as well; overall a well thought out and smart move for Amazon. The main downside (to me) is the impact this will have on tenants. Most people (by far) live in rental apartments. Although the vacancy rate changes, when I moved there (1988) and when I left (2016) the vacancies for semi-affordable housing was almost nil; about 1/2 of 1% vacancies. It is all about who you know, and I luck, fate, or whatever you want to call it to find one. I was incredibly "lucky" shortly after moving there.
25,000 is the number of employees they are planning. Now add in the families of these workers and you are looking at 75,000 to 100,000 additional people in that area. How many children? How many additional cars? Apts in the areas are already $1000 a month and way more — $3500 to $4000 to $5000 plus monthly maintenance. You have to make a whole lot more than the median income to make that nut every month. The price pressure on local real estate is already pretty high. Now add in the additional sewers, schools, subway cars etc. that will be needed and it will be a replication of the crowding already seen in Manhattan and worse, because LIC streets are NOT WIDE. What a horror show!
3
@B. Rothman
If it's anything like here in Charlotte where we have built and are building 25,000 apartments there won't be that many people. A lot of these people will be Millenials and single. Few of them own cars so there are hundreds of lime green scooters they ride around on for $1 + .15 a minute. They have GPS so you can just leave it wherever and a truck rounds them up at night. They are mostly living downtown and dozens of bars with food have opened to cater to them. We never see them in the other parts of the city. The ones not living downtown are almost all living on a corridor that the light rail runs down, roughly a mile.
Rents are high so a lot of them share apartments.
1
At the end of the day, locals will have more opportunity with Amazon than without Amazon.
The question is whether or not they can figure out a way to harness that opportunity.
Here's a fact: 25,000 well-paid people will now be walking the nearby streets.
Now, obviously Amazon will not hire locals who are not qualified, which means Amazon will likely not hire anyone from Queensbridge.
Regardless, those 25,000 people are potential customers for any product or service anybody can offer. Coffee shops, bars, restaurants, entertainment, art, music, culture, etc.
Here's one idea. I see that beautiful mural in the article, I bet there are tons of talented artists in the neighborhood. Get on social media and start tweeting Amazon. Their offices, their campus, it will all need art. Local street artists painted the WTC. Start pitching Amazon.
Ultimately, this is a big change. And change is opportunity.
Rather than fight the change, these people, who have drawn the short straw and have little opportunity, should figure out ways to leverage the opportunity created by the change.
And, as far as all the groups worried about Amazon moving in are concerned, people in public housing should be the least worried because they have the greatest rent protection.
7
Amazon’s growth in Seattle has created a ripple effect here that has been felt by all who lived here before it started. It’s not just felt in the immediate area around the office buildings. People are commuting from as far as Tacoma, 60 miles south of downtown, and from the Olympic Peninsula just to be able to find more affordable housing, but public transportation here cannot keep up either, so the traffic problems are tremendous.
Amazon’s “success” in Seattle talks about reviving neighboorhoods etc. but what you don’t hear about is how constant construction has created immense problems, and the average incomes of all the tech people moving here has rapidly driven up the cost of housing. Seattle also has an impossible homeless problem that Amazon has claimed to support and provide assistance for but they have done next to nothing.
Seattle is a city full of people who were moved from other cities to work for Amazon and paid large sums of money to do so. There are no training programs here for the existing residents, many of whom are college educated and would be adaptable to a tech boom, and any hopefulness that Amazon will do something like that in Queensbridge is a fairy tale.
I feel for the people in this area who think that Amazon is going to sweep them up in their big tech arms and carry their communities forward toward a brighter future. This company is a bulldozer, not a benefactor.
6
@Loredana I have to point out that what is 60 miles south of downtown Seattle is not Tacoma, it's Olympia. Downtown Tacoma is 34 miles south of downtown Seattle on I-5. Move on down here and enjoy life without the horrors Amazon has brought to Seattle. You can take the train to Seattle when you need to.
Another article in today's NY Times says, "The company also said it will develop a smaller site in Nashville that will focus on operations and logistics. Amazon said that site will create 5,000 jobs."
Good Old Jeffrey. One of the most insatiably greedy, socially unconscious, morally/ethically bankrupt Robber Barons alive.
He puts the real jobs - where real people labor like robots for the lowest wages and benefits he can get away with - in Tennessee.
Do you think the Good People of Tennessee - a true-blue RED state - think he did them a favor? Therein lies the real problem, ladies and gentlemen.
WE THE PEOPLE must stop relying on lesser human beings like Jeff Bezos to "create" jobs. They only know how to create/steal it all for themselves. They are demented with their stolen/inherited wealth.
In a few years the Good People of Nashville can take over the plant and turn it into a true employee-owned company where every employee shares equitably in responsibility, company direction and profits. No outside investors to steal the profits.
OUR story of inclusion and Social/Economic Equity for ALL Americans starts NOW.
3
Do you own shares in a mutual fund? If you have a 401K or a pension plan, you do, and therefore you are probably an “outside investor”.
@njglea You are very sadly misinformed about what an operations and logistics center is. What will be going into Nashville is a large office filled with people with advanced degrees and experience in software engineering, supply chain management, customer order fulfillment systems and transportation optimization. Likely they will be designing and building the world-class computer systems that link Amazon to its suppliers, manage inventory movement through its global networks of fulfillment centers, and see to it that customer orders are delivered quickly and efficiently. They will be well paid professionals and a portion of their compensation will be equity in Amazon which allows them to share in the success of the company.
Some quick math - With state and local tax rates close to 10%, 25,000 people making $100,000 will bring in about $250M in state and city income taxes per year. That doesn’t include the sales tax from the goods they buy, property taxes for homes they purchase, etc. I’m not advocating for a corporate handout, but even if Amazon as a company pays $0 in taxes, their employees will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax dollars we can use to fund our infrastructure, schools, affordable housing, etc.
3
Amazon is not obligated to hire public housing residents that aren't qualified. As a native NYer, I have seen the effects of multigenerational dependency on public housing and other benefits. Yes, workers need affordable housing. Free public housing for those not working by choice is another matter. The City didn't turn public housing into hotbeds of crime, the residents did. It's the residents that are defacing their own buildings, dumping garbage all over the property, using the elevators as urinals, etc (I've been in more than a few buildings in Queens and Manhattan). The City isn't forcing teenagers to have kids, join gangs, or drop out of school. There's a huge new underutilized NYPL branch right near the housing project in the article. There's a subway station right by the projects also. The City didn't make that station dangerous, the locals did. For the residents to think that they're going to be instantly hired for service jobs over others with an actual work record is delusional, to demand it is appalling. A refresher:. Public housing was meant as a temporary stopgap, and/or a way to keep working families in the city.
17
Well expressed. All too often, people choose to ignore personal responsibility and integrity when evaluating their circumstances and living conditions. Though it has no obligation to do so, perhaps Amazon could develop a community outreach program to assist local residents with entering the labor pool through basic training.
6
"Are they going to guarantee us employment opportunities?"
Going to be fairly unsympathetic here, but this attitude is disastrous. I don't think we should do away is public housing or anything that extreme, but we need to light a fire and inspire the kids in these projects to better themselves through their own initiative. Teach a man to fish and all that.
I know a few people with no computer science or technical background (guys that worked like basic unskilled jobs) that have taught themselves to code in order to get a good job in today's tech-driven economy.
They started with youtube videos then self-study books and materials available on the web.
I recognize computer programming is pretty difficult and takes a self-motivated and very bright person to become proficient, but I bet there are some kids in these projects that could do it.
8
Whiners will always whine, even when presented with a gift horse like Amazon moving right next door. Instead of whining, how about lining up for of the the purported 25,000 jobs that Amazon will be seeking to fill in their new Queens location? Or is working for pay out of the question for people who have been living on the food stamp and subsidized public housing dole for their entire lives?
12
You people crack me up. A solid company, bringing good paying jobs wants to come to your community, pay taxes and be a good neighbor---and all you can do is whine that they aren't guaranteeing jobs to your huge tax-draining public housing residents, or that they will be a drain on "taxpayers". news Flash---Amazon will be a tax payer--not a tax drain--like your giant welfare housing project.
12
@Bill Clayton This is not funny. This woman is serious.
1
“What are they going to do for the community? Are they going to guarantee us employment opportunities?”
Ya, not with that attitude.
9
perhaps the presence of Amazon will persuade the residents of Queensbridge Houses to clearly see the benefits of education and thereby convince their kids to stay in school and study. your article presumes that Amazon has a duty to these residents. perhaps so, but it's a two-way street and most of the traffic on this street should be the residents taking the concrete steps to improve the lives of their children.
11
The possibility of new jobs in the area and a bunch of people whose rent is subsidized by taxpayers whine, “What are they going to do for me?” Sad.
9
There are no jobs.
The available jobs are all low paying.
An influx of high paying jobs causes high rents increased traffic and gentrification.
There that covers every possible scenario... From a whiners perspective.
5
While the coming of Amazon is a legit concern re the residents of this housing complex as to any good, bad or ugly, the residents here should be given credit for the dramatic drop in serious crime.
Their tactics should be a model for other inner city low income areas especially in Chicago.
2
Though I lack formal training in either welfare or IT, I’m going out on a limb here and state not one person from the projects will be hired in a substantive position in the “headquarters.”
There will be no hiring guarantees and locals, without skills and education, will learn Amazon is not some kind of social services agency. Those without skills before Amazon will have no skills post Amazon.
Think up any “divide” you wish and it will be exacerbated by the move to LIC.
5
I hope that Amazon can start education programs for these people so that some of them can be trained for serious technical jobs.
1
OPEN QUESTIONS:
I like the CONCEPT of a corporation providing employment opportunities to local citizens. It's a nice idea. But I am struggling to understand how exactly that might look. So, my open question to those NYT readers that seem to be seeking some kind of "guarantee" from the corporation that "local" residents will be employed...what does that mean?
If Amazon posts a job for a Data Scientist with 3-5 years experience, in what way exactly would the "local" criteria be considered?
What is local? same zip code? Or within 10 blocks?
And explain to me why it is that the people of LIC are so special that they must be provided employment within some arbitrary distance. Many of us in NY commute over an hour to work. So, what is up in LIC that people can't commute with the rest of us?
7
@Gregg Exactly. That's why the need do nothing job guarantees. Now that I think of it, they are kind of like their own little mafia...
1
Is Bezos planning to create Montessori schools in the area, for low income children, as he promised last month? He was sending a message out with that scheme. How does it effect this new complex?
2
There are many issues to unpack regarding Amazon's move to LIC. But I find this article to be something of a distraction. Regardless of where Amazon settled in NYC, most Queensbridge residents would have no shot at employment there -- just like many other New Yorkers will have no shot at working there. That Amazon will be near a large public housing project creates an uncomfortable contrast but that's about it. All it does is bring into stark relief that which already exists: poverty amidst extraordinary wealth.
On a final note, if Amazon decided to move to an impoverished community, say, in Kansas or W. Virginia, would we be having this discussion?
4
Why are the residents there still under educated and under employed? Like all New Yorkers, they’ve had the opportunity of a free education - or nearly at CUNY. Their rent is below-market... subsidized by taxpayers. Many other people manage to thrive and improve themselves. I went from a single parent household to food stamps on my own to hard work to Hunter College and eventually had a good career. I did not expect employers to give me ANYTHING and neither should they.
14
NYCHA has a minimum shortfall of 32 Billion dollars needed to maintain 328 Projects some built in the 30's and 40's their physical plant beyond a useful life. The current NYCHA is not sustainable financially besides being a failed model for integrating a community that works effectively for residents. Many cry the loss of middle class affordable housing rightful so a healthy middle class is essential for the city. Queensbridge can be renovated at great cost into a middle class community much of what Sty Town once was in Manhattan. It can charge affordable rents that meet it's operating expenses and set aside a percentage for NYC Seniors they have worked and paid taxes a life time they earned a peaceful retirement in a city the supported and built. Face the fact without Federal money the current Public Housing will be come Mayan Ruins. Hard decisions need to be made new approaches tried a moratorium on new NYCHA residents. As leases expire residents moved at NYCHA expense to other Projects among the 300 plus try to accommodate were you can.
1
@James mcCowan
And those who fall ill before reaching the age of retirement and can no work should be barred from public housing because they did not contribute enough?
I understand all the complaints about Amazon as a company, but I fail to understand how it would benefit the people in this community if Amazon had chosen North Carolina instead.
Amazon can now claim to be an asset to the community and avoid criticism of low paying jobs. The non disclosure process was great for Amazon in collecting data on all the bidder cities without spending a dime. The volumes of free publicity was icing on the cake. Many believe they knew where they wanted to be all along. Very interesting that if this were a Detroit, people would be elated, thus the excitement generated. But it's NY, Amazon can exist there in relative peace among all the other behemoths, the only place it could.
There is no reason why Queensbridge residents cannot find work at Amazon. Businesses like Amazon in any community must make efforts to hire and train workers. There should be positions at all levels at Amazon and I am certain many at Queensbridge will apply and be hired across the board. Gov Cuomo and Mayor DeBlazio made big promises to land Amazon here and they are expected to get much in return, especially for all Queens residents who will have to adjust to ever more congestion on the subways, roadways and higher rents expected that Amazon will generate once here. Welcome Amazon!
8
“What are they going to do for the community? Are they going to guarantee us employment opportunities?”
Unfortunately, that is the mindset of that community. In former times it was a realistic expectation when large corporations had the need for more basic skills there were ground floor opportunities for hiring at the local level. That era is fast disappearing.
That Queens complex was built at a time when New York had jobs that many there could fill. Those times are also gone as the median $15k income makes evident which is reflection on their current job prospects throughout New York.
There will be no job guarantees. You have to work for the city to get anything close to that. What will happen is that the city taxes gained from this new complex will trickle down at a level that may improve infrastructure but little else.
What the Amazon project and the consequences of the other types of businesses it draws likely means is not promising for the people of Queensbridge Houses.
5
Building a headquarters of one of the most powerful companies in the world will increase the cost of living in the areas near the location. Local businesses might profit from increased foot traffic, so enterprising individuals could possibly profit by using creative strategies. However, whether residents of the housing project will gain anything simply because they are nearby is debatable. They could gain employment in local business that start thriving once Amazon opens the HQ, but it is up to them to search for and make use of any opportunity. Amazon is not obligated to specifically help the housing project , although it may have a social responsibility charter which could include an initiative to improve local employment levels/infrastructure etc.
6
This should be thought of as an opportunity. How can Part of the wrath generated by this move be taxed and used to fund city priorities?
While working at Queensbridge, this year I've seen pockets of an incredible community that Amazon could help but probably
won't. Go inside the complex and see the webs of support that
residents have made for themselves. See the people that make sure their seniors whose elevator doesn't stop on the floor they live on (opens on every other floor) and how they care for one another. Supplement that caring. Hire the clusters of people who are on the street all day -mostly males- together with jobs that step into working for people who haven't had full time work. Listen to Andrew, the bookseller and sage, for his advice. Empanada boys too. And see how well City Harvest works here in the community center. Senior Planet too. Queensbridge has systems in place from the city and elsewhere. But please don't come with a prescribed rollout that doesn't look at the specifics of Queensbridge.
Look within and work from within.
One last thing- help the supermarket in the area which are dismal! Amazon, you could be amazing here. Lets see what you can do.
15
Amazon doesn't need the billion dollar tax break. The people they hire won't be from the queens bridge community. It will be a boon for Nassau county. That's where people will be buying houses. What provisions will be made for those commuting. For parking. For subways. For LIRR?
What plans are being made to address the issues above?
More and better supermarkets closer to the existing housing? HAH!!!
Better schools for the community? The families who live in NYCHA cannot earn more money or they will lose their housing. The next step will be to raze existing housing to build high rent apartment buildings thus further displacing the residents and stores already existing. The salaries earned by the commuters will not e spent in Long Island City. What plans to remedy this situation should be published and debated before this gift is given to us.
2
Well...the kids that live in Queensbridge....if they want to work at Amazon and bring home big salaries then STUDY starting with NOW! I grew up in one of the worst projects in the South Bronx (tho I had two working parents). I now work on Wall Street making $200K. Kids.....pay attention in school. Do well....
22
For the locals, find out what the jobs will be, what skills are needed and get to the nearest community college or vocational program and get qualified. Hustle.
2
What if the rents get higher in the community, like San Jose?
2
Public housing close by? Isn’t Amazon’s core business model to exploit its workforce; sounds like the location is a feature, not a bug? Too bad they tore down Cabrini-Green, then maybe Chicago would have had a shot.
2
Why does this whole mess stink of Mayor de Blasio's desperation, and Governor Cuomo's schadenfreude?
Oy vey.
I would have thought that housing and transportation costs/absurdities alone would have taken both the NYC metro and DC area out of the HQ competition. I can't imagine how incredibly rough it will be to live in either place in ten years. I'm happy to live in fly-over country. The DFW area could have more reasonably absorbed this project because the north TX plains, and resulting build out potential, goes on forever in any direction. But...Dallas area traffic is NO fun at all either.
3
It's not going to stop in NY until every last block of every single borough has been displaced.
It was only weeks ago that I was chatting with some friends from high school about how Queens might be the only remnant of New York's legendarily diverse landscape that is still somewhat intact. Areas like Corona, Richmond Hill, the Jamaica hub area, are neighborhoods that I've seen mature throughout my life, not by means of hordes of people rapidly moving in and driving rent prices through the roof, but as a result of generations of families that have cultivated those areas. My friends and I agreed that it would only be a matter of time before mass-displacement made its way through Queens, and there is evidence of it to be seen in the elaborate murals and hole-in-the-wall artisan treat shops that are starting to spot the landscape in the Maspeth area, working its way east from Brooklyn.
Enter Amazon to bring the whole thing crashing down in one fell swoop. This doesn't help anyone but Amazon and the employees they'll import. This isn't going to help our overloaded public trans, sidestreet or highway traffic, rent prices, parking... nothing. I'm sure that once all the peasants are gone from LIC (I mean, these people had it too good for too long, living that close to Manhattan without being rich), there will be improvement for its new residents to enjoy. The rest of us? We'd better direct our gaze to the South or something, where I understand much of Brooklyn ended up.
6
This article captures the essence of what we are facing in the coming years everywhere. People unprepared to live and work in a tech age that has passed them by--for whatever reason--and the enormous challenge to face and deal with it.
3
Call me crazy but it seems to me that if Amazon goes to LIC there will be job-opportunities galore which the people living in this development can take advantage of. Amazon is doing them a huge favor.
1
@MIKEinNYC It's not a shipping center, these are corporate jobs. There is no galore for the people living in QB. Just a foreseeable hunt for a new place to live.
5
it's not a warehouse where there would be more entry level jobs. ..it's probably all tech
1
@Corwin
Are you suggesting that people who reside in QB are incapable of rendering services to, or otherwise taking employment with Amazon. Pretty prejudicial approach.
1
I really hope Bezos read this article. The impact his company have had in small businesses have overwhelmed many to the point of choking them. I really hope his company may do good for this community instead of displace them. It will be a show of leadership that will definitely gain him more notoriety, and in a good way. He just needs to sit down with community leaders and listen to them. Amazon won’t lose anything, but gain the trust of the community and a continuous profitable hq.
3
We should seriously get rid of these projects. No one subsidies my housing.
6
Sorry to hear this. It will do nothing for the average person except drive up the rental and real estate market and cause more congestion on the roads and in the subway.
9
I am a software engineer at a tech company in NYC comparable to Amazon in both size and brand recognition. Anyone who wants Amazon to somehow do something for poor communities in Queens is living in a fantasy world for like 10 different reasons.
1) Jeff Bezos and Amazon care only about money. Unlike Google, Amazon doesn't even maintain a facade of altruism, but is purely concerned with growth and marching every closer to monopoly of global retail.
2) What incentive does Amazon possibly have for helping the people of these communities?
3) The labor employed at Amazon's corporate offices is almost entirely highly educated at elite universities. Why? Because these jobs are all very competitive due to high pay (a software engineer fresh out of school at Amazon makes about $130,000 a year). Most of these people are not from the area, instead moving there through generous relocation plans.
To even suggest Amazon would do anything for the community is completely silly and naive. It's lamentable that our city government has allowed Amazon to come to New York, no doubt incentivized by ample tax breaks. San Francisco is a nice case study of the ways the tech industry can utterly disfigure a previously beautiful, interesting and affordable city.
24
I am delighted that Amazon will be opening one of its headquarters in Queens. This will be a tremendous Boon for New York City and its residents. This will mean thousands of new jobs and increased tax revenues for New York City and New York State. My only concern is how will New York City handle the huge increase in transportation demands such as traffic, buses and Subway congestion.
3
I find the attitude of the woman who says that if Amazon builds in Long Island City, it should hire in Long Island City baffling. What if none of the residents of Long Island City--or, in particular, the Queensbridge Houses--are qualified for the positions Amazon is looking to fill? Is Amazon supposed to hire them as the price of moving into the neighborhood, and if it is, isn't that a kind of extortion?
10
read her comment again within the context of gentrification. there are so many companies...hotels included...that have recently made their home in LIC. the majority of the workers at these places are not local. the area is changing so quickly and having local residents feel like they can be part of the change would go a long way.
2
There goes the neighborhood.
7
In the tri-state area, Newark was probably a better option than Long Island City, though both areas are choked to the gills with traffic and development. I suspect NJ Transit's inability to function plus the ongoing problems at the Lincoln Tunnel made Jersey a riskier option. Should be really interesting to see how things progress in LIC. Google's presence in Chelsea/Meatpacking completely transformed that area; expecting the same in LIC. The people not in on the cash grab will just have to deal. Not fair but expecting Amazon to do anything for the community is asking a lot.
4
People have made WAY too much of this Amazon HQ2 thing. First of all, these kinds of projects take a long time. Like, a really long time. Look how long it took just for Amazon to pick a location. And they couldn't even decide on one location. So, it's not like 25,000 newly hired Amazoids are going to be descending on Queens next year. It might 10 years for Amazon to have a significant presents in the area. By then, the whole project could have gone up in smoke. Prepare to be underwhelmed.
2
@Mark Maybe people used to slow NYC bureaucratic do nothing-ism and the terrible return on investment of public projects will be surprised by the speed with which tech companies can move. Didn't take Uber very long, after all.
3
Amazon increased wages to $15 an hour?
Cutting stock options, healthcare, dental and vision benefits does not make up for $15 a hours pay increase. The workers have been scammed.
At $15 an hour or about $31,200 per year what type of life can you have in NYC?
7
People are going to get angry at Amazon for moving in and somehow not providing jobs to people without qualifications for them in an ultracompetitive industry?
Meanwhile the liberal bastion of New York has managed to run their public transit system into the ground, their public housing into the ground and their public school system into the ground, all while benefiting from being able to tax the financial engine of the United States.
I see failures aplenty here, but it's not on Jeff Bezos's account.
10
Amazon would be foolish to establish a head quarter's in Long Island City. New York, by electing people like DiBlasio has proven itself anti-business and dismissive of crime.
New York does not deserve Amazon. They should instead invest where they are wanted. Like Texas, Oklahoma or Wyoming.
Residents will complain about everything, as they always do. City hall will impose taxes and regulations, as they always do.
New York is a big a Socialist welfare pit, new businesses do not belong here. Bezos should know that
3
@James Maybe Bezos knows something you don't, James, or that you've been repeating too many talking points to allow yourself to believe: that NY is perfectly capable of being "business-friendly" and that Amazon will get massive tax breaks. New Yorkers won't, and will be footing the bill for the extra cost that shoehorning this headquarters into LIC will impose on the city, all while seeing our rents skyrocket and traffic become worse than it is.
I don't know where you developed your outlook on business and the "socialist welfare pit" known as NYC, but we bring in more money than most states in the country do, and are less dependent on federal money than most of them as well. And guess what: It's not coming from Long Island.
3
Where do low income residents think the money for their government benefits come from? Not from trees, people - it comes from taxpayers, like the taxpayers that Amazon will generate with this new group of jobs.
Sure it would be great if Amazon has some jobs available for those without trained skills or a college education, which I assume there is plenty of in Queensbridge. But for anyone who gets subsidized housing, food stamps or other items from the government (and by "from the government" I mean "from taxpaying citizens"), they should be thrilled that there's more tax money coming in to pay these government benefits.
Don't bite the hand that (literally) feeds you.
23
Perhaps Amazon could cover the cost of building a bike and pedestrian bridge between LIC and Manhattan. Manhattan is already way too crowded and soon LIC will be too. But let's ease the congestion a little bit.
1
Seems like an arbitrary juxtaposition here. Amazon might open an office in LIC. There are housing projects near LIC.... And? Yep there is poverty in NYC and many other places. Therefore Amazon shouldn't come to NYC? There's no good logic there. I'm all for Amazon helping the local economy and doing outreach but let's remember that $25,000 well paying jobs will already lift the economy on the local level (people buying lunch, gym, retail, dry cleaning etc.) as well as the whole city with taxes. That should be a good thing for everyone. And in terms of gentrification, only the city has the power to protect affordable housing. That's government's job, not a reason to block profitable companies from setting up shop here.
10
Perhaps Amazon seeks the tax breaks that will supposedly accrue to those who invest in opportunity zones under the new tax laws. For example, capital gains spent in these areas will be taxed under lower rates. Opportunity zones must be proximate to or fall within the boundaries of a recognized low-income neighborhood. That may well explain why Amazon is thinking of being near the housing projects.
Residents of Queensbridge Houses should be afraid - they are not only going to be left behind, they will eventually be forced out. It is disgusting that politicians fell for false promises and decided to give a man worth billions a sickening amount of financial incentives to come in and destroy neighborhoods. Cuomo and deBlasio will undoubtedly have new things to quarrel about and I have sincere doubts that Amazon's arrival will cause any improvements to mass transit. But hey, you can always raise the fares for the rest of us because you just gave a trillion dollar company a free ride.
5
“What are they going to do for the community? Are they going to guarantee us employment opportunities?
The sense of entitlement is unbelievable. Every aspect of her life is subsidized by taxpayers including housing in one of the most expensive cities in the world, food and health care, yet, despite likely not being nearly qualified for a $100K job, she demands more and she looks outrageous at it. Meanwhile, the middle class taxpayers that live in the neighborhood communities such as Astoria and pay for her way of life, will be priced out of their neighborhoods.
I am beyond disgusted.
38
@Jon
"Every aspect of her life is subsidized by taxpayers..."
And just what do you know about Astoria, or even life here ? ... Nothing.
Your lack of compassion only reflects this administration we're currently living under.
You may be in "Snow" -- but this is New York.
5
@N. Smith I know everything there is to know about Astoria. I live here for the past 25 years. I own a property here.
10
@Jon
You do understand every aspect of your life is subsidized, right, Jon? Or can I stop sending in my federal taxes? Certainly you don't benefit from our massive military, our highway system. Clean water. Air control. Fire... police.... courts..... I could go on, but you don't care, right?
10
Just say no to Amazon and to its libertarian owner and CEO, Jeff Bezos.
They will ruin New York, and the income divide will ever widen. And, we all know they won’t add to the tax base because the libertarians don’t believe in paying taxes. These are folks who don’t understand the social contract. They will take, and they will add nothing to the social fabric.
It will be the end of the neighborhood, as the long-time residents get kicked out to make room for the rich white guys in hoodies.
I would rather see the migrant caravan settle in my beloved NYC than Amazon.... with their work ethic, family commitments, and their desire to give back...
2
Minnesota???
2
@NYC Dweller
and it starts..
“They did not hire here — they brought in their own people,” she said. “My thing is: If you build here, hire here.”
I hope Bezos is reading!
Look what you are stepping in!!
If you want to see the future, look to Amazon's newest and 3rd largest hiring site for tech professionals, East Palo Alto, CA. The city has negotiated some employment concessions, but different than the requirements for big box retail (30% of the employees must come from the city).
https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-sparks-hiring-uproar-in-overlooked-silicon-valley-city-1502464675
If Amazon goes to Queens - they’ll see to it the public housing is demolished to be replaced by super-wealthy high rise Apartment Towers designed for Real Estate Investment Funds ONLY! No average NYC Residents (and in NYC, average is $55-60k salaries, barely enough to keep above the poverty line in the NYC housing market, will be able to afford any type of decent residential apartment!). Criminal is what it is! And don’t expect Amazon to pay any sort of decent wage as low income residents are forced into the street! Take a look at the Chelsea Housing units down around 25th and 9th Av. Amazon is not a positive for NYC!!!
2
You seem to imply that the Chelsea Houses are in danger of being demolished. I’m surmising that you see this as a result of Google and other tech firms plus galleries, the High Line and new market rate housing growing up around them.
But nothing could be farther from the truth. The Houses are not going anywhere and the neighborhood has become cleaner and safer. There’s now for example a Western Beef, which is a supermarket catering to all income levels. The Houses residents should have no gripe with Google et al.
1
Given the amount of tax subsidies that Amazon will likely be getting, having government sponsored housing as a neighbor seems just about right.
6
Amazon is coming to Long Island City, that's South of the bridge, and Queensbridge is North of the bridge. They are barely going to see each other (25,000 Amazon employees and tens of thousands of Queensbridge resident. Long Island City has been gentrifying for a decade and all those new riverfront residential high-rises are where the HQ will be. Although Queensbridge drug dealers may see their revenues go up with new higher-net-worth customers in the area. Which may improve the life at least for some at Queensbridge.
8
@ivo skoric
Question. When were you last in Long Island City?
No. Let me refrain that....Were you ever in Long Island City? -- And why even bring up drug dealers?
No offense. But this comment is typical of someone who don't know any better.
And yes, it is very offensive.
6
When you realize that de blasio is a fraud and caters to real estate developers and those that can line his pocket to get him into higher office and his kids into Ivy League schools you’ll see it was a dream. Amazon should not come here, the infrastructure is already at its seams cannot hold it. This housing project needs leaders who care about those that live there not some corporate giant who wants to get your package to your home in two days.
3
It's always the same what are going to do for the community how's is this going to help the poor people in the projects. Here's something different help yourselves do for yourselves don't rely on others
10
I would love for every resident of the queensbridge apartments to have gainful employment. The corporate jobs at Amazon require advanced education and experience.
An associates degree, which is respectable, is not advanced enough to get into a six figure job at Amazon or anywhere at that rate. If anything maybe the company’s presence will motivate some to attain an education (or further it) that would get them in the door at any good company.
As far as what will amazon do for the area?
Rents will skyrocket, cranes will take over the skyline to build more tiny high rise condos, trains will be even more crowded and you’ll see an uptick in Walgreens/Duane Reade.
11
What if Amazon doesn't open its 'campus' in LIC.
Are those residents in the public housing going to be better off? Probably not.
However, the dynamism, creativity, ancillary services Amazon encourages will benefit all New Yorkers and the region in general. I'm old enough to remember in my hometown Otis Elevator leaving and before that Alexander Smith Carpet Shop in the 50s. And a stones throw north GM closed in Tarrytown and left a huge crater in the fabric of the community. Drive north and the ruin and decay of jobs leaving NY and New England replicates this ugly picture .
Sneering at Amazon is not a solution. The GM lineman who populated the middle class is not quite analogous to highly educated employee at Amazon or any number of tech areas but this is the 21st century. Without those jobs coming to New York the fear of increasing housing prices and gentrification will fade away into more blight and poverty. Remember thos e factories populating Northeast.
Yes, I have problems with states and localities chasing after corporations, especially profitable ones, but it will take federal legislation to end the pirating and bribery states are forced to do.However, the alternative of going back to the time when thousands showed up for those manufacturing jobs like GM or Otis provided is dead except in our president's mind.
The pluses far out weigh the negatives. And just maybe some of the services needed near Amazon will provide jobs for those living close by.
19
The members of the Queensbridge Tenants Association would be wise to show Ms. Simpson the door and put someone in place who understands the real world. Jobs are not guaranteed and whatever issues the Queensbridge Tenants Association have with their landlords are of no concern to Amazon.
Ms. Basnight's approach to a job search is much smarter. She should go to the top of the list of new candidates for president of the tenant's association. I wish her well!
23
@George
It's always interesting to read comments from those who are not only familiar with life in New York City -- but those who live clear on the other side of the country in communities which would not be impacted as significantly as this one would be.
5
So what do you suggest is the alternative for Amazon - to avoid locating in poor areas and set up a campus in the suburbs instead?
10
Long Island city is not a poor area! That’s the point it’s rapidly gentrifying with very expensive apartments. Yes there are projects but right next to the projects there are 1 bedrooms that rent for $3000. The issue is that the divide these companies create wherever they go- the very rich and the very poor are the only ones left. Everyone in the middle is out of luck.
1
Queensbridge housing residents should start packing their bags. You'll be able to set a stopwatch on how fast the property is turn private.
5
It seems many of the comments ignore the capital that will flow into NY as a result of the salaries and taxes paid by Amazon and its employees. There also seems to be a sense that the local economy and its people will not benefit indirectly because somehow New Yorkers lack the entrepreneurial spirit to find opportunities in spinoff businesses such as coffee shops, bistros, and related services such as medicine. The whining and perverse "sky is falling", negative attitudes expressed here (and in article after article) make Chicken Little seem an optimist. In the end, its seems so strange that so many, while cheering on a caravan of unskilled, unemployed migrants headed for our neighboring states to the south are, simultaneously, vilifying (even before the facts are known) Amazon wanting to bring 20,000 new jobs to the area. Throwing caution to the wind is one thing but, incessant "nay saying" is another.
13
There are many initiatives Amazon can offer residents of Queensbridge and beyond who will be sharing their neighborhood:
Internships should be started with local high schools and colleges (LaGuardia, Queens College, York, St. Johns); opportunities for future employment and mentoring can be created at QB Houses community center.
Amazon can bring useful retail to the neighborhood including:
- Whole Foods Market 365
- Amazon Books
- Amazon Retail Stores (where packages can be retrieved)
Market 365 will address the food desert status of the Queensbridge area. QB is a rare housing project with retail stores and a "town square"; these are potential Amazon retail shops which could bring revenue to NYCHA, plus neighborhood foot traffic and resulting police patrols to the to improve and further stabilize the development.
In their new HQ buildings, Amazon can create small commercial spaces at low rents (given their large tax break) to sustain merchants who might be threatened by increased rents.
Upgrades to the neighborhood - benefits employees and extant residents - including: additional subway entrances, wider sidewalks, improved lighting, donating computers and equipment to libraries, schools and Queensbridge Houses community center.
Subsidize affordable housing near QB Houses which serves Amazon employees ($100K doesn't make you rich in NYC), helps the QB Houses become less isolated and maintains a mixed housing market rather than juxtaposing only affluent and poor.
13
@Shaun
This is a good thoughtful post with real ideas.
3
Twenty years after Amazon builds its HQ facility, Queensbridge will have been demolished, the residents will have found new public housing projects elsewhere, the ripple effect on the local economy will be formidable and NYC will still be short of tax revenue.
4
You would think that the world’s richest person would open some schools to educate future employees. I don’t know what Bezo does with his money. Is he unlike The Gates Foundation? Is he an anonymous donor to charity?
Americans have made you rich. Make them educated.
8
The Queensbridge project will be tough to gentrify. This could be Jeff Bezos's toughest challenge yet. Maybe he should buy the project from the city and sell the consolidated and refurbished units as condos. Or raze the property and just start over.
But it is hard to imagine that Amazon moguls didn't see this problem coming. Maybe the real plan, once the property is secured, is to reprogram the concept as a massive warehouse with just a scattering of executive offices. Then the Queensbridge project becomes part of the solution -- low cost public housing for minimum wage warehouse workers.
3
There seems to be a shocking amount of people on here complaining about handouts, do not see the irony.
To me it is simple. Taxpayers pay in taxes to run our services and infrastructure. It isn't perfect but that's the situation. Amazon's move will cost us taxpayers much more when you really account for everything. Already stressed subways. A new subway stop costs a billion in NY. Car traffic? Right by 59th st is an absolute nightmare during rush hour. What about power? More power means more infrastructure needed which means our rates go up. $180 million is going to upgrades, but half is just for sewage. So $90 million is supposed to account for roads, subways, and electricity? And not every employee who works will spend every dollar back into the local economy.
And then they don't have to pay taxes? So let's make sure we are clear; we have to have our taxes and bills increased to accommodate a company we don't want so they can get a handout?
No, they can pay to be here and pay taxes like everyone else.
13
They are not going to have opportunities for Queensbridge residents. Anyone with the skills required for the new jobs would not be living in Queensbridge in the first place. They would have similar job somewhere else or be well on track to get one. Why would Amazon be expected to "provide" anything? Why do people look at it that way? What can residents provide that Amazon requires?
18
For Amazon to come to Long Island City, they should be required to fund, and encouraged to manage (they can do better than the MTA) the building of a new subway station, a new LIRR station at Sunnyside, and revamp subway/ LIRR at Hunterspoint station rat-hole.
4
@Barry
Or they can open the headquarters in Texas, where people don't shake them down
3
I been reading the comments here, there is thread in many of these comments that Amazon doesn’t owe the community anything for setting up shop in Long Island City. That’s fine as long as Amazon pays it fair share that is taxes. They shouldn’t get any tax breaks at all. We have infrastructure that needs money the subways bridges and tunnels that need repair. Also schools that need funding.
So I hope Deblasio and Cuomo did not give these guys any breaks, we need that tax money.
Also since these 100k people won’t want to rub elbows rest of us schlubs riding the subways, they’ll be riding their cars or Uber,all the more reason for Amazon to pay full freight to repair those roads bridges & tunnels.
21
I imagine they received a basket full of subsidies. I mean if you go look at how much it cost New York City to get the Aetna headquarters here. New York (and all of us taxpayers) spent $130,000 for every job created in that deal. Trust me they are getting a lot from us.
1
This is a free country where people can open a business where they please and hire who is qualified. There are no handouts and hand ups in corporate America. That mentality from the 70’s 80’s is gone in this country. There are new minorities in this city with higher skill sets and education leaving other minorities behind.
8
Grew up in the Bridge, 1950s-1970s. I worry that Amazon is the blunt edge of a sword that will lead to an ethnic cleansing of the Houses...great value in that real estate, lots of problems with crime and maintenance. I could see a future mayor/governor declaring "clean sweep" relocations of the poor to the far edges of city.
A win-win-win for Amazon, developers, pols and ....oops, but not the people. Surprise!
10
@SmartenUp
Which people? As a resident of LIC, a clean sweep would be great for me.
1
All businesses move into your town to make higher profit for the owners which are shareholders if that is public company. Amazon did not choose Chicago because it is not as good as a return on investment as Long Island. I doubt they are going there because there are hundreds of low income minorities looking for higher paying work. They are going there for the whole package which they think will provide them the best return on investment. The package includes everything you need to run a successful business . It may include 10% tax break which in turn they will put 1% donation into local charitable cause and through media always talk about that 1% donation.
8
I wasn't aware that Amazon was required to employ anyone who lives in the neighborhood. That level of entitlement really does shock me.
44
@Carlos
that this is all you can get out of this entire discussion speaks for itself. I’m not sure why there’s so many simple minded non empathetic white guys out there. I was only like this in college. Somebody people never grow out of it apparently
5
@Dan Samberg Why do you assume Carlos is white and what relevance does that have? Classic kinder and gentler racism but it's ok to be racist towards white people because every single one of them is bad and stuff. Ugh.
1
@Carlos
You're in Switzerland talking about a "level of entitlement"? -- that's rich.
21
There is a chance the rich/poor divide will widen while Amazon adds to the impossible congested conditions already suffered by Queens and the rest of the surrounding areas. Just imagine when the Brooklyn Queens Expressway begins to be rebuilt with projections at 6 years and more to complete. Does this headquarters include distribution? On what roads will Amazon's employees travel? What trains and buses will they squeeze into? Where will they park their cars (there will be six figure income earners)? WAZE often takes LIE travelers through side streets in LIC, and those barely move. The city can't keep up with filling pot holes and picking up garbage. Has anyone figured out what a drought would do as NYC keeps on building? Are there plans to add schools in LIC? Hospital beds? What if an evacuation were needed? On the positive possibilities for local employment, will Amazon offer training? Could be a great thing, bout only if done with thought for quality of life; including for Queensbridge.
4
These jobs will not be going to low income local residents. To believe otherwise is to set yourself up for failure. Tech companies now outsource cleaning, security and admin. It is very unlikely more than a small handful of residents will be able to compete for professional advanced technology positions.
This is not a warehouse, it is a headquarters. At my current job, less than 1 in 100 employees is non professional with advanced degrees and training. I am not sure how to address any population with an income less than my part time high school job 20 years ago. A giant profitable corporation is certainly not going to be your savior.
166
@CEl, it’s true that both tech companies and others now outsource support work, but people do sometimes get hired on from temp admin staffing positions. (In my husband’s corporate office, that is how they find new secretaries: they hire on temps they like. In contrast, most of their accounting is outsourced overseas, and mailroom functions are handled on site by a separate business. No more working your way up from the mail room!) Local residents could be encouraged, by Amazon, to apply to whatever staffing services the company will use. That would be one way to sort of prop open the door for them.
16
@CEl- Even if they are outsourced by Amazon, the hundreds of cleaning, janitorial and food service jobs ARE real jobs that residents will be able to apply for!
39
@Donna Gray
You are making some gross generalizations that actually border on racial stereotypes.
Or did you miss the photo and story of Tyshema Basnight, who actually has a degree in computer science?
Don't assume everyone living in the Housing Project is uneducated.
45
It's not just Queensbridge. Many of us in Queens Don't Want Amazon here. It will further drive up R.E. prices and rentals. Amazon workers going back and forth will overburden our already mess of a subway system. The uptick in real estate will have a domino effect, spilling over to other nearby neighborhoods.
Why isn't Amazon instead thinking about going into another city that could actually use their help...invigorating a somewhat depressed city or town...providing jobs.... etc? NYC is not such a town. We don't need their 'help'.
115
Amazon needs an available talent pool of people as well as being close to potential customers. In addition NYC is appealing enough to attract educated people to come work for them here. Hence this choice makes some sense I guess.
4
“What are they going to do for the community? Are they going to guarantee us employment opportunities?” said April Simpson, the president of Queensbridge Tenants Association.
Sadly, this type of mentality is exactly why many of these residents are unemployed or underemployed. What business wants to hire an employee whose main qualification is living nearby and demanding employment. No one is guaranteed employment. You have to show employers that you are valuable and will work hard to improve their bottom line. The residents should also understand that these are some of the most sought-after jobs in the country, if not the entire world. Top candidates will have the highest level of skills and will have graduated from top colleges.
By the way, many former employees of Amazon were not happy with their experience with the company and have chosen to transfer to more worker-friendly companies. Residents on Queensborough might want to check out all of the other job opportunities found in NYC.
234
@Common Sense
Excellent point. If Amazon hires local residents for food service and janitorial positions they will then be vilified for putting them in stereotypical roles. There is no winning...
49
@Common Sense Exactly.
12
@Jenn
And what makes you think that the local residents are only qualified for food service and janitorial jobs?
No. Let me guess.
35
This seems to me like a win for this community. A large percentage of those jobs are picking and packing. Not exactly highly skilled labor. The wage will be relatively decent since Bezos recently went to at least 15 an hour for all of his employees. Do not just assume that Amazon opening up will lead to the demise of this working poor neighborhood. View it as an opportunity for those that live here now to possibly get better paying work which could lead over time to being able to move out of the Housing Project.
14
@Marian
This is an Amazon Headquarters--not a pick and pack warehouse. These jobs will be 100k plus.
We'll see what Amazon has on offer for the less qualified and unqualified. There's plenty of reason not to expect much from them.
65
@Marian This will not be some warehouse operation with pick and pack line jobs. This is planned as part of their second HQ...
24
The LIC headquarters is the tech hub. Packing and shipping will be located elsewhere. No matter - you're implicit assumption that local labor can be trained only for physical work is as wrong as it is offensive.
13
As an Astoria resident (just a few blocks from LIC), I'm glad to see that our local elected officials (Sen. Gianaris, Council Members Van Bramer and Constantides have been speaking truth to Andrew "Amazon" Cuomo's power.
If Amazon brings in 25,000 workers (most of whom will be current employees moved from another office), the infrastructure of the area, which merges at the hub of Queensboro/Queens Plaza, will be pushed to the breaking point.
The additional population from the highrises already takes trains like the 7 well beyond its intended capacity.
And while the highly-paid employees who already work for Amazon can afford the rentals in the luxury buildings, or a down payment on a condo, a significant number of the apartments in those buildings are empty, owned by off-shore owners as investment properties.
Tech companies don't have hiring local as a priority. Sure, they'll bring in interns, and have contractors from local firms doing the cooking and cleaning, but the idea of them having a positive impact on the people who struggle to make it form paycheck-to-paycheck is laughable. It's not in their business plan.
Remember, when they raised their warehouse workers to $15/hr, they took away the stock options.
As a resident and a voter, I cannot support this project unless there are NO tax breaks for one of the richest companies in the world, guaranteed training and jobs for residents, and city/state funding for expansion of public transit.
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@Kathleen Warnock Amazon is under no obligation to hire local residents. They will hire based on needs and qualifications. I expect that employees won't just live in the immediate area. Many executives will most likely come in from the suburbs. Other employees may come in from the other boroughs, etc. I hope that a a large parking facility is part of the plan because many employees & visitors will have to drive to the Amazon buildings.
BTW, has Amazon officially committed HQ2 to Queens? Could be a grand game (scam?) just to get a better dealfrom another city.
7
@Kathleen Warnock The problem with saying 'I cannot support this unless...' is.... is any one of us confident that if all the powers that be were to say 'yes, they won't get a tax break....yes, we guarantee trains....yes, we will add funding for public transit'.... does anyone seriously believe that at the end of the day, any of that will pan out?
I don't think we should trust any 'promises' they may give us. I mean, how could we hold them to that task once the gleaming new Amazon offices are already in place? People will eventually forget all of Amazon's and Cuomo's failed promises, and get on with their sorry lives.
4
@Lisa ...and that's why I vote. there are a lot of elected officials hearing footsteps these days, and a lot of politicians looking for new jobs.
12
I find it hard to imagine that Amazon will be very interested in hiring in the neighborhood, no matter what they say.
It's just another example of corporate expansion, and New York taxpayers will be left to foot the bill -- not to mention the effect that 25,000 employees will have on this community and the city's already over-burdened transit system.
Amazon should move to Newark instead.
70
@N. Smith
That's right. You don't want them in LIC and they don't want to work in LIC.
A recipe for disaster
Cultures that are diametrically opposed.
Forget Newark, same thing
Amazon should go where they are welcome and where people share their drive
2
@N. Smith
There's just no winning, is there? If they didn't come, then people would be offended and say "why not here?", and when they do come, then people say "why come here?" Clearly, this is an issue that seems to have touched some nerves (some more than others), judging by some of the more defensive remarks. Why not just wait and see how it all shakes out in the short-term before jumping to conclusions? As for hiring locals --and this goes for all residents of NYC, it's really a buyer's market with regard to employers in the tech sector, there are a LOT of people out there with advanced computer science backgrounds and experience and only so many spots.
6
I think residents of really expensive cities who cannot afford housing should consider moving to a less expensive city. Just a thought.
As for Amazon, it will be bringing in thousands of high paying jobs, plus many lower wage jobs too, not to mention that there will be many more customers for local stores and shops.
4
@Jim Dennis, that first "thought" of yours strikes me as pretty heartless, and clueless as well, if you know anything about the effects of gentrification in this and other areas. People who have lived and raised families in what were once relatively affordable neighborhoods can no longer afford their homes, nor do many have the means to just pick up and start life elsewhere. That is, of course, you and your fellow Texans are generous enough to help them with all of that, welcome them, and acclimate them to completely unfamiliar lives in environments very different from where many have made their homes for generations.
Just a thought.
14
@NGB - I understand their plight, but I am just being practical. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. What about when Brooklyn began its gentrification in the 80's. For some, it was terrible, but large swaths of Brooklyn have become vastly improved. I don't know what the answer is to successful cities, like New York, Seattle and San Fransisco, where the income disparity makes life near impossible for lower lever workers. I do support $15 per hour wages for those kinds of cities, but is that even enough? On the flip side, why would you disinvite a large, successful company that will unquestionably provide jobs? There are many other places across the country where carving out a job will be much easier than in New York. That's what I did. I moved to Cleveland and made it work. Nobody was there to help me, I just picked up and went. And, no, it was not easy.
Well, the residents will definitely have a large selection of expensive restaurants now. And Amazon can probably be arm twisted into donating money of some sort to the complex.
2
Just take a look at what's happening in San Francisco. That is your future. The issue's aren't on Amazon. The problems are at the State and Federal Government who for some reason refuse to fix issue's like improving education, the infrastructure disaster that awaits in many city's, and this addiction to giving huge tax breaks to companies already making billions of dollars. Amazon is most likely not hiring from the projects. They should if they can find qualified people. The majority of people Amazon and Google are looking for won't be living anywhere near The Queensbridge Houses. These tech giants are looking for talent in the +100k range.
16
@Dean
"Talent in the +100 k range" Really?
To boxed items and get them ready to ship? Interesting...
1
Jess, this is a headquarters, not a warehouse. Workers here will be software developers and engineers. And Amazon starts those jobs at more than $100,000.
9
@Jess There won't be boxing/packing jobs at this campus
The line that resonated with me throughout this story was the opening sentence, "Until recently, the most important thing to know about Amazon for residents of the Queensbridge Houses, the country’s largest public housing project, was that any packages left in a lobby would likely be stolen."
This is the epitome of how broken our society has become. We have no sense of community, no sense of decency, and the vulnerable prey on the vulnerable all while wondering why someone else doesn't help them. Out of curiosity, what have Nas, Mobb Deep, Marley, and Metta World Peace done for the Queensbridge community? Have they returned to share their wealth with residents? And if not, why do they get a pass?
Literally billions of dollars of other people's money have been poured into the public housing, public schools, food stamps, and other public assistance programs that this community relies upon. But there is a poverty here that won't be solved with money alone. A lack of money is not the cause of a lack character. When I hear about NYCHA buildings need repairs I often wonder why the residents, many of whom don't work, never voluntarily pitch in to repair and maintain their own apartments or those of their neighbors.
31
@JP --Ah! So the problem is simply that poor people all simply lack character! Glad we've cleared that up, so that we don't need to feel guilty about turning our backs on people in need. Thanks for your insight, and happy holidays! ("Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?")
As a corporation Amazon has no legal or financial obligation to improve the conditions of its neighbors, rich or poor. However, it seems certain that Governor Cuomo and Mayor DeBlasio made various commitments to Amazon to improve local conditions in transportation, infrastructure, etc. Most of these improvements will be paid for by state and/or local government; i.e., by taxpayers, and will benefit both poor and rich residents who live and work in Long Island City.
In return NY State and City will gain around 10-12,000 highly paid jobs that will generate, year after year, substantial tax income for state and local governments and stimulate formation or growth of many local businesses.
As for Queensbridge Houses residents, I am sure Amazon will be politically savvy enough to make all job openings known to Queensbridge Houses residents. However, their low income levels likely indicate low educational attainment, so I suspect few QH residents will qualify for jobs at the $100,000/year level, but at unskilled levels such as janitor, maintenance personnel, etc. This is in no way the fault or responsibility of Amazon; it does have many jobs with low entry requirements but these are largely in other cities or states.
Amazon is not a government social welfare agency and should not be expected to improve living conditions of its neighbors, especially those in Queensbridge Houses; that is a function to be performed (better than it has been) by local and state government.
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@Mon Ray
The depth of your compassion is mind-boggling.
5
Even if no one from the community is hired by Amazon there will be many who are hired by the other businesses that will be attracted to the area.
It is assumed by many who are against Amazon that the people living in this community do not have the skills that will be needed to get a job and will not find work there .
This is a very defeatist attitude.
It will take a few years before Amazon moves in.
The city should use that time to train the young people who live in the area who are unemployed the skills that will be needed to get a job there.
Yes the best jobs will not go to the people from the community.
What you don't understand is that once you get your foot in the door you can move up the ladder.
Even if you don't get a better job at Amazon you get to put your job on your resume making it that much easier to be hired someplace else.
This is why having any job even if it isn't what you want will help you in the future as the first question any employer asked is what work experience do you have.
13
Excellent proposal.
1
New York will not be a challenger to Silicon Valley as a tech hub unless it steals Stanford University. That school is the secret sauce.
3
@David Gregory
That was true.
It's not true now.
On Roosevelt Island a tech campus being built by Cornelland the Technion Institute from Israel that will be very clos
:https://tech.cornell.edu/news/cornell-tech-campus-opens-on-roosevelt-island-marking-transformational-mile/
and Columbia is building a hew campus in Harlem That will have a new science building that will be called Manhattanvillie
https://manhattanville.columbia.edu/
and NYU took over Brooklyn Tech and is expanding the research facilities there.
New York City will not only challenge Stanford it might surpass it.
9
@lucky
Stanford has an institutional culture that encourages entrepreneurship by both the faculty and the students that stretches back a couple of generations. Part of that comes from a long association with contractors to the Department of Defense and NASA- neither of which have similar operations anywhere near New York City.
It is also academically miles ahead of any school on the east coast- including MIT and Harvard. Another problem is the difficulty in changing the culture of a large institution- it is hard to teach an elephant to tap dance.
Technion is an interesting add to the mix as they do have some of that kind of institutional culture, but I wonder if they can replicate what happens in Israel. That school also has close ties to the IDF for R&D.
I wish them well, but would not bet on it. New York should stick to banking and Broadway. A good investment would be a Dutch style flood control system.
1
Amazon could offer many opportunities to the neighborhood. I'm praying there will be some in the neighborhood who actually have the experience, training and education to work at Amazon. Second, Amazon could offer local high school kids internships. The company could partner with local schools to help bring the educational standards higher. The streets will get cleaner, new restaurants, bars and coffee shops will open. Unfortunately, in all likelihood the only jobs open to those in the neighborhood will be at those new establishments and with the cleaning crews, security guards and those in the cafeteria at Amazon HQ2.
7
If Mr. Sam Kennedy, the Amazon spokesman is being truthful about his company's record of "donating tens of millions of dollars," then why don't they do just that: get everybody's address in, say, a 1-mile radius of the proposed location for Amazon (including the residents of Queensboro Bridge) and mail a sizable, tax-free check to all of them, and then see what happens to the people in those neighborhoods.
After all the residents receive their funds, I hold the vision that there would be a heck of a lot of that money going for small business start-ups, tuition for enrollment in college courses (with no debt), improvement of personal and community lifestyle due to investment by residents in paying themselves to paint, repair, rewire, re-roof and re-plumb to improve buildings & businesses in the area; major self-generated work efforts to clean up vacant lots and shuttered buildings; long-neglected health needs addressed; decline in crime; a demonstrable resurgence of personal and neighborhood pride; construction of playgrounds, parks--it's amazing what having tens of millions of dollars can do for folks!
Why not? Come on Amazon--live up to your professed image of being philanthropic, and see what happens when poor people are gifted the way the wealthy seem to be.
4
@Cate: It would be a brilliant experiment, as well as a tax writeoff for Amazon. From your keyboard to Amazon's ears!
2
@heliotrophic Individuals aren't tax-established charities so they probably wouldn't get a tax writeoff anymore than you would for giving a twenty to a homeless person.
4
@heliotrophic: Thanks so much for your kind words! Oh, how I wish my keyboard could indeed speak to Amazon's ears, as you suggest.
2
For a population whose "median income [is] well below the federal poverty level" they sure have a lot of window air conditioners.
6
@Jonathan Katz clearly you know nothing of living in New York--nearly every home in NYC, especially the poor and middle income ones, has to have a window unit. The city was not designed with central air and the summers are unbearably hot, so the only option is to have a window AC.
27
@Jonathan Katz You equate a window air-conditioning unit with high living?
27
@Jonathan Katz - go to Target or Walmart at the beginning of summer thru the "back-to-school" time at the end of summer - an one-room window mounted air conditioner can run as low as $99.00. I got one for my home office, 15' x 30" attic in an old Victorian with one window. Set it up, turned it on, and turned it off an hour later - room went from 92 to 72.
9
The police will be hiring
3
@Tiger shark
I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean by that comment.
5
I can't help but scratch my head when folks expect to be given things "just becasue". Amazon doesn't owe the foilks of Long Island City anythng. If you qualify they will hire you; if you don't qualify they shouldn't hire you.
29
@Mr. Rational: You know, there are a lot of things you could do to educate yourself about the systemic barriers that people in housing projects face to becoming qualified. I think it would be rational for you to go educate yourself about this. A good place to start might be Michelle Alexander's book, "The New Jim Crow."
13
@heliotrophic thank you - it is always stunningly disappointing to see how absolutely clueless people are about other communities' and cultures' situations. If only they could walk a mile in the shoes of a NYCHA resident . . .
2
It sounds like the residents of the world’s largest housing project feel they that Amazon already owes them something.
21
@Tiger shark
Here's an idea. Why not put yourself in this community's shoes for a minute before making such rash generalizations.
Better yet -- go see the neighborhood for yourself.
16
@Tiger shark: Back in the day when the very rich were funding the great museums and libraries of New York, it was a given that those who had benefited greatly from our society would help fund projects that would enrich those from whom they profited. (There's a phrase for this -- noblesse oblige.) What I find baffling is that there is so LITTLE of that kind of thinking among today's billionaires. (Yes, yes, I know about Bill Gates' projects. How many other billionaires, though?)
14
Please, Amazon is not "the company owned by Jeff Bezos." He owns about 16% of the company. Almost 60% of the company is owned by "institutions" which include mutual funds, ETFs, banks, pension funds, etc. Anyone with $1650 can buy a share of the company at the moment. Amazon's success has produced a lot of wealth for a lot of people. I hope it will do so for lots of people in Long Island City as well. People can work there or provide goods and services to people who work there. And maybe buy a little piece of the company, too.
6
So typical.
Cry and moan that you want Amazon to come and give you jobs. Court them with every freebie you have, get them to come, then cry about it when you get exactly what you wanted in the first place.....
Welcome to liberal NY!
22
@There
Most "liberal" states could say the same thing about the South and other parts of this country that reap the rewards of our combined wealth, then turn around and insult us.
Thank you for unwittingly providing the perfect example of this.
10
There is enough stomach-turning chicanery going on in the shadows here to make a Netflix series. You can bet Cuomo and de Blasio gave away the store. The one thing these two ostensible rivals have in common is their complete fealty to NY's real estate and finance goniffs. Does anyone believe these groups were not at the table and positively salivating during the negotiations with Amazon? Billionaire Bloomberg and his lieutenant Doctoroff rezoned these areas from manufacturing to residential just so this pristine forest of glass towers could be built and now billionaire Bezos is prepared to take occupancy. Its just too neat to be a coincidence. Bloomberg, Cuomo and de Blasio: They all want to be President. Delusional!
8
Based on the Amazon boom in Seattle, let me tell you how it works. The thousands of young, rich white men who work at Amazon will not care about your neighborhood. They will not care about the community. They will not get involved. They will open an Amazon Go store so they don’t have to look at or talk to anyone. They’re called Amazombies for a reason, folks.
64
@FlipFlop
“Amazombies”
Name calling isn’t productive. Nor is it useful to stereotype all workers in tech as clueless young white men. South and East Asians make up large portions of the workforce at companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
3
Those living in that housing project better wave bye bye to that neighborhood. If Amazon moves in, there is no way they can afford to live there
3
@NYC Dweller
Public housing projects are owned by the NYCHA and cannot raise rents to market levels.
3
@Jonathan Katz
Who's talking about rent levels? -- It's the price of everything else in the neighborhood that will be going up....That's how gentrification works.
9
I am actually talking about the gentrification of the neighborhood forcing people to move out
4
Amazon workers will want local strip clubs and bars.
5
It may turn out ok if Amazon does what they did in Seattle. But Amazon should commit to hiring at least a percentage of their work force from Queensbridge. There must be a wide array of positions to be filled. And I am certain there are many tech. savvy people living at the complex that would have a lot to contribute and be an asset to the Amazon work force.
7
@Ariel H Anybody living anywhere can apply for openings they are qualified for.
8
It seems to me that this situation is extremely ripe for a win-win scenario in which Amazon can set up job training programs within Queensbridge and the residents there can then have access to jobs. Lower income people can't get priced out of the neighborhood if they are living in public housing. The next step is to ensure that they have housing options if they become successful enough to leave the public projects but they still need to be able to get to their jobs at Amazon.
4
@Ariel H If they do what they did in Seattle no one will be able to afford to live there. Housing is now super expensive in Seattle with average people priced out.
5
The false sense of entitlement is stunning. Employers make hire decisions on hiring primarily skills and experience in other words qualifications not you living in the neighborhood and thinking you are owed. Public Housing was meant to be a boot strap up for the poor help for a few years not a generational dependency as it has become. Amazon's arrival will create many secondary businesses in the neighborhood many such as places to eat. So if you do not know C++ there can still be a job for you but to think Amazon needs to pay back a community well this was the attitude of the sixties and Corporations left in droves.
58
These tech campuses become islands unto themselves. Techies neither want or care to ever leave. Businesses in SF are going under because there is no more foot traffic. After reading about Amazon's corporate culture, its clear that anyone caught sneaking outside for a slice will have that unforgivable sin show up on their performance review. So much for secondary businesses.
6
What is being ignored here is the lack of Office Development in the Bronx and Staten Island. The seeming lack of Subway transportation between these and other boroughs makes Corporate investment in Queens and Brooklyn seem almost like an afterthought.
2
@malcolm.greenough
I can see what you say applying to Staten Island, but there's subway service in all the other boroughs.
1
Look at East Palo Alto, home to Google.
It used to be one of the crime capitals of the country.
Not anymore.
But housing is no longer affordable, and the prices are forcing many to move away from the South San Francisco Bay.
3
With or without Amazon, the needs of this community are the same — exactly the same.
Built on a formulaic belief that housing involved math, thousands of units were built. These units do not a community make. Without corner stores, squares, parks, offices, restaurants, sports clubs, bars, nightclubs, doctor's offices, etc. This is not a city. These are and will remain warehouses for the poor.
What is needed is surgical restructuring in this massive brick maze which will insert the necessary elements of urban life.
The city could do this, it could correct a generational failure to understand what urban planning is. But with Amazon next door I predict it these citizens will soon be bombarded with the same old "let the private sector prevail" bromides politicians from both parties have preached to them before (and it really is preaching in the religious sense).
Amazon for it's part will sponsor some junior sports leagues in the projects (peanuts) plastering their logo over the stands, and thinking that those people should be grateful we're paying for the astroturf. Don't expect any outreach form the company into the projects to hire them — An American Corporation is not that sort of animal.
13
In the seventies through eighties from west to east, Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens were the thriving neighborhoods of African Americans, Italians, Jews, Puerto Ricans and melting pot of immigrants. Outside these beautiful folks, no one dared to venture into this neighborhoods. It is bittersweet.
7
NYC is a highly desirable place to locate businesses, to work, to live, to visit.
If a major new company like Amazon wants to locate in NY, they need to give back to the community, big time.
If they don't want to, they should go look elsewhere.
Giving back means actively and generously supporting local education, healthcare, libraries, affordable housing, transportation, and the arts, and preventing gentrification and displacement of existing neighbors.
29
@David Keller
fair enough, but NYC is desirable DESPITE the community of which you speak. The people to whom you refer are not what make NYC desirable to outsiders. What makes NYC desirable to outsiders, if we are speaking truth, are
1) the modeling industry (NYC has the highest concentration of super beautiful women anywhere in the world)
2) the nightclub industry (NYC has a dazzling array of nightlife options)
3) the restaurant industry (NYC has the best steak in the USA)
4) the shopping (NYC has the best array of boutiques in the world)
When people like me move here from places like Boston, we never once think about the people to whom you refer. we think, "we'll go to clubs and date models." Most transplants to NYC never meet anyone born in NYC. We just interact with other people who've moved here (for college, work, partying). Even most Brooklyn based bands include only people from other places.
4
@David Keller
That makes no sense
There were many cities wanted Amazon to build their headquarter's in their city.
The people in NYC should be happy that Amazon chose to move there and they should be praised not criticized like you are doing when they decided to accept our invitation.
Why do you think they need to give back to the community.
What did Amazon get from the community that they should give them back something.
They owe the community nothing especially when we invited them to come.
7
@richguy If we are 'speaking the truth', many people who move to NYC decidedly do Not do so to 'go to clubs and date models'. Sure, maybe in your little bubble of NYC. But remember, there are many bubbles, many sub-cultures, in any one of the many neighborhoods, across all five boroughs. Some move here purely for the diversity of people. Some move here from another country, for better education and job opps for themselves and their kids. Some move here to escape poverty and danger in their homeland. Some move here to join other family that moved here before them. Still others come here to pursue an acting career...a musical career.
And still others come simply because it's NYC, and they want the challenge of 'making it here'.
16
Sounds to me that a lot of the complainers don't want a job, they just want a handout.
32
@Giskander
No offense. But you are jumping to conclusions -- and wrong ones at that.
5
I doubt that any of the "complainers" live in Queensbridge or that Queensbridge residents had any input in the location of Amazon. Lots of negativity here - why?
4
Amazon will NOT offer its neighbors jobs and it will destroy any community nearby, just like they did in Seattle. With their takeover of a once vibrant working persons neighborhood they replaced it with massive amounts of too small living for their workforce. Amazon decimated the small service and manufacturing in this Seattle area and displaced everyone but Amazons own. Buyer beware. Only Bezos will benefit
13
@Kathryn Muir
Why shouldn't Bezos benefit.
He was invited.
We want him( even if you do not) more than he needs to come here.
He could have gone someplace else where the people there would be grateful that Amazon chose to move there.
@Kathryn Muir In Seattle Amazon has a work force of around 45,000. In a city of over 3 million that's what percentage of the total population? Under 2%. Yeap no restaurant employees, no car mechanics, no barbers, no doctors, no teachers, no every other job gets work from Amazon employees. Willing to bet Amazon employees contribute very much to that coffee culture in the area.
1
A memorable factoid I learned in the NYT a couple of years ago is that much of the difference in rates of violent crimes between Chicago and New York has to do with the isolation and segragation of low-income neighborhoods in Chicago as opposed to more heterogenous neighborhoods of NYC (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/05/18/us/chicago-murder-problem.html). As a life-long New Yorker and Queens native, I take real pride in that. I also take pride in the fact that Queensbridge, inevitably a site of hardship and poverty, has also become an incubator of, and participant in, NYC's dynamic black culture. The reduction of crime there is also a signal achievement. Adding Amazon to this mix seems to me both a reward for, and an aid to, expanding these trends. Yes, we must make sure that the goodies and incentives the city government has to offer don't go exclusively to the commercial interests least in need of them but it seems to me, notwithstanding the gloom and pessimism so prominent in the article, this is a good news story.
13
Humans are analog not digital.
2
My mom after my dad died managed to get me out of Queensbridge Houses.
That was when I was a young teenager in the 1950's it was already becoming crime ridden, the idea always was that the projects were temporary housing ,even back then tenants were wary of working jobs "on the books" as it would raise income levels way above the poverty requirements to stay in the projects.
The city has always put the problems with it's public housing on the back burner of care ,especially every area that these projects remain is or has become gentrified and no one in public office knows how to incorporate ,welfare housing and that profitable gentrification into help for those living in public housing .
17
@Carlyle T., I think you hit in what went wrong with public housing in general. It was intended to be transitional, temporary housing. But residents, once in, dig in and hold on. Some argue that people get trapped in public housing by circumstances imposed on them by society, and that everyone in the projects wants to get out but can’t. I can’t speak to that. I can speak only to what I have seen. I remember working — more than thirty years ago — with a smart, personable young woman who was a third-generation public housing resident. She was living with her grandmother in the projects and waiting for her own apartment. Her mother lived in the same complex in her own unit. Her grandma took care of this woman’s child, who had been born when the mom was 15. This woman worked a few hours a week as an office temp (“on the books”). She could have worked full-time — the work was offered — but always turned down the extra hours (in order to limit her income, I assumed, although she never said why). I saw her turn down multiple offers for full-time jobs, with full benefits. That could be interpreted as her working the public housing system by limiting her income, or as the thought process of someone with terminally quashed (by upbringing, or society) ambition. A safety net can also be a trap.
44
I think it is worth mentioning a couple of facts here:
1) If Amazon hires a local, it means they are not hiring someone else, who might very well need that job and be deserving of it as well. “Me first” always means someone comes second.
2) Businesses and rich people coming to a city is by itself a positive thing. They pay taxes and spend money in other businesses that could employ people in difficult situations. Gentrification is only a problem because cities are not able to accommodate their own growth, in terms of housing and infrastructure.
3) It is not companies’ job to help neighborhoods beyond their self-interest. Their role is to pay taxes, and let the city, the state or whatever public entity help them. That includes infrastructure building and encouraging housing development.
Unfortunately, it is much easier to sign a tax rebate check than to tackle infrastructure, housing and employability issues, so incompetent politicians will tend to favor the first option (tying their own hands) over the other ones, even though they are the healthiest way for cities to compete against each other for new businesses.
The situation of people living in this estates is pretty bad, but trying to find a solution (or even some help) directly from Amazon does not make sense.
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@Mentallect Personal attacks are rarely clever. Personal attacks on someone on the internet you know nothing about are certainly not better, and neither are arguments such as “I have a MBA, so believe me when I say this is important”.
Regarding the actual arguments, you still haven’t addressed my points: Amazon have not stolen any money, and it is not their role to run welfare (besides, why should welfare or community support be targeted at this housing estate, rather than at all the others in NYC?). It is the role of public entities, which should indeed run a fair taxation system and never have granted tax breaks in the first place. Attacking Amazon is barking at the wrong tree.
And France is not a company. That is why they have been and are taking stances about that kind of matters.
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@Mentallect France helped us during the Revolution out of their own self interest. They were battling England world wide as to expansion and had their own people here they wished to encourage. Yeah Amazon gets tax breaks but their new employees will also pay taxes as Amazon will increase property taxes collected from them and their employees collected.
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@Mentallect
The French didn't help us out of the goodness of their heart. They (Louis XVI, hardly a friend of democracy or the unfortunate) helped us as part of their rivalry, often war, with England.
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Folks living there should be planning contingencies. They will not be qualified (even as janitors) to work there, and don’t have access to the skillsets necessary (most aren’t high functioning ASD necessary to thrive in impersonal fully quantized environment). No doubt the major reason why This area’s bid was won was the win-win aspect. Cheap apartments and space for Amazons new city, ability to get rod of ,”useless “ peoples (in Silicon Valley terms) that tax the resources of Queens. Disagree? Look at all the other examples of mega- employers in San Francisco and Seattle.
What to do- start planning contingencies- there is no interest or will to stop the monster.
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If SF , Seattle and Portland were not enough of a wake-up call, NYC needs to absolutely STOP any desire to be a true 'tech hub'. It spells the downfall of communities, the arts and cultural diversity everywhere it goes.
Amazon and Bezos have NO place in a progressive city like NYC, and this nightmare needs to be stopped.
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@Anna I already placed my call to Jimmy Van Bramer's office to voice my disapproval. Here are the various numbers where folks can call to say We Don't Want Amazon Here.
Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer: 718-383-9566 [press "0" for person]
Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 929-388-6141 [leave a message if no one picks up]
Congressmember Carolyn B. Maloney: 718-932-1804
State Senate Michael Ginaris: (718) 728-0960
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@Anna
Only Brooklyn residents talk about cultural diversity. I live in lower Manhattan. TBH, we just want Brookfield place and great sushi and nightclubs. I've lived in both Brooklyn (9 years) and Battery Park City (8 years). Brooklyn and Manhattan are totally different worlds. People in Manhattan care about world class restaurants, world class designer boutiques, and world class skyscrapers. I really feel as if Manhattan and Brooklyn are two different cities.
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@richguy I don't know that I'd equate Battery Park City with 'Manhattan'. There are plenty of parts of Manhattan, from top to bottom, that are still quite diverse. BPC however, is its own little world, and indeed, as you seemed to imply, completely devoid of any real character. It's a little insulated bubble of 'luxury living', and not all that different from say the LIC waterfront area...just gleaming towers with doormen, and otherwise no real connection to the surrounding neighborhood or other members of the community who don't live in luxury apartments. It's very self-segregated.
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NIMBYism isn't restricted to middle class homeowners. The prevailing attitude among all sectors of society seems to be "If some development is taking place anywhere in my proximity and it doesn't directly benefit me, I'm against it".
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@PWR Nice try to try and 'dismiss' other opinions. So if someone is against Amazon, it's simply because their coming here 'won't benefit us personally'? Actually, some people DO care about others. Some of us actually care about small businesses. Some of us actually care about others less fortunate than our own selves, in being able to continue to live in their homes and rental apartments, without being pushed out by rapacious 'developers'. If Amazon comes, RE development of 'luxury apartments' in LIC and surrounding areas will not only continue, but likely increase.
We don't need more luxury apt bldgs. We don't need an influx of Amazon workers further taxing our already stretched subway system.
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@PWR That is so true: people always blame “big business” and incompetent politicians for the lack of affordable housing, but NIMBYism that caused it comes from pretty much all levels of society. At least the thinking along the lines of “I don’t have much, why should I accept anything that goes against my interest?” is more understandable amongst poorer people; it doesn’t make it right though.
@PWR
How about if Amazon comes here, my commute gets more expensive, the local convenience store I can barely afford to purchase from now gets replaced by a Whole Foods I cannot buy, and displaced a local small business owner I knew. The low income housing someone lives in now will be closed by politicians after developers lobby them to push current residents further out so they can construct million dollar plus condos like happens whenever massive wealth enters an area? NIMBYism is less an evil than CONSERVATISM.
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There will be hundreds of new jobs that qualified residents of the this neighboring apartment complex will be able to apply for. The thousands of new offices will have to be cleaned nightly and there will be dozens of in-house cafeterias to feed the tens of thousands of new Amazon workers! Most of the service jobs will not require high skill levels and transportation will be easy. In NYC these jobs usually pay well, especially if the Hotel Workers Union can organize there!
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However, if these jobs pay a decent wage, the people in the projects will lose their right to live there because they make too much
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I hope that Amazon will make a special effort to offer jobs to people in Queeensbridge Houses and other communities. Even at a high tech company like Amazon, there are needs for many different types of workers.
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Why would you open a story about public housing with a "clever" anecdote about stolen packages? It needlessly perpetuates cultural stereotypes, not to mention the fact that packages left unattended in any building lobby in a major urban center is likely to be stolen.
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@Adam Because it's true, not just 'clever'.
'...the fact that packages left unattended in any building lobby in a major urban center is likely to be stolen...'
Another ringing endorsement for urban neighborhoods.
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@NYC Taxpayer (and a dismissal of anyone who lives in one.)
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@Adam Have rented on the upper west side of Manhattan in a "good neighborhood" for 8 years ... packages are always left unattended in our lobby ... I've never had anything stolen, not once
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I live in New York City because I love New York City, and have for 20 years. In those decades I've watched the struggling artists and not-wealthy get pushed further and further out, and then away, replaced with chain stores and shiny glass buildings. I know that change is inevitable anywhere, but I'm really mourning the loss of character in the city. So many people live in New York City because of money now, and don't add any spirit to it. They don't even know their way around the neighborhoods they live in. Articles like this make me see yet another nail in the coffin.
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@Goth Brooks
That's only one vision/version of NYC. I live in Manhattan and a thrilled by those new shiny buildings. My dream is to buy a 3BR with a view of them. I love Brookfield Place. I do not love Starbucks. That's one chain I don't like. I greatly prefer Whole Foods to other markets.
I've been in NYC since 1994 (over 20 years). I used to be an East Village punk type. Now, I see that that bohemian way of life was only a small part of NYC. The North by Northwest/Great Gatsby version of NYC has been a huge part of the city dating back over 100 years. I used to think the East Village was the center of the universe. Now, I know it is and has always been just a corner of a massive city/world., which has always been known for its hotels, restaurants, shopping, Central Park, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.
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Good luck with your dream of an3 bedroom apartment
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@Goth Brooks
One of the worst ways that New York City street life has changed in the past few decades is the increase in people whose eyes are glued to their phone screens no matter where they are and what they are doing: in the middle of landings heading down to subways, in the middle of sidewalks, letting doors slam in people's faces as they walk down the street, having to "slalom" around people on the sidewalks because they have their noses stuck to their screens. No strangers interacting or talking anymore in day-to-day life, which used to be one of the most enjoyable things about New York City. I guess what I am saying is, sadly, NYC is already over. Amazon is not going to change it.
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Amazon is exactly the LAST thing NYC needs.How about affordable housing,Gov??Robots will be working there NOT real people and we don't need anymore stress put on our crumbling infrastructure.Go away Amazon and take Amazon Cuomo with you.
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Housing everywhere would be a lot more affordable if the market wasn't artificially flooded with government subsidized housing and rent control.
Just say no to good PR: that housing project is called a tear down, ready to be replaced by gleaming new condo glass towers with sunken hot tubs on the balconies and Amazon Go stores in their lobbies.
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This is a very confusing article.
Amazon is a business. It needs to focus on running its operations and on generating profits for its shareholders.
Why are all the NYCHA problems like lead paint, or the fact that it's buildings are infested with crime any responsibility of Amazon?
Are NYCHA and NYCHA residents responsible for Amazon's operations?
Lets have clarity of thinking, please.
Let Amazon do what it does best - run its business.
Let NYCHA do what it does "best" - run its rousing projects.
Let NYCHA residents run and be responsible for their lives.
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@Baron95
The only snag in your argument above is that Amazon's 'business' model requires massive PUBLIC subsidies that in fact end up pulling money out of budgets that otherwise might go to 'running' housing projects.
So while Amazon does not literally 'owe' any one person a job, they do in fact 'owe' the city and community a huge debt for the corporate welfare they will receive.
@Jerseyjon
"Amazon's 'business' model requires massive PUBLIC subsidies that in fact end up pulling money out of budgets that otherwise might go to 'running' housing projects."
Again, you are portraying Amazon as the only agent and the only one with decision power. That is flawed thinking.
NY State and NY City decided that facilitating Amazon's section will be a net positive - otherwise they would not have done it.
So Amazon gets the net positive of some concessions, NY/NYC get the net positive of Amazon's hiring, development investment, taxes, etc.
Are you claiming that NY/NYC are incapable of analyzing a business proposition and making an informed decision?
If so, we have bigger problems, being governed by people incapable of making good decisions.
I think the system worked beautifully. Each location made a cost-benefit analysis, so did Amazon, and a reasonable balance was likely achieved.
Likely a win-win, even though you seem to think it is a win-lose.
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@Baron95
Actually I agree with the premise that this is a net win-win for NYC and Amazon.
My point was that Amazon has no obligation to hire locals purely because they are locals, but they do have an larger obligation to the community they are disrupting. I believe that one of their stated criteria was NOT to seriously displace existing communities. So yes they do have something larger at stake than just hiring the 25k most qualified and available people, which they of course will do as their business requires. They are still at heart a consumer-facing company and long-term bad-PR coming from this could be something that tips the scales of economic efficiency against them.
I think the larger issue this decision illustrates was captured very well in another Times article, which is that while this is good for Amazon and presumably NY and VA, the formation of mega-cities at the expense of all others only further polarizes this country economically in the long run.
As far as I have seen, the "big 3" - Amazon, Google, Facebook - only do "nice" things for the optics. These corporate behemoths, IMO, are not genuinely interested in being good neighbors in the areas where they have a large presence.
They'll do a few things for show - to throw a bone to the area, basically - but in reality, they take advantage of an area and don't much care who they displace or what effect they have. They're closed systems, unto themselves.
NONE of these companies should get any tax advantage or any other form of government assistance to move to NYC (or anywhere, really). NYC does NOT need these companies to have huge offices here. All this does is congest the place even more, and make the area unaffordable to regular working people.
And, BTW, the drinking culture of both FB and Google is NOT something anyone wants in their area. I live near the offices of one of these corporate entities, and what flourishes nearby is the brainless "bro" culture of excessive drinking along with disrespect for the local residents. I don't know if Amazon is the same, but from what I've seen, bringing in lots of young workers making $100k+ lends itself to the "bro" culture, and NOT to livable neighborhoods.
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For Bezos, $100million is chump change. Amazon should upgrade every apartment in this housing project and guarantee rent stabilization for new/upgraded buildings in Queens.
Just as Goldman Sachs et al should pay a 1% tithing to NYC for subway improvements as they depend on workers who must commute to their offices.
It is not humanitarian or charitable--it is pragmatic. A healthy secure workforce is more productive in a robust community. More consumers means better business.
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@Sara - Agreed. It would just be quid pro quo for these big companies: they get tax breaks/incentives, they can give back to the community.
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@Sara, the decrepit state of NYC infrastructure and housing has to do with decades of inept management, outdated regulations, unions and corrupt leaders cow-towing to special interests. Amazon has decided to open a HQ here despite all of this. As long as they pay their fair share of taxes and provide good paying jobs for the local economy, they have done their part. It is NYC's responsibility, not Amazon's, to figure out how to deal with the city's socioeconomic problems.
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Raising kids in NYC I am excited that another premier company has picked LIC as a location for a main office. Raising children in the city I keep asking myself what am I sacrificing by not moving to the suburbs. And what I think NYC offers for my kids is perspective. Kids see an Amazon headquarters and the question should be what do I need to do to get a job there? Obviously, this is multiplied by all the other opportunities NYC has to offer. Unfortunately, some seem to think a career like that is out of their reach, but I would not blame Amazon for that.
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@PS: Just my opinion, but I'd hope you are raising your children to aim higher than "How can I get a job with Amazon," because Amazon is just the high-tech version of "Do you want fries with that?"
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@L
Are you kidding.
Name a couple of places to work that are better than Amazon.
Do you mean working for corporations like Goldman Saks J.P. Morgan or The New York Times.
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@L Best check Amazon pay vs burger places. Working for a major world wide power corp is not to be sneezed at.
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What remain unclear to me after reading this article are the environmental impact studies that should be discuss prior to establishing such enterprise. 1. The study should include but not limited to the location, size of facilities, transportation and traffic conditions, and discussions with the communities.
2. The City should also be involved and transparent about gentrification as it relates housing, job training, relocation and corporate welfare.
These are my concerns off the top of my head; but it difficult for me to image the business model of Amazon operations such as the logistical support of trucks moving from Long Island to the airports or near by drop shipping facilities.
And lastly, what is the quality of life for local residents will look like by 2021? Peace.
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Amazon is not opening a warehouse in LIC! They intend to operate an second headquarters! These will primarily be office jobs with a significant support staff. NO shipping or trucking is contemplated!
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Donna, you vastly overestimate the number of support staff Amazon has. They don’t work that way. Their corporate structure is ruthlessly lean.
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@FlipFlop 25,000 employees and a head quarters NOT distribution.
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They say average salary is $100K plus. I'm sure the top people will be making way in excess of that, thus driving up the average. It would be a truer picture if they released the MEDIAN salary.
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Living in Seattle and seeing the actual impact of amazon and their rich, tech bros, makes me cringe. Amazon does not have a reputation here of giving back in a real way. They seemingly do it for looks. I would love to see them give free coding programs to folks in their new neighborhood and then hire them, but I have little hope. Here's to hoping, but sadly knowing Amazon is too selfish to look beyond itself.
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@Jordan H
Thank you for the fore and hindsight which most likely, will be ignored.
..."creating a training program for the food service and culinary industries for less-advantaged residents."...
Why not a tech training program? If anyone thinks that some high school training on computers is enough to get a "tech job" think again. It take much more than that!
I'm also curious if any of those who have found success in the music industry have given back to the project. It's great to chronicle the struggles in lyrics, but it does nothing to improve the situation.
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@B Dawson They won't be employees anyway: cleaning and cooking services are contract positions at most large companies.
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Average salaries of amazon workers is less than $30k. Major, if it is a good opportunity for the city, show us how amazon is going to contribute to the community in significant ways in numbers and projects that they will fund for the public. Also, no tax incentives for this opportunistic company.
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@Eh You are incorrect. As many others have said, this will be a HQ, not a warehouse operation. The average salary for skilled workers at Amazon is well over $100k. Of course, you'll need at least a four-year degree to get most of these jobs, though there should be hundreds of support positions available to those with less education, some skills, and drive.
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That is exactly a point. Low skilled amazon employees make less than $30k. Do we need more quality opportunities for people who otherwise would be struggling in NY, which apparently amazon seems to be hiring high skilled labors in New York, so it doesn’t really directly benefit much for the neighborhood. Or, do we need to be happy for people coming in already making good money and they would be contributing pushing even further on living costs in NY. And...whether we want to believe it or not, the existing neighborhood in Long Island will be gentrified. While all these are happening, Jeff bezos will get even richer than now.
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"the new neighbor will be one of the world’s most profitable and famous high-tech companies, bringing what could be a work force of 25,000 people making salaries upward of $100,000."
Where will those 25,000 people live?
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@Bob Rossi - I don't anticipate that many will be living in the Queensbridge Houses. Those with the $100K tech skills that Amazon is looking for would be making far too much money to qualify for public housing.
The Long Island City area that is being discussed is in close proximity to rail and subway lines that can transport people into the area from across NYC and the Long Island suburbs. Rail commuters from Westchester & CT arriving at Grand Central Station would be a short subway ride away.
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@Bob Rossi I cannot be certain but I do not think people making 100 grand a year will be looking to move into an apartment in the projects. New York has plenty of housing opportunities for people with 6 figure incomes. If anything this is an opportunity for the low income people that live in the Queensbridge Houses to improve their income and employment circumstances.
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@Bob Rossi Sadly, if NY is anything like my hometown of Dallas, the public-housing residents will be pushed out and their apartments will be replaced with new, shiny, unreasonably expensive units for the high-income Amazon workers.
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