Not everyone is happy about Amazon's announcement Tuesday that it will split its much-anticipated second headquarters between New York City and Arlington, Virginia.
Its New York location will be in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, while its Arlington offices will be located in an area called National Landing. Each site will get 25,000 jobs. In addition, the online retailer said it will open an operations hub in Nashville, creating 5,000 jobs.
The decision ends an intense competition between North American cities to win Amazon and its promise of 50,000 new jobs. Some locations tried to stand out with stunts, but Amazon made clear that it really wanted incentives, like tax breaks and grants. The company received 238 proposals before narrowing the list to 20 in January.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam cheered Amazon's choice of Arlington as one of two new headquarters locations for Amazon. He says the state will continue to invest in infrastructure and education as a key part of the partnership.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo, who said he'd be willing to change his name to ``Amazon Cuomo'' to land the deal at one point, said the state should be proud for landing, ``one of the largest, most competitive economic development investments in U.S. history.'' The state offered Amazon more than $1.5 billion in incentives if it creates 25,000 jobs in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.
But, not everyone in New York and Virginia are happy. Some see the billions in tax breaks as corporate welfare while others are worried about home values and school overcrowding in areas where it's already a problem for many residents.
Source: Associated Press
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