FORBES (FEBRUARY 13, 2019) – Losing HQ2 would cost Long Island City and greater New York up to 40,000 jobs. Estimated revenues over the next 25 years from a local Amazon headquarters are estimated at $27.5 billion.
Greg Willett, chief economist for property management software firm RealPage, says the move would be more or less unprecedented.
“Turning down the creation of thousands of high-paying jobs is rare, if not completely unprecedented,” Willett said. “Cities generally chase those opportunities, evidenced by the hundreds of initial bids for Amazon HQ2. It’s not unusual for there to be some complaints about the magnitude of incentives offered in attracting big employers, but objections generally don’t come from within the staff of government officials.”
Read more at: FORBES.