E-commerce giant Amazon has ditched its plan to build a new headquarters in New York City and will instead proceed solely with the development of its new Northern Virginia facility. 

The internet behemoth named fashion hub New York City and Northern Virginia as the locations for its new headquarters in November of last year after more than a year of speculation and a contest in which major cities vied for Amazon’s favour.

But in a blog post yesterday (14 February), Amazon said “after much thought and deliberation”, it has decided not to move forward with plans to build a headquarters in Long Island City, Queens.  

“For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term. While polls show that 70% of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.

“We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion—we love New York, its incomparable dynamism, people, and culture—and particularly the community of Long Island City, where we have gotten to know so many optimistic, forward-leaning community leaders, small business owners, and residents. There are currently over 5,000 Amazon employees in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island, and we plan to continue growing these teams.”

Amazon added it does not intend to reopen the search for a second headquarters but will proceed as planned in Northern Virginia and Nashville, where it plans to develop a new Center of Excellence for its operations business, which is responsible for the company’s customer fulfilment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities.

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