Amazon's announcement earlier this month to split its second headquarters between Long Island City in New York's Queens borough and Arlington, Va.'s Crystal City neighborhood brought an onslaught of backlash from many New Yorkers who claim the move will cause even more issues for the state, NBC News reports.
Amazon's decision to build its second headquarters in New York marks the state's largest economic development project in history, bringing roughly 40,000 jobs and billions of dollars in tax revenue, the report states. However, the $3.6 billion project is drawing criticism from citizens and politicians who claim the city will face the same issues currently affecting Seattle, where the company's primary headquarters is located.
Chief among those complaints is that the decision was made without local input and that the influx of workers may cause issues with the city's already crippling subway system, housing prices, and increased income inequality and homelessness. Initial outrage over the deal's announcement has not ceased. NBC News reports protestors crowded Amazon's retail store in Manhattan Nov. 26 to voice their opposition to the development.
However, experts told NBC News there are several key differences between New York and Seattle, meaning that certain issues in one area may not crop up in the other. Mitchell Moss, director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at the New York City-based New York University, told the news station Amazon's move to Long Island City may ease overcrowding in the area, as new workers will likely be commuting from Brooklyn and Manhattan and "filling empty trains," he said.
"[Seattle is] an auto and bus culture, [while] New York is a subway city," Mr. Moss said. "There is not a caravan of Amazon employees coming to occupy and jam the trains."
Several city planning experts told NBC News Amazon should be aware of the city's near-term optics so that its long-term investment pays off.
"If [Amazon is] seen as making the quality of life better, that will make their investment one that will pay off in a much more tangible, smoother way," one expert told the publication.
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