Critics slam Amazon’s HQ2 deal as ‘corporate welfare’

Image: Moment Editorial/Getty Images

Not everyone is happy with the deals Amazon made when it picked the multiple locations for its so-called second headquarters.

Some residents and representatives of New York’s Long Island City and Virginia’s Arlington reacted to Tuesday’s announcement with concerns over how the offices will impact their communities and the various incentives (mostly financial) that Amazon cultivated. Among them: just how Amazon’s move to the neighborhood will effect the cost of living and strain already struggling infrastructure. 

In a tweet thread, U.S. Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district includes Long Island City, criticized New York state’s decision to provide Amazon with big tax breaks and questioned whether current residents would end up being displaced as a result of rising rent.

Other local elected officials in New York City voiced criticism as well. NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson and State Senator Mike Gianaris both specifically knocked the deal for excluding input from those living in the community.

It’s not just talk from New York elected officials either. According to journalist David Sirota, New York Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim is looking to block the Amazon deal.

Some Amazon critics point out that all 50,000 jobs and investment from the company was originally touted as going towards one location. Amazon later split HQ2 up between New York and Virginia. Furthermore, Amazon announced a third non-HQ location in its HQ2 announcement in Nashville, where the company will be receiving tax subsidies as well.

One Twitter user uncovered that some of the investment Amazon says they will be providing for the local community had already been planned for the site.

Over in Virginia, many were confused over Amazon’s reference to “National Landing” when discussing the Arlington H2 location. It turns out that Amazon and city officials have decided to rebrand an area of the community that encompasses Crystal City as “National Landing.”

In an unusual move, Amazon will also receive a heads up regarding any FOIA requests concerning the company.

Amid discussion of how the influx of Amazon employees will affect an already overcrowded bus and subway system in New York City, one nugget of information from the deal is receiving some extra anger from critics. Lena Afridi of the non-profit affordable housing organization Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development noticed that public money will go towards building a helipad for Amazon. This detail was part of both New York and Virginia’s legal agreements with Amazon.

Obviously, the outrage over subsidizing a company as rich as Amazon is only exacerbated by the fact CEO Jeff Bezos is the richest man on the planet.

If your city wasn’t declared as one of the “winners” of Amazon’s HQ2, you might feel good after reading some of these critiques. But, as MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle points out, even if your city submitted a proposal for HQ2, Jeff Bezos likely extracted something out of your community too. 

When Amazon first invited cities to vie for the company’s new headquarters, critics labeled the competition as a marketing ploy early on. However, it seems like it could have been more of a data collection scheme than just an advertising gimmick.

Amazon may very well deliver on all of its promises to the two HQ2 cities. The move could mean tens of thousands of high-paying jobs and millions in community investments, which would be a boon to any city. But only time will tell if the bargain is ultimately worth it.