Will Amazon finally be present in NYC?

If you are reading this, there is almost no chance that you do not know what a giant Amazon is. Recently I visited 12 fashion/tech companies and a couple of conferences, and Amazon was mentioned as a strong competitor and the main concern every single time.

One of the biggest plans of the company is to build 2 new offices in Arlington, Virginia and New York, New York. While Virginia’s government is excited to host such a company and even promised to provide $750 million in cash incentives, New York’s situation is more complicated, because this activity is combated by some politicians as well as activists. Recently this fact led to some rumors saying that Amazon is going to reconsider this decision and will take a look at another possible options.

What kind of benefits are going to be provided?

1.     One of the most obvious is that 25,000 to 40,000 jobs with average salary of $150,000 will be created. Additionally, Amazon plans to resume workshops at Queensbridge Houses starting in 2020 as well as open a training center focused on engineering courses, giving an opportunity to underprivileged New Yorkers to get higher paid jobs;

2.     Now I notice a trend of tech-savvys to move to the Bay area in order to find a job in a well-know and respectable companies as Facebook and Google. So Amazon’s presence will help to preserve these talents;

3.     Expected tax revenue of more than $10 billion over the next 20 years

4.     Even though Bloomberg already refers to New York as “the best place on the planet for technology. This happening will help to secure the name of a developed tech city;

5.     Local businesses also find this idea plausible since new residents will bring more revenue.

There are also downsides that make politicians and activists unwilling to accept the offer.

1.     There is no guarantee that transport system will be able to handle so many commuters;

2.     There is a strong concern that real estate prices as well as living costs will rise, making income gap even bigger and more noticeable;

3.     For low income citizens blue-collar jobs are going to be created. It is a noble intention, besides the fact that quite often work conditions for this kind of jobs leave much to be desired;

4.     Mentioned training program aims to address the issue 3, but it is highly possible that cost of living will rise at faster pace then salaries and skills of trainees.

Taking into account all the information, this deal seems to be questionable. Let’s stay tuned to know what the result is going to be.

FYI