Amazon Grows in New York, Reviving Debate Over Abandoned Queens Project
“This is a tiny fraction of the jobs, with no help for public housing residents or locals, in a place that was going to be developed and have jobs anyway,†Eric Phillips, a former press secretary for Mayor Bill de Blasio, wrote on Twitter.
In an interview, Mr. Gianaris discounted that argument. He predicted that Amazon would continue to expand in New York steadily to the point that the size of its local force would ultimately equal what had been promised in Queens.
“This is where the talent is,†Mr. Gianaris said, noting that both Google and Facebook had announced substantial expansions in Manhattan in the past year. “They can’t sacrifice the talent to the competition.â€
Amazon’s growth in New York has been healthy in recent years.
In 2017 — as it searched for where to put a second headquarters to augment its Seattle base — Amazon said separately that it planned to bring more than 2,000 jobs to New York City over three years and to create about 6,000 jobs in New York State by 2019.
When it dropped the Queens project in February, the company said it had more than 5,000 employees in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island, where it operates a warehouse, and that it planned “to continue growing these teams.â€
On Friday, it put the size of its New York City work force at over 8,000, with 3,500 of those employed at what it calls its New York City tech hub. It was unclear whether the 1,500 people expected to work in the 10th Avenue building starting in late 2021 would fill newly created positions.
“We plan to continue to hire and grow organically across our 18 tech hubs, including New York City,†an Amazon spokeswoman said.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/nyregion/amazon-hudson-yards.html?emc=rss&partner=rss