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NYC to Amazon: “Kids don’t want to be in a suburban office park.”
City Hall throws its hat in the ring for Amazon’s $5B HQ
New York may face long odds to win the competition for Amazon’s second headquarters, but that’s not stopping it from trying.
Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen told Bloomberg that City Hall is preparing a pitch to the online shopping giant and is requesting proposals from developers and business groups about possible locations.
“Kids want to work in NYC,” she said. “They don’t want to be in a suburban office park.”
City Hall wants to tout the proximity to other industries and the example of Google, which has an office in Chelsea, as selling points for the Big Apple.
Last week, Seattle-based Amazon said it is seeking proposals for the location of a second headquarters that it claims could cost $5 billion to build and create 50,000 jobs over 15 to 17 years.
Mehul Patel of technology salary tracking firm Hired said high housing costs are a strong argument against New York because they might force Amazon to pay higher salaries. “Amazon is going to optimize for the lowest salaries and highest quality talent,” Patel said. “They’re enough of a brand name employer they can lure local graduates and recruit from bigger markets and they can pay less.” [Bloomberg] — Konrad Putzier