When Amazon confirmed the winners today in its 14-month competition among cities and states to be the site of its “HQ2,” the reactions were almost painfully mixed. That was true even among the winners: Long Island City, Queens, and Crystal City, Va., which came out ahead of 20 finalists, including Brooklyn and two other New York City contenders.
While Amazon has pledged total investments of $5 billion and the hiring of 50,000 workers, the economic largesse comes with complications. Critics voiced complaints about the secrecy of the process, a bait-and-switch outcome, pressure on housing prices and transportation, and excessive state subsidies for one of the world’s richest corporations. A selection from the week’s reporting and commentary: