There has been some good commentary on the Amazon withdrawal on these pages, but forgotten in this whole drama is Nassau County’s own bid, which is eye-popping in itself. First, let me say it was cynical and manipulative of Mr. Bezos to dangle this “prize” in front of a national audience.
Municipalities, some with few resources to spare and no hope of winning, spent quite a bit on promotion and grandiose promises that I doubt could be fulfilled by many of them. It was a sad spectacle and a reflection of the dystopian economics of our country. A race to the bottom.The Mangano Administration offered:
$215 million in sales and use tax exemptions, meaning they were exempt from charging or paying sales taxes up to this limit.
Exemption from mortgage recording taxes: $26.25 million. Remember how they wanted to raise YOURS.
Lastly, a Property Tax exemption of a whopping $2 billion.
The sheer scale of this exemption is remarkable.
Remember Nassau County’s economy generates $84 billion. New York City’s GDP is $1.55 trillion and exceeds the economic output of 46 states. Now compare the city’s $3 billion in exemptions to Nassau’s offer. How the County was supposed to be made whole from this is anyone’s guess.
What also wasn’t considered was the effect it would have in the highly remote chance it won the bid.
Technology hubs generate a lot of jobs and revenue. They also generate a lot of problems for municipalities who have to deal with the penalties of success.
As an example, San Francisco, one of America’s most beautiful cities, only allowed the construction of one dwelling for every four jobs created thanks to strict zoning laws imposed by existing residents.
The city not only has an intractable housing crisis that is now turning people away, but the sidewalks seem to have something left on them besides hearts if you get my drift. The quality of life has suffered.
Seattle, Amazon’s home town, has massive housing problems. The city council voted to impose a $275 per employee annual fee for every large employer in the city, the funds used to reduce homelessness and build affordable housing.
The cost to Amazon would have been less than the difference of one hour’s trading of the stock, well under $50 million. Mr. Bezos threatened the City by stating he wouldn’t build any more in Seattle if the tax went through.
The city council caved immediately. When it comes to civic responsibility, Mr. Bezos makes the Walton family look like St. Francis of Assisi. That’s one reason I didn’t accept Gov. Cuomo’s and Mayor DeBlasio’s assurances that “things could be worked out” once the mass displacement of existing residents in Long Island City commenced.
If the experiences of these other cities are any guide, this deal could have bought the city a lot of misery.
One could only imagine the outcry from Nassau residents if Amazon located here.
First, since our housing template is stuck in 1965, there would be a problem accommodating all of these new workers. And this workforce is not at all like the one that built the county.
The day of the “30-year man” ended a long time ago, and this workforce is highly mobile, and wants the kind of amenities only a densely populated urban environment can provide. They’re not going to buy four-bedroom homes and they’re not into tending lawns.
And in a county where a knife fight can break out over the expansion of a school parking lot, I don’t think we would have done a good job accommodating them. If there’s one word to describe Nassau County, it’s “stasis.”
But throughout all this, no one was thinking of the outcomes.
All they could focus on was the “victory” of winning the bright shiny object.
New York’s job market and economy is already on fire. While I wouldn’t have minded if Amazon located here, I wouldn’t mourn their loss. Amazon needs New York more than New York needs Amazon.
