Opinion

Morning Poll: Would You Support Amazon Shifting New York’s Half of HQ2 to Arlington?

Update at 11:45 a.m. — The Washington Post is now reporting that Amazon is “reconsidering” its New York City plans.

Earlier: There is some local opposition to Amazon’s forthcoming Arlington presence and incentive package, but it’s nothing compared to the public protests and opposition from elected officials in New York.

“Amazon doesn’t care about locals who live in Long Island City,” said a key New York state senator who’s among the leading critics of the incentive package offered to the tech giant. “All they care about is how much they can squeeze out of the public till in New York.”

That lawmaker, state Sen. Michael Gianaris, has been appointed to an oversight board that has the power to torpedo the deal. Meanwhile, Virginia’s incentive package for Amazon was signed into law this week.

Should Gianaris or other NYC Amazon critics manage to turn up the heat on the company to a boiling point, it’s possible that Amazon’s plans for a huge new office and 25,000-40,000 additional jobs in New York could fall apart.

Should that happen, hypothetically, might Arlington be the beneficiary? Amazon could opt to make Arlington its full “HQ2,” as originally proposed during the HQ2 search.

If that were to happen, would you support Amazon doubling its presence in Arlington? Or should they look elsewhere?

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  • Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. Started by a Pentagon City resident who has spent the past several years working in local TV news, ARLnow.com seeks to distinguish itself with original, enterprising, up-to-the-minute local coverage.

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