New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lined up a list of supporters for company to change its mind and build an 3 parcel headquarters in Long Island City/Queens, NYC….
He got the NY Times to feature the list on its pages….
Now Bloomberg Business is reporting that a big business guy that supports and follows the company thinks they will ultimately do the deal in the Big Apple…
Bear in mind?
The New York Governor has made moves to sure up support for an Amazon presence and has removed obstacles in government that existed prior to the Amazon decision to withdraw it’s plans….
(There has been a backlash against progressives/lefties for fighting the NYC project)
We’ll see if company is still interested …..
“We remain unconvinced that it has officially closed the door on New York City for one of its second headquarters locations,” wrote D.A. Davidson analyst Tom Forte, who has a buy rating on Amazon, along with a $2,450 price target that represents the highest view on the Street.
Forte, citing media reports, wrote that New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio has been inefficient at driving jobs growth through spending. “The potential to add jobs via Amazon looks a lot more attractive given his failures,” he wrote, adding that a recent 10-K filing from Amazon included a new section that outlined “the risks from being unable to hire and retain highly skilled and other key personnel.”
Amazon is taking “logical steps to combat this risk including raising its minimum wage to $15 and its HQ2 searches, expanding its presence in other major metropolitan areas,” Forte wrote to clients.
In February, Amazon said it wasn’t going forward with a previously announced plan to open a headquarters in Long Island City, Queens. The move followed opposition to the benefits package offered to the company, including close to $3 billion in tax breaks and subsidies.
Following the announcement, Forte wrote that Amazon “may be bluffing” about shutting the door on New York City, suggesting it could simply have been using the announcement “as a means to get the government back to the table.” A major New York City location, he wrote, makes “geographic sense” for Amazon given it is expanding its efforts in advertising and media…..