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Why Amazon Is Caught in an Unexpected Brawl in New York

#1

I was surprised that less affluent groups and minorities were for Amazon coming to NYC, although I was aware that locals in my area would be in favor. I live in Murray Hill, and it has a large number of software developers, in number and percentage, in Manhattan, and many - most? - people in our zip code earn in the six figures.

I've worked as a software developer for over 15 years, and have occasionally been contacted by Amazon for my skills, although I would not put too much on this as I am always being contacted by recruiters, much of worthless. Although I am likely to benefit from Amazon coming to NYC, I am not a fan of the deal in its current incarnation. It takes too much money from our coffers, circumvents city governance, will place a large burden on existing resources, and will drive up costs for many New York residents. It seems the biggest boosters would be the real estate industry, along with anyone that might be able to profit from selling to the behemoth...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/nyregion/amazon-nyc-hq2.html?comments#permid=30601407

#2

@stuckincali - Do you know they will be getting jobs? At best, this is a notion, and Amazon is not obligated to deliver anything, nor is there any penalty if it does not deliver. Everything about this is exploitative, from taxes to the circumvention of local input, with a promise of jobs and support. Even then, if there are to be jobs, will that be greater than the costs incurred, the increase in rents, the displacement of locals?

https://nyti.ms/2V0DAzK#permid=30604967

#3

I recently attended a lecture at my employer, MSKCC, given by Annie Duke, about decisions, and the flaw in many is assuming the quality of a decision by its outcome. Considering Amazons' initial position, deals from the state and city, arranged to circumvent local decision-making, it might have looked like an easy choice. So what would a probabilistic solution look like?

I'll assume desirability is enough to make NYC a choice, as many/most major cities have similar problems with transportation. Making some assumptions, the deciding factors would be how well one could source adequate land, in a suitable location, at a manageable price, with support from politicians, with access to enough tech-savvy people, and support from locals. In this instance, the backlash of a sizeable minority of voters, skewing toward the liberal, educated and affluent.

In the end, one wonders if it was a bad decision by Amazon or one that had a low probability of occurrence, but occurred.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/business/amazon-new-york-city.html?comments#permid=30650011

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