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November 13, 2018

Amazon Selects Queens, NY and D.C. Suburb for Headquarters Expansion
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The Wall Street Journal reports that retail giant Amazon has selected a
pair of cities to host its new, expanded headquarters: Crystal City in
Arlington, Virginia, and Long Island City in Queens, New York. Amazon's
decision came after a 14-month search that saw cities around the U.S.
promise tax breaks, taxpayer-funded infrastructure and business-friendly
ordinances in an effort to win what Amazon says will be $5 billion in
new investment and thousands of jobs. The watchdog group Good Jobs First
has blasted the New York and Virginia deals, writing, "Citizens have no
idea what their elected officials have promised to a company headed by
the richest person on earth. … But we do know that both deals were
negotiated in secret, without any public input."


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