Clock ticking as New York City's bid for Amazon takes shape

New York has 13 days to finish crafting the perfect plan to land Amazon’s second headquarters—and beat out more than 100 other cities that have indicated interest. Across the five boroughs developers and civic leaders worked frantically in late September to turn in over two dozen site proposals in 23 neighborhoods for consideration. Now, a coalition of city and state agencies are working behind closed doors to put together a bid by Oct. 19. The nationwide process will be competitive, but analysts believe New York has a decent shot by virtue of its highly-educated workforce, infrastructure and diversity, despite the lure of cheaper real estate elsewhere. “We think we have a really strong case to make,” said Anthony Hogrebe, a spokesman for the city's Economic Development Corp. article continues below advertisement Amazon set off a nationwide frenzy when it released its request for proposals for “HQ2” in early September and asked cities to turn around their bids in just six weeks. The RFP stipulates the requirements for the new second headquarters: within 45 minutes of an international airport, easy access to highways and mass transit, and a “stable and business friendly-environment." In return, the company promises to invest more than $5 billion in construction and bring up to 50,000 jobs with an average salary of $100,000 to the winning city. This would be a huge boost for most metropolitan areas, including New York, whose growing tech sector currently has approximately 154,000 tech jobs. “The scope and scale of it is larger than we’ve ever seen in the past for this sort of at-once-style RFP and so I think that’s got everyone’s attention,” said Jeremiah Kane of real estate firm Rubenstein Partners, who put in a proposal for one of its properties, 25 Kent Ave. in Williamsburg. Amazon already has an expanding presence in New York City. The company recently announced plans for an 850,000-square-foot fulfillment facility on Staten Island and a new office in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards for 2,000 corporate employees. For this process, bidding property owners and city officials are opting for a range of publicity strategies, ranging from tight-lipped secrecy to coordinated public campaigns. Amazon's current footprint in New York City Offices: Amazon has an administrative office in Manhattan and space in Brooklyn focused on the company’s fashion wing. Amazon recently announced it is opening another office at 5 Manhattan West in Hudson Yards, which will bring 2,000 additional corporate jobs to the city. Fulfillment sites: Amazon announced in September that it would build a $100 million, 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Staten Island. The center is expected to bring 2,250 jobs to the borough. In exchange, the state offered Amazon up to $18 million in tax credits. Amazon already has a “Prime Now” hub in Midtown for quick-turnaround orders and another distribution center in Sunset Park. Bookstores: Amazon has opened two brick-and-mortar bookstores in New York City, at Columbus Circus and on West 34th Street near the Empire State Building. The company is expected to open more bookstores in the city soon. Whole Foods: Amazon now owns the city’s 12 Whole Foods locations. Following its acquisition in late August, Amazon cut prices on select grocery items and began selling Amazon products, such as Kindle E-readers, in Whole Foods stores. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. penned a letter inviting Amazon to his borough but agreed not to publicly discuss the companies that have put in proposals, to avoid a bidding war among them. His Queens counterpart, Melinda Katz, recently released a letter touting Long Island City as the best site for Amazon’s new home. Brooklyn has launched the most coordinated public campaign, branded “Brooklyn Prime” by Borough President Eric Adams. He has organized real estate leaders to propose a series of locations on Brooklyn’s waterfront or “Innovation Coast,” including space in Williamsburg, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and Industry City in Sunset Park. “This has been so far a very good exercise for Brooklyn and Brooklyn real estate,” said Ofer Cohen, president of TerraCRG, a real estate advisory firm in the borough. Amazon is requesting 500,000 square feet by 2019, with an eventual need for 8 million. While other cities may propose campus-like locations, New York's proposal will likely be composed of a series of sites either concentrated in one area or scattered throughout the boroughs. The plan will also highlight the city’s airports, subways, cultural diversity, entertainment and human capital. During the next two weeks, the mayor’s office will work with the Economic Development Corp., other city and state agencies, the boroughs and real estate and tech leaders to craft a bid based on ideas submitted and other bargaining chips, such as available tax incentives. The mayor has said he will also meet with Amazon executives. There are no scheduled plans for public involvement at this time. “But as with any job-creation efforts we’re deeply committed to making sure this is done in a way that provides a clear benefit for New Yorkers and addresses community needs,” said the EDC's Hogrebe. New York City’s biggest weaknesses will be its price tag for the company and future employees. “It’s hard for us to know exactly what Amazon wants,” said Albina Reydman, an analyst at CoStar Group. “If affordability matters most to them, then I don’t think New York can be a strong contender.” But Amazon may well be prioritizing talent, which is harder to come by than cheap real estate—and there is a lot of it in New York, according to Emily Line, vice president of commercial services at Realtors Property Resource. “Human beings cost more money,” said Line. “You want to be in an area is constantly producing the right talent so you don’t have to go fetch it."