Majority of New Yorkers support incoming Amazon headquarters: poll

A majority of New Yorkers surveyed say they support Amazon’s plan to build part of its new headquarters in Queens, though city residents are divided over how they feel about the nearly $3 billion incentive package that city officials offered to attract the tech giant, according to a new poll.

Fifty-seven percent of New Yorkers surveyed in the Quinnipiac University Poll said they approve of the new headquarters, compared to 26 percent who disapprove. Sixty percent of Queens voters said they approve of Amazon building their new headquarters in the Long Island City neighborhood.

{mosads}Voters polled were divided over the massive incentives that New York City used to lure Amazon, with 46 percent expressing support and 44 percent opposing the incentives. The city offered the roughly $3 billion in incentives during Amazon’s widely-publicized nationwide search for a city to host its second headquarters.

“While New Yorkers give the thumbs up to Amazon moving one of its new headquarters to Long Island City, they are divided over the sizeable carrot offered [to Amazon],” Quinnipiac poll analyst Mary Snow said in a statement.

The online retailer last month announced its decision to split its new headquarters between Queens, N.Y., and Arlington, Va., promising 25,000 new jobs in each location.

The move has raised concerns among state and local lawmakers and affordable housing advocates.

Activists in New York have started to mobilize against the planned move, which disrupted plans to build 1,500 affordable housing units in New York City, according to a Politico report.

Another poll found the Virginia voters it surveyed strongly in favor of Amazon coming to Crystal City in northern Virginia, with 68 percent saying they approve and 30 percent disapproving. 

State lawmakers in New York have raised concerns about the inevitable rising rents in Queens when the new headquarters arrives, as reports emerge that home sale prices are already surging.