Jackson Heights Life

Yes, dss, I agree there are cons. I don't like the sound of the tax breaks, but I also don't know how much taxes it will pay in and to the State and City in other ways and over time. Certainly and at the very least, 25000 employees will pay City and State taxes that ostensibly did not before.

Other cities also offered tax breaks. I don't know how Cuomo's deal compares to those. Every city but a Canadian city offered tax breaks. Pittsburgh I believe offered no taxes. Arlington is the city that offered the cash grant. How to compete with that.

The rich also get free checking, lower mortgage rates, and on and on. Money begets money.

tomorrow at court square (trains may get crayzee)

Protect Queens #NoAmazonNYC, Nov 26 @ 5:00 pm – Nov 26 @ 8:00 pm
JOIN US and SAY NO #HQ2Scam
The heartbeat of Queens is the working class and immigrants, not billionaires. At a time when our city is facing a crisis of affordability, New York is looking to pay Amazon, the richest corporation in the world, billions of dollars to gentrify Queens. This is outrageous. Rather than creating good jobs for the community this deal will displace existing residents. We do not need nor want Amazon in our barrio.
– We need affordable housing, not further gentrification
– We need protections for immigrants, not a company that profits off of work with ICE
– We need more funding for transit, not billions in corporate subsidies
– We need good jobs, not a company that exploits workers
Our communities need real investment, not displacement. It’s time for New York to #NoAmazonNYC. https://www.facebook.com/events/467865657070996/

I had read that our representative, Oit'llcostu-Cortez, will be there as an organizer. I'm sad to see some of our local advocacy groups behind the rally, too.

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We can debate the pros and cons of Amazon, but it's a little late to start mobilizing against gentrification in LIC.  That should have started before the 50th glass and steel tower went up.
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100% agree. That ship has long sailed.

And now this:

Queens Housing Market Shifts In Wake Of Amazon HQ2 Announcement
Stribling & Associates
 

QUEENS, N.Y., Jan. 10, 2019 -- Stribling & Associates, a leading New York residential brokerage, today releases the fourth quarter Queens Market Report. The report is the only to cover inventory, reported contracts and sales across the entire borough. Like Manhattan and Brooklyn, Queens recorded a decline in the number of sales as the number of active listings increased. However, the borough managed to record both median and average price increases.

"Queens is one of the most diverse boroughs in the city, in terms of what drives prices," said Garrett Derderian, Director of Data & Reporting at Stribling. "Like Brooklyn, price increases for single and multi-family homes in the far-reaching markets drove overall price growth." Indeed, Southeastern Queens recorded a median price increase of 10%, and average increase of 11%. Southwestern Queens had equally impressive gains, with its median price up 9% and average up 12%."

"We continue to see a spillover effect from Brooklyn, as purchasers get priced out of that borough," Derderian stated. "We expect growth in those markets to continue at the steady pace it has been, notwithstanding some major shift in the market at-large."

Northwestern Queens, for example, saw an immediate shift with the recent announcement that tech giant Amazon selected the neighborhood for half of its HQ2. Prior to the announcement, there were concerns over whether demand would keep pace with the thousands of new units coming to market. However, once Amazon made the official announcement, those concerns faded quickly.

"Long Island City shifted from a buyer's market to a seller's market in the blink of an eye," said Patrick W. Smith, Stribling's Long Island City specialist. "The Amazon effect was immediate and has boosted interest in the area exponentially. Sellers no longer feel like they have to sell at a discount."

To be sure, Northwestern Queens saw the greatest contract price increases: The median jumped 14%, the average surged 12%, and the average price-per-foot was up 9%. Derderian added, "While we still have to wait to see what the final sales prices are, it is a promising sign for the area, especially as the rest of the city is in a 'reset mode' regarding pricing."

Properties in Queens spent an average of 118 days on the market in the fourth quarter, slightly higher than the 116 reported in Brooklyn. This was also the highest number of sales in a fourth quarter above $500K, and the highest percentage of sales above $1.5M.

"What we are seeing, especially in the Northwestern submarket, are some record or near-record setting transactions. This is a relatively new phenomenon for Queens but mirrors the heightened activity in the super-prime markets of Manhattan and Brooklyn, although at a lower price point," Derderian emphasized. Still, he advised these newly contracted sales are indeed a high price-point for Queens.

Looking ahead, Derderian offered the following: "We expect growth in all Queens submarkets to continue, although rising interest rates and affordability do present a challenge to that growth. Still, the borough offers many conveniences at a lower price point than Manhattan or Brooklyn, and along with the Amazon announcement, Queens is poised for a promising 2019." 

Highlights from Stribling & Associates Q4 Queens Market Report:

    Median sales price was $598,781, up 4% year-over-year (record)
    Average sales price was $675,183, up 5% year-over-year (record)
    Average price per square foot was $573, down 9% year-over-year
    Average days on market was 118, up from 111 in Q3
    There are 7.0 months of supply, up from 6.9 one year ago

Recorded Sales:

    There were 2,801 recorded sales to date, 5% less than one year ago
    Condo units saw an average PPSF of $944
    Houses and townhouses made up 65% of closings
    Co-op units had a median price of $340,000
    Properties sold between $500K-750K made up 31% of all closings
    16% of closings were under $350K
    Northwestern Queens was the most expensive market and had 7% of recorded sales
    Southeastern and Southwestern Queens saw the greatest overall price increases

Contracts Signed:

    There was a 3% decrease in the number of reported contracts
    Houses and townhouses totaled 39% of contracts
    Condos recorded the highest average PPSF at $1,056
    Houses and townhouses had the highest median price at $858,000
    16% of contracts were priced below $350K
    20% of contracts were priced above $1M
    Central Queens had the most contracts, with 41%
    Northwestern Queens recorded the strongest price increases across all measures

Inventory:

    There were 2,700 active units in the borough, a 4% increase year-over-year
    Condos made up 24% of inventory
    Condo units had the highest average PPSF at $963
    Co-op units were the most affordable, with an average PPSF of $475
    29% of inventory was priced above $1M
    10% of inventory was priced below $350K
    46% of inventory was priced between $500K-1M
    Northwestern Queens was the only submarket with a median and average price topping $1M
    Northwestern Queens was the only submarket with an average price-per-foot above $1,000

About Stribling & Associates

Stribling & Associates, Ltd. is a premier residential real estate firm with over 300 agents throughout five locations across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island City. As one of the most renowned brokerages in New York, Stribling uses its respected expertise in the current market to provide individualized services to both buyer and sellers. Stribling agents specialize in the sale of luxury townhouses and cooperative and condominium apartments. The company's philosophy is based on professional, personalized services coupled with exceptional knowledge of key residential market trends. Stribling Private Brokerage specializes in the discreet marketing of properties over $5 million and commands a prominent market share in that sector of Manhattan residential real estate. Through strategic partnerships with Miami's Cervera and international estate services firm Savills, Stribling's global reach extends to more than 700 offices worldwide.

From The Washington Post:

Facing opposition, Amazon reconsiders NY headquarters site, two officials say

No specific plans to abandon New York have been made. And it is possible that Amazon would try to use a threat to withdraw to put pressure on New York officials. But with a meeting of the state’s Public Authorities Control Board and a third City Council hearing expected later this month, Amazon executives may be reaching an inflection point, the people said.

“I think now is the time for Amazon to make a decision because it has to start hiring,” said one person. “At some point, the project starts to fall behind.”

AOC comes out excited over plans of Amazon to leave NYC

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/rep-aoc-successfully-blocking-amazon-moving-queens/

She doesn’t even represent that area. Rep. Maloney should put her in her place.

they have SAID that.

those who pushed through the corporate tax breaks last year SAID we'd all be getting huge benefits in our personal taxes. the reality is very different.

i'm completely on the fence about Amazon. there's no denying the benefit of added jobs. that's the biggest thing by far and a HUGE plus. but the {fairly large} number of native Seattleites i know insist that campus sprawl and influence have made day to day life worse in a pretty wide radius.

and, as unlikely as it seems now, what if a future administration follows through on the current administration's regular threats to enact anti-trust legislation against Amazon, effectively breaking it up?

and if Amazon flounders, or is legislated out of existence by anti-trust laws, 25,000 more unemployed is no big deal, and a cratering local real estate market won't affect anyone.