Cuomo Has Been Pleading for Bezos to Change His Mind

Amazon has scrapped plans to build part of its second headquarters in New York City—but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo would really, really like them to think again. Sources tell the New York Times that the Democrat has spoken to numerous Amazon execs, including founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, to attempt to get them to reconsider. "I've had many conversations with Amazon," Cuomo said Thursday. "I hope that they reconsider. Up until now, we haven't seen any change in their position." The project would have brought around 25,000 jobs to the city, but opponents complained about the company's anti-union policies—and the $3 billion in city and state incentives Amazon had been promised.

Cuomo didn't mention a possible new NYC location to Amazon execs, but he promised to ensure that the project was approved by the state, the New York Daily News reports. In an open letter to Bezos published in the Times on Friday, dozens of business leaders and lawmakers urged him to reconsider, saying a "clear majority of New Yorkers support this project." Amazon, however, seems unlikely to change course. "We think we could have gotten New York done, but you have to say, 'At what cost?'" Amazon director of global economic development Holly Sullivan said Thursday at an event supporting the new headquarters in northern Virginia. "We made a prudent decision that gives us the opportunity to hyperfocus on DC."