⏩ INSIDE: Amazon ditches New York. HQ plans, rules out more bids.

Rules out more bids

STAMFORD — Amazon’s announcement Thursday that it would abandon its plans for a new headquarters in Queens, N.Y., does not pave the way for another Connecticut bid for the muchtouted “HQ2” project, according to the company. But Gov. Ned Lamont has not given up on the e-commerce giant expanding in the Nutmeg State.

In the wake of the New York City project’s demise, Seattle-based Amazon said it would not search for a second HQ2 site to complement its planned campus in Arlington, Va. But that announcement did not dash Lamont’s hopes of an Amazon hub in Stamford. The new governor’s administration had earlier reached out to Amazon, as the New York proposal foundered.

“If Amazon is still interested in a comparable facility in the NYC area, HQ2 or similar, Stamford is the place,” Lamont said, in part, in a pair of tweets Thursday about the company. “Today, we are coordinating with our federal, state and local bipartisan leaders to bring them up to speed on our efforts and ensure we are driving a single CT strategy. We, together as one state, are ready, willing and able to deliver a CT solution to Amazon’s needs.”

Connecticut had bid on HQ2 in October 2017, proposing sites in Stamford and the Hartford area.

No Connecticut cities, however, made the shortlist of 20 areas for HQ2 that Amazon announced in January 2018.

“I think the state of Connecticut will make any types of decisions as to whether to pursue this further or not with Amazon,” Thomas Madden, Stamford’s economic development director, said Thursday.

Lamont’s “single CT strategy” message appeared intended to head off a repeat of 2017 when, in addition to the state’s application on behalf of Stamford and Hartford, other cities, including Danbury, and Bridgeport and New Haven as one, made their own pitches.

Danbury on Thursday re-posted on its Facebook page its tonguein-cheek 2017 video pitch to Amazon. The new post asked Amazon to be its “valentine.”

That was preceded by Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton hinting in a recent interview on The Mack Talks podcast of the possibility of an Amazon initiative in northern Fairfield.

Amazon already has a sizable presence in the state. Last year, it employed about 2,000 in Connecticut, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

It is eligible for up to $20 million in tax credits for its distribution center in North Haven.

Stymied in New York

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had lobbied strongly to land the HQ2 complex.

Along with up to 25,000 jobs, the company had planned to spend $2.5 billion building its new offices in Queens’s Long Island City section.

But Amazon faced strident opposition from a number of New York political leaders who objected to tax incentives of up to approximately $3 billion. Critics included U.S. Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez; New York Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris and New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

At the same time, a Quinnipiac University poll released in December found 57 percent of New York City voters support having an Amazon headquarters. But they split on the incentives: 46 percent were in favor, 44 percent opposed them.

“A number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City,” the company said in a blog post Thursday. “We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion — we love New York, its incomparable dynamism, people, and culture — and particularly the community of Long Island City.”

The company already has 5,000 employees in the city and plans to grow those teams.

Connecticut state Rep. Caroline Simmons, D-Stamford, who is co-chairwoman of the Commerce Committee, suggested that an HQ2 plan would have been much more favorably received in her state.

“Unlike the local representation in New York, we, as local officials, here in Connecticut would welcome Amazon and 25,000 jobs to our state,” Simmons said. “We know that many hardworking Connecticut families and residents would welcome those jobs as we continue to recover from the recession and are looking to fill jobs.”

Amazon also confirmed Thursday that it would proceed with plans to build offices in Arlington, Va., and Nashville, Tenn. The Arlington campus is expected to be the same size as the New York one, with about 25,000 employees. The Nashville office is expected to have 5,000 employees.

“While I do hope that Amazon reconsiders and continues it search for a second headquarters, I would also encourage DECD, Stamford and other Connecticut cities to focus recruitment efforts on any company, mid-sized or other, with the potential to take advantage of all we have to offer here in our state,” said state Rep. Fred Camillo, R-Greenwich, a member of the Commerce Committee. “We must step it up if we are to once again make Connecticut competitive and economically stable.”