Yahoo Finance Shark Tank's Corcoran on Amazon-NYC deal: 'I’m so upset over this'
Some people in Queens may be cheering over Amazon’s escape from New York City, but real estate queen and Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran definitely isn’t.
When it first came out, it was “the best news I heard in the 40 years I've been the real estate business,” Corcoran told Yahoo Finance’s On The Move. “I saw it as the beginning of a phenomenal wave that was going to reinvent the city and make everybody say wow they've got their game going. They won the bid.”
But after Amazon (AMZN) called off the plans to build its second headquarters, she was stunned — and worried: “The fallout is that other large companies thinking of following their heels, thinking that New York was the ‘it’ place to be, the place where you really want to plunk down a ton of money and create a lot of jobs. [Now] they're pausing and thinking about it.”
The loss of 25,000 jobs — among other benefits — was unthinkable to Corcoran.
“You know it's it's a shame,” Corcoran continued. “I'm so upset over this, I have to say. Because I really believed that New York was going to go through a new renaissance.”
‘Think of yourself: You’re Jeff Bezos and you've got all the money‘
Amazon’s departure came after intense pressure from local politicians and lobby groups in New York City who staunchly opposed the company’s encroachment into the Long Island City neighborhood.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents both the Bronx and Queens districts, tweeted the following after the news broke:
Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world. https://t.co/nyvm5vtH9k
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 14, 2019
“Think of yourself: You’re Jeff Bezos and you've got all the money,” asked Corcoran. “Why would you put up with that aggravation? Why would you even want to debate anything? You just move on. Everybody wants you, why would you stay here?
What should have happened is it should have been a spirit of camaraderie like we're all in New York together.”
Aarthi is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami.
Read more:
The most and least affordable U.S. metro areas to buy a house
The 35-day government shutdown created long-term affordable housing concerns
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.
