[asabjorn]

This is about diversifying the economy away from real estate and wall street. It is also about bringing high-paying jobs to Queens, and encourage the kind of investment that brings.

From what I understand developers started building in anticipation of Amazon coming there, and that investment is now in question.

[bobthepanda]

The area has been built up with skyscrapers over the past decade, well before HQ2 had even been announced. Development in New York is not so quick that you could shovel a project through in the four months after the announcement.

New York's economy is plenty diverse. There's real estate and Wall Street, sure, but there's also legal services, advertising, media, health, education (NYC has the largest student population in the country), hospitality, tourism, etc. This is no one company town like Gary.

[cjbprime]

I wouldn't describe LIC (or any part of Queens) as being "built up with skyscrapers" personally. I'd say there are a handful of tall apartment buildings.

[asabjorn]

So you are saying Queens is in a great place and we do not need to create much more opportunity there?

[bobthepanda]

There's certainly no need to beg for it.

[asabjorn]

It’s not begging to take 9 out of every ten tax dollars to attract an opportunity.