• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechAmazon

New York City Tech Luminaries Petition Amazon’s Jeff Bezos for Its Second Headquarters Location

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 11, 2017, 11:25 AM ET

A group of prominent New York-based tech bigwigs want Amazon to bring its second headquarters—dubbed by Amazon as “HQ2″—to the city.

Among the 60 or so signatories are Oath chairman Tim Armstrong, Union Square Ventures founder Fred Wilson, Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani, Sprinklr founder Ragy Thomas, and dozens more tech leaders signed a letter from local tech consortium Tech:NYC to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

They played up the diversity of New York’s workforce across five boroughs and the 24 million square-feet of new office space they say will become available over the next five years.

Amazon (AMZN) would also be part of an already rich tech scene. The city is home to about 7,000 tech firms that employ nearly 300,000 people, according to the Tech: NYC letter. They also touted the city’s “robust transportation system.”

There is heated competition for HQ2. Toronto, Boston (and up to 20 other Massachusetts towns), Chicago, Stonecrest, Ga., and Seattle neighbor Tacoma, Wash. have all entered the HQ2 sweepstakes.

Related: Michael Jordan Wants Amazon HQ2 in Charlotte

Last month, Wilson, who is also chairman of Tech:NYC (and an early investor in Twitter (TWTR) and MongoDB (MONGODB)), published his top ten reasons as to why Amazon should come to his hometown.

All of these efforts are in response to Amazon’s plan, announced last month, to build a second headquarters that would be “fully equal” to its Seattle home base. The company listed several criteria, including proximity to airports, major highways, and mass transit. The company allowed just over a month for interested parties to submit their proposals. At that time, Bezos said that HQ2, wherever it ends up, will employ up to 50,000 people over time and that Amazon will invest $5 billion in the project. Typically, to win big headquarters deals, states and cities have to grant tax breaks and other concessions as Boston and Massachusetts did to woo General Electric’s (GE) headquarters from Connecticut to Boston.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily tech newsletter.

The deadline for HQ2 proposals is October 19.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

The tax escape map: Billionaires are bolting for Florida from the West Coast and taking billions in tax revenue with them
Real EstateBillionaires
The tax escape map: Billionaires are bolting for Florida from the West Coast and taking billions in tax revenue with them
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezApril 2, 2026
2 hours ago
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is displayed outside a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. facility in Hawthorne, California.
Startups & VentureElon Musk
SpaceX has filed confidentially for IPO ahead of AI rivals
By Bailey Lipschultz, Edward Ludlow and BloombergApril 1, 2026
13 hours ago
AI ‘slop’ is flooding YouTube Kids—and more than 200 groups and experts are calling for a ban
CybersecurityYouTube
AI ‘slop’ is flooding YouTube Kids—and more than 200 groups and experts are calling for a ban
By Catherina GioinoApril 1, 2026
13 hours ago
Deutsche Bank asked AI if it’s true that AI will solve the economy’s inflation problems. The robots answered
Economydisruption
Deutsche Bank asked AI if it’s true that AI will solve the economy’s inflation problems. The robots answered
By Nick LichtenbergApril 1, 2026
13 hours ago
ntsb
LawAutos
Why hands-free systems in self-driving cars aren’t actually safer, according to the NTSB
By Josh Funk and The Associated PressApril 1, 2026
14 hours ago
Mike Wirth, chief executive officer of Chevron.
EnergyData centers
Microsoft and Chevron enter exclusivity deal on powering West Texas AI data center complex
By Jordan BlumApril 1, 2026
14 hours ago

Most Popular

Two-thirds of parents say their adult Gen Z kids still rely on them financially  for support—even though it's putting them under strain
Success
Two-thirds of parents say their adult Gen Z kids still rely on them financially  for support—even though it's putting them under strain
By Fortune EditorsMarch 31, 2026
2 days ago
Jerome Powell says the $39 trillion national debt is ‘not unsustainable,’ but warns the trajectory ‘will not end well’
Economy
Jerome Powell says the $39 trillion national debt is ‘not unsustainable,’ but warns the trajectory ‘will not end well’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 30, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of gold as of April 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of April 1, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 1, 2026
20 hours ago
Current price of oil as of April 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of April 1, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 1, 2026
21 hours ago
A man used AI to call 3,000 Irish bartenders to track the cost of Guinness. Now pubs are lowering their prices to compete
AI
A man used AI to call 3,000 Irish bartenders to track the cost of Guinness. Now pubs are lowering their prices to compete
By Fortune EditorsMarch 30, 2026
3 days ago
Hiring just hit a level not seen since the economy was ‘closed down literally’ during COVID, top economist says
Economy
Hiring just hit a level not seen since the economy was ‘closed down literally’ during COVID, top economist says
By Fortune EditorsMarch 31, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.