NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not given up on Amazon building a second headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, after the company announced it was reversing plans to open up shop in the outer borough.
Cuomo this week had a one-on-one phone call with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in an attempt to bring the company back to NYC, reports The New York Times, citing sources with knowledge of the efforts. Amazon declined to comment.
In addition to Bezos, Cuomo has spoken to other Amazon executives over the past two weeks.
"In those calls, Mr. Cuomo said he would navigate the company through the byzantine governmental process," the Times reported. "Mr. Cuomo did not offer a new location but rather guarantees of support for the project."
Still, Amazon executives gave no sense it would reconsider, the Times reports.
"I do believe Amazon should have stayed and fought the opposition," said Cuomo in a radio interview on Tuesday. "It was a vocal minority opposition. Seventy percent of the people support Amazon."
And on Friday, a letter signed by Cuomo and a slew of unions, local businesses, community groups and members of congress (including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Carolyn Maloney), will be published in the Times, urging Amazon to reconsider. The letter was paid for by the Partnership for New York City.
The letter said that Mr. Cuomo "will take personal responsibility for the project's state approval, and Mayor de Blasio will work together with the governor to manage the community development process."