Amazon

Amazon Go in Seattle via Wikipedia

October 23, 2018

Amazon to open a cashier-less convenience store at Brookfield Place

Amazon will open its first cashier-less store in New York City in Battery Park City, Recode reported on Monday. Amazon Go is like a futuristic convenience store, offering ready-to-eat meals and groceries without having to wait in line. According to the company, "Just Walk Out Technology" is used, which automatically keeps tracks of products taken or returned via a virtual cart. With no lines or checkout, once you find an item you want, you can just leave.
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Policy

Newark and NYC appear to be favored for Amazon’s HQ2 site

Photo via Robert Scoble on Flickr

October 22, 2018

Newark and NYC appear to be favored for Amazon’s HQ2 site

By Devin Gannon

The hunt for Amazon's second headquarters is still on, more than a year after the company first announced its plan for HQ2. The tech-giant has narrowed its list of potential cities from over 200 to 20, with Newark and New York City both making the cut. Amazon executives recently revisited both of the cities, as well as others like Chicago and Miami, making it seem like the company favors an urban area, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
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Amazon opens brick-and-mortar store in Soho with only top-rated products

Photo by Jordan Stead for Amazon

September 27, 2018

Amazon opens brick-and-mortar store in Soho with only top-rated products

By Devin Gannon

Amazon on Thursday opened a physical store in Soho, stocked only with items rated 4 stars and above by online customers. The new concept, called Amazon 4-star, is located at 72 Spring Street, between Crosby and Lafayette Streets. By using customer ratings and reviews from their website, the store's products will feature customer review cards with quotes from actual reviews.
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Brooklyn entrepreneur launches next-day delivery service in Park Slope as challenge to Amazon

Via CityRealty

September 7, 2018

Brooklyn entrepreneur launches next-day delivery service in Park Slope as challenge to Amazon

By Devin Gannon

With the tremendous growth of Amazon, valued this week at one trillion dollars for the first time, local businesses and brick-and-mortar shops are having to think outside of the box to entice customers. An entrepreneur from Brooklyn is hoping to directly challenge Amazon by launching his own e-commerce and next-day delivery service (h/t Bloomberg). This month, Peter Price, a 78-year-old New Yorker who formerly served as the president of Liberty Cable, will roll out a trial service in Park Slope called EMain, which will allow local stores to post deals online and deliver items the following day for free.
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City Living

Newark complex designed as Amazon HQ2 bid would include the city’s tallest towers

HQ2 concept rendering by Heller Manus Architects via Jersey Digs

September 4, 2018

Newark complex designed as Amazon HQ2 bid would include the city’s tallest towers

By Michelle Cohen

Since the announcement that Amazon would be choosing the city that would host its second headquarters by the end of the year, competition between contenders has been heating up. 6sqft reported last month that Newark, still in the running along with Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, New York, Boston, three sections of the Washington, D.C., region and Toronto, approved a shiny new incentive in the form of ordinances offering nearly $1 billion in payroll tax exemptions to companies that create at least 30,000 jobs and invest $3 billion in the city over 20 years. Now, Jersey Digs reports that a group consisting of local residents and a California-based architecture firm have come up with a snazzy proposal for Amazon's HQ2 that includes a location and designs for a futuristic complex that would include Newark's tallest towers.
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Newark woos Amazon by adding $1B in tax breaks to HQ2 pitch

Image: Axel Drainville via Flickr.

August 9, 2018

Newark woos Amazon by adding $1B in tax breaks to HQ2 pitch

By Michelle Cohen

Since Amazon announced they'd be deciding which city would become the location of the mega corporation's second headquarters by the end of the year, competition between contenders has heated up. Along with 20 cities that include Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, New York, Boston, three sections of the Washington, D.C., region and, in Canada, Toronto, Newark is still in the ring from an initial field of 238 possible locations. On Wednesday the city approved a new addition to the $7 billion package the state is offering to sweeten the pot in hopes of scoring HQ2, as it's being called. The added incentive comes in the form of a trio of ordinances offering nearly $1 billion in payroll tax exemptions to companies that create at least 30,000 jobs and invest $3 billion in the city in the coming 20 years, Bloomberg reports.
That's quite a package

Policy

Amazon launches same-day delivery from Whole Foods in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan

Image via Whole Foods Market

July 24, 2018

Amazon launches same-day delivery from Whole Foods in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan

By Devin Gannon

You can now have all of your organic needs met within as little as an hour--without waiting in line. Amazon launched on Tuesday "ultrafast" same-day delivery from Whole Foods Market in 24 cities, including Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and select areas of Long Island. The service, for Prime members only, began earlier this year and will continue to expand to more neighborhoods in NYC and in the country throughout 2018. "Today’s announcement is another way that we are continuing to expand access to our high-quality products and locally-sourced favorites," Christina Minardi, executive vice president of operations for Whole Foods Market, said in a statement.
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City Living

Real estate investor wants Amazon to build second headquarters on a Hudson River landfill

Courtesy of Charles Urdstadt

March 2, 2018

Real estate investor wants Amazon to build second headquarters on a Hudson River landfill

By Devin Gannon

After landing on Amazon's list of 20 potential cities for its second headquarters in January, New York City is one step closer to securing $5 billion in city investment and 50,000 high paying jobs. Although the city pitched four neighborhoods for the tech-giants' HQ2 (Midtown West, Long Island City, the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, and Lower Manhattan), one investor has a different, less grounded location in mind. Real estate mogul Charles Urstadt took out an ad in the New York Post on Friday detailing his plan to bring Amazon to a landfill in the Hudson River.
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Policy

New York City, Newark officially contenders for Amazon’s HQ2

Photo courtesy of Robert Scoble’s Flickr

January 18, 2018

New York City, Newark officially contenders for Amazon’s HQ2

By Devin Gannon

Amazon announced on Thursday it narrowed its list of potential cities for its second headquarters to 20, with New York City and Newark as candidates. The tech giant said it received 238 proposals, evaluating each based on the criteria outlined in their RFP and then selecting cities to move on to the next phase. The 20 chosen cities will now work with Amazon to provide any additional information needed, with the company expected to make a decision in 2018 about where its HQ2 will land.
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Policy

5 Manhattan West. Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu via REX Architecture

November 17, 2017

First look at REX’s pleated-glass transformation of Brutalist 5 Manhattan West office tower

By Michelle Cohen

Brookfield Office Properties offered a look at the second building in the nearly-six-million-square-foot, six-building Manhattan West project to be completed. The 16-story office building known as 5 Manhattan West, where Amazon signed a lease for a 360,000-square-foot space, is approaching completion on Tenth Avenue between West 31st and 33rd Streets across from Hudson Yards. Archpaper shares images of the building's sparkling new look and interiors, the result of some fancy architectural footwork by REX. The 1969 Brutalist office building was nearly everyone's example of ugly since a 1980s renovation left it clad in brown metal and beige paint. The rechristened building's new facade wraps it in sleek, form-fitting pleated glass that does more than just look pretty.
More images of the 21st century transformation, this way

Vornado pitches new Moynihan Train Hall for Amazon’s second headquarters

By Devin Gannon

Earlier this month, New York City officially pitched four neighborhoods to house Amazon’s HQ2: Long Island City, the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, Lower Manhattan and Midtown West. During its third-quarter earnings call Tuesday, Vornado Realty Trust said the Moynihan Train Hall remains at the forefront of the city’s Midtown West bid, citing the project’s proposed 730,000 square feet of office space and 120,000 square feet of retail as meeting the retailer's key requirements (h/t Commercial Observer). Vornado, along with Related Companies, Skanska USA, and architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is converting the former James A. Farley Post Office into the Moynihan Train Hall, an effort led by Governor Andrew Cuomo to create a world-class transit center.
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Uncategorized

October 19, 2017

City officially pitches four neighborhoods for Amazon’s HQ2

By Devin Gannon

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Economic Development Corporation released their official pitch for Amazon's second headquarters on Wednesday, one day before the deadline. Boasting the city's talented tech workforce, the de Blasio administration has pitched Midtown West, Long Island City, the Brooklyn Tech Triangle (DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn and the Navy Yard), and Lower Manhattan as the four best spots for Amazon to call home. The tech giant's nationwide competition, announced in September, set out to find their next headquarters, called HQ2. The company promises the headquarters will bring 50,000 new jobs and $5 billion in initial city investment.
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Policy

Rendering of the Hunters Point South project, courtesy of NYCEDC

October 18, 2017

Prime Long Island City site could be the perfect spot for Amazon’s HQ2

By Devin Gannon

An eight-acre, 1.6 million-square-foot residential site next to Hunters Point South is for sale, a piece of land owned by a family for generations. According to the New York Post, the site could potentially bring in $480 million if targeted to market-rate condominiums since land in Long Island City sells for roughly $300 per square foot. The triangle-shaped plot of land found at 55-01 Second Street and bounded by 54th Avenue and Vernon Boulevard, sits on Newtown Creek, an estuary that forms part of the border between Brooklyn and Queens. The site might make the perfect spot for Amazon’s second headquarters as the tech giant seeks 500,000 square feet for their HQ2 by 2019.
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What happens if Amazon’s HQ2 doesn’t land in New York?

Photo courtesy of Robert Scoble on Flickr

October 17, 2017

What happens if Amazon’s HQ2 doesn’t land in New York?

By Devin Gannon

Amazon’s nationwide competition to find a home for its second headquarters draws to a close this week, with pitches from stakeholders due Thursday. While New York City meets most of the requirements the tech giant listed for its HQ2-- a population of at least 1 million people, proximity to an international airport, mass transit access and talented workforce--business costs in the city would be sky-high. However, as Crain’s reported, even if Amazon does not set up shop in NYC, politicians and developers have been preparing for a comparably-sized company to move in for over a decade. The failure of the city to win the 2012 Olympics bid back in 2005 actually turned into a success, allowing apartments to rise in Brooklyn where sports stadiums never did.
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As deadline nears, New York City’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters heats up

Photo courtesy of Robert Scoble on Flickr

October 6, 2017

As deadline nears, New York City’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters heats up

By Devin Gannon

With the deadline for proposals due Oct. 19, New York City politicians, business leaders and real estate developers are putting the finishing touches on their pitches intended to lure Amazon into building their second headquarters in the city. After Amazon first announced HQ2, which will bring $5 billion in initial city investment and 50,000 new jobs, over two dozen site proposals in 23 neighborhoods were crafted in New York. According to Crain’s, a group of city and state agencies is working together on a bid, with less than two weeks left before the due date. So far, proposals for neighborhoods like Williamsburg, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Sunset Park's Industry City, Long Island City and areas in the Bronx have been discussed.
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Policy

Five Manhattan West. Rendering via Millerhare.

September 21, 2017

Amazon inks deal for 360,000 square feet of NYC office space at 5 Manhattan West

By Michelle Cohen

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced today that tech giant Amazon will be growing its presence in New York City. The company just signed a lease for a 359,000-square-foot administrative office at Five Manhattan West, Brookfield Property Partners' 16-story, 1.8 million-square-foot Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed building located on Tenth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets. The new addition is expected to create 2,000 new jobs in finance, sales, marketing, and information technology. The offices will be the main New York location for Amazon Advertising, which handles sales, marketing, product, design, engineering and more. "We're excited to expand our presence in New York–we have always found great talent here," said Paul Kotas, Amazon's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Advertising.
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New Developments

Could the new Amazon headquarters be in Sunset Park’s Industry City?

Photo courtesy of Industry City

September 14, 2017

Could the new Amazon headquarters be in Sunset Park’s Industry City?

By Devin Gannon

After Amazon announced last week plans to build a second corporate headquarters in North America, the competition among cities hoping to be chosen remains fierce. The company’s proposed headquarters, called HQ2, would bring $5 billion in initial city investment and 50,000 new jobs, making it very appealing for most cities. According to Crain’s, a group of landlords in Brooklyn is working together to pitch Amazon the borough’s many office properties, including space in Industry City, a massive 6.5 million square-foot complex in Sunset Park. Proposals are due by Oct. 19 and Amazon is expected to make a decision by next year.
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Policy

Amazon has patented a drone skyscraper designed for city delivery

Image courtesy of the United States Patent Office

June 27, 2017

Amazon has patented a drone skyscraper designed for city delivery

By Devin Gannon

The massive online retailer company Amazon, which recently acquired the grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.4 billion, is attempting to push even further into the future of internet commerce. The company has recently patented a “multi-level fulfillment center for unmanned vehicles," or in simpler terms, a drone skyscraper. As co.design discovered, while patents do not necessarily mean this tower will be created, the plan has detailed sketches showing a giant beehive from where drones would fly in and out.
See the design

January 28, 2015

No Need to Read, Now You Can Watch ‘The New Yorker’ Magazine on Amazon

By Diane Pham

As much as we love The New Yorker, we have to admit it's often difficult to find time every week to read the magazine from front to back. But enter Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney and producer Dave Snyder, ready to save us from our literary guilt. Now you can watch every issue of the magazine comfortably from your screen. Amazon has just launched The New Yorker Presents, a brand new docu-series that compacts the experience of reading the weekly mag into an easily digestible half-hour.
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City Living

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