Amazon dumps New York. 'Petulant child,' New York retorts

The mega retailer will not look for another town to call its headquarters.

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon will not be building a new headquarters in New York, a stunning reversal after a yearlong search.

The online retailer faced opposition from some New York politicians, who were unhappy with the nearly $3 billion in tax incentives Amazon was promised. The Seattle-based Amazon had planned to bring 25,000 jobs to New York, and spend $2.5 billion building its offices.

“We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion — we love New York,” the company said in a blog post , adding that it has 5,000 workers in the city and plans to grow those teams.

Amazon said Thursday it does not plan to look for another location at this time, and will continue to build out offices in Arlington, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee.

An Amazon spokeswoman told NPR that Amazon plans no further negotiations with city and state officials in New York, where the company has faced scathing criticism in recent City Council hearings. Local union leaders had organized protests against the company.

The state's Senate leader also recently nominated an ardent critic of Amazon's deal to the state board that has control over Amazon's plan for Queens.

"A number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City," the company added, citing a recent poll it had commissioned showing that the majority of New Yorkers supported Amazon's presence.

Amazon said it will not search for a new location for a second HQ. This leaves the company with its main headquarters in Seattle and a second one planned for Northern Virginia.

The New York Times reported that state Sen. Michael Gianaris said the move showed that Amazon was unwilling to work with Queens.

“Like a petulant child, Amazon insists on getting its way or takes its ball and leaves,” Gianaris said, according to the Times. “Even by their own words,’’ he said, “Amazon admits they will grow their presence in New York without their promised subsidies. So what was all this really about?”

There had been