Amazon to split second headquarters between New York City & Northern Virginia

After a year-long search, Amazon has chosen New York City's Long Island City neighborhood and Arlington, Virginia to split duty as its second headquarters.

Jeff Bezos is spreading jobs and disappointment by splitting his ballyhooed second headquarters between New York City and greater Washington, D.C. The decision enables the Amazon boss to tap two of the nation’s deepest pools of technology talent. The unconventional choice of two conventional cities also aggravates the socioeconomic divisions that plague America.

Amazon set off a frenzy last year when it asked cities to bid for the so-called HQ2. Fully 238 did so, believing the promised $5 billion investment and 50,000 jobs could transform their communities. But few areas offer the workforce, cultural attractions and transportation links that the company sought. It quickly whittled the field down to 20 finalists, most with sizable tech communities, and ultimately decided to go with two of the largest.

The decision will be expensive for Amazon, even with the more than $2 billion in grants and tax credits that New York and Virginia authorities are providing. Speculators have already been making punts on property in New York’s Long Island City neighborhood and the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia, and the cities boast two of the nation’s hottest labor markets. Unemployment in the nation’s capital stands at just 3.3 percent and Google is aggressively expanding its workforce in New York City.