Gov. Cuomo reportedly pleaded to Jeff Bezos to bring Amazon HQ2 back to New York
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to win back Amazon by making calls to executives, including Jeff Bezos, according to The New York Times.
- Cuomo is upset with local politicians who had opposed the deal with Amazon.
- Amazon abandoned its plans to build half of its new headquarters in New York City earlier this month.
- Several local New York leaders will publish an open letter in the Times, asking Amazon to come back.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been pleading with Amazon executives, including CEO Jeff Bezos, to reconsider their decision to abandon plans to build a new office there, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Cuomo was outraged at local politicians who had opposed Amazon's HQ2 build on Long Island City and eventually drove the company out. Following Amazon's Valentine's Day announcement that it was abandoning its planned move to New York that would bring 25,000 jobs, Cuomo issued a statement saying, "a small group [of] politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community — which poll after poll showed overwhelmingly supported bringing Amazon to Long Island City — the state's economic future and the best interests of the people of this state."
In the past two weeks, Cuomo has reportedly been trying to do damage control by promising Amazon executives he would help them cut through New York's bureaucracy, according to the Times, though Amazon has not indicated it's working.
Amazon executives reportedly learned of an open letter meant to be published in the Times on Friday and signed by a number of New York-based unions, businesses and community groups expressing support for Amazon.
"Governor Cuomo will take personal responsibility for the project's state approval," the signatories wrote, according to a version of the letter published by the Times in advance on Thursday.
"The State Senate made a terrible blunder — everyone, including their members, knows it — and 75 percent of New Yorkers affirmed it; the Governor will take over the process and can comfortably assure Amazon the approval will get done," a spokesperson for Cuomo told CNBC in a statement.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Read the full report at The New York Times.
Watch: How Amazon's decision impacts future talks between companies, governments