Regional Plan Association Gives Amazon HQ2 a Thumbs Up

The Regional Plan Association (RPA) released a report Monday that lends conditional support to the deal that will bring Amazon's second headquarters (HQ2) to the Long Island City neighborhood in New York.

Matthew Flamm characterizes the new RPA white paper as supportive of the idea that HQ2 could make progress in three areas of need in Long Island City: "affordable housing, expanding mass transit and protecting Long Island City from sea-level rise."

"Tom Wright, the RPA's chief executive, compares the Amazon deal to Disney's mid-1990s agreement to purchase the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street and invest in Times Square," according to Flamm. "Eventually, he said, Disney and the city had the same goals."

The article includes more details on the report's findings and recommendations on each of the three targeted policy areas.