Mayor Bill de Blasio has flatly rejected JPMorgan Chase’s request for $1 billion in tax breaks to build its headquarters in New York.
The bank is currently in talks with city and state officials about potentially building two towers at Hudson Yards to house 16,000 employees. The project would cost $6.5 billion.
De Blasio, however, called the proposal a “nonstarter.”
He added that “there was a discussion put forward to the city of a substantial amount of subsidy, and as Deputy Mayor [Alicia] Glen made very clear publicly, that’s not on the table from the city point of view,” Mr. de Blasio said at a press conference in Broad Channel, Queens, on the city’s Sandy relief program. “But we value J.P. Morgan as a major employer for this city, for sure, and we certainly look forward to their long-term presence here as they’re looking to switch locations, and if we can find appropriate ways to be helpful, we certainly will.”
If not on the far West Side of Manhattan, Chase may relocate to New Jersey or Delaware, according to Crain’s. De Blasio said he is not against tax incentives in general, but that he is against the $1 billion figure. [Crain’s] — Claire Moses