Amazon 'On Their Own' In Expanding NYC Presence, De Blasio Says

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio isn't primed for another Amazon deal. The mayor suggested that he would not help the massive online retailer expand its presence in New York City as it reportedly hunts for offices in Manhattan.

"It doesn’t surprise me at all but again, they’re going to have to do it on their own," de Blasio said Tuesday at an unrelated news conference.

The mayor was responding to The New York Post's report that Amazon is shopping for at least 100,000 square feet of office space in a pair of skyscrapers near Penn Station known as One Manhattan West and Two Manhattan West.

Also in consideration is a development at the U.S. post office's James A. Farley Building along Eighth Avenue, which will be able to take on tenants next May, according to the Post.

The reported office plans appear to be smaller than Amazon's proposed headquarters in Long Island City, which would have encompassed as much as 8 million square feet and created at least 25,000 jobs. But the company scrapped those plans in February amid heated opposition from some elected officials and activist groups.

De Blasio supported that deal, which relied on nearly $3 billion in tax breaks and grants. But he said Amazon's abrupt withdrawal from the plan left a bad taste in the city's mouth.

"We are very jaded now after having made a full agreement, that I thought was a fair agreement, and then they just walked away from (it) in the dead of night," de Blasio said. "So they have not spoken to me, they have not reached out to me, but if they do something on their own and it adds jobs, well that’s fine then."

Amazon already has some 5,000 employees in New York City and the company opened one of its Go convenience stores in Tribeca this month. Other major tech companies such as Google and Netflix have also recently announced plans to expand in the city.

Amazon spokeswoman Erin Mulhall declined to respond directly to de Blasio's remarks, but she said the company does not "comment on rumors or speculation."