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The company, as part of its extensive search for a new headquarters, had chosen Long Island City, Queens, as one of two winning sites, saying that it would create more than 25,000 jobs in the city.
But the agreement to lure Amazon stirred an intense debate about the use of public subsidies to entice wealthy companies, the rising cost of living in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods and the city’s very identity.
“A number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward,” Amazon said in a statement.
The company’s decision is a major blow for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had set aside their differences to bring the company to New York.
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But it was at least a short-term win for insurgent progressive politicians led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose upset victory last year occurred in the area where Amazon had planned its site. Her win galvanized the party’s left flank, which mobilized against the deal, and on Thursday she seemed to revel in the company’s retreat.
As opposition mounted, the governor and the mayor met on Monday in Albany and discussed how to save the deal, according to a person familiar with the conversations but who was not authorized to discuss them.
After the meeting, de Blasio spoke to a senior Amazon executive by phone on Monday and the mayor was told that the company remained committed to coming to New York, the person said. De Blasio was in the process of connecting with Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive, the person said. It was unclear if he did.
Both the mayor’s and the governor’s offices reassured Amazon executives that, despite the vocal criticism, the deal they had negotiated would be approved. But the company appeared upset at even a moderate level of resistance, the person said.
Amazon’s leadership agreed to pull out of New York on Wednesday evening, according to two people familiar with the decision. The company did not inform the governor or the mayor until Thursday morning, shortly before posting its announcement.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.