Amazon HQ2 in Queens will be in ‘danger zone for frequent flooding’

Yana Paskova | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Long Island City, New York, where Amazon will place one of their new headquarter locations, as seen through the Queensboro Bridge on November 13, 2018.

“And the truth is, heavy rain has already increased by 50 percent in the Northeast. So we can expect that trend to continue. It gets warmer, it means the air can hold more moisture and we get bigger downpours,” said Strauss of Climate Central.

From 2005 to 2014, Queens saw an additional 31 days of coastal flooding due to climate change, researchers say. If Queens experienced a 6-foot flood, which scientists expect by the end of this century, that would put $13 billion worth of property at risk of damage, including about 34,000 homes, according to Climate Central and Zillow.

Companies and residential developers continue to build on the water because that is simply where people want to live and work. Long Island City is already becoming a hot spot for New York City, and Amazon will speed that change exponentially. New York City is also running out of large spaces for developments like this one, which likely played into the choice.

Amazon is more than likely considering all these risks as it plans its new headquarters, although a spokesman for the company said they could not comment on any plans. Like other waterfront buildings, the new headquarters will have to be built as a stronghold — resilient against weather and water.

“But then you have to ask how easy will it be to get to and from their headquarters, what’s happening to the surrounding neighborhood? And they’re going to need the city’s help to fortify the whole area,” Strauss said.