Amazon HQ favorites: Similar basics, different vibes

NEW YORK (AP) — The communities said to be favored to become home to a pair of big, new East Coast bases for Amazon are both riverfront stretches of major metropolitan areas with ample transportation and space for workers.

But there are many differences between New York’s Long Island City and Crystal City in northern Virginia.

Crystal City is a thicket of 1980s-era office towers seeking new economic energy after thousands of federal jobs moved elsewhere over the past 15 years.

Long Island City is New York City’s fastest-developing neighborhood, an old manufacturing area cultivating a new image as a hub for technology, arts and urbane living.

People familiar with the talks have said Long Island City and Crystal City are in the lead in the intense competition.

Seattle-based Amazon declined to comment.