Why You Can Trust CNET Amazon to fund computer science classes in NYC ahead of new HQ2 campus
The online retail giant has also promised to support infrastructure and green space projects.
Amazon Future Engineer students at Monsignor Scanlan High School in the Bronx.
Amazon says it'll fund computer science classes in the Big Apple.
On Tuesday the e-commerce giant unveiled a plan to fund introductory and advanced placement computer science courses to over 130 high schools in the New York City area. The classes are supported by the company's Amazon Future Engineer program.
"We want to help make sure more children across New York City gain the coding skills necessary to have successful careers in many fields," said Jeff Wilke, CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon, in a release. "We will continue to invest in bringing these classes to more schools in New York City and across the US."
This comes as Amazon plans to build a new headquarters inLong Island City in Queens. In November the company picked Queens borough in New York City and National Landing in Arlington, Virginia, for its HQ2 project. New York agreed to provide $1.53 billion in incentives, pegged to the company's plans to create 25,000 jobs with an average wage of $150,000. Amazon's New York plans have faced criticism, but the company has promised a big boon to the local economy and jobs market. Amazon has also agreed to donate a site for a new primary or secondary school, and fund infrastructure improvements and green space.
In December, a Quinnipiac University poll showed that 57 percent of New Yorkers approved of Amazon's plan to build a new campus there, with 26 percent against it. A lot of people had mixed feelings on the incentives used to attract Amazon to Queens.
Here's the full list of high schools in New York City where Amazon will fund computer science courses.