The Excelsior program, which is most of Amazon's state subsidy in this HQ2 deal, has existed long before HQ2 was first mentioned. Its goal is to create more jobs, and so clearly there is pre-existing motivation to drum up new business via subsidies. It's also a tax credit on things like prior job creation, and so it does not carry the same risk as a capital investment that the city may not recoup: https://esd.ny.gov/excelsior-jobs-program