Yesterday we featured a post that reported that Amazon was thinking of walking away from locating it’s international headquarters in Long Island City, Queens , New York….
Today we get several things in response to the story first reported in the Washington Post….
Amazon says it’s NOT changing its plan’s.according to the New York Times sources…
New York Governor Cuomo is in a fight with his own Democrats in the State Senate…
Hmmm?
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday accused the Democratic-controlled state Senate of “governmental malpractice” for what he said was threatening the multibillion-dollar deal to bring an Amazon headquarters to New York, after a published report that said the retail giant is having second thoughts.
“If Amazon doesn’t come to New York, it is because of the political opposition. For the state Senate to oppose Amazon was governmental malpractice,” Cuomo told the Long Island Association business group in Woodbury. “And if they stop Amazon from coming to New York, they are going to have to have the people of New York State to explain it to. It is irresponsible to allow political opposition to overcome sound government policy.”
The blistering attack sparked a harsh back-and-forth between the Democratic governor and the Senate. The focus of Cuomo’s ire, Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), an Amazon critic who represents the area where the company might build, said the governor was to blame for making a “secret” and “bad” giveaway deal with Amazon. The senator also raised the possibility that Cuomo had “orchestrated” the threat of Amazon leaving as a way to silence critics.
“It’s very curious that he had a slide ready to be presented 10 minutes after news broke that Amazon was reconsidering,” Gianaris said. “A cynic might believe this is all orchestrated. The governor’s always about pointing fingers at anyone but himself. He made a secret deal with Amazon. He made a bad deal with Amazon. He has to live with the consequences of that.”
The internet giant announced in November it had chosen to build half its East Coast headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, and the other half in Northern Virginia, promising 25,000 jobs for each location. New York and Virginia beat out numerous other competitors.
Cuomo said the state and city will provide $3 billion in tax breaks and aid to Amazon, one of the world’s richest companies, while the company would provide $27 billion in tax revenue, adding, “I would do that all day long.” The area is zoned for mixed commercial and residential use…..
image..queenseagle.com
Supporters of Amazon’s plan to bring a new hub to Queens gathered Monday in front of the Queensbridge North Houses to counter critics who say the deal has little to no grassroots backing.
Their event attracted a diverse — and unlikely — mix of about a dozen people to the Long Island City public housing complex and included tenant leaders, a representative from the pro-business Association for a Better New York and Rep. Carolyn Maloney…..
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