Andrew Cuomo, New York Gov., criticized local politicians opposing his deal to make Amazon a reality by bringing its second headquarters to Long Island City. The opposition by state Senate was referred to by Cuomo as governmental malpractice. He added that political opposition should not affect sane government policy. This happened shortly after Amazon announced its plans of bringing its new office to Long Island City neighborhood in Queens, New York City borough, which could provide 25,000 jobs with $150,000 as average salary. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and few others have opposed this almost $3m in performance-based incentives that the city and state government offered Amazon to encourage the Long Island project. Cuomo fears that such political opposition might scare Amazon off from coming to New York. The creation of numerous high-paying jobs in New York is being encouraged by the governor, despite objections from local politicians. People opposing the city and state’s deal with Amazon believe that the apparent reconsideration by the tech giant is a sign that their message is resonating with both company executives and locals alike.
State Senator Michael Gianaris is one of the people criticizing the Amazon deal. He said that Amazon posting about its reconsideration of the Long Island project in the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper, The Washington Post could very well be a negotiation tactic. Gianaris is one of the individuals to have been selected to be a part of the state board which will ultimately reject or approve Amazon’s deal. At the same time, Cuomo believes that the presence of the technology company in New York could drive the economy massively and ultimately prove to be a blessing for everyone. He further believes that for diversification of the economy of New York City, Amazon is required. NYC cannot be just about Wall Street and finance.
