The
billion-dollar deal to bring Amazon to Queens has New York Democrats
and union leaders at each others’ throats as rumors swirl that the plan
could crumble at any minute.
“The
question is whether it’s worth it if the politicians in New York don’t
want the project, especially with how people in Virginia and Nashville
have been so welcoming,” an anonymous source familiar with internal
discussions told the newspaper, which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
The Queens Democrat, whose district includes the proposed campus, had previously signed a letter asking the company to build its headquarters in New York. He has since soured on the offered incentives.
“Amazon’s pattern of extortion leaves me to believe that they should pack their bags,” he said.
But
the venture has faced a barrage of criticism from local and national
politicians, including state Sen. Michael Gianaris, who has argued that
one of the nation’s richest corporations should not be getting handouts
at the expense of New York taxpayers.
The Queens Democrat, whose district includes the proposed campus, had previously signed a letter asking the company to build its headquarters in New York. He has since soured on the offered incentives.
“Amazon’s pattern of extortion leaves me to believe that they should pack their bags,” he said.
Gianaris,
appointed earlier in the week to a panel that could veto a $500 million
grant that was part of the construction deal, said he wasn’t sure what
Amazon’s next move would be, nor did he seem to care.
“I
don’t know whether to believe them or not,” he said. “What I can tell
you is that no amount political machinations from Andrew Cuomo are going
to mask the fact that this deal stinks"
While
some speculated that the rumblings of a reneging Friday might be a
power play by Amazon — or even the governor — Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer (D-Queens), who opposes the plan, thought the deal was earnestly
“in trouble.”
“I think there's a possibility that this is gamesmanship and they're trying to call a bluff — but we're not bluffing,” Van Bramer said. “If in fact it is an attempt to call a bluff, it’s yet another strategic blunder in a series of blunders that the governor, the mayor and Amazon have committed since they announced the deal in November.”
While it's refreshing to see Jimmy vociferously reject this deal due to the efforts of the people organizing against the corporate welfare deal in his district, he sure was all gung ho a year ago in an letter Crappy sent to me:
Last year he was calling LIC a "mixed-use" neighborhood. So it's kind of good to see he's seen the light and the error of his tone-deaf description of a neighborhood he represents right?
Governor Andrew Amazon on the other hand:
NY Daily News
Gov.
Cuomo took aim at Senate Democrats on Friday, accusing his fellow party
members of “governmental malpractice” and “political pandering” in
their opposition to Amazon’s planned Queens campus and eyeing an
unpopular income tax hike.
Addressing business leaders on Long Island, Cuomo warned that his colleagues in the legislature are taking their fate in their own hands by continuing to speak out against the deal to bring the eCommerce titan, and tens of thousands of jobs, to Long Island City.
“For the state Senate to oppose Amazon was governmental malpractice,” Cuomo said. “If they stop Amazon from coming to New York, they’re going to have the people of New York to explain it to.”
Cuomo’s
comments came on the heels of a Washington Post report that the online
retailer is “reconsidering” its options in light of mounting criticism
of the project.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and her counterpart in the Assembly, Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), have both raised concerns about Amazon’s opposition to unionization of its workers and the nearly $3 billion in tax incentives used to entice the company to the Empire State.
Mike Murphy, a spokesman for the Democratic majority in the Senate, lamented the divisions.
"It
is unfortunate that the Governor is trying to divide the Democratic
Party at this crucial and historic time,” Murphy said. “The Senate
Democratic Majority Conference and our partners in the Assembly finally
returned New York as the progressive beacon to the rest of the country.”
Andy doth project too much, for it was he who committed malpractice against his constituency and pandered to Bezos to circumvent laws to fast track this rancid deal.
Andy doth project too much, for it was he who committed malpractice against his constituency and pandered to Bezos to circumvent laws to fast track this rancid deal.
Update:
43 comments:
Wow is Queenscrap an AOC supporter?
Say it ain't so. Please
When NYC has managed to chase out its tax base, and cause its intellectual and creative class to migrate to get away from leftist social experiments, they will remember this as the turning point that launched it on that trajectory.
NYC will become a hopeless basket case attracting riff raff from around the world.
What does she care? She has a job
AOC is a fanatical nut job
I'm disgusted that you would post her drivel here
Dumblasio and Cuomo are REBNY employees
AOC is a gift that keeps giving !
#TRUMP2020
Amazon will work out a deal with NYC too much on the line to kill the deal.
Why is the local public footing the bill for this private company only benefiting every Tom, Dick, Harry & Wong imported from all over the world period.
""cause its intellectual and creative class to migrate""
What? That already happened long ago!
All we have is immigrants on the take and Millennial Hipshits only interested in music, dancing and art. Shit, they wont even pick up a broom, cant change a flat tire. Who is Andy Amazon kidding with "jobs for locals" aside some union people who will only stay hired for the construction.
Jobs have to be created for the skills of the local people not the other way around. Trash all these liberal arts programs in colleges and teach something useful like medical or hands on technical skills like the Chinese & Indians do.
What a bunch of dopes & crooks running this city
BASTARDS. They want to bring paying jobs to NYC? Those bastards.
How can you let them do that?
Mike:
The drivel you cite is the organizing by the citizenry and the (though belated) political action to save this city and state 3 billion dollars (and actually more considering the opportunity zone scheme) and lots of displacement and more strain on our subways and infrastructure. And she is the most popular politician in the nation right now so I thought her tweet fit the story.
I admit I support the congresswoman, you don't have to if you don't want and you can express your displeasure about it anytime here.
Glad to see JQ LLC fill in during Crappy's absent. AND very happy to finally be out of this shit hole city, like 1300 miles away. And by the way, what is wrong with AOC, she is young, ambition and the one politician who knows just how bad are world is with man made global warming and she speaks for the common person. I see some of you are still in your bubble. Try not listening to assholes like Hannity, Ingram, and that bloated whale Rush. Glad I am far far away from the same old nonsense in NYC, a destroyed city by GREED.
She’s photogenic and social media savvy. So are the Kardashian’s and in no way do they speak for the average NY’er. I’m kinda hoping the go with wind political hacks chase away this immense job creating opportunity because it will let everyone see how incompetent our local politicians are. Yayy to homeless shelters where we pay in excess of 4K a month to shelter the able bodied, that profit the homeless hotel warehousing scammers. And nay to job creation. It’ll be fun to watch Giannaris die a political death when he tries coming up with an alternative job creator, because the bottomless appetite that’s been wet with endless wasted public funds will be hard to satiate. What I’d like is every super generous liberal who wants to support the homeless should open their doors and house them. I’d like my tax dollars go to schools, clean streets, and transit needs. As for those in need, I’d say have daily job sites where we provide broom ready jobs. The addicts and the insane aren’t the community’s responsibility but today’s politicians have made them the priority.
JQ is right. AOC had nothing to do with this. She is just a mouthpiece taking credit.
I've read your stuff for many years JQ I thought you would be wiser than this. Very disappointed.
Mike Meyers - Let him cite AOC. The more, the better. Having a 29 year old blowjob decide the direction of the Democrat party is a gift from God to Republicans. On a side note, now that the Dems have complete control of NYS there are no more adults left in the room we can expect a complete circus.
The Jackass Governor says in that article
“If they stop Amazon from coming to New York, they’re going to have the people of New York to explain it to.”
WRONG: The people weren't fooled by all this bullshit and are happy these shit politicians are representing THE LITTLE PEOPLE TAXPAYERS for once.
No s'plainin needed!!!
JQ LLC,
It's a curious thing this "...save this city and state 3 billion dollars" as the most actual grant money being bandied about is from $325 million to $505 million. As I understand the situation, The $3 billion is a tax break, i.e. Amazon pays $3 billion less then otherwise under the tax laws. So in the end Amazon pays some taxes just not as much.
Just for the record I do not support the $325 to $505 million grant money.
So perhaps I've misunderstood the situation (and would stand corrected if so) but the math of Amazon actually paying a certain amount of taxes less than $3 billion would appear to be a net positive to NYS and NYC coffers rather than a net negative. This does not count employee income taxes which would be a further net positive.
So exactly how are the taxpayers spending $3 billion?
Donald Cavaioli
"everyday people"!!! Gag. It was Ok when Sly and the Family Stone sang it. Everyone else needs to STOP!
Last year JVB was in favor of the proposal because it looked profitable for him, after all whats a little honest graft between friends? When Cuomo, BDB, and Corey Johnson dealt him out of the deal, he squeals like a stuck pig...
AOC is the most popular politician in the nation right now because she is so incredibly stupid and uninformed that she is a total laughingstock. Someone to point at and laugh. Her absurd suggestions are totally fiscally untenable. She has allied herself with antisemitic elements. Supposedly one of those who are supposed to write our laws, she has grasped at straws in an idiotic attempt to justify people from south of the border attempting to bypass our laws and enter our country illegally. I fear that while attention is riveted on her antics, more sinister things are being planned and executed by others in her party, things that will threaten our security.
"...more strain on our subways and infrastructure."
So we shouldn't have anymore business in Queens County because it will harm the infrastructure and place excessive strain of mass transit? Or maybe place a population cap on the county so to ease the strain?
How about canning the BQX and taking the $2,700,000,000 it will cost (probably double that) and invest that sum in additional buses and upgrade subways for Queens and Brooklyn?
"NYC will become a hopeless basket case attracting riff raff from around the world."
It already is. Thanks to the tourists and the transients, this city has become a poorly managed theme park.
And it's all thanks to neoliberalism.
1) The level of furor about AOC is ridiculous. Her views are very liberal, but well thought out. Her 70% tax plan was no different than many republican tax plans of the past. Get past the knee jerk sky is falling Trumpian reflexes.
2) Van Bramer routinely changes his stance and/or takes no stance until he is sure which stance will serve him better. There are no principles in him anywhere.
A pox on ALL their houses!
I was right. The pod people came for you during your absence.
NYC is a hopeless basket of semi-literates, illegal immigrants, dumb commie radicals, and low lives ... A socialist shit.
NYC was a much nicer basket case under Giuliani.
Move these tootaroos upstate, where the town's could benefit fro. The jobs. You want to work amazon,move upstate. Do we really need all these strangers moving in ,disrupting property values?
Ah, so no answer to my question. Then all the noise over Amazon getting "corporate welfare" in a tax break is just the squeal of snouts being held back from the trough. Thought so.
Whatsa matter JQ? Can't answer? So all this sniveling about $3 billion the taxpayers giving Amazon is bullshit, isn't it.
The infrastructure problems the Amazon HQ will bring and the grant money are problematic but you've just got to harp on worn out old socialist cliches?
Oh, and dude, try looking up the word "neo-liberal", understand the definition of the word and who really fits the definition instead of just throwing it around as a pejorative or a buzz word because 'muh real progressive' nonsense.
And to all you AOC fanboys: Get over it. She is still not going to sleep with you.
Her original posting of the Green New Deal was weapons-grade stupid and her website had to take it down to re-edit it to just be industrial-grade stupid. Even Pelosi thought it was asinine.
Check out what Styx had to say about it. (Sure he looks like a hippie but he's a solid guy)
https://youtu.be/0CwdZd8_XCw
Donald Cavaioli
Joe Moretti
Please come home
All is forgiven
We‘ll send the DSNY out for a few photo opps when you squawk
We‘ll even throw in a couple of Doe Fund cons w/brooms
@Joe Moretti said...
Do you want out of your Global Warming bubble ?
Climate change is real but is not what most people believe.
I ask you Joe and Crappy followers to lean the truth and #wake up ! The lame stream media is a joke and should not be watched to hear the truth.
The World climate Joe is being destroyed by GREED right in front of our eyes.
Where ever you are Joe look up and watch the Chemtrails in the sky !
https://www.youtube.com/user/danewigington
@Joe Moretti said...
"Glad to see JQ LLC fill in during Crappy's absent"
Better than having you Joe and your "Commies" take over !
With the new moderator this blog has actually become "Queens Crap".
The only reason why Jimmy and Gianaris are opposed to the deal is they weren't cut into the deal when it was made, and thus, can't line their pockets with the graft that has been and will be spread around.
People are stupd and because many people doesn't like change. They voice their opinions like "Oh 25k people, it will get congested..drive prices up etc.. argh..blah." At least these are 25k ppl will be averaging $100k in salary and paying taxes. These are the same whiners who does not even realized that there are more than 25k people who illegally came to reside in NYC who doesn't pay taxes over the past few years incrementally and growing.
So let me ask those idiots...it's ok for 25k people to come here illegally who doesn't pay taxes and getting low income benefits when they aren't here legally, but it's not ok for 25k white collar or even blue colloar works to come here and pay taxes? Dumbutts. (I purpose spell it incorrectly so the post will allow to go through the vulgar filters)
So how about this.. homeless people, strippers or drug dealer vs 25k of mostly white collar workers in LIC. Go pick the 'poison' between these two. Why only these two? The reason is that if these idiot whiners are out there pushing away Amazon.. do you think another big companies will come here next time? NO!. They will be like 'I thought nyc or Queens people are smart but I guess they are idiots.. they dont' want their city to grow with huge job creations and I guess the politician doesn't want tax revenues either" So they will be like ok, I'm going somewhere else. Eventually there is nothing there in LIC. Don't tell me little mom and pop stores will bring that many jobs.. They are nothing in terms of massive job creation. So the area will be void and vacant and come the homeless people and stripper etc to fill the gap instead of high end educated classy people who can make your neighborhood a lot better and rise in value.
Then later on if these homeless people came or if it's empty, there will be another clean up like 42nd street of NYC and then have to offer incentives to get companies here. By that time it's too late. It's too late before of those stupid whiner who doesn't know sht and just whine about change and doesn't know basic economics.
Same goes for the shtty politicians who are TWO-FACE. They know that Amazon can bring big reveneus even if there is the 3 billion dollars tax breaks. They have to be dumazzes if they don't and I think AOC is way too young to understand anything.
Being popular/social media savy/noticable doesn't mean you are smart.
Think about this.. 25k jobs averaging $100k each. That is 2.5 BILLION dollars Amazon is paying to the worker PER YEAR. How much taxes is NY getting. Well in general it's about 30%. So 30% of 2.5 BILLION dollar PER YEAR equals to 750 MILLION DOLLARS IN ONE YEAR. Think 10 years.. that's 7.5 BILLION DOLLARS that ny will be getting. Ok numbers of percent tax might be a bit off, but you just get the point right.. just substitute the numbers. This DOES NOT include the money that will be spend at mom and pops store AROUND NYC.. they will be also taxed by NYC. That 3 BILLION in tax incentives is NOTHING compare to the amount NYC will get in 10 or 20 YEARS. They probably break even in 3 years, like most businesses.
So you just want NYC to be known as greedy finance and wall street? You don't want to hedge with technology companies? It's common sense.
Socialist shithole with $2000 rents and no-place to park.
I think I'm moving to San Antonio because perhaps 1 million illegals are coming here.
At least I will never see a snow shovel again.
My city has been murdered, it no longer exists
Arguably the City being a basketcase of riffraff from the world over has always been one of its main appeals..unless you happened to be directly descended from a displaced Lenape native...you've no justification nor standing to object.
That said, I'd prefer a sane borough population cap but it's politically unfeasible and suicide to even suggest such a thing...and how would it be enforceable without giving up our ostensibly still "free" society? The minute you determine by fiat a ceiling on how many can live where, you cede a lot of authority from the people. Then regardless of how hard you work you don't get decide where to live- some bureaucrat does.
@Don
I am running two blogs and have to work, so I don't have an immediate answer for you, so enjoy your little victory. If you want to find out how mistaken you are, read some articles by Richard Wolf, Piketty, and David Cay Johnson
Funny how you do agree of the ramifications for this rancid sneaky deal but have to dis socialism yet again. Socialism was just dandy for the banks in 2008, and especially for Alicia Glen's former employers and buddies @ Goldman Sachs.
And neoliberal isn't just a buzzword, it's the philosophy behind all these avarice influenced deals and foreign policies.
Don't project your desires for the congresswoman on others.
@ Don again
I saw the video, and was unsurprisingly disappointed. I was expecting to see and hear critical views of the green new deal (which the person actually found some of it agreeable, particularly regarding pee) by Dennis de Young or Tommy Shaw.
The guy overlooked cruise ships for foreign travel. Technology has actually advanced for them, Those ships have frickin roller coasters on them!
Deal is dead and all the news people are telling lies FIOS one news: "Archie bunkers tossed a great deal" claiming the local people and politicians are stupid.
Not one word about where Amazon was gonna source these so called $100,000.
Certainly not locals.
Q:How many people in Ridgewood, Maspeth, LIC, Astoria are rocket, software and hardware engineers to get these $100K positions and the insane rent increases this would have caused.
JQ LLC,
What victory?
I've won nothing here as I am not the subject of this discussion. But there are enough good reasons to question Amazon in LIC than to resort to a lie. And not even a very smart lie at that. Color me not surprised you'd buy that bullshit or carry a politician's water for that.
An offered tax cut does not cost the people a dime and no politician or activist's fuzzy math can change that. Besides now that Amazon has dropped the LIC location, it's a moot point.
So you really want to defend 100% renewable energy, no nuclear, as anything less than asinine?
Do you know anything about the subject? Roller coasters on ships? Seriously? That's your response? Is this the hill you've chosen to die on?
Do you even understand the wind turbines only average 30% nameplate power? Or that wind and solar still need back-up generators- fossil fuel, wood chip or gas powered generators or power storage systems because their power output can't change with load demands?
Let's not forget wind turbine bearing problems or solar panel efficiencies of %7 to $10 direct sunlight to electricity or the losses from the inverters. Don't buy the fluffed numbers from solar panel salesmen. They're just out to make a buck.
But don't take my word for it. Ask Germany how their renewable energy program is going-
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/07/business/energy-environment/german-renewable-energy.html
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/369386-germany-shows-how-shifting-to-renewable-energy-can-backfire
Did AOC find a supply of unobtainium to fix this?
It's an expensive boondoggle and little more than crony capitalist feeding frenzy. Who gives a shit about roller coasters on ships when we're paying more for electricity and sitting in blackouts.
I put the Styx video link in as a joke, BTW.
Something tells me you're not up for a debate on this Green New Deal subject because you don't know what you're talking about any more than you really know the difference between a progressive liberal mayor and a neo-liberal beyond a simple slur thrown in a hissy fit.
You've got a brain, I've seen you use it in the past. Try using it again instead of making a fool of yourself.
Donald Cavaioli
I wasn't expecting a debate on a comment feed. And I never mentioned anything about the Green New Deal, but I guess just posting a tweet by the congresswoman was enough to initiate it.
But wasn't socialism great for the banks in 2008 and 2009? Isn't socialism awesome for the Pentagon? And of course the elderly.
Well about the green new deal you are just champing at the bit to bring up. Why can't it work if the money, resources and manpower was available for it. Maybe harnessing energy can improve instead of fracking gas on federal parklands and majestic purple mountains and eventually try to beat other nations to drill for oil in the antarctic.
And I know that we still need fossil fuels and we will not be able to phase out of the usage of them in our lifetimes or when the planets eleven years are up.
I wouldn't doubt that there will be and currently are hustlers looking to scam customers in the solar and wind industry. But don't act like the crony capitalism of oil and power industries never existed or will be supplanted by those who you believe will exploit the Green New Deal. Examples, Con Ed, Enron and most recently in Cali, PG & E
I guess you did more of the math about Amazon's deal and I relied more on the headlines of hundreds of articles I read. I base my argument, as well as many many others, on the circumvention and stealth tactics of this rancid deal and the reality of our surroundings with the decline of transit, lack of or no affordable apartments, decrepit infrastructure and the homeless population that would have surely exacerbated. And of course there's the fact of a trillion dollar company looking for handouts that haven't paid a penny in taxes in 2 years.
I am not above constructive criticism, but I didn't think I sounded foolish. And I believe my understanding and criticisms of the most corrupt mayor of the last century has more depth than just slurs. Sorry you can't see that and prefer to make me seem like some kind of dope. But I do see where the inspiration of some of your essays come from.
Although this will make me study a lot more on these subjects. But for now I got a lot of other shit on my mind I have to write. (and those "new bad days" posts get tougher to compile every day.)
So the styx video was a joke. But you couldn't tell that roller coaster wasn't?
"... you don't know what you're talking about any more than you really know the difference between a progressive liberal mayor and a neo-liberal beyond a simple slur thrown in a hissy fit"
So I will let the source himself tell you:
Checks on corporate hegemony and obscene inequality do not happen without pushing the Democratic Party to the left. When the Amazon deal was announced last year, Mayor Bill de Blasio remarked, “One of the biggest companies on earth next to the largest public housing unit in the country — the synergy is going to be extraordinary.” It is a welcome and overdue moment when a politician who utters such tone deaf, neoliberal paeans can no longer pass as progressive.
https://theintercept.com/2019/02/15/amazon-nyc-hq2/
Later Cav
By the way that was great synopsis about Amazon on your blog.
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