Amazon had a shitlist of officials and critics against their HQ2 deal

NY Post


Amazon brass kept a “burn book” to memorialize unkind comments made by those who opposed the online retail giant’s headquarters move to New York before pulling the plug on the project, it was revealed Wednesday.

The Microsoft Word document called “NY Negative Statements” was filled with criticism from officials and neighbors, who said the move to Queens would send real estate prices soaring — and that it wasn’t worth the thousands of new jobs Amazon promised.

The book had a specific section for politicians who opposed the project, which by late January appeared to be in jeopardy despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s support, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, had his own chapter in the document that included him dissing Amazon’s founder while addressing shivering union members in late January: “It’s a cold day in New York, but not as cold as Jeff Bezos ’ heart.”

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, whose district included Amazon’s new campus, complained that his anti-Amazon campaign appeared to be going nowhere.

“We were punching, and no one was punching back,” Van Bramer told The Journal.
But Amazon was taking notes.

One of the first entries in the book came from state Sen. Mike Gianaris, a Democrat like Van Bramer whose district also included the new campus.

He and Van Bramer had signed a letter in 2017 supporting the project but a year later were having second thoughts about the fat tax breaks.

“We were not elected to serve as Amazon drones,” Gianaris wrote in a joint statement sent with Van Bramer.

Gianaris had the longest section, with 25 entries.

Feds probing Sanders

From the NY Post:

A couple who run a small urban farm said powerful Queens lawmaker James Sanders offered them $1.7 million in taxpayer money to fund their operation — then demanded a $250,000 kickback.

Marion Moses and Malisa Rivera said they refused Sanders, then a city councilman, during a 2012 sit-down. Sanders, now a state senator running for Congress, became irate, and the couple believe their charity has been blacklisted by government officials ever since, they told The Post.

Three weeks ago, Moses filed a civilian crime report with the office of Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara. Sources said the feds were already investigating Sanders for steering City Council discretionary funds to other nonprofits.

Mike Duvalle, a former Sanders staffer, told The Post that he met with the FBI last month in connection with that probe.