Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hails Amazon's possible pullout from NYC
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez applauded news on Friday that Amazon is reportedly reconsidering its plans to build a second headquarters in New York City as it faces fierce opposition from some state and city officials.
“Can everyday people come together and effectively organize against creeping overreach of one of the world’s biggest corporations?” she wrote in a tweet. “Yes, they can.”
In a statement to FOX Business, Amazon denied that it was considering exiting the deal.
The New York Democrat, who represents the 14th Congressional District, has been a fierce critic of the e-commerce giant's proposed second headquarters in Long Island City, a neighborhood in Queens.
Like other opponents, Ocasio-Cortez slammed Amazon for accepting $3 billion in incentives to build in New York, despite being the most valuable public company on the planet and being owned by the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos. (In exchange, Amazon said it would create 25,000 high-paying jobs in the area, while investing at least $2.5 billion in the New York City area).
“Amazon is a billion-dollar company,” she wrote at the time. “The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here.”
In November, after a year-long contest in which hundreds of cities around the country pitched themselves to the e-commerce giant, Amazon said it would split its second headquarters evenly between the New York City community of Long Island City and Arlington, Virginia.The deal was thrown into limbo this week, however, with the attempt to appoint state Sen. Michael Gianaris, D-Queens, a noted critic of the deal, to the state's Public Authorities Control Board, which could be the deciding force behind the development plan for Amazon. And if it's presented with the plan, will have the power to veto it, as first reported by The New York Times.
Gianaris told FOX Business that his ultimate goal is to see the deal “thrown into the garbage” if he has the chance. It’s unclear whether New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who helped to negotiate the closed-doors deal with Mayor Bill De Blasio, will approve Gianaris’ appointment to the board.
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"The deal that is before us would be horrible for New York and horrible for the country and set the precedent of giving $3 billion to the wealthiest corporation in the company to pay them to come here, especially when many of us believe they were likely to come anyway," he added.
