12
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, AUG. 4, 2019
WHAT TILL AMAZON DELIVER?: New Yorkers are split over how a huge Amazon logistics facility
would impact Sunset Park. Industry City
Brooklynites split
on Amazon rumor
BY ROSE ADAMS
With Amazon reportedly
eyeing up to 1 million
square feet of space
within Sunset Park’s Industry
City for a new storage
and shipping facility,
locals are split on what
the tech giant’s presence
could mean for the
largely working-class,
immigrant community.
One longtime resident
said the neighborhood
doesn’t need the
type of no-skill labor that
Amazon’s factories employ,
and that what Sunset
Park really needs are
more high-paying, skilled
manufacturing jobs.
“What do distribution
centers give?” asked
Adrian Roman, a Sunset
Park resident and a member
of a community organization
called El Grito.
“Those are low paying
jobs. They don’t really
help the community.”
Amazon distribution
facilities have provided
residents in other communities
throughout the
city with thousands of
jobs, but not all employees
have spoken highly of
the work. A disgruntled
employee at the Staten
Island fulfillment center
told the New York Times
in March that the company
cracked down on an
attempt to unionize, in addition
to forcing employees
to work long hours
with few breaks, although
a subsequent Times investigation
disputed some of
those claims.
But the Staten Island
employee is not alone: In
the last few months, Amazon’s
poor working conditions
have become an
international focus . On
July 15, workers across
the U.S. and in five countries
went on strike to
protest the company’s
low wages and dangerous
working conditions. Sunset
Park’s Councilman
Carlos Menchaca echoed
those complaints when
responding to the potential
Amazon facility in
Industry City.
“If Industry City is serious
about being a good
neighbor and having
Sunset Park’s best interests
in mind, it will not
do business with companies
that are aiding in
the terrorization of immigrants
or treats its
workers like robots,” he
said last Thursday.
Roman also worried
about Amazon’s use of facial
recognition technology,
which the company
has pitched to police departments
so that cops
can find suspects. Since
a large portion of Sunset
Park is undocumented,
Roman feared that such
technology could put residents
at risk of deportation.
But others see the potential
Amazon expansion
in Brooklyn as a sign
of progress. The company
already has a local
presence, renting a space
in Sunset Park’s Liberty
View Plaza right next to
Industry City. And many
say that distribution center’s
jobs are already
part of the ecosystem of
Sunset Park’s working
waterfront.
“It’s going to be a huge
plus,” said Jeffery Citron,
a real estate lawyer,
who has seen the positive
impact of tech companies
on New York’s economy.
“A distribution facility
has to have blue-collar
jobs,” he added. “That
could be great for the surrounding
community.”
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