12 FEBRUARY 21, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Queens loses, now and in the future
Moments aft er Amazon broke
up with Queens on Valentine’s
Day and scrapped its multibillion
deal with the city and state, we
thought about the lost potential of it
all — and the lack of political courage
that contributed to the outcome.
As one Queens figure told us, “We
were looking at jobs, internships,
economic activity, donations to local
nonprofits and eventually millions
of dollars in taxes. Now we have
nothing but a reputation for being
hostile to business.” That is very
much true.
But beyond the economic potential
lost, we think of the current and
future generations of Queens
children who had no say in the
process — and who have been
denied the opportunity to find a
great job close to home in an evergrowing
field.
Soon after the news broke,
opponents of the Long Island City
project said that this was a victory
for the borough. It was stunning to
see people revel in such economic
misfortune. How is throwing away
an opportunity at 25,000 good-paying
EDITORIAL
jobs, $27 billion in economic activity
over the next quarter-century and a
redeveloped waterfront a victory?
The opponents offer many reasons
— chief among them, that they
were upset Amazon was getting $3
billion in tax subsidies that they
don’t need.
Whether you love or hate them,
tax subsidies are an integral part
of doing business in New York City.
They’ve played a huge role in its
development over the last quartercentury,
such as Barclays Center
in Brooklyn.
The battle to build Barclays Center
also saw Brooklyn lawmakers
resolve to get it done over the head
of a small, passionate contingent of
ideological components. But in the
case of Amazon in Long Island City,
there was a palpable lack of political
courage. Some lawmakers joined
the passionate minority of people
who opposed it, while others who
supported the project were content
to lead from behind, mistakenly
believing it would happen no
matter what.
Despite the concerns they voiced,
grandstanding opponents of the
plan — namely state Senator Michael
Gianaris and City Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer — just said
no to the whole thing instead of
trying to work something out.
They didn’t offer up any viable
alternatives — it was either their
way or the highway.
Well, last Thursday, Amazon took
the highway and ditched Queens —
and then Gianaris had the gall to
suggest that Amazon was acting like,
in his words to The New York Times,
“a petulant child.” Van Bramer and
far-left progressives were thrilled
to see the multibillion-dollar deal
go down in flames, the economic
potential for Queens be damned.
All of us who love Queens want
what’s best for this borough and
for its people. At least we should
want that.
We should not just want a
comfortable present; we should
want our kids to have even more
opportunities to success and comfort
than we have.
History will note, in the end, that
those who helped drive Amazon
away for pride and pettiness (and
politics) have taken Queens several
steps backward — choosing a
regressive, rather than progressive,
future for our kids.
Shame on them!
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ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ROBERT POZARYCKI
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
EMILY DAVENPORT
MARK HALLUM
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
BILL PARRY
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STORY:
Many Queens priests on Diocese
of Brooklyn list of clergy credibly
accused of sexually abusing minors
SUMMARY:
The Diocese of Brooklyn released on
Feb. 15 its list of living and deceased
clergy who were determined to have
been credibly accused of sexual
abuse of a minor..
REACH:
32,282 people reached (as of 2/18/19)
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