FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 7, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
in Queens
Astoria senator on panel that could derail Amazon project in LIC
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e state Senate introduced a potential
game-changer to the state and city’s deal
with Amazon to build its HQ2 campus in
Long Island City.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-
Cousins recommended state Senator
Michael Gianaris as a member of the state
Public Authorities Control Board, which
could potentially veto the Amazon project.
Gianaris, the deputy majority leader of
the Senate, has been a leading opponent
of the Amazon deal due to the incentive
package worth nearly $3 billion in taxpayer
funds.
“New York needs responsible fi scal
stewardship now more than ever and
ensuring our economic development dollars
are well spent is a responsibility I take
very seriously,” Gianaris said Monday. “I
appreciate Leader Stewart-Cousin’s faith
in me and am honored she submitted my
name to serve on the PACB.”
Cuomo, who has the power to reject
Gianaris, would not say whether he
would do so during a radio appearance
on WNYC Tuesday. He did remark, “It’s
unfortunate the Senate is playing politics.”
Cuomo has defended the deal since
November, calling it an “unparalleled
economic boom for the economy” with
its 25,000 good-paying jobs over 10 years,
with a plan to grow to 40,000 over 15
years projected to deliver
over $186 billion in
economic impact to New
York over the next 25
years.
During an oversight
hearing at the
City Council last week,
Amazon Vice President
for Public Policy Brian
Huseman gave the
fi rst indication that the
e-commerce giant was
unhappy with the growing
opposition in western
Queens.
“We were invited to
come to New York, and
we want to invest in a
community that wants
us,” Huseman said, adding
later that Amazon
wants to “be part of the
growth of a community
where our employees and
our company are wanted.”
During his radio interview
with Brian Lehrer, Cuomo was
blunt.
“It would be a dramatic blow, not just the
economy but also the reputation on New
York City if Amazon doesn’t come because
of criticism,” he said. “If they’re going
somewhere else, the people will follow.”
The situation was compounded
for the governor Monday when he
and Comptroller Th omas Di Napoli
announced that state income tax revenue
fell by $2.3 billion since he introduced his
budget last month.
“Th at’s a $2.3 billion drop in revenues,”
Cuomo said. “Th at’s as serious as a heart
attack. Th is is worse than we anticipated.”
Th e lost state income tax revenue and
the Gianaris recommendation to the
PACB just hours later drew a harsh statement
from Dani Lever, Cuomo’s director
of communications, who referred to
Gianaris signing a letter last year that was
included in New York’s entry into the
Amazon headquarters sweepstakes.
“Th is recommendation puts the self
interest of a fl ip-fl opping opponent of
the Amazon project above the state’s
economic growth and is a clear sign
that the Senate Democrats oppose the
25,000 to 40,000 new technology jobs
that would diversify our state’s economy
— a move that is especially shortsighted
given that today the state announced an
economic slowdown,” Lever said. “Every
Democratic Senator will now be called on
to defend their opposition to the greatest
economic growth potential this state has
seen in 50 years.”
File photo
State Senator Michael Gianaris, an outspoken critic of the Amazon
HQ2 plan in LIC
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