22 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 7, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
TAKE YES FOR AN ANSWER
‘#Scamazon’? Stop being ridiculous
“Who needs Amazon in Long
Island City?” they ask.
Who needs 25,000 well-paying
22 The Queens Courier • FEBRUARY 14, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS www.qns.com
jobs (with an average annual
wage of $150,000) in this borough
at a time when the national economy
is slowing down?
Who needs to redevelop the
Anable Basin waterfront in Long
Island City and turn it into a hub
of commerce in Queens?
Who needs the billions upon
billions of dollars in taxpayer revenue
that the new jobs would
generate? Who needs the billions
upon billions of dollars in economic
power the new jobs would
provide to Queens and New York
City?
Who needs the more than $27
billion the city and state would
receive BACK over the next 25
years in exchange for a $3 billion
investment in Amazon now
to develop their new campus in
Long Island City over the next
several years?
Who needs all this when we
can comfort ourselves in ideology
and class warfare? As a politician,
why would you take yes
for an answer on Amazon when
you can cow to an extremist base
whose “progressive” opposition
to what they call “#Scamazon” is
the most regressive action seen in
New York City in decades?
“#Scamazon”?! Th at’s ridiculous.
And you know who understands
that? Most of you. Here’s
how we know.
Recent polls suggest that the
vast majority of Queens residents
— including in the district of
state Senator Michael Gianaris,
who now holds a key committee
vote that could put the kibosh
on this deal — support Amazon’s
arrival in Queens.
But a vocal minority has struck
fear into Gianaris and other local
politicians such as Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer, and caused
such a stir that it gave Amazon
some pause about coming here,
as Th e Washington Post reported
on Feb. 8. Th e company, however,
aft er seeing a Feb. 12 poll suggesting
most New Yorkers support
the project, changed its tone.
Speaking of Gianaris and
Van Bramer, let’s remind you
of something: Th ey were for
Amazon before they were against
it. Th ey signed on to a 2017 letter
along with other city offi cials urging
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to
come to New York City.
But the moment Bezos gave
approval of the deal with
Governor Andrew Cuomo and
Mayor Bill de Blasio, they had a
sudden change of heart.
It was likely spurred by the
vocal minority opposed to the
Amazon deal, and Congressman
Joe Crowley’s sudden loss in last
year’s primary to Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez. Th ey fear a similar
insurgency from the far left
when they run for offi ce again.
Talk about a profi le in cowardice.
Gianaris, Van Bramer and others
who previously supported
Amazon before turning against
it cannot just tell the world’s biggest
retail company to get lost.
Th is is the real world we’re living
in; turning away a project
that would mean billions of dollars
in economic growth and tens
of thousands of new jobs would
be an utter disaster for Queens —
one we will all regret for decades.
We respect that they have concerns
about the allocation of jobs,
whether those jobs should be
unionized, the need for improved
public transit, among others.
But rather than just saying no
to the whole deal, they should
actively work with Amazon to
ensure that the company, the
city and state work together to
address those concerns in the
years to come.
If Amazon turns away from
New York City, it would send
a potentially crippling message
to the world: If the world’s largest
retail company can’t make
it here, who could — and who
should?
So we call upon our readers
to call, email, tweet and write
to Mayor de Blasio, Governor
Andrew Cuomo, Senator Gianaris
and Councilman Van Bramer
and urge them to support the
Amazon deal and let them come
to Queens.
Call your reps!
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer . . . . . . . . . . . 718-383-9566
State Senator Michael Gianaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718-728-0960
Mayor Bill de Blasio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212-788-7585
Governor Andrew Cuomo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212-681-4580
THE QUEENS
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