14 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 15, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
in Queens
Local education could be re-Kindled through Amazon deal
BY JOSH TOWNER
AND CASSIDY KLEIN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Amazon’s presence in Queens will give
the “tens of thousands of New Yorkers
who go to our public schools and colleges
opportunities at Amazon,” according to
Mayor Bill de Blasio in a press conference
on Nov. 13.
Local tech education programs are looking
to partner with Amazon to bring students
and residents jobs and internships
with the corporate giant.
“We’re going to use this opportunity to
open up good careers in tech to thousands
of people looking for their foothold in the
new economy,” said de Blasio, “including
those in city colleges and public housing.”
LaGuardia Community College expects
to benefi t greatly by Amazon’s move.
LGACC President Gail Mellow has been
outspoken about changing views on community
college education and recognizes
Amazon’s move to Queens as a golden
opportunity for her students.
“LGA serves 50,000 students. Th ey’re an
extremely diverse group, mainly people of
color, and they come from a lot of low-income
houses. Th ey just need the opportunity
to get a great job and a great job
track,” Mellow said. “It’s a really wonderful
opportunity.”
Mellow sees opportunities for employment,
internships and even partnerships
in developing curriculum in LGACC’s
future with Amazon. LGACC has a growing
tech program and recently introduced
courses in cyber security, and Amazon’s
help could make those programs even better.
“With Amazon’s partnerships, we can
improve our curriculum to serve not just
Amazon but the New York tech industry
as a whole,” Mellow said.
Mellow believes Amazon’s move helps
LGACC, but it gives Amazon a great
opportunity too.
“Th e tech industry talks about needing
more diversity and women, and coming
to LIC gives them the opportunity to
make good on that,” Mellow said.
Amazon’s new headquarters also benefi
t tech education groups and vocation
schools.
Jukay Hsu, founder and CEO of
Pursuit, a nonprofi t that teaches coding,
tech training and career development
to mainly underserved and low income
communities, said he’s “optimistic about
spreading our existing programs to our
partnership with Amazon.”
“Amazon is coming to Queens, and we
are bringing Queens to Amazon,” said
Hsu. “It is an exciting opportunity, but we
want to make sure the local community
has access to these jobs and we will work
to make that happen.”
Hsu said Pursuit will create a job center
at Amazon H2Q which will serve local
residents. H2Q is expected to produce
more than 25,000 jobs, and Hsu is adamant
about keeping many of those jobs
in Queens.
“We are an inclusive tech community
in Queens,” he said. “Th e core of our
mission is to understand the needs of our
community and understand the barriers
people face when it comes to getting
LaGuardia Community College is one institution welcoming Amazon HQ2 in Long Island City
tech jobs. We are making sure Amazon
delivers meaningful job opportunities for
local residents.”
Mickey Slevin, senior regional director
of vocation school General Assembly,
sees Amazon’s move to Long Island City
as “a recognition of the deep talent pool
in and around LIC.”
Slevin expects a number of General
Assembly graduates to be hired by
Amazon, and expects the tech job market
to get more competitive while it grows in
New York.
With Google and Amazon both building
headquarters in New York, a massive
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Jim Henderson
wave of tech jobs is approaching from
two of the largest, most successful tech
companies in the world. Tech workers in
New York will have a shot at numerous
employment opportunities, but General
Assembly also stands to gain from workers
keeping their skills up to date through
their programs.
General Assembly already has partnerships
with Fortune 500 companies and
large tech companies, but a partnership
with Amazon isn’t necessarily a breaking
point for the school. Amazon’s arrival in
general should bring an increased interest
in technology education, Slevin said.
Calls for Amazon boycott as LIC residents protest HQ2 plan
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
Th e fi ght against Amazon has begun
as residents, activists and elected offi -
cials gathered at Gordon Triangle in Long
Island City on Wednesday morning to
protest the subsidies the company will
receive as part of its deal with the city to
establish part of its HQ2 in the neighborhood.
“I canceled my Amazon membership
and I call for a boycott of Amazon,” state
Senator Michael Gianaris said.
Both the senator and Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer have publicly
denounced the establishment of the one
of two H2Q headquarters in Long Island
City (the second H2Q will be in northern
Virginia). Both are outraged that the trillion
dollar company will receive nearly
billions in subsidies for setting up shop in
the already highly developed area.
“Just this morning several residents
contacted us to say that there is no heat
in Queensbridge,” said Van Bramer to
a sea of reporters. “But somehow, those
who consider themselves progressive
Democrats have seen fi t to throw $3 billion
dollars at the richest man in the
world.”
An eruption of boos punctuated the
councilman’s statement.
“Th at is wrong and we should all be
outraged at what has happened here,”
he said.
Van Bramer admonished Governor
Andrew Cuomo, whom the councilman
accused of making too easy of a deal with
Amazon.
“Did the governor not say whatever it
takes, no matter what it takes, you can
even rename me aft er Amazon,” Van
Bramer said. Governor Cuomo off ered
to change his name if it would make New
York City a more appealing location for
their H2Q. “Th en they said we’re gonna
fi x the process so that they don’t have to
worry about those pesky City Council
members and those pesky community
members who might have some problems
with the deal, we’re gonna make sure
we create a GPP for you and we gonna
grease the wheels for the richest man in
the world.”
Van Bramer and Gianaris organized
the protest along with other representatives
of the area and the Retail, Wholesale
and Department Store Union (RWDSU),
Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN),
Make the Road New York (MTRNY),
New York Communities for Change
(NYCC). Other Queens elected offi cials
such as Assemblywoman-elect Catalina
Cruz, state Senator-elect Jessica Ramos,
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas,
Councilman Costa Constantinides and
Assemblyman Ron Kim.
Every elected offi cial that spoke felt that
the money that Amazon receive is money
that could better used to serve their constituents
by addressing transit, education,
infrastructure and aff ordable housing
improvements.
Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech/THE COURIER
State Senator Michael Gianaris called for a boycott of Amazon at a Nov. 14 rally in Long Island City
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