Cuomo, Queens leaders try and revive Amazon deal
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Two weeks after Amazon
broke off its deal for a Long
Island City campus, there’s an
effort afoot from civic leaders,
business owners and even the
governor himself to woo the
world’s largest retail giant
back.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated
on Feb. 28 that he made calls
to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
and other officials with the
company hoping to convince
them to restore the plan, which
would create at least 25,000 jobs
and is projected to pump $27
billion into the local economy
over 25 years.
Amazon, which reached
the deal with the city and
state last November following
a nationwide competition,
met stiff opposition from
local elected officials and
community groups for reasons
including the $3 billion in tax
credits the company was to
receive, its labor practices and
concerns about an increased
cost of living. But several
public opinion polls taken
before Feb. 14 indicated that
more New Yorkers supported
the project.
Nonetheless, on Valentine’s
Day, Amazon announced it
was withdrawing from the
HQ2 plan in Long Island City.
Cuomo, however, remains
determined to somehow win
the company back.
The New York Times
reported on Feb. 28 that Cuomo
told Amazon officials that
he would provide a renewed
support for the project, should
the plans be resurrected. He
did not mention any alternative
locations to Long Island City.
But Amazon brass “gave no
indication” that it would
reverse course again.
Meanwhile, several Queens
businesspeople and civic
leaders have signed on to an
open letter to Bezos that ran
in the March 1 New York
Times. The full-page ad offers
a renewed commitment to
making the Amazon HQ2 plan
become a reality.
“A clear majority of New
Yorkers support this project
and were disappointed by your
decision not to proceed,” the
letter states. “We understand
The Anable Basin in Long Island City, where Amazon planned to
build a new campus. Photo by Mark Hallum
that becoming home to the
world’s industry leader in
e-commerce, logistics and web
service would be a tremendous
boost for our state’s technology
industry, which is our fastest
growing generator of new
jobs. As representatives of a
wide range of government,
business, labor and community
interests, we urge you to
reconsider, so that we can move
forward together.”
Among the signers of the
letter was John Bowen, owner
of John Brown Steakhouse in
Long Island City, who heavily
criticized City Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer and state
Sen. Michael Gianaris for
their opposition to the Amazon
project. Bowen flew out to
Amazon headquarters in
Seattle and met with company
officials in the hope of rescuing
the deal.
“Someone has to represent
Queens, Mike and Jimmy
abdicated their duties,” Bowen
told TimesLedger. “We we
were supposed to meet on the
15 and I insisted I deserved
my meeting.”
Van Bramer and Gianaris,
who had signed a 2017 letter
urging Amazon to come to
New York but opposed the
Amazon deal after it was
announced last November,
did not sign the open letter in
The New York Times. But state
Assemblywoman Catherine
Nolan and Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney, both of whom
represent the Long Island City
area, signed the letter.
Among the numerous other
Queens signers are Rob Basch,
president of the Hunters Point
Conservancy; Eric Benaim,
CEO of Modern Spaces; Seth
Borenstein, executive director
of the Queens Economic
Development Corporation;
Gianna Cerbone, president
of the Queens Council on
the Arts; Mark Christie,
president of the Hunters Point
Community Development
Corporation; Donna Drimer,
president of Matted LIC; and
Thomas Grech, president and
CEO of the Queens Chamber
of Commerce.
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