What it Means For Westchester
By Dan Murphy
Westchester State Sen. and the new Majority Leader of the State Senate Andrea Stewart-Cousins was featured on the front page of the Daily News last week, but not for breaking the glass ceiling to become the first woman in the room where it happens in Albany.
Stewart-Cousins and her democratic progressive colleagues in the state were blamed for killing a deal to bring a new Amazon headquarters to New York City. The Amazon deal, brokered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio – two of new York’s top democrats – would have created 25,000 jobs at the new Amazon headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, and another 85,000 ancillary jobs.
In exchange for coming to NYC, Cuomo and de Blasio agreed to give Amazon $3 billion in incentives, with the state and city receiving an estimated $27 billion in revenues over the next 25 years. Polling showed that a majority of New Yorkers wanted the Amazon deal, including more than 70 percent of Latinos and African-Americans.
But progressive democrats from NYC, including Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and State Sen. Michael Gianaris, who represents the Long Island City part of Queens where Amazon would have located, were the most vocal in their opposition to the deal.
“Offering massive corporate welfare from scarce public resources to one of the wealthiest corporations in the world at a time of great need in our state is just wrong,” said Gianaris, who serves as one of Stewart-Cousins’ deputies in the State Senate and was appointed by Stewart-Cousins to a state panel that has to approve economic development incentives, and given the power to kill the deal with a company he called “Scamazon.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who grew up in Yorktown, said: “Anything is possible. Today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers and their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world.”
The New York Times editorial board joined in the opposition, calling the deal a “bad bargain” for the city. “We won’t know for 10 years whether the promised 25,000 jobs will materialize,” it wrote.
After the continued opposition, anti-Amazon protests, outcries against a proposed helipad for Amazon executives, and public hearings where Amazon executives were grilled, the company issued a statement last week that read: “After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens. For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term. While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned.”
Gianaris commented: “Like a petulant child, Amazon insists on getting its way or takes its ball and leaves. The only thing that happened here is that a community that was going to be profoundly affected by their presence started asking questions.
A disappointed Cuomo commented after Amazon’s announcement: “We competed in and won the most hotly contested national economic development competition in the United States, resulting in at least 25,000 to 40,000 good-paying jobs for our state and nearly $30 billion in new revenue to fund transit improvements, new housing, schools, and countless other quality-of-life improvements. Bringing Amazon to New York diversified our economy away from real estate and Wall Street, however, a small group of politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community – the state’s economic future and the best interests of the people of this state. The New York State Senate has done tremendous damage. They should be held accountable for this lost economic opportunity.”
Stewart-Cousins added: “People are elected to represent their communities, and the reality is, on every level, there was pushback after the deal had already been sealed, because people came to the table late. It is unfortunate that rather than engage in productive discussions about a major development, Amazon has decided to leave New York. This process was clearly flawed and did not include the affected community nor their legislative representatives until after the deal was signed. This was not the same process that was followed in other areas including Virginia and that is clearly why this deal failed and why it is so important to have an inclusive and transparent process from the beginning.
“Certain people want to divide, I think, the Senate Democrats. And the question is: Why do they want to spend that much time trying to find ways to blame us or divide us?”
Iona professor and political analyst Jeanne Zaino said the governor is casting blame. “And I think that’s not something that’s going to serve him, serve Democrats, or the state,” she said.
Upstate newspapers either blamed Stewart-Cousins or pointed to a possible riff between Cuomo and Stewart-Cousins. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle wrote: “Prior to the Amazon deal’s breakup, Cuomo and Stewart-Cousins had largely been allied on major issues, working together to approve the Reproductive Health Act, which bolstered abortion rights in New York and was a longtime priority for both politicians. Now, the apparently fractured relationship between the pair will be a central theme of budget negotiations.”
The Buffalo News wrote an editorial that read: “State Senate Dems poison Amazon deal and hurt the rest of New York. Blame the New York State Senate, now in the control of Democrats whose scorched-earth opposition incinerated the plan. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins made decisions that all but guaranteed the project would fail. It was unfortunate leadership. Stewart-Cousins poisoned the well when she appointed State Sen. Michael Gianaris to a state board with the power to veto the deal. It was a hostile move producing so much friction that Amazon backed out. It’s not just New York City that will suffer, either. After witnessing the reckless conduct of Senate Democrats, other companies are going to think twice before subjecting themselves to a rigged game.”
Westchester County residents will be impacted by Amazon’s pulling out of NYC in the same way that the county is impacted by Wall Street great gains and financial crisis. As NYC goes so does Westchester County. “Amazon’s decision to forego the proposed site in Long Island City is disappointing,” said County Executive George Latimer. “We had hoped to realize some benefit from people moving into the region, and finding their home in Westchester. In the decision’s aftermath we will speak with state officials to see what may yet come from Amazon’s plans to relocate their headquarters whether within New York State or elsewhere.”
Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation President Mike Oates said: “Short-sighted politicians clearly did not understand the value of incentives that were performance based. This could have meant 25,000 high-quality jobs with an average salary of $150,000. This is like fumbling the football on the one-yard line in the Super Bowl. This will have far-reaching effects in New York, including Westchester County and the Hudson Valley.”
When the Amazon deal was announced just four months ago, the Business Council of Westchester hailed the announcement and pointed to what it meant for Westchester. “Dropping Amazon in your town is like dropping a huge boulder in a pond,” said Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of BCW, back in November 2018. “The ripple effects spread out and are enormous. And that’s where Westchester comes in. Amazon employees are going to need housing and services, and all are not going to all be able to find that within 5 minutes of the new Queens HQs site. Westchester has three excellent train lines linking it to the city, as well as a well-developed overall transportation infrastructure. Amazon workers are also going to need housing. This could prove a boon to Westchester’s transit-oriented urban centers where numerous new housing options are already being added.”
Could Amazon come to Westchester? Some democrats wondered on social media whether Westchester wanted the same type of protests and opposition that NYC faced.
Mt. Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas opened his city’s arms to Amazon. “In light of Amazon’s decision not to locate its second HQ in New York City, the City of Mount Vernon continues to demonstrate why it is an ideal choice for the company,” he said. “Amazon’s original choice of Long Island City shows it values a skilled, dynamic talent pool, access to mass transit, and a livable, and diverse urban environment.
“Mount Vernon, a mere 22-minute train ride to midtown Manhattan, with access to mass transit, downtown retail, and a diverse population possesses all these qualities, as well, with the added benefit of a business-friendly climate with zero to very low taxes for corporations. I am confident our city can outcompete any similar urban area and give Amazon what it’s looking for. As such, we have resubmitted our offer to be the home of Amazon’s second world headquarters.”
Last year, Yonkers residents and businessmen urged Amazon to come to Yonkers.
