This too is Yonkers: By Eric W. Schoen
The so-called leaders in New York State who drove a nail into Amazon’s coffin should truly be ashamed of themselves. It’s hard to believe that rationale people in 2019 could not sit down and figure out a way to bring 25,000 jobs and $27 billion in economic development not only to a cash strapped New York City but to a likewise cash strapped New York State.
But don’t kid yourself for a minute. The ones who are going to suffer with the loss of Amazon are not just our friends, neighbors and the folks who would have had $175,000 a year jobs. It’s the little guys who work long hours trying to make a buck to put food on the table for their families. They are the victims!
Let’s get some things Amazon opponents have been falsely saying out of the way. They say that there is so much that New York can do with the $3 billion of subsidies Amazon would have received over 15 years. Subsidies with goals attached to them that if the company did not meet, they would not receive.
It’s not like there is $3 billion dollars sitting in some pot waiting to be spent. These are subsidies the company would have received to bring $27 billion of economic opportunity to New York City and New York State. If anyone, whether they be a Congressperson or a State Representative or City Official tells you there is $3 billion out there to be spent fixing potholes, to bring more teachers into our schools or lower your taxes, they are flat out lying to you.
Amazon has a strong non-union culture. New Yorkers aren’t happy about that. But if there were any two people who could have attempted to broker a deal between New York’s strong, necessary unions and Amazon, Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio were the ones. Both of these gentleman were elected to office with strong Union support. And they were the key players that brought Amazon to New York in a competition that involved 238 communities hungry to bring Amazon home.
Yes, 238 communities across these United States wanted to bring Amazon to their cities, villages and towns. And do you think that the proposals from these 238 communities didn’t include subsidies and incentives. It’s the way we do business in our country in 2019. If someone says that is not the case, again they are lying to you.
I would love to know if Amazon dangled large political contributions to our elected officials if they would have made this project work. How often do we hear of politicians spending half their day raising money for their campaigns while the rest of the day legislating? To their credit New York State politicians approved major reforms to campaign financing earlier this year.
So let’s see who is going to suffer with no Amazon in Long Island City. First off is the construction industry. 1000’s of jobs building and improving the infrastructure. And the apprentice jobs where the unemployed with limited skills could have come to learn a trade or skill allowing them to move ahead in life. All down the proverbial toilet.
The retail shops in Long Island City (LIC) where Amazon workers from engineers to secretaries and maintenance workers would have spent their dollars on everything from clothes to shoes to meatball sandwiches. (By the way, don’t order a meatball ‘wedge’ in LIC. I tried ordering a wedge in Brooklyn years ago and they didn’t know what I was talking about. Guess it’s a Yonkers term!)
The bodega owners. Folks who spend 12, 16 hour days operating their mini grocery stores selling everything from coffee to cigarettes to band aids, things folks need in a hurry that no matter the price you want to be able to walk out of your house or apartment to the corner to obtain. The places where people go to buy lottery tickets hoping to turn a dollar into a dream.
The street vendors, selling everything from Halal to Kosher food as well as hot dogs and hot pretzels? How about the man who hawks umbrellas on rainy days, hats, gloves and ear muffs when it’s cold outside, and t-shirts that say ‘I LOVE NEW YORK’ or ‘I LOVE LIC’ on other days.
Small businesses that supply things like mats you walk on when you enter a building to dry your feet so that your wet shoes don’t leave marks throughout the building. Uniforms for the behind the scenes people like custodians, maintenance, engineers and the man who greets you when you walk in the building. The pen and paper vendors.
Dry cleaners. The people who clean the suits of those making $175,000 a year and those making much less requiring dry cleaning and laundry services. They will lose out with no Amazon!
Do people who work for Amazon wear shoes? That’s a dumb question Eric! The shoe stores where they would have picked up the latest Rockports, Allen Edmonds or New Balance sneakers for themselves and their kids. Clothing stores for when a man needs new socks or a woman needs hosiery in a hurry because of a sudden hole in their garments.
Women of all ages and income levels love to get their nails done or their hair coiffed. Men need a shoe shine and haircuts to get rid of the gray hairs and look sharp. Both men and women need shoemakers or cobblers to fix their shoes or to purchase new shoe laces when one snaps when you are tying it too tight.
Grocery stores and companies like Amazon Fresh, Peapod or Fresh Direct who deliver groceries to folks working 12 hour days. How about the men and women who drive the trucks delivering for these companies.
The cafes, STARBUCKS, Whole Foods (starting pay for the young kids you see at the one in Yonkers is $15 an hour), those only in New York metal vending kiosks with bagels, donuts and Danish piled high to be served with brisk hot coffee.
The entertainment venues like movie theaters, concert halls and live theater stages where workers can go and relax. The gyms allowing everyone along the pay scale to keep their body in shape. And stores selling yoga mats, books, newspapers, magazines and everything else.
I could go on for days. All these little guys will suffer. And to make things worse, Mayor DeBlasio calls out Amazon for being chicken in the New York Culture? He really wants to be President?
So the ones that get hurt in this equation are all those who would have supported Amazon and the people who work there. I agree with Governor Andrew Cuomo. The people like Congresswoman Ocasio and Senator Gianaris who worked to kill a deal that over 75% of New Yorkers supported are the job killers here. They are taking the food out of the mouths of those who need it. You want to work for the little guy. Get on your hands and knees and beg Amazon to come back.
Hey, I know a city north of the Bronx where the Show ‘Hello Dolly’ is based, also home to Stew Leonard’s, Ridge Hill, and Cross County Shopping Center that would love to host Amazon. Imagine Amazon revitalizing Getty Square!
And friends, I’m not finished! Don’t change that channel!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM or go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream.
