Tag: Michael Gianaris

Since Amazon’s pullout last week, Messrs. Van Bramer and Gianaris have been admonished by public-housing tenants who hoped to land jobs at the campus and supporters who saw the tech giant’s arrival as a boost for Long Island City. “I don’t know where you go from here,” he said. “Jimmy Van Bramer and Mike Gianaris used to be the politicians we came to when we needed help,” the statement said. Mr. Gianaris’s nomination to a state board with sway over the tax incentives also fueled Amazon’s decision. The company said Thursday that some politicians “made it clear that 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.” Mr. Van Bramer, a two-term councilman, said Tuesday that he knew opposing Amazon could hurt his political future. Mr. Van Bramer read the polls showing many Queens residents backed the deal. But he said he spoke with residents, many of whom had mixed feelings. He ultimately went with his conscience, he said. But after the Amazon deal ended, he said, “New York will be just fine.” Justin Potter, a 39-year-old Long Island City resident, said he created the website DefeatGianaris.com on Thursday, hours after Amazon’s announcement. While she was angry at Amazon for leaving, she put a lot of the blame on the elected officials opposing the deal, she said.

Criticism, from the likes of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and State Senator Michael Gianaris, has centered around the $3B in tax deferments and subsidies that Amazon would receive over a decade, dependent on the creation of thousands of new high-paying jobs in New York City. Amazon cites a 70% favorability amongst New Yorkers that want Amazon to enter the city in their statement announcing the pullout. What impact will this decision have on the workforce in NYC? The estimated taxes from the direct hires alone are well over a billion dollars, and this is before accounting for additional consumption, housing spend and local community growth from the newly created jobs. Indirect Job Creation: The impact of the immediate infusion of thousands of high-paying jobs in cities cannot be understated in how it affects local communities. Studies indicated that the indirect consequences are as high as 80,000 additional jobs that would have been created.These jobs would have boosted local consumption, increased tax coffers, and provided further employment opportunity in a historically struggling community that has seen rents decline by double digit percentages and has one of the largest housing projects with mean wages below the poverty line. Thousands of new technology-focused hires would have eventually led to hundreds of startups, creating a perpetual cycle of wealth generation and job creation and reinforcing NYC as a technology hub for the future. We made sure to stand our ground.” The article goes on to quote Democratic New York State Senator Julia Salazar in describing the pullout as a “turning point for the ability of working people in New York to organize for their interests against the billionaire class.” These quotes are telling as they paint local politicians and activists as more focused on “beating the billionaire” than serving their community. “So now what are you going to do?” The harsh reality for Mr. Robinson and other New Yorkers is that there is no back up plan. The rise of the pandering populist politicians, who seem to service a narrative more than the workforce, is a failure in governance and representative democracy.