Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo are furious after Amazon bailed on a deal to open a second headquarters in Long Island City.
The mayor admitted he was surprised by the news.
“There wasn't a shred of dialogue, out of nowhere they just took their ball and went home,” Mayor de Blasio said.
The mayor said “you have to be tough to make it in New York City” and claims that Amazon threw away a great opportunity.
Amazon bolted over some resistance in the community because of $3 billion in tax breaks and incentives the company would have received. Supporters said there would have been a 9-to-1 return on the investment and Amazon would have created 25,000 jobs.
"A small group of politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement.
One of those politicians is State Senator Michael Gianaris, who was a vocal critic of the project. He was upset with the tax breaks and incentives Amazon would have received.
“Amazon is the biggest corporation in the country with the riches man on earth as its head. They did not need our $3 billion, they just chose to try and shake us down for it,” Gianaris said.
He said Amazon wasn’t willing to address the questions the community was asking, so they just “took its ball and left town.”
“The New York State Senate has done tremendous damage. They should be held accountable for this lost economic opportunity,” Governor Cuomo said.
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