New York City to Amazon: drop dead
Rallying across the street from the Long Island City site where Amazon’s new campus is set to rise, opponents called the plan – which will give Amazon nearly $3bn in tax breaks and subsidies from state and city – a ripoff to taxpayers that will stress the neighborhood’s infrastructure while doing little to help local residents.
Lawmakers will never get the chance to vote on the plan, since the state is routing it through an economic development agency controlled by the governor, avoiding city council approval on zoning changes that would normally be required.
On Wednesday, residents at the nearby Queensbridge Houses – the largest public housing project in the US – complained of heat outages, officials said.
“Today is a great day to be a real-estate broker in Long Island City,” said Jonathan Westin, head of New York Communities for Change. “Today is a horrible day to be a tenant struggling to make rent.”
Beautifuldifferences 