The Guardian: New York City to Amazon: Drop Dead

The Guardian

Originally published in The Guardian

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 Amazonnearly $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.

“The more we learn about this deal, the worse it gets,” said state senator Michael Gianaris, who represents the neighborhood. “This is a bad deal, and the state and the city should both be embarrassed to be stand behind this deal. They got taken, plain and simple.”