How New Yorkers Stood Up to Amazon and Won
Queens activists, unions, and political leaders worried about gentrification and opposed the $1.2 billion in tax breaks offered to the retail giant.
When Amazon announced in November it would establish another headquarters in Long Island City, in the Queens borough of New York, the reaction wasn’t all positive. A group of local activists, unions, and political leaders voiced their opposition to the $1.2 billion in tax breaks the city and state offered the retail giant. Many cities had actively courted the company in hopes of investment and jobs. But the Queens contingent also feared increased gentrification and displacement from the neighborhood and came together to fight the decision. In February, the resistance scored a victory when Amazon abandoned its plans in New York.
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