Ocasio-Cortez confronts the Amazon in New York

Technology

The elected representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not hide her opposition to the agreement.

NEW YORK – Elected Republican Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez takes a leading role in the fight against Amazon's plans to build a new headquarters in Queens, a first test of the influence of new recruit House in his city native.

The 29-year-old progressive darling on Monday organized a press activist meeting in Lower Manhattan, near the Occupy Wall Street protest venue in Zuccotti Park. According to those present, the purpose of the meeting was to develop a strategy on how to remove the agreement reached by Amazon for the construction of a head office in Long Island City – a agreement that, according to their advocates, would create at least 25,000 well-paying jobs in exchange for grants of about $ 3 billion. .

History continues below

Ocasio-Cortez did not explicitly state that she wanted the case to die, according to two participants. But she hinted.

"His message focused on the following reasons: how is it possible for us to give so much money to the richest society in the world, and how do our elected representatives expect us to stay silent, and [how] this will not be the case, "said Maritza Silva-Farrell, executive director of ALIGN, an alliance of union and community groups in New York.

Ocasio-Cortez does not have any powerful tools to influence the outcome of the agreement with Amazon. The only local politician to have a real leverage seems to be Senator Michael Gianaris, who could theoretically kill the agreement via an obscure review committee.

But she has the ability to energize the same organizers who helped her defeat Queens County President Joe Crowley, a stunning surprise that catapulted Ocasio-Cortez into the realm of national democratic royalty. And these organizers are already talking about overthrowing the New York politicians they consider too friendly to Amazon.

The immediate indignation that greeted the announcement by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, that Amazon would come to Queens, seemed to take the two politicians by surprise. Opponents point to the lack of a significant oversight role of the New York City Council, Amazon's anti-union record, discussions with ICE on face recognition technology, uncontrollable gentrification and the inclusion of a heliport in agreement.

Ocasio-Cortez, who declined to comment on this story, criticized the deal from the beginning.

"From Minnesota to New York, ordinary citizens are organizing to resist Amazon's predatory practices of working-class communities," she said. tweeted on wednesday, referring to a successful effort by Amazon workers near Minneapolis to get concessions from management.

On Tuesday, POLITICO announced that a former Ocasio-Cortez staff member, Jake DeGroot, had reacted to the support of a woman from the local assembly for sale by Amazon by stating, on her Facebook page, that she should consider her work as being in danger. "Get ready for your main 2020 challenge," wrote DeGroot.

"People are activated in a sustainable way," a later DeGroot light designer told POLITICO in a later interview, adding that he spoke for himself and not for Ocasio-Cortez. "And I think local and state politicians, as well as all those who downplay or downplay the impact that this could have, could do it at their own peril."

The future Amazon campus in Long Island City is not located in the Ocasio-Cortez district, as she acknowledged Monday. It is in the district of Rep.Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who supports the agreement and sat on the platform at the press conference announcing it. However, two of the three local district officials are fiercely opposed.

None of the two opponents – Gianaris and Jimmy Van Bramer, a city council member – attended the Monday meeting in Lower Manhattan.

But among the large crowd were representatives of the American Democratic Socialists, allied with Ocasio-Cortez; the trade union of retailers, wholesalers and department stores (whose leader is in London for an unrelated anti-Amazon unionization event); Queens Districts United; and CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities.

Jonathan Westin, whose New York Communities for Change group helped organize Monday's meeting, was surprised both by the turnout – "100 people from 40 to 50 different groups" with 48 hours notice – and by the many reasons that activists have elucidated to oppose an agreement with this city. and state leaders praise New York, and Queens in particular.

Supporters of the agreement claim that Ocasio-Cortez is wrong.

"It is extremely regrettable that instead of spending the energy needed to make the best possible use of the local community for this potentially transformative economic development project, [Ocasio-Cortez] instead tries to cut 25,000 well-paying jobs and it's not even in his parliamentary district, "said a Democrat from the institution who supports the project and requested anonymity to avoid further politicizing the issue.

Activists plan to follow Monday's meeting with a "big march" next Monday in Long Island City, Westin said.

"It brings so many different people together," said Westin. "I think people were absolutely unprepared for the amount of anger that it caused."