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Protesters marched on Monday in New York to protest Amazon HQ2, the online retailer's new office, half of which will be located in Long Island City, Queens.
With signs in English and Spanish and brown cards depicting the smiling face logo with an arrow, protesters marched through Manhattan's brick and mortar store on 34th Street before returning in the rain to continue. to walk in the street. the evening.
The problem is the $ 3 billion in tax relief granted by the city to Amazon in exchange for its establishment in New York. Amazon is a billion dollar company, because of its long-standing strategy of bypassing sales taxes, in addition to negotiating large grants in its new premises across the country in exchange local jobs promised.
But opponents also noted that taxes help finance the maintenance of basic infrastructure in the city. One example is the city's beleaguered public transit system, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which is already experiencing such major breakdowns and delays that it is a major issue in the campaign. election at the 2018 governorship in New York.
Affordable housing is another concern. Already, condominium sales in Long Island City are skyrocketing and interest in the region's real estate market is only expected to increase as Amazon is expected to start hiring for the New York office in 2019.
In addition to the impact on the housing market and public transit, the protesters noted that New York was a city of immigrants and challenged Amazon's relationship with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program.
Monday's protests may not be a complete surprise, given the local community's reaction to the news. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, new representative of New York City, said Queens residents were "scandalized" by their new neighbor, the group.
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