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Until recently, the most important thing to know about Amazon for residents of Queensbridge Houses, the country's largest social housing project, was that all parcels left in an entrance hall would likely be stolen. .
But Amazon may soon become a much larger presence in its New York neighborhood.
The company owned by Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, is expected to announce Tuesday the creation of a head office in Long Island City, Queens, where the 26 aging buildings of Queensbridge are home to a predominantly population Black and Hispanic with a median household. income of $ 15,843, well below the federal poverty line for a family of four.
Here, where incomes are reduced to meager paychecks or social services, with nearly 60% of its households using food stamps, the new neighbor will be one of the most profitable high-tech companies in the world, bringing what could be a work force of 25,000 people making wages over $ 100,000.
The stark contrast amplifies some of the social and economic tensions in American society: a widening income gap, a lack of access to high-paying jobs for many minorities, and a technology sector struggling to diversify.
The planned location for the new headquarters is still unclear, as is the question of whether Amazon will bring tangible benefits to the more than 6,000 people living in Queensbridge homes and other inner-city neighborhoods .
"What will they do for the community? Will they guarantee us employment opportunities? Said April Simpson, president of the Queensbridge Tenants Association. "I'm worried because when they come, they will not have opportunities for people. Not just the people of Queensbridge – but other low and middle income people in the area.
"That's why we are reluctant to get in."
While New York City seeks to challenge the dominant position of Silicon Valley as a technology hub – Google has recently announced its significant expansion project in New York – the explosion of jobs has helped propel the local economy. But that did not lessen Mayor Bill de Blasio's account of economic disparity in a city where the poverty rate in 2016 was 19.5%, well above the national rate.
This stratification is deeply felt in Queensbridge, an affluent complex located just across the East River, on the east side of Manhattan, and in some of the wealthiest neighborhoods and properties in the country.
Near the Queensboro Bridge, Queensbridge homes are rife with crime and drugs. According to Simpson, these problems have been reduced in recent years, and community programs have improved the quality of life. Last year, the real estate project recorded no shots, which had not happened for more than a decade and was a source of pride.
But the neglect that affects many social housing developments and has led to severe criticism of the administration of Blasio, persists here, said locals and other local leaders. "There are still a lot of problems with the apartments: lack of heat and hot water, non-functional lifts, broken molds and entrance gates," said Jimmy Van Bramer, councilor whose neighborhoods include Queensbridge homes.
Tyshema Basnight, 42, said she was trying to join the job market after raising a family. She has an associate degree in computer science and a technical position at Amazon would be a dream job, she said.
"Right now, I'm just looking for secretarial work," said Basnight, who was among several residents lined up for one of the few aging computers available at the Tenant's Office for residents not no computers.
The office is not at the tip of the digital border. And all the buzz caused by the e-commerce bazaar turning Long Island City into a sparkling new technology center has sparked skepticism and even outright hostility.
Many companies – including travel and financial companies and hotel chains – have opened their doors in recent years, but Ms. Simpson said they had not hired local residents.
"They did not hire here, they brought their own people," she said. "My thing is, if you build here, hire here."
An Amazon spokesperson, Sam Kennedy, declined to comment on his plans in New York, but said the company had a proven track record in funding and creating programs for people in need in Seattle , where the main headquarters of Amazon was. This includes donations of tens of millions of dollars, the creation of affordable housing, the opening of a shelter for homeless families in its office complex, and the creation of a training program for catering and gastronomy for disadvantaged residents.
In Queens, new businesses in Long Island City have helped turn the semi-industrial waterfront district into a haven for wealthy professionals. Since 2010, more apartment buildings have been built in Long Island City than in any other area of the city. Apartments in more than 40 new buildings are selling on average over $ 1 million.
But beyond the skyscraper horizon of skyscrapers, many residents fear that the arrival of Amazon will only intensify the gentrification that makes the neighborhood less affordable for people with limited means.
It is still unclear what financial incentives might have been offered by the municipal authorities and state officials to Amazon or what concessions, if any, they would have obtained from the society to help the neighborhood.
City officials noted that Queensbridge homes had already attracted attention with replace the roofs of 26 buildings and install nearly 900 new security lamps and 360 surveillance cameras.
Mr. de Blasio is struggling with a The lead paint scandal at the city's social housing agency and accusations that officials have downplayed the number of young children housed in social housing with high levels of lead in the blood.
City officials insisted that the arrival of Amazon would generate tangible gains for the people of the region.
They indicated that they were planning to set up similar programs at a job center funded by the city in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
"Providing training and good jobs for local residents – especially those living in Nycha – is central to how we develop major economic development initiatives," said Jane Meyer, spokesperson for Mr. de Blasio. , referring to the New York City Housing Authority.
"This is a great opportunity to create tens of thousands of good jobs in our city and to open high-paying technology careers for New Yorkers."
Still, Mr. Van Bramer has questioned the fact that the city and the state had courted Amazon, while the housing complex still does not need funds for basic repairs.
"If we are helping a headquarters with 25,000 employees to set up, just steps from the largest housing complex in the United States, we need more than just words for the people of Queensbridge," he said. he declares. "Before we start social welfare businesses on the richest man in the world, we should think about the crisis in Nycha and meet the needs of the community, including training Queensbridge residents in jobs in the technology sector – otherwise they will look from the outside. "
Outside a group of shops in the center of Queensbridge homes, FIIP Jones, 29, said that Amazon packages had been delivered to a secure locker at a local check cashing center nearby, to prevent them from being stolen in his lobby.
Mr. Jones is a promising rapper who tries to follow the illustrious tradition of hip-hop artists – Nas, Mobb Deep, Marley Marl and others – who came out of the housing project and chronicled its difficult conditions.
He spoke of belonging to the "family" of Queensbridge and being proud of his successes. Mr. Jones stated that he had completed computer training in high school and that if his rap career ended, he would gladly accept a job at Amazon. "If Amazon does not recruit in this community, we should boycott them," he said.
"Everyone here does not have a doctorate, but anyone who wants to work should be able to find a job," he said. "It can only be an advantage."
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