Rage, delivered
Andy bashes foes of Amazon deal
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo on Monday ripped into those on the left, the right and the media who have attacked the deal to bring Amazon to New York.
Cuomo released a written opinion piece in which he not only defended the $2.8 billion in subsidies agreed on to bring Amazon to Long Island City, but took the unusual step of going directly after the New York Post and the New York Times for opposing the deal.
The governor also blasted the politicians who have been critical of the plan for pandering to the “socialists” on the left wing of the Democratic party.
“This transaction is a lightning rod for the political rhetoric on both extremes,” Cuomo wrote. “The extreme conservatives and the socialists both now vehemently oppose ‘incentives' for Amazon, which is one of the most profitable companies in the country.”
“Compounding the situation, Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post and Amazon and is a competitor to many interests currently involved in the discussion,” he wrote.
Cuomo blasted the Times opposition of the Amazon deal as “totally hypocritical” given that the paper received “tens of millions in tax breaks from New York City” when it announced it was moving into a new Times Square building in 2001.
He said the Times at the time also asked the state to use its powers to override city zoning processes—“the same powers now being criticized for their use in the Amazon deal.”
A Times spokeswoman said the paper's editorial referenced by Cuomo argued that Amazon chose New York City and Virginia primarily because they had the largest pool of tech workers, not because of financial incentives.
“And while the editorial expresses skepticism of the effectiveness of tax incentives for economic development, it clearly acknowledges that The New York Times Company has also been a beneficiary,” she said.
Cuomo also tried to discredit the Post, which he said is “representative of extreme conservatives”, for blasting the state's use of tax breaks to attract business.
“This is nothing new and the Post is being totally hypocritical,” Cuomo wrote. “Companies controlled by Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox and the Post, a New York company, have aggressively sought and received hundreds of millions in government tax incentives from New York State.”
Post Editor-in-Chief Stephen Lynch declined comment.
Cuomo in his essay also threw in Time Warner Media, the owner of CNN, for also having received government subsidies
But it wasn't just the media who drew Cuomo's wrath.
The governor also hit the Democratic socialists and the politicians who have ripped the state and city's decision to give nearly $3 billion in incentives to one of the richest companies in the world instead of earmarking more for the poor and needy.
“These same officials voted and authorized the longstanding economic development programs deployed in the Amazon transaction,” Cuomo said.
He also predicted that “come election time, when the opponents of these politician's side with the businesses and residents who are benefiting from the Amazon infusion, these same politicians will find a way to change their position once again.”
“These entities have now been highly critical of the concept of ‘tax payer subsidies' we will see Rupert Murdoch, the Times, Warner Media/ CNN rebate the incentives they have been receiving, refuse them in the future, and will remain in New York. Once we receive their rebates it will more than compensate for the Amazon benefit!”