Not everyone is excited about Amazon’s pending announcement that new headquarters are coming to the D.C. and New York regions.
The online retail giant is expected to announce this week it has selected two metropolitan communities — Long Island City in New York and Arlington in Northern Virginia — as the locations of its split east-coast headquarters, in addition to Seattle.
[NEW: Amazon splits second headquarters between Virginia, New York]
The projects are expected to bring thousands of jobs to the two already booming regions and pump millions of dollars into two local economies.
But some local officials and residents in and near the two cities have warned the projects could skyrocket the cost of living and put a major strain on public transit and infrastructure.
[Opinion: Locating Amazon’s HQ2 in Crystal City could create national security concerns]
Now Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has weighed in on those concerns.
In a string of tweets Tuesday morning, Ocasio-Cortez said she has heard from supporters in Queens who she described as “outraged.”
“Amazon is a billion-dollar company,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Tuesday. “The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here.”
Ocasio-Cortez will soon represent New York’s 14th District, which does not include Long Island City but does encompass several surrounding neighborhoods in north-central Queens.
She questioned whether the company has promised to hire in the existing community and what the quality of those jobs are.
“We need to focus on good healthcare, living wages, affordable rent,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “It’s possible to establish economic partnerships w/ real opportunities for working families, instead of a race-to-the-bottom competition.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s tweetstorm comes days after she publicly complained she could not afford to rent an apartment in Washington, D.C., until her congressional salary kicks in next year.
“This isn’t just about one company or one headquarters. It’s about cost of living, corps paying their fair share, etc.” Ocasio-Cortez said of the Amazon news. “It’s not about picking a fight, either. I was elected to advocate for our community’s interests – & they‘ve requested, clearly, to voice their concerns.”
