A new billboard debuted on Wednesday in New York City’s Times Square blasting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for her part in Amazon’s recent decision to scrap plans to build a new headquarters in Queens.
Check out the sign in Times Sq.! Thanks to @JobCreatorsUSA! pic.twitter.com/iIN0DTo8r2
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) February 20, 2019
The billboard, funded by the nonpartisan advocacy group Job Creators Network, says: “Amazon Pullout, Thanks for Nothing, AOC.” The ad will be displayed for one week, starting today.
Today we’re running a digital billboard ad in Times Square with the message: “Thanks for nothing @AOC!” #socialism takes, #capitalism creates https://t.co/F57rsSkLcL
— Job Creators Network (@JobCreatorsUSA) February 20, 2019
The billboard notes that Amazon’s decision to pull out cost New York City 25,000 high-paying jobs, $4 billion in wages, and $12 billion in economic activity.
“The Amazon pullout is a perfect example of what we’ve been saying: socialism takes and capitalism creates,” Alfredo Ortiz, JCN president and CEO said in a statement on Wednesday. “The economic consequences of Amazon’s pullout is just a small taste of the harm that is to come if Ocasio-Cortez’s anti-business canon comes to fruition and is made federal policy.”
Via Fox Business:
Last week, Amazon announced it pulled out of its plan to build a second headquarters in Long Island City following a flood of opposition from city and state officials, including Ocasio-Cortez, who heavily criticized the e-commerce giant for taking massive tax breaks from the state worth an estimated $1.525 billion despite being a “billion-dollar company.”
Other incentives for the company included a refundable tax credit worth as much as $1.2 billion over 10 years for the salaries it was to pay workers and a $325 million cash grant from Empire State Development (the state’s economic development arm) based on the square footage of buildings it occupies over the next 10 years.
Ocasio-Cortez posted a celebratory tweet following news of Amazon’s departure:
Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world. https://t.co/nyvm5vtH9k
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 14, 2019
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez again expressed delight in Amazon’s decision during a short interview with Reuters:
“I think it’s incredible!” she gushed. “I mean it shows that everyday Americans still have the power to organize and fight for their communities and they can have more say in this country than the richest man in the world.”
WATCH: Congresswoman @AOC celebrates Amazon's NYC pullout https://t.co/8tEjEDU5b0 $AMZN pic.twitter.com/fRVem5QmMu
— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) February 19, 2019
In a statement last week, Amazon cited the lack of support from state officials as one of the reasons it abandoned the project.
“While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City,” Amazon said.
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