QUEENS, N.Y. - A year after the deal to bring Amazon's campus to Queens fell through, some people in Long Island City are still feeling the fallout while others say it's a moment to learn from.
At Manducatti’s Rustica on Vernon Boulevard, Gianna Paola Cerbone thinks back on the heartbreak she faced on Valentine's Day 2019 when the online retail giant suddenly walked away from plans to build a campus known as HQ2 on the waterfront and bring with it at least 25,000 jobs.
"No one talked about the infrastructure, no one discussed the things that were important for the community. No one talked about how important it was for Queensbridge for jobs," Cerbone said.
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Cerbone says local politicians who opposed the billions in city and state tax incentives for Amazon did not have the community's interest at heart.
City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer — who was called "Jimmy Van Job Killer" by hecklers for opposing the deal — disagrees.
"There are a lot of narratives and storylines around HQ2, the most ridiculous is that we ran them out of town. The truth is, they chose to leave," Van Bramer said.
Van Bramer says the deal Amazon made with Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio left the company unwilling to budge on several issues, including their refusal to letting their workers unionize.
In December, Amazon leased space in the new Hudson Yards neighborhood of Manhattan for 1,500 workers without tax incenctives.
Critics said the lease shows the tax incentives in the Queens deal weren't necessary. Supporters of the original Amazon deal say that's ridiculous.
"They’re still building what they’re building and they’re still making jobs but they’re not going to give us that infrastructure which they were going to give us for nothing," Cerbone said.
Modern Spaces CEO/Founder Eric Benaim says the breakup was initially devastating to his real estate company but he believes the market has bounced back. He says One Court Square, the former Citigroup building which was set to become part of the Amazon campus, has rented out about half its space. Residential sales are up too. He says he’s sold more units since Amazon left than in 2017 and 2018 combined.
"I think what Amazon did is put us on the world map. Everyone knows us know," Benaim said.
As for the 28 acres Amazon once wanted, some development companies have formed a coalition called Your LIC. They’ve been meeting with groups of resdients across Long Island City to see what the community wants for the site.
Benaim expects a mixture of residential, commercial and retail space there.