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Know Your Rights
Source: Make the Road New York
Subject: Uncategorized
Type: Pubs & Reports

Beyond Amazon Open Letter to Long Island Elected Officials

Dear Senators Brooks, Gaughran, Kaminsky, Kaplan, Martinez, and Thomas;
and Executives Bellone and Curran:

We write to you in response to the statement issued late last week expressing support for reviving
the proposed New York Amazon HQ2 proposal. We disagree forcefully with the perspective
expressed in that statement. We ask that you review the clear evidence of Amazon’s harmful
business model, and stand with our communities in developing a better approach to economic
development that will go beyond Amazon to empower Long Island’s working families.

We write to you in response to the statement issued late last week expressing support for reviving
the proposed New York Amazon HQ2 proposal. We disagree forcefully with the perspective
expressed in that statement. We ask that you review the clear evidence of Amazon’s harmful
business model, and stand with our communities in developing a better approach to economic
development that will go beyond Amazon to empower Long Island’s working families.

Amazon’s business model is bad for Long Island and all of New York: it’s built on avoiding taxes,
using predatory practices to destroy smaller businesses, mistreating workers, and accumulating
customer data that Amazon utilizes for its own competitive advantage and financial gain. And the
model of incentivizing economic development through enormous subsidies to massive
corporations – with little accountability – has failed New York time and time again, as evidenced by
numerous examples like the Buffalo Billion catastrophe.

At a time of rising income and wealth inequality, Long Island needs and deserves a better model of
economic development for the future. We urge you to support policies that will increase
investment in good jobs on Long Island, robust local hiring programs, real affordable housing, and
open new paths to the middle class for struggling Long Island residents and families.
Our organizations represent tens of thousands of New Yorkers – working families, immigrants, and
people of color – who live throughout the state, including on Long Island and in Queens.