>"This wasn't some "backroom deal"." From NYC's perspective this was exactly a backroom deal, done out of sight up in Albany. It's important to note that in o

>"This wasn't some "backroom deal"." From NYC's perspective this was exactly a backroom deal, done out of sight up in Albany. It's important to note that in order to build the LIC Amazon campus the state employed a somewhat controversial land use procedure known as a GPP - General Project Plan. This was used as a way of circumventing the city's rezoning process which would have required greater city council input. Using a GPP ensured that the Empire State Development Corporation had final say. And locally it was seen as an end around on Queen's LIC Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and his district. It's striking just how mismanaged the local perceptions and local politics of this whole deal were from the beginning. LIC and Queens in general is one of the most diverse places in the world. The overwhelming majority of which are people who have never heard of Hackernews or even work in tech. Further this comes amid a time when New Yorker's have watched the fabric of the city change in rather concerning ways. The city has been blighted by a mix of both empty store fronts and endless retail bank branches on every block. Up above them a hyper construction machine builds endless glass tower "luxury condos" that are little more than safety deposit boxes for people who will not live there the majority of the year. All of this is a backdrop of great anxiety for many people. Our local governments have far more responsibilities than just generating tax revenue. These purely financial and technocrat armchair analyses never bother to take any of this into account.