This year, the tech giant Amazon will be engaged in a delicate political dance in New York. The reason? In late 2018, the company announced plans to base one of its two new “headquarters” in Long Island City, Queens.
Amazon’s leaders probably assumed that the decision would delight locals. After all, New York mayor Bill de Blasio was so keen to lure the company that he joined forces with his arch-rival Andrew Cuomo, New York governor, to offer incentives.
But local residents have not reacted as the city elites — or Amazon officials — might have expected. Instead of welcoming the new high-paying jobs, some locals organised community meetings to try to keep Amazon out.