Open Letter to Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos

Open Letter to Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos
Dear Mr. Bezos:New Yorkers do not want to give up on the 25,000 permanent jobs, 11,000 union construction and maintenance jobs, and $28 billion in new tax revenues that Amazon was prepared to bring to our state. A clear majority of New Yorkers support this project and were disappointed by your decision not to proceed. We understand that becoming home to the world’s industry leader in e-commerce, logistics and web services would be a tremendous boost for our state’s technology industry, which is our fastest growing generator of new jobs. As representatives of a wide range of government, business, labor and community interests, we urge you to reconsider, so that we can move forward together. We know the public debate that followed the announcement of the Long Island City project was rough and not very welcoming. Opinions are strong in New York—sometimes strident. We consider it part of the New York charm! But when we commit to a project as important as this, we figure out how to get it done in a way that works for everyone. Governor Cuomo will take personal responsibility for the project’s state approval and Mayor de Blasio will work together with the governor to manage the community development process, including the workforce development and infrastructure investments that are necessary to ensure that the Amazon campus will be a tremendous benefit to residents and small businesses in the surrounding communities. New York attracts the best, most diverse talent from across the globe. We are a dynamic new center of the country’s most inclusive tech economy. We all hope you reconsider and join us in building the exciting future of New York.Sincerely,
Plinio Ayala
President & CEO, Per Scholas, Inc.
Ajay Banga
President & CEO, Mastercard
Rob Basch
President, Hunters Point Parks Conservancy
Eric Benaim
CEO, ModernSpaces
Neil Blumenthal
Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Warby Parker
Seth Bornstein
Executive Director, Queens Economic Development Corporation
Josh Bowen
Owner, John Brown Smokehouse
Charles Boyce
President and CEO, Boyce Technologies, Inc.
Mary Cunningham Boyce
Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University
Gianna P. Cerbone
Owner & Chef, Manducatis Rustica VIG; President, Queens Council on the Arts and Board Member, LIC YMCA
Kenneth I. Chenault
Chairman & Managing Director, General Catalyst Partners
Mark A. Christie
President, Hunters Point Community Development Corporation
Mario Cilento
President, NYS, AFL-CIO
Claudia Coger
Tenant Association President, Astoria Houses
Michael L. Corbat
Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Inc.
Hon. David Dinkins
Former Mayor, City of New York
Danny Donahue
President, Civil Service Employees Association
Donna Drimer
President, Matted LIC
Hazel Dukes
President, NAACP New York State Conference
Catherine Engelbert
Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte
Hector J. Figueroa
President, 32BJ SEIU
William E. Ford
Chief Executive Officer, General Atlantic LLC
James P. Gorman
Chairman & CEO, Morgan Stanley
Thomas Grech
President & CEO, Queens Chamber of Commerce
Rev. Dr. Johnnie Green
Mount Neboh Baptist Church & President of MPAC (Mobilizing Pastors & Communities)
George Gresham
President, 1199 SEIU
Andrew Hamilton
President, New York University
Christopher Hanway
Executive Director, Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement
Robin Hayes
President & CEO, JetBlue Airways Corporation
Jukay Hsu
Founder & CEO, Pursuit
Hon. Hakeem Jeffries
Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Marion Jeffries
President , NAACP Astoria/ LIC Branch
Kristina Johnson
Chancellor, State University of New York
Jelena Kovacevic
Dean, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University
Gary LaBarbera
President, Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
Mary Beth Labate
President, Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities
Kevin S. Law
President & CEO, Long Island Association
Joey Levin
Chief Executive Officer, IAC
Anthony Lopez
Executive Director, Zone 126
Elizabeth Lusskin
President, Long Island City Partnership
Hon. Carolyn Maloney
Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representative
Rev. Corwin Mason
Community Church of Astoria CAC
Felix Matos Rodriguez
Chancellor Designee, The City University of New York
Bill McDermott
Chief Executive Officer, SAP
Hon. Gregory Meeks
Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Gail Mellow
President, LaGuardia Community College
Heidi Messer
Co-Founder & Chairman, Collective[i]
Marc Morial
Chief Executive Officer, National Urban League
Anne Cotton Morris
Citywide President and Tenant Association President, Woodside Houses
Michael Mulgrew
President, United Federation of Teachers
Deanna M. Mulligan
President & CEO, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
Hon. Catherine Nolan
Assemblywoman, New York State Assembly
Jon Oringer
Founder & CEO, Shutterstock, Inc.
Charles E. Phillips, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer, Infor
Rev. Gilbert Pickett
Mount Horeb Baptist Church
Martha Pollack
President, Cornell University
Miriam Porto
Owner, Madera Cuban Grill & Steakhouse and R40 Argentinian Restaurant
Frank “Turtle” Raffaele
Founder, COFFEED
Hon. Max Rose
Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Steven Rubenstein
Chairman, Association for a Better New York
Robert Rubin
Former Secretary, U.S. Treasury
William C. Rudin
Co-Chairman & CEO, Rudin Management Company, Inc.
Kevin P. Ryan
Chairman & Founder, Zola, Workframe, Nomad Health, MongoDB, Inc.
Kris Schrey
President, Long Island City Parents Group
Carlo Scissura
President & CEO, New York Building Congress
April Simpson
Tenant Association President, Queensbridge Houses
David M. Solomon
Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs & Co.
Rob Speyer
President & CEO, Tishman Speyer
Douglas C. Steiner
Chairman, Steiner Studios
Alan Suna
Chief Executive Officer, Silvercup Studios
Steven R. Swartz
President & CEO, Hearst
Bishop Mitchell Taylor
Senior Pastor, Center of Hope International & Co-Founder, Urban Upbound
Dennis Walcott
President & CEO, Queens Library
George H. Walker
Chairman & CEO, Neuberger Berman Group LLC
Peter T. Ward
President, New York Hotel Trades Council
Carol Wilkins
Tenant Association President, Ravenswood Houses
Fred Wilson
Managing Partner & Chairman, CSNYC; Co-Chair, Tech:NYC; & Partner, Union Square Ventures
Tom Wright
President, Regional Plan Association
Kathryn S. Wylde
President & CEO, Partnership for New York City
Rev. Patrick Henry Young
First Baptist Church of East Elmhurst CAC
Paid for by the Partnership for New York City. For further information, contact us at One Battery Park Plaza, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004, pfnyc.org
Show me more about this topic