These paragraphs sum up the sad reality perfectly:
“Without the boost from Amazon that could have transformed Long Island City into a 24/7 district, Benaim said he thinks it’ll remain just a place for Manhattan commuters to sleep.
“It’s still going to be a bedroom community, and I feel bad for all the local restaurants, all the local mom-and-pop shops who were counting on this,” he said. “They needed this.”
“We literally just threw the baby out with the bath water, Haber said. “You want the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, the Bezos coming to our shores and that economic growth that comes with them. We’re not setting up New York for success in the 21st Century. What happened today is a real tragedy.”
These politicians should be sued for malpractice.
It's not like LIC is a half hour drive from Manhattan (there was actually a time I used to drive to LIC, park there and take the Subway one stop over into Manhattan, rather than spend 45 minutes in a crowded subway). Nothing wrong with it being a bedroom community. It's the same city. I wouldn't want Times Square in my backyard.
If the Amazon move would come with a MAJOR infrastructure upgrade (for example: Subway upgrade, including safe stations where the railway is closed off until the train stops) then it would be something to bemoan. But as long as it's only the additional high paying jobs and tax revenue, without a specific infrastructure or other benefit tied to it, there's nothing to be upset over.
