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   From: felcher.adam.schiff@sacbee.com   
      
   New York (CNN Business)New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is still   
   upset that Amazon isn't coming to New York.   
      
   De Blasio attacked the company Sunday for canceling plans to   
   build a second headquarters in Queens last week.   
      
   "This is an example of an abuse of corporate power," de Blasio   
   told NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press." "Amazon just took   
   their ball and went home. And what they did was confirm people's   
   worst fears about corporate America." He made similar comments   
   in a New York Times op-ed Saturday.   
      
   Amazon (AMZN) canceled the deal just months after announcing   
   plans to split its new, second headquarters between New York and   
   Virginia. The Seattle-based company, which is trying to grow its   
   footprint at home and abroad, spent a year reviewing hundreds of   
   "HQ2" proposals from all over North America before settling on   
   the two regions.   
      
   Last November, de Blasio cheered the news and promised that it   
   would benefit locals, including residents of a large public-   
   housing development located nearby.   
      
   But critics — including many Democrats — lambasted the massive   
   subsidies that New York offered to lure Amazon, including $1.525   
   billion in incentives that were contingent on the company   
   creating 25,000 new jobs with an average salary of $150,000.   
      
   On Sunday, de Blasio, a Democrat, said New York offered Amazon a   
   "fair deal," and blamed the company for making what he called an   
   "arbitrary" decision to leave after some people objected.   
      
   "They said they wanted a partnership, but the minute there were   
   criticisms, they walked away," he added. "What does that say to   
   working people that a company would leave them high and dry   
   simply because some people raised criticisms?"   
      
   Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment   
   about de Blasio's latest remarks. But the company last week   
   criticized "a number of state and local politicians" who it said   
   "have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not   
   work with us to build the type of relationships that are   
   required" to complete the project.   
      
   The fallout over the Amazon headquarters exposed a rift among   
   Democrats. While de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo   
   welcomed the company late last year, others in the party chafed   
   at the plans — including freshman Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-   
   Cortez, whose district is near the site in Queens where Amazon   
   would have been located.   
      
   That divide continued last week when Amazon reneged on the deal.   
   Cuomo attacked politicians who he felt "put their own narrow   
   political interests above their community." Ocasio-Cortez,   
   meanwhile, declared victory.   
      
   Asked Sunday about the disconnect among progressives, de Blasio   
   said they are capable of governing and giving back to working   
   people.   
      
   "I am representing 8.6 million people, and a clear majority of   
   those people believe we need more fairness in our economy. But   
   of course, we need jobs, we need growth, we need revenue," said   
   the mayor, who called himself a progressive. "Progressives can   
   do both."   
      
   Amazon said last week that it will not look to replace New York   
   with another city, but will still move forward with existing   
   plans in Virginia. It also is working on a hub in Nashville.   
      
   CNN Business' Lydia DePillis and Jackie Wattles contributed to   
   this report.   
      
   https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/17/tech/bill-de-blasio-amazon-hq2/   
      
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