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As Ocasio-Cortez celebrates, some NYC business owners mourn Amazon's HQ2 cancellation
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As Ocasio-Cortez celebrates, some NYC business owners mourn Amazon's HQ2 cancellation

Amazon's presence would've helped a lot of people

Amazon will no longer be building its much-hyped HQ2 in New York City. For some, such as New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, this is a huge victory.

But for some local business owners who were counting on a financial boost from Amazon's arrival, the news is extremely disappointing, the New York Post reported.

"It's definitely heartbreaking," said restaurant owner Steve Logiudice, whose establishment was located two blocks from Amazon's planned location. "There'll be less foot traffic, and we depend on foot traffic. We depend on, obviously, the locals, but we depend on the construction workers, the business workers, so we depend on all that."

The sentiment from some business owners reflects a disconnect between the will of elected officials and the will of the people.

"It's a nightmare for us," said Giana Cerbone, owner of an Italian eatery in Long Island City. "They didn't think about the community. They didn't think about the people who voted them in."

Ocasio-Cortez was against the Amazon HQ2 plan from the beginning. Her opposition, which was shared by some on both sides of the political spectrum, was that a company as rich as Amazon shouldn't be receiving $3 billion in state and city subsidies to open a new location.

While that may be a fair complaint, HQ2 was also bringing 25,000 jobs, and many people care more about the opportunity for a job than they do about subsidies.

Still, Ocasio-Cortez declared victory once Amazon announced it was pulling out of NYC.

"Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon's corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Thursday.

Ocasio-Cortez's argument is that "if we were willing to give away $3 billion for this deal, we could invest those $3 billion in our district ourselves if we wanted to."

Unfortunately for New Yorkers, that's not what's going to happen. Amazon's departure will not result in $3 billion dollars spent on improving New York City.

Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire attempted to break it down for the freshman congresswoman.

"Revoking a tax break to Amazon does not make Amazon's money appear in NY's coffers if Amazon doesn't locate there," Shapiro tweeted. "The stupid. It burns."

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