A fierce opponent of the $3 billion deal bringing Amazon to Queens has been nominated to a powerful state board that could scuttle the project — drawing condemnation from Gov. Andrew Cuomo against his fellow Democrats.
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins (D-Yonkers) on Monday nominated Queens Sen. Mike Gianaris, the deputy majority leader, to the obscure Public Authorities Control Board.
Gianaris represents the Long Island City neighborhood where Amazon’s new headquarters will be located and has denounced the $3 billion in incentives offered the company by the state and city.
The five-member PACB board includes appointees of the governor and legislative leaders and approves or rejects major capital funding projects.
In 2005, the board tanked then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to bring a football stadium to Hudson Yards.
“Deputy Majority Leader Gianaris will add a helpful voice to the Public Authorities Control Board. Now is a crucial time for our state and he will bring an important perspective and accountability to this board as it reviews numerous projects,” Stewart-Cousins said in a statement.
But Cuomo has to accept the nomination and a spokeswoman for the governor declined comment on whether he would do so.
“This recommendation puts the self-interest of a flip-flopping opponent of the Amazon project above the state’s economic growth and is a clear sign that the Senate Democrats oppose the 25,000 to 40,000 new technology jobs that would diversify our state’s economy,” said Cuomo spokeswoman Dani Lever.
She said the move is “especially shortsighted” given the government’s announcement Monday of a plunge in tax revenues and potential economic slowdown.
“Every Democratic Senator will now be called on to defend their opposition to the greatest economic growth potential this State has seen in over 50 years,” Lever said.
Stewart-Cousins, through a spokesman, stood by the nomination.
Cuomo and his office have given conflicting statements on whether PACB board approval is required.
In a WNYC interview in November, Cuomo indicated that the board would have to approve $500 million in infrastructure funding for the Amazon project — but not the $2.5 billion in tax credits tied to job creation.
“They do not have to approve the capital grant. That is the law,” Cuomo said.
In a Jan. 29 interview, Cuomo even claimed that the City Council and state Legislature could “thwart” the project by passing a law stopping it. But the legislative bodies would have to override expected vetoes from the governor and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
But Gianaris said Cuomo has also claimed “he doesn’t need” to go to PACB at all.
“Don’t know if the deal is coming to the board. Cuomo says he doesn’t need to but most people think he does,” Gianaris said in an interview.
Team Cuomo’s response shows that the governor is clearly treating the Gianaris selection as a poke in the eye, and the spat shows that the honeymoon between Cuomo and the new Senate Democratic majority is over.