Billionaire real estate developer Sam Zell summed up Rep. Gregory Meeks’ explanation about renewed efforts to revive the Amazon deal as “a crock of s–t” on live television.
Zell was caught on a hot mic Wednesday morning on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” moments after a discussion ended with Meeks about the deal to build a second headquarters for the online retail giant in Long Island City.
Meeks, a Democrat who was among the politicians and business and union leaders who signed an open letter to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to reconsider, said only a handful of New Yorkers were against the project.
He said Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and other lawmakers were on board with Amazon.
“I do believe you got to be inclusive on any deals, though,” he said as the segment came to a close.
“Same here,” Zell said, as the show cut back to host Melissa Lee bidding goodbye to Meeks.
Off camera, Zell said, “What a crock of s–t” as Lee’s jaw dropped before she recovered and moved on to the next segment as if nothing had happened.
Meeks, whose congressional district covers much of Queens, shot back at Zell later on Twitter.
“Sam Zell should explain what about minority inclusion in economic development is a ‘crock of s–t’, and why city’s like NY and Chicago shouldn’t bake those requirements into tax incentives. This is what women and people of color deal with in the corporate board rooms daily @CNBC,” he posted on his page.
Amazon abruptly announced on Feb. 14 that it was pulling out of the deal to build a second headquarters — known as HQ2 — because of intense local opposition to the plan.
Opponents of the deal argued that the state and city were giving away billions of dollars in incentives to a company run by the world’s richest person and that the project would send rents soaring in Long Island City and drive out low-income residents.