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New York is kicking a bunch of public school employees out of their offices to make room for Amazon

More than 1,000 NYC public school employees will lose their offices to accommodate Amazon’s new secondary headquarters
New York is kicking a bunch of public school employees out of their offices to make room for Amazon

New York’s “progressive” leaders are moving public school employees out of their offices to make room for Jeff Bezos.

More than 1,000 New York City public school employees will lose their offices to accommodate Amazon’s new secondary headquarters in Queens, a school official confirmed to VICE News.

The city’s Office of Pupil Transportation, Division of School Facilities, and Office of Food & Nutrition Services will be evicted from their current building in Long Island City, which will be taken over by Amazon as part of its HQ2 plan involving additional co-headquarters in Queens and Crystal City, Virginia. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, jointly announced their controversial plan to welcome Amazon to the city while offering the world’s most valuable company huge tax breaks.

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“We will be identifying new space for staff currently in this building as soon as possible,” New York City schools spokesman Will Mantell said in a statement. “We’ve notified staff and will work closely with staff throughout the transition process.”

Amazon’s plans to come to New York have been met with backlash and protests. Residents fear that Amazon will exacerbate New York City’s rapid gentrification and overcrowded transportation problems.

Both Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat who represents the Bronx and Queens in the House, have harshly criticized the deal. Andrew Cuomo’s defeated gubernatorial opponent, who ran a progressive campaign to the left of Cuomo, also denounced the HQ2 deal, saying it would worsen New York City’s homelessness crisis.