Jimmy Van Bramer Responds to Latest Amazon Revelations

BROOKLYN, NY (01/04/2020) (readMedia)-- This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that EDC records reveal that the deal to bring a second Amazon headquarters to Long Island City (HQ2) included roughly $800 million more in taxpayer subsidies than previously reported. Even though activists managed to scuttle the deal, Amazon has continued to invest and grow in New York City even without gratuitous subsidies. The company says it expects to continue to grow.

Van Bramer was a lead opponent of the deal. In response to today's news he issued the following statement:

"The revelation that the original Amazon deal was actually closer to a $4 billion give-away underscores the abject lengths to which proponents were willing to go to pay a trillion dollar company to set up shop in New York City. Considering that we now of course know that Amazon was willing to do so anyway without any special incentives, this latest news should embarrass anyone who continues to defend it. On top of all that, we now learn that the deal not only included a personal helipad for the richest man in the world, but an 'island retreat' for his employees. The privatization of public lands without community input and government oversight is completely unacceptable. I was proud to fight for my community before, and prouder still today that we stood up against corporate greed. We need good jobs in this city not unaccountable giveaways, and that's why I'm running for Queens Borough President."

Background on Van Bramer

Jimmy Van Bramer, born and raised in Astoria, Queens, is the Deputy Leader of the New York City Council. He was first elected to the New York City Council on November 3, 2009, and re-elected in both 2013 and 2017. Van Bramer is a founding member of the progressive caucus of the New York City Council.

He works tirelessly to fight for working people, equality for all, and the importance of improving quality of life in our community- values instilled by his parents. His father, William Van Bramer, was a lifelong member of Printers' and Pressman's Union Local 2, and his mother Elizabeth Van Bramer helped support the family- even through bouts of homelessness and food insecurity- by working as a meat wrapper and cashier at local supermarkets, and was a member of Local 1893 of the International Brotherhood of Painters.

His first foray into organizing was when he was a St. John's University student in 1993, leading a queer group of students who fought to be officially recognized by the largest catholic university in the country. Later, he organized for Ed Sedarbaum's 1998 State Senate race, gravitating towards the nascent movement to elect queer people in Queens and starting his personal decades long fight with the Queens County Democratic Party machine.

In 1998, he was an organizer with Citizen Action of New York to create what-is-now today's current New York City campaign finance system with matching funds. At the same time, he lead civil disobedience actions with Irish LGBTQ folks trying to march in the city's St. Patrick's Day parades, which previously banned openly queer groups from marching.

In 2001, he stepped forward as the insurgent candidate against the Queens machine for City Council, coming in second. In the ensuing years, he worked as an organizer for the Queens Public Library and joined the board of the Queens Council on the Arts. In 2009, Van Bramer won his City Council election against Queens County machine pick Deirdre Feerick. He similarly bucked the machine to back Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker.

Recently he was a leader in the opposition to $3 billion of tax subsidies for Amazon HQ2 and was the first Queens elected official to endorse Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney.

He currently lives in Sunnyside Gardens with his husband Dan Hendrick. Jimmy married Dan on July 28th, 2012, becoming the first openly-gay elected official to get married in the borough of Queens.