Photo via Queens Neighborhoods United
On Saturday, dozens of community members and organizers led an outreach campaign to inform Queens residents about the threat posed by Amazon’s proposed second headquarters in the neighborhood of Long Island City. According to a press release shared by Queens Neighborhoods United, the outreach was done in nine languages, culminating at the Flushing Lunar New Year Parade.
“The day-long event, which also included small business and street-level outreach in Corona Plaza and Diversity Plaza, highlighted the urgent need to provide frontline communities with information around issues that often get lost in translation,” the press release said..
Last week, the Washington Post reported that Amazon was reconsidering New York City as its second headquarters. The project has been facing criticism from elected officials and community organizers alike. The article says that while this may be about increasing pressure from elected officials to uphold the proposal, “company executives have had internal discussions recently to reassess the situation in New York and explore alternatives,” according to two sources.
Close to 500 postcards addressed to local elected officials were collected in a span of three hours during the “No Amazon Day of Outreach.”
“Local residents withstood freezing temperatures to learn of Amazon’s anti-immigrant, anti-worker business practices, as well as the likelihood of displacement to be caused by HQ2,” said the press release.
Woman signs card during “No Amazon Day of Outreach”
Recently, I dedicated an episode of #AmandaLaQueManda to Amazon, shortly after the decision was announced. You can check it out here:
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Amanda Alcántara is the Digital Media Editor at Latino Rebels and Futuro Media Group. She tweets from @YoSoy_Amanda.
