What now that we kicked out Amazon?
The victory over Amazon was a watershed moment for our city, and our very ideas of how economic development should happen
This past Saturday, we kicked off community conversations to talk about why Amazon HQ2 was a bad deal for New Yorkers, but also to deepen our understanding of the need for economic development that benefits people and communities over corporations
Over the course of the day, we did three sites:
Queensbridge Houses, Long Island City
Diversity Plaza, Jackson Heights
Corona Plaza, Corona
What is economy?
What is economic development?
Who should our economy benefit?
Who benefits from corporate driven and centered economic development?
Who loses?
What if we collectively decided how our economy was shaped?
And where we invested money?
Through these conversations, popular voting on where we need investment in our communities, against corporate kickbacks, coloring activities for children, we engaged (and practiced!) with over a thousand people on #EconomicDemocracy and #CollectiveEconomy. All in 8 languages!
With:
Hate Free Zone Queens
Queens Neighborhoods United
Centro Corona, Queens
Chhaya Community Development Corporation
UGNAYAN
Caaav: Organizing Asian Communities
Justice for All Coalition
Party for Socialism and Liberation – PSL