An open letter that ran as a full-page ad in The Times on Friday, promised that Mr. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio would help shepherd the project through the community development and approval process, hopefully with far more transparency and far better communication than there was during the first go-round.

In another development, State Senator Michael Gianaris of Queens, an outspoken critic of the deal, is no longer nominated to to sit on the Public Authorities Control Board, which would have the ability to deep-six any final deal.

The open letter, which was signed by more than 70 unions, current and former elected officials and business and community groups, acknowledged that the public debate was more like a one-sided shouting match. “We know the public debate that followed the announcement of the Long Island City project was rough and not very welcoming,” the letter said. “Opinions are strong in New York — sometimes strident.”

But vigorous democracy and vigorous capitalism should be able to coexist. That would be an important lesson for Amazon, which pressured city officials in Seattle — its hometown — to repeal a business tax for housing and homeless service.

Those opposed to the New York project — a distinct minority of people in the city and the state — were not without cause for rage. The subways are rickety, the schools are dysfunctional, the rent is too damn high and getting higher. And the deal included $3 billion in tax benefits for a trillion-dollar corporation.