Interview by Meagan Day

Last week, the Left in New York City won a stunning victory over the long-reigning corporate elite.

In late 2018 Amazon, enticed by a $3 billion sweetheart tax deal, selected the city as the site of its second headquarters, known colloquially as HQ2. The city’s powerful real estate interests were overjoyed, as tech hubs tend to bring white-collar workers and opportunities for lucrative speculative development. They welcomed the influx of well-heeled techies: there’s only so much money you can wring from people who make $40,000 a year, after all.

But working-class residents and local left activists surprised everyone by rising up in protest. They rejected the official line that the deal would bring jobs their way, reasoning instead that the jobs would be reserved for people wealthier than them, and they in turn would be subject to displacement.

The public outcry put New York politicians, fearful of their reelection prospects in the era of ascendant progressivism, in a difficult position. They responded by asking Amazon for concessions. Amazon scoffed and called off the deal. Good riddance, said the opponents.

Jacobin’s Meagan Day spoke with two New York City residents and members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Karen Narefsky and Susan Kang, about how it all went down.