*By Chloe Aiello*
New York City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer is owning his status as one of the [so-called "job killers"](https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-amazon-20190208-story.html) trying to chase Amazon out of Queens.
"We should fight for jobs, but we should fight for jobs on our terms, consistent with our values," said Van Bramer, who represents New York's 26th district, which includes the Queens neighborhoods of Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, and Woodside.
Alongside local leaders like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, N.Y. State Sen. Michael Gianaris, and New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Van Bramer has emerged as a vocal opponent of Amazon's planned outpost in Long Island City and the 25,000 new jobs that would come with it, despite initially signing a 2017 letter inviting CEO Jeff Bezos and his company to the city.
Van Bramer said he had a change of heart after details of the deal emerged, which include more than $3 billion in state and local incentives. He also expressed serious concerns with Amazon's ($AMZN) anti-union stance and its refusal to disclose whether it would cooperate ties with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target illegal immigrants.
"The mayor and the governor conspired with Amazon to say, 'We are not going to do this the way we normally do it,'" Van Bramer said. "The more that you learn about them, the less you would ever go along with this deal. I knew none of those things when I signed the letter."
Now, he's attempting to galvanize fellow "progressive Democrats," to stand alongside him.
"Many of us who are progressive Democrats in this city and in this country right now are incredibly concerned about these issues. So if you want to be a progressive Democrat ー in the progressive wing of the Democratic party ー then you shouldn't be supporting this deal," Van Bramer said.
Van Bramer's comments follow a [Washington Post report](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/facing-opposition-amazon-reconsiders-ny-headquarters-site-two-officials-say/2019/02/08/451ffc52-2a19-11e9-b011-d8500644dc98_story.html?utm_term=.b639efc6e456) on Friday that said Amazon may be reconsidering its decision to move to New York, amid community opposition.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/new-york-city-council-member-argues-against-amazons-hq2-deal).
Arguments at the Supreme Court have concluded for the day as the justices consider President Donald Trump's sweeping unilateral tariffs in a trillion-dollar test of executive power.
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The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
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Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
