De Blasio On Amazon Prime Day: Shop Local Instead

NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio offered New Yorkers some free Prime Day shopping advice: don't give Amazon more money.

"Today is Prime Day, it's a perfect day not to shop Amazon," he said Monday. "It's a perfect day to keep it local, to buy from your neighborhood stores. It's a perfect day to shop your city. Keep the money in our city, support our small businesses. Also, it's a perfect day to show solidarity with Amazon workers."

Millions of Amazon shoppers eagerly await Prime Day, a two-day online extravaganza of deals, every year.

De Blasio himself used to be a big booster of Amazon when the online behemoth sought to build a second headquarters in Long Island City.

But Hizzoner's tune turned sour as Amazon pulled out from the controversial project. He claimed company officials gave him a last-minute call dropping the plans.

"Why did they even bother to choose New York City if they didn't want to actually be a part of New York City and do the work it takes to be a good neighbor?" he said at the time.

As the coronavirus pandemic devastated the city's small businesses, de Blasio has sought to prop them up.

About 40 percent of small businesses in the city remain closed, he said Monday, before announcing a new program called "NYC Business Quick Start" designed to speed up and simplify opening a mom-and-pop.

"This is a new approach, you've never seen anything like it before," he said. "It will make New York City the easiest place in America to start a business."

The program aims to cut the opening time for small businesses by half, de Blasio said. He said each prospective business owner will get a "concierge agent" devoted to help through the application process and responses will be made in 48 hours.

It will cost $11 million to pay for 100 personnel, he said.

De Blasio tied the success of small business to keeping money in the city's neighborhoods. He said he appreciates that Amazon is the biggest private employer in Staten Island, but criticized the company's anti-unionization stance.

"Amazon literally made record profits last year, but they don't seem to want to share them with working people," he said. "So, to me, a real 'Prime shopper' keeps it local, keeps the money in our neighborhoods, helps working people directly, doesn't put money in the pockets of Amazon."

Today we announced NYC Business Quick Start with @NYCMayor, an interagency effort to cut red tape and position NYC as the best business to start or reopen a business. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/1F2U7tb2Wv
— NYCSmallBusiness (@NYC_SBS) June 21, 2021