Offering a counter-narrative to AOC, Cuomo blamed Democrats in the state senate for sabotaging a deal that "poll after poll" showed was "overwhelmingly supported" by New Yorkers. These lawmakers "put their own narrow political interests above their community" and lost what would have been a great economic boon "not just for New York City, but for the entire region." They also squandered an opportunity to "diversify our economy away from real estate and Wall Street."

"Amazon chose to come to New York because we are the capital of the world and the best place to do business. We competed in and won the most hotly contested national economic development competition in the United States, resulting in at least 25,000-40,000 good paying jobs for our state and nearly $30 billion dollars in new revenue to fund transit improvements, new housing, schools and countless other quality of life improvements.