Vivian Wang And Shane Goldmacher

Barely a month before, the Democrats had assumed control of the state Senate for the first time in a decade. But after the Amazon project’s collapse Thursday, they found themselves under attack from all quarters. From Amazon, who blamed their high-profile opposition. From Republicans, who asserted that Democrats were demonstrably bad for the economy. From some constituents, who felt they had been robbed of jobs.

Perhaps the greatest threat, though, came from within their party: Gov. Andrew Cuomo cast blame solely on the Senate for the deal’s demise, singling out individual senators for attack by name.

Several Long Island senators were banding together to discuss how to manage the fallout among their pro-Amazon constituents. Some of the suburban legislators had even in recent weeks sought help from Cuomo, out of fear that the Senate Democratic Conference’s progressive agenda — and in particular its hard line on Amazon’s promised $3 billion in tax subsidies — would alienate swing voters who had made their wins possible.

In a hastily assembled call Thursday, the Senate Democrats preached unity, with affirmations of solidarity and reassurances that the attacks were misguided. But it was clear that fissures — both within the Senate, and between the Senate and the governor — had emerged. And whether the Democrats are able to close those divisions could have repercussions, not only for their legislative agenda this year but also in next year’s election and beyond.

“Feelings are somewhat raw right now,” state Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat, said.

One freshman from Long Island, Sen. Kevin Thomas, said he was worried about political “heat” from Amazon’s reversal: “Obviously,” he said.

Media outlets on Long Island had witheringly denounced the Senate Democrats for Amazon’s exit, homing in on the Long Island contingent. Already at least two Long Island Republicans had paid for digital advertisements denouncing progressive opposition to the company.

Earlier in the year, the leader of the Senate Democrats had warned members not to create formal alliances within the conference, for the sake of unity. Still, Thomas referred to himself and his fellow vulnerable Democrats as the “Long Island Six.”

“He can’t blame all of us for this. He shouldn’t,” Thomas said of Cuomo’s recriminations. “The governor knows the position of the Long Island Six.”

The disagreements within the conference about Amazon mirrored those playing out in New York City. While several progressive city senators led the opposition to the deal, the more moderate suburban lawmakers had supported it, pointing to the potential for as many as 40,000 new jobs that could flow to their constituents.

But that support seemed to have been drowned out this month, when Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the majority leader, selected Sen. Michael Gianaris, the deal’s most vocal opponent, for a state board with potential veto power.

Publicly, the Democrats did not speak out against the choice of Gianaris. But privately, the Long Island Democrats mobilized.

Sen. Monica Martinez said she met with Cuomo — one of the deal’s chief architects — to discuss how important it would be to her district. Last weekend, the six senators had a conference call with Stewart-Cousins to voice their concerns about political fallout if the deal fell through.

“We need to have a check on ourselves and make sure that we voice our concerns for our districts,” Martinez said in an interview.

At least one Democrat asked Cuomo to reject Gianaris’ appointment to the board, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation.

Sen. James Gaughran said he wanted to examine how appointments were made to certain boards and commissions, including the board for which Gianaris was chosen.

“I’m going to be looking at all these boards and commissions to see how we can change them, so that rank-and-file members have more of a direct say,” he said.

Asked if Gianaris’ appointment was a mistake, Gaughran said: “You have to appoint people who are going to be open to all possibilities. But that was not my call.”

Cuomo, a centrist who has successfully leveraged previous divides between the Senate Democrats, has sought to woo the suburban lawmakers, several of whom he recruited to run last year.

Before Amazon’s withdrawal, Cuomo had warned senators of the dangers of opposition, saying in a recent radio interview that “if the Senate is going to be the reason that Amazon leaves New York, I wouldn’t want to be running for re-election as a Democratic senator.”

By coincidence, the day before Amazon announced its exit, someone created a “Defeat Gianaris” Twitter account and website.

The Senate leadership, keenly aware of the party’s history of infighting, has been eager to ward off signs of internal conflict.

“Certain people want to divide, I think, the Senate Democrats,” Stewart-Cousins said in an interview. “And the question is, why do they want to spend that much time trying to find ways to blame us or divide us?”

But the Long Island senators, in recognition of their occasionally competing interests with the rest of their colleagues, said working as a suburban coalition was important because their priorities were different.

Gaughran said he would work with other Long Island officials to craft a new tax incentive package to lure Amazon to Long Island instead. Even if the Senate leadership would still oppose that idea, he said, “that wouldn’t matter to me.”

“I would urge the leadership to consider it,” he said. “I’m one senator, but I’d be pushing with colleagues to make sure it happens.”

Still, all the senators denied that they would seek to form any sort of breakaway faction or that the fallout from Amazon would cause permanent rifts in the conference. Martinez called the episode an “eye-opener” on the importance of understanding the diversity of the conference.

Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a new legislator from the Bronx, said disagreement was normal.

“Everyone comes from a different part of the state. How could we possibly all have the same interests?” she said. “At the end of the day, we are a united conference, and this instance is something that we will get through.”

Biaggi, who won her seat last year by unseating the head of a former breakaway group of Democrats, was clear how she felt about the idea of a new rogue faction.

“God help anybody who tries to do that,” she said.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/nyregion/amazon-political-fallout-ny-senate.html" id="911060e3-be32-3a5d-a95d-b5bec4ea8b40">The New York Times</a>.

NEW YORK — In the hours after the deal to bring Amazon to New York had unraveled, the urgent message went out to Democratic state legislators: We need to talk.

After Amazon Deal's Demise, 'Raw' Feelings and Democratic Infighting

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Vivian Wang And Shane Goldmacher

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After Amazon Deal's Demise, 'Raw' Feelings and Democratic Infighting