Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Throws Shade at Critics After Amazon Agrees to Open NYC Office Without Tax Breaks

After Amazon reportedly said it would open a new office in New York City's Midtown Manhattan neighborhood on Friday without any city tax credits or subsidies, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted responses to those who criticized her after Amazon pulled out of its Long Island City HQ2 plans in February--a plan that she had opposed.

"Won't you look at that: Amazon is coming to NYC anyway - without requiring the public to finance shady deals, helipad handouts for Jeff Bezos, & corporate giveaways," she wrote.

She also humorously demanded an apology from those who criticized her after the Long Island City deal fell through. "Me waiting on the haters to apologize after we were proven right on Amazon and saved the public billions," she later tweeted.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the company will lease a 335,000-square-foot office space in New York's Hudson Yards. Amazon plans to open the new office for their consumer and advertising teams in 2021. The online retail giant currently employs over 8,000 people throughout the city.

"As we shared earlier this year, we plan to continue to hire and grow organically across our 18 Tech Hubs, including New York City," an Amazon spokesperson told CBS New York in a statement.

In July, the Democratic congresswoman tweeted a similar sentiment when a Wall Street Journal article noted an Amazon expansion in New York. "Well, just as we said, Amazon quietly came to NYC without needing a dime of public money or special tax treatment. The jobs came without the cost," she wrote.

Fox & Friends, however, criticized the congresswoman for the significant drop in the number of jobs coming to the city. Amazon's HQ2 in Long Island City was anticipated to bring 25,000 new jobs to New York; the new office is only anticipated to bring about 1,500 jobs. "I think she looks so lonely there because she alienated so many New Yorkers," co-host Abby Huntsman said of AOC's photo.

Opponents of the earlier HQ2 proposal in Long Island City at the time decried Amazon receiving huge tax breaks from the state. When Amazon later decided it would not move forward with plans to build a second headquarters in New York, Ocasio-Cortez saw the deal ending as a victory. "Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon's corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world," a tweet read.

Responses to Ocasio-Cortez's February tweet were harsh. "I never thought that I would see the day on which a Member of Congress celebrated the loss of 25,000 jobs in her State. Especially, when her State is suffering from a tax revenue shortage," one twitter user wrote. "You didn't defeat Amazon - it will succeed elsewhere. You defeated yourselves."