In a bold move, Senator Stewart-Cousins
appointed Senator Mike Gianaris (D-Queens) to the powerful Public Authorities Control Board (PACB),
setting up for a fight with the Governor over the approval of Amazon subsidies for the new headquarters in Long Island City. The appointment is notable as Senator Gianaris has been a
vocal critic of the deal to lure the new headquarters to Queens. As one of the three members of PACB, Senator Gianaris will have
veto power over any proposals before the committee. The last notable veto came from then Speaker Sheldon Silver who vetoed a proposal for Olympic developments in Manhattan as part of a bid for Bloomberg to lure the Olympics to New York City. The Governor released an angry statement at the news of Gianaris being named to the board calling him a flip-flopper for having at one point expressed support for Amazon coming to the State. Ultimately, the Governor could reject the appointment. The Governor and his appointee to the board have been inconsistent when answering whether or not the proposal would even be submitted to PACB for approval, sometimes suggesting that it does not necessarily have to be submitted and other times suggesting that it does. One thing is for sure, this will be interesting to watch.
