Amazon Reversal Proves Gays Control NYC Council, Diaz Says

NEW YORK — City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. claimed vindication in Amazon's decision not to open a headquarters in New York City — but not for the same reasons as the project's critics.

The councilman argued the company's stunning reversal is evidence for his inflammatory claim that the LGBT community controls the Council. He blamed Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and Speaker Corey Johnson — who are both openly gay — for scuttling the deal.

“Because he [Van Bramer] was not consulted, he organized and he got the speaker, the New York City speaker to join. And that’s what I’m talking about power,” Diaz told Patch in a telephone interview Thursday. “… They are the ones responsible for the City of New York losing 25,000 jobs and close to 27 billion in revenue.”

As a Patch reporter tried to get Diaz to elaborate on his argument, he said, "I don't want to be rude. I've got to go."

The conservative Democrat first made the claim on Twitter, hours after he drew hundreds of supporters to a Thursday rally outside his Bronx office. He indicated LGBT people were among the crowd.

"This is all because of @JimmyVanBramer. He organized folks to push back on Amazon and even got @NYCSpeakerCoJo to fight back as well," Diaz, a conservative Democrat, said on the site.

"Now 25k jobs are gone and won’t be filled by New Yorkers thanks to the NYC Council and its Speaker," he added. "This is another indication proving what I have been saying is correct."

The statement was Diaz's latest showing of defiance to the criticism he has received since his incendiary claim was first reported last Friday. His colleagues have since called for his resignation and dissolved the For-Hire Vehicles Committee he chaired.

In response to Diaz's tweets, Van Bramer — who represents the Long Island City neighborhood where Amazon was to develop its massive campus — called him "paranoid, delusional and full of hatred for the LGBTQ community."

"His presence in our legislative body is a disgrace," Van Bramer said in a statement. "He must resign or the NYC Council should move to expel him as a member. And him using the Amazon decision to pull out as proof of a vast gay conspiracy further demonstrates how delusional, paranoid, and hateful he really is."

In the interview, Diaz said Van Bramer "organized the movement against Amazon" because he was not consulted about the deal that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in November.

In fact, a broad swath of city and state legislators — many of whom are not openly LGBT — opposed the deal along with labor unions and activist groups. But Diaz argued Van Bramer was the leader of the pack.

"Everybody else followed the lead of Jimmy Van Bramer," Diaz said.

Jennifer Fermino, Johnson's communications director, declined to comment on Diaz's Twitter posts.

Both Van Bramer and Johnson delivered emotional speeches on the Council floor before voting to kill Diaz's committee. They recalled feeling suicidal as teenagers and tried to reassure today's LGBT youth that they should be loved and valued.

"I will never, ever forget the feeling of being a suicidal teenager, terrified that the world would hate me for being gay," Johnson said. "And this entire experience takes me right back in some ways to that feeling."

(Lead image: Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. is Photo by John McCarten/New York City Council)