ORANGE COUNTY, NY – Michael Sussman, candidate for Orange County Executive, issued the following response to recent developments regarding the construction of a new Amazon warehouse in the Town of Wawayanda:
“Amazon has proposed building a 3.4 million square foot warehouse in the Town of Wawayanda. I strongly oppose the project for many reasons. The number of permanent jobs will be dwarfed by the number of robots in the new facility. Amazon has engaged in union-busting across the United States and has an abysmal worker safety record. The massive project will cause pollution and congestion the good people of Wawayanda do not deserve.
“Now, with its usual arrogance, one of the world’s richest and largest companies seeks subsidies from the Orange County Industrial Development Agency. I categorically reject any public funding for Amazon.
“The IDA originally scheduled a meeting to discuss the Amazon warehouse for a 5:00 pm meeting on June 4. I protested that starting time as it disenfranchised many, especially the working families of our County. In response to my advocacy, the IDA has now moved the meeting from the Town of Wawayanda Town Hall to a larger venue, the Minisink Valley Middle School (which is located at 2320 State Route 6, Slate Hill), and changed the date to June 10, 2025, and the start time to 6:30 pm.
“Several of our county’s construction unions favor the Amazon project – workers attended the Town of Wawayanda Planning Board meeting last week and expressed support for well-paying and local construction jobs. The irony is not lost on me that our unions strongly support a company with an abysmal union-busting record and a terrible worker safety record.
“Will Amazon’s presence really advance the cause of unions in our County? Workers should not be forced into a choice like this. Instead, our IDA should be supporting private-public partnerships to rebuild our cities, provide workforce housing and improve public safety. These opportunities do not exist today, but on January 1, 2026, when I take office as County Executive, I will initiate a massive housing program which provides comparable employment options.
“Please join me that evening, and let’s give the IDA a piece of our minds. We will fight against giveaways to wealthy corporations and the industrialization of our County. We defeated the last warehouse project we fought two months ago, and can defeat this if we work together and rally in support of each other. We need the kind of economic development which benefits our County comprehensively and over generations, instead of the kind that robs our communities of their character and chases short-term benefits for long-term sacrifices.”
Michael H. Sussman is the Democratic and Working Families Party Candidate for Orange County Executive.