A New York state lawmaker is being hailed as the man who dealt the death blow to Amazon's plans in Queens. Despite freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's high-profile opposition to the Amazon campus in Long Island City, state Senator Michael Gianaris has emerged as the project's true vanquisher. Gianaris, a Democrat whose district includes Long Island City, initially supported plans to bring Amazon to the area, but did an about-face after the deal was announced, criticizing the secrecy surrounding the negotiations and the nearly $3billion in taxpayer-funded incentives. The tipping point came on February 4, when state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins nominated Gianaris as her appointee to the obscure Public Authorities Control Board. New York State Sen. Michael Gianaris, center, is seen at a November protest against Amazon moving to Queens. The lawmaker is seen as the force behind Amazon's reversal The arcane state panel was set to vote in 2020 on whether to approve the financial terms for Amazon set forward by Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, who both championed the deal as an engine for job creation and economic growth. Gianaris' installment on the board was seen as a sign that the state Senate was opposed to the deal, and sent Amazon scrambling for the exit. Concerned that Amazon could be in limbo for more than a year ahead of the state panel's vote, the growing consensus within the company was that it did not make sense to move ahead in the face of persistent opposition with a headquarters in New York City, where it already has 5,000 employees, two people briefed on talks inside the company said. Amazon had no binding legal contracts to acquire or lease the land for the project. It could exit with relatively little pain, the people said. Company officials also concluded Amazon could shift the jobs that would have been created in New York to other corporate centers it has across the United States, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Boston. Reopening talks with former HQ2 contestants did not make sense, the people said. Gianaris blamed Amazon for the reversal, saying the company refused to engage and address community concerns. In a statement, Amazon blamed its reversal in Queens on 'a number of state and local politicians.' CEO Jeff Bezos is seen above in September 'Today's behavior by Amazon shows why they would have been a bad partner for New York in any event,' the lawmaker told DailyMail.com in a statement. 'Rather than seriously engage with the community they proposed to profoundly change, Amazon continued its effort to shakedown governments to get its way. It is time for a national dialogue about the perils of these types of corporate subsidies,' Gianaris continued. In a statement, Amazon blamed its reversal in Queens on 'a number of state and local politicians [who] have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required.' Amazon's shock announcement of a pull-out came a joyous news to renters in the area, who feared soaring rents and overcrowding on the neighborhood's already strained public transit. Business leaders and property developers were crushed, however. 'They announced it on Valentine's Day, and we were all devastated,' said restaurateur Sam Musovic, who owns apartments in Long Island City and told DailyMail.com that he had taken out $1 million in loans to renovate his properties in anticipation of the Amazon campus. 'It was basically a big blow to the community,' Musovic said of the reversal, blaming politicians who 'just want to make a name for themselves.'. He called for a national boycott of Amazon and planned to hold a protest outside of the company's Midtown book store on Tuesday afternoon. Protesters gathered in Long Island City in November to blast Amazon's plans in the area. Fierce local resistance and key political moves led to Amazon's reversal on the plans Up to the moment of the announcement, there were signs that the parties could work together. One union leader said he and other labor organizers met on Wednesday with Cuomo and four Amazon officials, including Brian Huseman, its vice president of public policy. 'We had such a productive meeting yesterday. Everyone left happy,' said Stuart Appelbaum, head of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The group is trying to organize workers at an Amazon facility in Staten Island, another New York City borough, despite the company's past opposition to unionization. 'It was a complete surprise that they would say they look forward to working with us, and we talked about next steps, and then they call it all off the next morning,' said Appelbaum. All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility