Conservative Group Slams Ocasio-Cortez for Amazon Pullout With Billboard in Times Square: 'Thanks for Nothing, AOC!'

The Job Creators Network (JCN), a conservative advocacy group, placed a billboard in New York's Times Square on Wednesday, slamming Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for Amazon's recent decision to pull out of building a second headquarters in Long Island City, Queens.

"25,000 lost NYC jobs, $4 billion in lost wages, $12 billion in lost economic activity for NY," the billboard, located on 42nd Street near 8th Avenue, read. "Thanks for nothing, AOC!"

In a statement, JCN blamed Ocasio-Cortez and other "anti-business politicians" for Amazon's decision, which they claimed would be a "major blow to the New York economy."

"The Amazon pullout is a perfect example of what we've been saying: socialism takes and capitalism creates," Alfredo Ortiz, JCN's President and CEO, said. "The economic consequences of Amazon's pullout is just a small taste of the harm that is to come if Ocasio-Cortez's anti-business canon comes to fruition and is made federal policy."

The billboard will reportedly remain in the popular tourist location for one week.

Ocasio-Cortez strongly opposed Amazon's planned move to build a $2.5 billion campus, arguing that it wouldn't actually create for jobs for those living in the New York City borough and could result in the community becoming less affordable for low-income residents.

"If we were willing to give away $3 billion for this deal, we could invest those $3 billion in our district ourselves, if we wanted to. We could hire out more teachers. We can fix our subways. We can put a lot of people to work for that money, if we wanted to," the freshman congresswoman said last week.

When Amazon decided to abandon its plans and find another location for their second headquarters, the company explained that their decision was due to opposition from "a number of state and local politicians."

"While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City," the company said in a statement.

Shortly after, Ocasio-Cortez welcomed the news and praised local efforts on social media. "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," she tweeted.