#AOC defends record amid jabs from rival Caruso-Cabrera in final debate

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended her record — including her help torpedoing Amazon’s thwarted plan to open a massive headquarters in Queens — while coming under withering attack from her chief Democratic primary rival Michelle Caruso-Cabrera during the final debate before Tuesday’s vote.

The first-term incumbent squared off with challengers Caruso-Cabrera and Badrun Khan during the face-to-face debate sponsored by the Parkchester Times and BronxNet Wednesday night. The congresswoman initially said she would skip the debate but changed her mind.

Democratic socialist AOC and former business journalist Caruso-Cabrera donned face masks and sat at tables opposite each other to abide by social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic. A masked Khan sat between them at the Golden Palace.

Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest ever elected to Congress two years ago after toppling longtime Congressman and Queens Democratic Party chairman Joe Crowley. She gave a cheerful opening statement on why she deserves to be re-elected.

But Caruso-Cabrera pounced immediately during her opening statement, noting that AOC initially sought to duck the third and final debate before agreeing to show up and was actually “embarrassed” by her record.

“You voted against your community,” Caruso-Cabrera said, referring to AOC being the only Democrat to vote against the Payroll Protection Plan that includes funds for hospitals and COVID-19 testing.

Then she slammed AOC for staying at her D.C. apartment in March instead of being in the Bronx-Queens 14th congressional district hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“At the height of the crisis while our constituents were dying, you didn’t come home even though Congress wasn’t in session,” Caruso-Cabrera zinged.

“That’s false!” AOC interjected.

“AOC was MIA,” Caruso-Cabrera said.

Caruso-Cabrera also accused Ocasio-Cortez of being a “divisive” and “polarizing” figure within the Democratic Party.

AOC responded that Caruso-Cabrera was “obsessed, obsessed” that she spent six days in D.C. when she fell ill and continued to perform her duties for her constituents, including raising $850,000 for relief efforts.

She then turned the table on her opponent — painting Caruso-Cabrera, a former Republican, as a tool of President Trump and corporate Republicans, and a newcomer to the district.

“Ms. Caruso-Cabrera lived in Trump Tower until six months ago,” AOC said.

“She’s been a registered Republican virtually her entire life. She’s financed by Trump donors and financed by Trump advisors. Be careful,” the congresswoman said.

Caruso-Cabrera, who recently moved to Sunnyside in the 14th CD, said AOC also spent time growing up in Westchester and mocked her life story as a “Bronx tale.”

Pointing out that AOC had criticized Crowley for having his family reside in D.C. and not spending time enough time in the district, Caruso-Cabrera pressed, “You stayed home when people were dying…That’s pure hypocrisy.”

Caruso-Cabrera also scoffed at AOC raising $850,000 while first bringing up the congresswoman’s opposition to the Amazon’s aborted plan to open a campus alongside the Queens waterfront projected to generate 25,000 jobs and $27 billion in revenue.

“The $850,000 is the least you can do after throwing out $27 billion in tax revenue. Imagine if we had that tax revenue now,” she said. “I never would have thrown away 25,000 jobs.”

Amazon’s presence would have created more indirect jobs for mom and pop stores like dry cleaners and restaurants, Caruso-Cabrera.

But AOC defended her opposition when asked by moderator Gary Axelbank if she regretted her role in scuttling the Amazon project.

She claimed “bully’ Amazon wildly inflated job projections and refused to negotiate changes with labor unions who wanted to represent workers, or Long Island City residents concerned about getting price out of their neighborhood.

“Twenty five thousand jobs….Those jobs were not coming,” the congresswoman said.

AOC also took a not-so-subtle shot at Gov. Andrew Cuomo for negotiating the back-room deal to provide Amazon with $3 billion in “dubious” tax and other government subsidies.

“This was a state level deal. I was not at the negotiating table,” she said.

Ocasio-Cortez also said rents surged 20 to 30 percent in the D.C. area after Amazon opened its corporate campus there and defended being the only House Democrat to vote against the Payroll Protection Plan, claiming the law was too skewed toward helping big corporations while shutting out immigrants.