Anti-Amazon Backlash Rose From Grass Roots to Stymie Bezos (1)

A firebrand of a freshman congresswoman. Two career politicians who bulldozed local interests. And two others who harnessed fury over corporate welfare going to the world’s richest man.

Amazon.com Inc. expected some public outcry over its choice to expand in a redeveloped Queens industrial area along New York City’s East River. But Jeff Bezos, its founder and chairman, didn’t count on a combination of political missteps and savvy that would drive it out of town.

Among the fatal errors: Three-term Governor Andrew Cuomo and two-term New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, underestimated how an anti-corporate message from ...