To the Editor:

I would like to add my voice to those who are encouraging our town leaders to fight the real-estate tax breaks for The Pyramid Companies’ hotel.

Pyramid is not some struggling start-up company that needs taxpayer help. It is a successful and highly profitable real-estate development company. Robert Congel, the owner, is one of the richest men in New York.

They do not need these breaks to survive, only to maximize profit. And they will not pull up stakes and move somewhere else if they don’t get their way. Crossgates sits at the confluence of two major highways, and is in one of the best retail locations in the Northeast. That land is incredibly valuable. They will make money, tax breaks or not.

Crossgates has had a huge effect upon the town of Guilderland. Beside the traffic nightmare on Route 20, if you read the Blotters and Dockets section of The Enterprise, you’ll be amazed at how much of the crime in Guilderland originates there. What does this cost in police and court time?

What does it cost to maintain the roads and deal with the traffic around Crossgates? How will this hotel make the issues with traffic even worse?

I’m not saying persecute Pyramid Cos. Just make it pay its fair share for the valuable real estate it inhabits. Every dollar that Pyramid and Mr. Congel do not pay needs to be made up by us, the homeowners in Guilderland. Don’t ask the rest of the taxpayers in Guilderland to subsidize The Pyramid Companies.

John Hughes

Altamont