To the Editor:
This is the letter I sent to the Guilderland Industrial Development Agency.

Pyramid is a private company and as such should not receive public tax breaks. Tax breaks are for public projects that will benefit every resident of Guilderland.

In fact, the increased traffic and increased competition that Pyramid will bring will inconvenience many homeowners and hurt business owners in Guilderland. The fact that Pyramid states that it will not build Costco without receiving this money is an attempt to strongarm the taxpayers of Guilderland [“Neighbors sue to stop Costco, Pyramid says it won’t build without tax breaks,” The Altamont Enterprise, June 1, 2023].

Pyramid has never done things in the best interests of the people of Guilderland. Costco should be built in a warehouse district elsewhere in the county of Albany, where it properly belongs. Taxes paid to Albany County would still benefit the town of Guilderland. 

In order to seize property under eminent domain two things are required: that the property be used for the public good and that fair compensation be provided. This proposed use of eminent domain is not for the public good, it is to benefit a large, private corporation. This is not an appropriate use of eminent domain.

As stated at the IDA meeting of May 31, a public referendum should be put forth to allow the residents of Guilderland to decide if property that has been maintained by our tax dollars, should be given away. 

My house on Kent Place backs up against the Western Avenue corridor. Every day, we see and hear the traffic on Western Avenue. The building of Costco will make the traffic unbearable. Already I avoid Western Avenue on weekdays between 4 and 6 p.m. I travel side streets to get where I need to go. 

It seems that many comments on this project come from people who do not live in Guilderland. They will come and go to Costco while those of us who live here will bear the burdens. Let’s withhold this money and let Costco be built elsewhere. 

Richard Eckhardt

Guilderland