To the Editor:

Thank you for reporting on the Markstone proposal for New Karner Road as I had not seen the memo to the board from Town Planner Kenneth Kovalchik [“Developer wants 210 apartments at the edge of the Pine Bush, Guilderland Planning Board says the math doesn’t work,” The Altamont Enterprise, April 23, 2026].

That was the memo recommending this go to the Guilderland Planning Board specifically for the need of affordable housing.

Originally, this development was slated to have 15 percent of its housing be workforce with an Area Median Income between 80 percent to 120 percent of income (a debatable range to use as it is).

I was at the planning board meeting on April 22 where this development was brought up.

Not only did the developer cut mostly workforce housing units in its updated plan but, when it was brought up enough, a representative of the developer flat out said they did not intend this project as affordable housing. If this is true, why was this forwarded to begin with?

As you can imagine, many of us aren’t happy with this development. Whether or not it will be stopped is a different issue. I understand that development does happen and we cannot dictate fully what is done with owned land.

That said, at minimum, they should be held to their word and be scrutinized to make sure what they do actually is for the benefit of the town, and not just them.

Carissa Braun

Guilderland