Although there seems to be differences between the sellers of the Costco site in Yorktown, developer Wilber Breslin is forging ahead. The dispute seems to be whether Costco can build a gas station on the site or not. One of the owners, Sammy Al Jamal, is against the issue mostly because he owns or manages several stations in Yorktown, most of which would be in direct competion with the Costco station, which sells gas to its members at considerable savings.
The site where Costco is proposing the station has been a gas station as long as I can remember, so what's the issue? Costco, a top ten national company, and Breslin Realty, the developer, are already making a difference in the Yorktown community. From partnerships in the Yorktown Festival and Street Fair to scholarship contributions for our students, Costco and Breslin Realty are already part of the Yorktown Community.
I realize there has been some opposition to the Costco concept, however I urge the people of Yorktown to look at the whole picture. It's easy to compare other development for this site but the fact is Costco is the only company willing to make the investment in this site. The financial benefits to the town far out weigh the temporary inconviences the development will bring. Route 202 for instance, will never be improved without this type of development. Besides the working family jobs it will create, consider the sales tax revenues generated from Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and other surrounding counties.
Can Yorktown really afford not to have Costco? Only if the residents wish to continue the escalating tax issues we will all face in the future.
Joseph Visconti
President
Yorktown Chamber of Commerce
People like you argued that "big box stores are evil" and forced Yorktown to foolishly reject a development on Route 202 many years ago (which ended up sending Home Depot to Cortlandt). How has that worked out for Yorktown???
At first everything seemed fine. I passed the police station, then the high school. However, then I hit the mess. By about the turnoff for Route 132 traffic slowed to a crawl. But it did move, a little anyway. Then it slowed again. There were the four intersections with traffic signals. It took forever to get from the Taconic to Pine Grove. I was a Yorktown "stakeholder" (Aren't we all?) for the years of meetings with the NY State DOT on the Route 202/Route 6 sustainable development study. There was a plan devised for improving the Route 202 traffic. Very little in that plan has been carried out. We can have hope, of course. There have been meetings in the past year on possible improvements to the Route 202 and Taconic, Bear Mountain Parkway, Pine Grove and Stony Street intersections. I cannot see that adding a big box store right in the middle of the Route 202 traffic mess will do much but add to the problems. It may just negate anything that the state does in the area. I can even see the DOT starting over again with another study. Just what we need!
I came to Yorktown because I loved the wooded areas and the lakes. I didn't realize that I would be battling litter all over the place. It's disgusting and shameful that not enough people care to preserve Yorktown's beauty. But unlike, Jo, I won't stay for the long haul. It might take a few years but I will be damned if I stay in such a filthy, litter-infested place that Yorktown is becoming.
Also, you really must living be in a time machine arguing about not bringing "big box" stores to the area. That boat sailed MANY years ago, and you lost, and most people would argue that their life is better for it.
Costco will bring (1) more congestion and traffic resulting in longer commutes, (2) more litter as there will be more people in cars throwing litter out their window, (3) fewer trees, (4) more car pollution. And I seriously doubt that Costco will reduce your taxes. Any property tax revenue that Yorktown receives will go to paying for/restoring services that have been cut. I don't recall Susan Siegel telling anyone that she is going to reduce residential taxes once Costco comes. So if you can't afford to live here, then move.