Yorktown Officials Discuss 'Last Chance' for Business

YORKTOWN, N.Y. — Yorktown town and planning officials, surrounded by different business representatives and stakeholders in the development of Route 202, discussed plans and ways to mitigate problems in the corridor, which was described as Yorktown’s “last chance” for business Thursday.

Route 202 has been the focus of plans for development with large projects such as Costco, Stateland and the Fieldhome expansion. The purpose of the meeting Thursday was to discuss why business was necessary for that area and create a dialogue between the business stakeholders and officials in the town, county and state, according to Yorktown Supervisor Michael Grace.

Grace said Route 202 is the last chance to fix the tax “imbalance” facing Yorktown, where 10-12 percent of the taxes are paid commercially—with a huge majority paid by the taxpayers.

The 202 corridor also faces issues with its wetlands, drainage and traffic. The addition of several large businesses would exacerbate the problem, but this is the time to fix those issues, said John Tegeder, director of town planning.  

“The time really is now, as supervisor and others said, to jump on this wagon and try to get something moving here,” Tegeder said.

Representatives from large projects who are either presenting projects before the town currently, such as Costco and Stateland, as well as others whose businesses would be affected by the changes Route 202, such as the Staples shopping center, addressed the residents and representatives in Yorktown to explain why more business is needed to come to the area.

A representative from the state transportation department was present Thursday to take inquiries about issues that were brought up, such as funding and projects like the Bear Mountain Extension. One major issue, many people said, was that preexisting road problems would only get worse if more business was added to the area. But Attorney Al Cappelini said these issues are no reason to halt a project.

“You cannot use existing problems as the very reason for denying a project, especially when people who are promoting these projects wish to improve the situation,” he said. “These problems have existed for years and no one has taken care of it, or the treasury wasn’t there to do it.” He added, “development is not something that should be perceived negatively.  It’s a positive thing if you take the opportunity that you have now.”

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