Crowd looked to pull plug on prop
By J.T. STONE &
VINCE GASPARINI
[email protected]
COLONIE – Despite freezing cold temperatures and fierce winds, about 100 people from across the Capital Region stood outside government buildings, holding homemade signs this week to protest a proposed Tesla showroom in the town of Colonie.
The proposal, submitted by WCCS Albany LLC, seeks to demolish a former educational facility and construct a new 30,000-square-foot showroom and service center for electric vehicles at 1979 Central Ave. The 7.4-acre parcel is owned by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services. The site was previously home to the former Maywood School, which moved to Watervliet Shaker Road in 2022.
The proposed facility would be an “electronic automobile sales/repair/service center,” according to the project narrative submitted by Advance Engineering & Surveying PLLC. The proposal claims the center, where vehicles would operate without exhaust systems, fuel tanks or traditional motor oil, would generate “no noise or emissions like hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide.”
Demonstrators gathered outside Colonie Town Hall on Loudon Road and the town’s Public Operations Center on Old Niskayuna Road on Tuesday to speak out against the proposal. Many lambasted Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his controversial public comments and role in the Trump administration, specifically his work with the newly established Department of Government Efficiency that has overseen wide-ranging firings and layoffs across the federal government as well as the freezing of billions of dollars in federal grants.
“Tesla is not welcome in our community. Elon Musk is not welcome at all,” said Rachel Swire, a member of Indivisible Colonie, one of the groups that organized the Tuesday protests.
Swire said Tesla and Musk do not represent the “values of the town of Colonie,” a sentiment echoed by many protesters who held signs with messages like “Deport Musk” and “Tesla Swasticar,” a reference to a Nazi-like salute the tech billionaire gave twice during President Trump’s inauguration rally in January.
“I think it’s really horrible that this man who wasn’t elected has so much influence,” Colonie resident Joe Hetko said of Musk. “I want his company to go down and I want him to be humiliated.”
State Senator Patricia Fahy and Assemblyman Phil Steck, both Albany County Democrats, addressed the crowd outside Town Hall and criticized Musk for “dismantling our federal government.”
Fahy argued the proposed Tesla dealership would pose a financial risk to taxpayers, pointing to a report that shows the company’s sales have dropped 13% in the first three months of this year.
Fahy and Assemblywoman Gabriella Romero are also sponsoring legislation that would require Tesla to sell its cars through independent franchisees or auto dealers instead of company-owned stores. New York banned direct car sales in 2014, but a subsequent agreement with Tesla has allowed the company to operate five stores in the state without going through a third party to sell its vehicles. Fahy and Steck said this rule created a “Tesla monopoly” on the state’s five direct car sale permits and argued that other electric vehicle makers should have the chance to obtain these permits.
“This isn’t about promoting electric vehicles,” Steck said. “This is about Elon Musk making more money because he can sell direct and not have to abide by the dealer requirement in the state.”
Fahy and Steck, who attended the protest alongside Colonie Town Board member Alvin Gamble, also called for New York to divest from Tesla shares owned by the state pension fund, which they said was its seventh-largest holding.
The protests preceded a contentious town Planning Board meeting where over 30 demonstrators packed into the Public Operations Center to voice their opposition to the proposed dealership.
The proposed facility, which first went before the Planning Board in December 2023, also features 277 parking spaces, including 24 service bays and space for 40 employees.
Developers estimate the project will generate 29 peak-hour vehicle trips, after accounting for standard traffic reductions.
However, several protesters who spoke during the meeting raised concerns about the possibility of widespread protests and vandalism at the proposed site.
After the meeting, Acting Planning and Development Director Andris Blumbergs said in an interview that the board should not take political comments into account when making decisions.
“This is a car dealership. We have to look at it at face-value,” Blumbergs said. “It’s an allowed use in the town. It’s an allowed use where they’re proposing it.”
A public hearing has not yet been scheduled for the proposal.
