Amazon project moving along

Article and Photo by Benjamin Joe

The Amazon warehouse in the Town of Niagara is now being constructed, having been approved in 2022.

Amazon spokesperson Mac Heintzman listed benefits of the facility. He noted the company is committed to hiring 1,000 people and investing $550 million into the facility, as well as that Amazon is committed to “mitigate our impact” on the traffic in the area.

“Western New York is a great place to live and work, and we’re excited about the upcoming launch of our new, state-of-the-art Amazon robotics fulfillment center,” he said in an email. “Once operational, this facility will allow us to serve customers faster – up and down the Northeast – while providing good jobs to local residents.

“Our goal is to be an employer of choice – offering a variety of types of jobs, good pay and great benefits. On average, employees currently earn more than $22 per hour nationally, which increases to more than $29 per hour when you include the value of elected benefits, like health care coverage, which starts day one for most employees. All hourly employees are also able to take advantage of our Career Choice program, which provides prepaid tuition to partner colleges and training programs.

“As we progress closer towards launching this facility, we’ll continue to work with our great partners – the Town of Niagara, Niagara County and New York state – to keep people apprised of updates, hiring initiatives and more.”

The project was initially met by mixed reactions.

During a public hearing held by the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency on Aug. 3, 2022, resident Robert Taylor of Packard Road challenged the amount of “tax breaks” given to the delivery giant, as well as to the quality of the 1,000 jobs Amazon was proposing.

“Those jobs aren’t even a sustainable wage,” he said. “Amazon has a 150% turnover ratio for their employees. It’s well documented.”

According to Vox.com in June of 2022, Amazon’s labor attrition rate was 123% in 2019 and 159% in 2020.

Dawn Ansel, a Tuscarora Road resident, said traffic is a concern.

“It’s already congested. Add a thousand people going to work, plus the extra trucks, plus the traffic it already gets, and it’s going to be a nightmare,” she stated.

Chris Stoianoff, who works in information technology at Niagara Charter School, said he’s been driving between work and home along Lockport Road for 10 years, and never had a problem. Stoianoff said he is optimistic the business will bring prosperity.

“I’m hoping that they become a very resident-friendly and charitable entity that would go above and beyond for the community,” he said.

NCIDA Executive Director Andrea Klyczek said the quality of jobs and pay are something her agency cannot control, though there are certain things the NCIDA can do to hold Amazon accountable for and “clawback” the property.

“We have clawback provisions in all our projects,” she said. “The benchmark for the IDA is the amount of investment and the jobs that are created.”

Traffic issues are not tracked by the NCIDA, Klyczek said.

Town of Niagara Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso talked about the project and said the town was unable to control what Amazon did in terms of wages for its employees or any kind of turnover rate that came to pass.

However, she said the town police officers would monitor the route of the trucks entering and leaving and, in that way, control traffic around the site.

Virtuoso also noted that, on final approval, Amazon agreed to pay for turning lanes to alleviate congestion.

“As soon as the weather breaks, they’ll be starting those turning lanes and widening wherever it needs to be widened, and it’s going to go from Porter Road to Tuscarora,” she said.

Virtuoso also said she felt that any problems or issues faced by the town and Amazon would be solved through communication.

“Any discussion we do have always comes out favorable. They’re very cooperative,” she said.

The construction has garnered bipartisan support by both Democratic and Republican party heads.

Niagara County Democratic Committee Chairman Chris Borgatti said the work being done by local union crews justified the deal entirely, despite any tax breaks. Borgatti had written to the Town of Niagara Planning Board in 2022, offering his support for the project.

“A big job like this comes in a lot of times without oversight, without the conversations that were had before,” Borgatti said recently. “A lot of times these jobs are done by people from out of state or people from out of the country, the people who will work for less. So, I was happy to see the trades able to get some work out of it.”

Niagara County Republican Committee Chairman Richard Andres said the county IDA did the right thing to pursue Amazon after an Erie County deal soured for the company. He noted this facility will be one of the largest warehouse developments around the world, and the county and town would be recompensated through taxes.

“It’s no longer an empty field,” he said, noting that any number over zero in the taxation of the property was a win for the county and its residents.

Ansel still has her doubts, however.

“I can’t see the future, (but) … I’ve just lived here for 44 years and I’ve seen the Summit and Rainbow malls close, factories close, TeleTech close, and so many small businesses come and go. A ton of businesses have ‘Help Wanted’ signs, but they aren’t getting the help. I don’t see this being much different,” she said.