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We hope you can join us Thursday April 30 for our Annual Dinner!
Tickets are currently available, with solidarity options for those unable to attend and those unable to pay – click here to purchase your ticket today!

With Bread and Roses,

Bridge, Chris, Cindy and Kiera

Be sure to scroll down for updates and actions on data centers at Tonawanda Coke, ICE resistance, our next hire, and more! Also be sure to click “see more” at the end of the newsletter if your browser cuts it short.

Did you see the Buffalo News story a couple weeks ago about Riverview Innovation Technology Campus’ plans for the former Tonawanda Coke site? As we have warned folks for years, RITC recently formally filed plans for a 300 MW data center for the site at 3875 River Road, and likely plans expansions as other parcels become available for redevelopment. We have spoken with and listened to Tonawanda residents for years about what they want to see at the site. While opinions we have heard vary, there is consensus among residents that the best industrial use of these parcels is renewable energy generation and storage, with solar and battery storage popular alternative uses. There is also consensus that data centers are unwanted uses for these sites.

The good news is that we have some time to make our voices heard – remediation is far from over at 3875 River Road or the other parcels. Just this past month, a workplan was posted to address radiological hot spots at Site 108/3800 River Road.

But we’re at a point where we need to start getting loud about our opposition to a data center and our preferred uses. As such, we plan to formally launch a campaign on this plan and on data centers in Erie and Niagara County this month. There will be many ways you can plug in – for example, we are ordering lawn signs which will help make community opposition to data centers visible throughout Tonawanda and all of WNY. You can order yours now by clicking here – suggested donation of $10.  We also will have a special meeting in May for any and all who are interested in joining this campaign, and will be announcing more on that as well as other events on our social media. If you want to become involved as a member leader in this campaign, please reach out to Bridge.

In the short term, please click through these two links from our friends at Food and Water Watch – there are currently both bills federally and statewide which would put moratoriums in place on any new data center developments. We especially urge taking action on the state moratorium, as that is the most likely to pass in the short term, but because the state budget negotiations are taking longer than expected, the state moratorium will only have a few weeks to get to the floor this session, so we need to let Albany know this is a priority.

• NYS Moratorium Letter Campaign
• Federal Moratorium Letter Campaign

Clean Air members joined over 200 other WNY and Tonawanda Seneca Nation residents in Alabama NY this month to voice our collective opposition to plans for a $1.46 BILLION subsidy package to US STREAM Data Centers for their planned 500 MW data center at the STAMP project. Our friends with Allies of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation are urging everyone to voice their opposition to this plan using these two letter campaigns –

• Stop a Monster Data Center at the STAMP Mega Industrial Site
• STAMP Out Kathy Hochul’s Monster Data Center

Read more coverage on the US STREAM data center proposal at STAMP

Truthout Magazine, Derek Seidman – New York Residents Are Fighting a Data Center Backed by a Billionaire Trump Ally

New York Times, Mark Sommer – In Rural New York, Some See Proposed A.I. Center as a Needless Intrusion

We’re moving into our next phase of our rapid response campaign to resist mass deportation in the Tonawandas, focused on the actions of Customs and Border Patrol at 600 Colvin Woods. In the short term, we’re urging our members and supporters to send a letter to Congressmember Kennedy urging him to directly inspect conditions for detainees at this facility – in the wake of Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s death, he did send a letter to CBP echoing the questions we have for the agency, but we would still like to see an inspection, especially in the absence of any response from CBP to the questions.

You may have heard murmurs about the late state budget this session. It is being held up by Governor Hochul, who is hellbent on using the budget process to water down the metrics of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, derailing years of work and planning by state agencies and legislative leaders who are ready to implement actions to meet our greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. At the same time, she is also shopping around an alternative to the NY4All act, which would water down the protections against mass deportation that immigration justice advocates have been developing over several years and fighting for.

Take action now – send a letter using the links below.

• Tell your legislators: Uphold CLCPA and End Support for False Solutions!
• Advance and Defend NY’s Climate Law
• Angry about your energy bills? Take this action by May 1st.
• The Time is Now to Pass NY4All

Clean Air members and staff hopped on a bus and joined thousands of our peers with NYRenews in Albany earlier this month for a rally and protest in the Capitol Building – for many, it was the first time they’d experienced a chance to talk directly with their lawmakers, and for some it was the first time they’d ever been to Albany! At the bottom of this news round-up are several photos.

We also led a protest a couple weeks ago outside of Governor Hochul’s press event in Cheektowaga, again echoing these points – while this was a smaller turn out than the thousands we stood shoulder to shoulder with in Albany and at No Kings, we’re proud that with just a few hours notice we were able to bring together a group of WNY residents to lead a rapid response action and speak out about the Governor’s attempted authoritarian rollbacks of our laws.

Clean Air joined other members of the Buffalo United Coalition and thousands of others in Niagara Square last weekend for No Kings III – read more in the Ken-Ton Bee and the Buffalo News.

As the day wound to an end, Indivisible National and other national organizations announced a call for a national Economic Blackout on May 1, 2026 – as our friend Austin Morgan with WNYALF explained in his presentation at our General Meeting, an Economic Blackout is a very ambitious but monumentally powerful way to wield our collective strength. We prefer to use the term Economic Blackout rather than General Strike because the term “strike” carries very specific connotations in labor circles.

We will be participating in the May Day actions on May 1 and will share more on our social media this month – check out May Day Strong for events throughout the region as these are announced!

We have a few PurpleAir monitors still left to deploy – we’re especially interested in a couple more placements in first ring suburbs like the Tonawandas closer to River Road and the waterfront, Cheektowaga and Lackawanna, as these are currently gaps in the local network. If you’re interested in hosting one, please reach out to Cindy.

We have finished round one of our interviews for our Coalition Organizer! We plan to bring back a few of the candidates for a second round of interviews, and to extend an offer by the end of April. If you missed the window to apply but still would like to send us your resume for future positions, please feel free.

Finally, we want to extend our deepest appreciation to Kiera Quinlivan, who joined us as an intern in summer 2022 and has stuck around to lend us a hand with our social media, events, and comms – she is in graduate school and is moving into the next phase of her career.

Dear Clean Air members and supporters,
I’m writing to tell you that, after nearly four years, I am moving on from my role as Clean Air’s Communications Coordinator. My time at Clean Air has been a transformative experience, and I will carry the lessons I’ve learned for the rest of my life. From my first day as Clean Air’s intern back in summer 2022, I’ve encountered an incredible group of organizers and community members who inspire me to remain resilient and steadfast in my commitment to justice. I am especially grateful to the relationships I’ve built with Clean Air’s membership and events committee members. Our work together has been incredibly rewarding and I am proud of everything that we have accomplished.
While my time at Clean Air is ending, my commitment to the movement persists. As I look forward to the new experiences ahead of me, I will forever be guided by the organizing and environmental justice principles I learned from Clean Air.
In solidarity, Kiera

We’re immensely grateful to Kiera for all the hard work she has done for us, and are eager to see all the places she will go next!

 

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Workers Memorial Day is Tuesday April 28 – there will be a ceremony at 6pm at the Worker’s Memorial at Chestnut Ridge Park, which WNYCOSH will also be livestreaming on their social media. More information here.

WNYALF is collecting donations of non-perishable foods, diapers and baby formula, personal hygiene products, and grocery store gift cards for members of AFGE Local 2222 and other TSA workers in WNY. If you would like to donate items, you can bring them to WNYALF directly or to our office and we will bring the donations over to them.

NYS DEC announced some emergency actions in response to fuel oil leaks at the Buffalo Naval Park earlier this month. The DEC And Open Buffalo also announced results of soil testing on the East Side of Buffalo, which showed high levels of lead in most samples. DEC also announced a public comment period for a proposed Interim Remedial Measure for the Amherst Central Park, aka the Former Westwood Country Club.

At the federal level, news continues to be a bit grim and Kafkaesque, but people are actively fighting back – this month almost half of US states came together to sue the EPA over the decision to repeal the 2009 Endangerment Finding, and over a dozen non-profit environmental and public health organizations, including the American Lung Association and  Academy of Pediatrics, came together to sue the EPA over the decision to repeal the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).

Grist.org, Benton Graham – The future of geothermal energy may depend on fossil fuel workers

Oil and Gas Watch, Brendan Gibbons – Power grab for Musk AI data center in Memphis sparks environmental justice fight

bioGraphic, Madeline Ostrander – The Fight for the Heart of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The Energy Mix, Jack Dura – What to Know About Greenpeace and the Oil Pipeline Lawsuit that Threatens its Future

Bill McKibben – A dark and killing cloud over Tehran

NY Magazine, Narges Bajoghli – All Modern Warfare Is Chemical Warfare

The New Republic, Malcolm Ferguson – Palantir CEO Makes Shocking Confession on Disrupting Democratic Power

San Francisco Chronicle, Jennifer Gollan – ‘This was forged’: Residents deny sending emails pushing Bay Area air policy change

Grand Forks Herald, Matt Henson – AI error jails innocent grandmother for months in North Dakota fraud case

Inside Philanthropy, David Callahan – Can Philanthropy Rise to the AI Challenge?

ProPublica Magazine, Avi Asher-Schapiro – DOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America’s Nuclear Power Regulator

Climate and Community Institute, Winston Yau – Data Center Energy Demand Should be Contested

NYS Focus, Colin Kinniburgh

• What’s Behind the Escalating Fight Over New York’s Climate Law?
• Hochul Unveils Eleventh-Hour Push to Defang New York’s Climate Law

Inside Climate News

Wyatt Myskow and Lisa Sorg – Trump’s EPA Claims Strong Enforcement. But the Data Tells a Different Story.

Arcelia Martin – South Texas Officials Didn’t Know Tesla Was Discharging Lithium Refinery Wastewater Into Local Ditch

Common Dreams

Julia Conley – Poll Shows Most in US Know Corporate Greed Is to Blame for Energy Affordability Crisis
Stephen Prager – AI-Powered Robot Dogs Guarding Reviled Data Centers Is Where We Have Arrived

Labor Notes

Keith Brower Brown – Four Union Strategies to Fight on A.I.

Dan DiMaggio – UAW Pushes for Green Jobs And Affordability in California

All upcoming events that Clean Air is hosting can be found at bit.ly/CleanAirEvents and linktr.ee/cleanairwny

April 30, 6pm – Clean Air’s Annual Dinner, 371 Delaware Ave in Buffalo, click here for tickets

May 1 – May Day Economic Blackout, follow our social media for details

May 20, 5:30pm – Our next General Meeting, likely a special meeting on Data Centers and Tonawanda Coke