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Data center industrial developments without guardrails have been a growing concern for our members over this past decade, starting first with cryptocurrency mining operations, particularly in North Tonawanda and at the former American Axle site.
We have been involved in this fight for years, but until now it’s been as a subset of our existing campaigns, such as our fights for Just Transition in Tonawanda and for clean-up of contamination at the former American Axle site.
Well, we’re done just dipping our toes in this fight, and are ready to fully dive in – join us on Wednesday May 20 for a special meeting to launch our new campaign to fight for regulations on these industrial operations and to pivot these industrial developments to renewable energy projects instead.
Our core focus will be fighting for renewable energy instead of the the proposed data center at the former Tonawanda Coke site, but we are also going to be focusing on regulations to require best practices for data centers broadly in Erie and Niagara counties. Register today to help us plan!

With Bread and Roses,

Bridge, Chris, and Cindy

PS – we have finished our interviews for our new organizer, and should be making an announcement about our new team member very soon!

While we have a ton more to share at our official campaign launch on May 20, you don’t need to wait until then to take action!

Actions Right Now

First, send a letter RIGHT NOW to the Public Service Commission to ask that they ban non-renewable energy generation from the Governor’s proposed behind-the-meter requirement for data centers. While we feel requiring data center operators to generate their own power is a sensible policy, we do not just want to see obsolete and shuttered or phasing down coal and gas plants snapped up and refired by data center developers, like we have seen in North Tonawanda.
Next, sign up to hop on the bus to Albany on Wednesday May 13 to fight for the proposed statewide 3-year moratorium! We will be leaving at 4am from Trinity Church (371 Delaware), stopping off to pick up friends in Rochester and Syracuse, then we’ll spend the day at the Capitol with peers from all over the state, before hopping back on the bus back west, returning to Buffalo around 10pm. Free parking for the day will be available at Trinity Church. Can’t make it on the 13th? You can also send a letter to our representatives in Albany right now by clicking here! Relatedly, if you are a small business owner in favor of this moratorium, please fill out this form, which our friends with Food and Water Watch and the NYS Sustainable Business Council will use to send a business sector letter to representatives.
While there are a number of bills floating around locally and statewide, we think at this particular moment this 3-year moratorium is strategically the most important priority, as it will then give us and our lawmakers time to develop sensible regulations. We also held a small rally on May 1 as part of the May Day Strong day of action regarding the moratorium, with representatives of Senator Baskin and Assemblymember McMahon, both co-sponsors, speaking alongside several residents on the importance of this bill. Click here to read the press release and watch the recording, as well as to see the coverage in the Niagara Gazette.
Then on Thursday May 14, join us at the Town of Tonawanda’s first workshop for it’s Comprehensive Plan Update – this will be a fantastic opportunity to speak with Town officials about your concerns about the proposed data center at the former Tonawanda Coke site, as well as what you would like to see for the future of the River Road industrial corridor and the economic development goals overall for our region.
You can also attend any Town meetings, and during open comment periods, come to the mic to voice your concerns – there will not be much if anything to be decided at these meetings yet, but it’s important that Town officials hear from residents about our concerns and what we would like to see instead. It’s also great to simply sit in on these meetings and observe and learn about how the regular business is conducted.

You can also sign up right now for a lawn sign, which will be available by June 1 – the basic design that we are going to be using is below.
We are asking for a donation of $10 to cover the printing costs and to help fund our data center campaign work, but will be making these available for free to any Clean Air members who would like one.
All of this is rounded up in this blog post we published a couple of weeks ago – please share it widely!

North Tonawanda – DigiPowerX at Fortistar

We also wanted to give a couple quick updates on the fight in North Tonawanda, which we are continuing to support through this new official campaign. First, residents have filed a class action lawsuit against DigiPowerX for the harm their practices have inflicted on the community, most notably the noise pollution. Read more here in the Buffalo News and here in the press release from the law firm representing them.

North Tonawanda is also revising their zoning code, which is a fantastic opportunity to codify some local regulations for data centers moving forward.

Finally, the court case concerning the appeal of the Public Service Commission’s approval of the sale of the Fortistar gas power plant continues to move forward – earlier this month the NY Supreme Court, Appellate Division Third Judicial Department heard oral arguments on the case, with EarthJustice representing us and the residents of North Tonawanda – click here to watch the recording.

We continue to oppose mass deportation operations in Tonawanda, WNY, and nationwide. We will be holding our next vigil at the corner of Colvin and Colvin Woods Parkway on Tuesday May 12 at 4:30pm to raise awareness of the Customs and Border Patrol operations at 600 Colvin Woods Parkway within the Colvin Woods office park.

CBP’s lease with Government Investment Partners expires on August 2 – please take a moment to urge GIP not to renew this lease by clicking here. If the lease is renewed, it may be another 20 years before it is again up for review.

We are also still calling on Congressmember Kennedy to directly inspect this facility – send a letter to him by clicking here.

We are also now a part of the parallel Evict ICE from 250 Delaware campaign – they will meet every Tuesday evening at 5pm outside of 250 Delaware for at least the next year, and we will be joining their regular picket each week!

We are also supporting the next phase of the No New Jails campaign – join us on Saturday May 16 for the NNJ Participatory Budgeting workshop to learn more.

Our Buffalo Neighborhood Hubs team is continuing to train up peers and themselves on emergency response and preparedness, as well as about how to affect long term lasting change to prevent future harms – as part of that latter goal, they plan to host a screening of “It Is Up To Us” on Wednesday May 27 from 5:30-8:30pm at Trinity Church, with a discussion circle following the film.
Learn more about IIUTU by clicking here.

We have several volunteer opportunities in the next few weeks to help us with basebuilding and outreach, including a couple opportunities for peer organizations to also recruit with us!

First, the Buffalo United Coalition is holding a conference on Saturday May 9 for BUC members to network. Chris will be presenting on our work and on ways in which folks can get involved – attendance is free, but registration is required.

Second, on Sunday May 17 at 5:30pm at El Buen Amigo (114 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo) as part of the Buffalo Infringement Festival’s “Refringe” event series, we are hosting a “Speed Dating” event to match small advocacy groups with artists, musicians and other creatives! We are still looking for 2-3 other groups to join us – click here to register your group, and if you are a creative interested in volunteering your talents, please swing by!

Third, we are again marching in the Buffalo Pride Parade as a bloc with other advocacy organizations and small non-profits – if you want to march with us, please reach out to Bridge with your tee shirt size, and if you want to sign your group up for the bloc, please click here!

Finally, we will be tabling at the Buffalo Juneteenth Festival, and could use a few members to volunteer to help cover some shifts – please reach out to Cindy to volunteer!

We are approaching the 50th Anniversary of Love Canal – more specifically, the 50th Anniversary of a series of events tied to the Love Canal disaster, including the passage of CERCLA, aka the Superfund Act. We are talking with Love Canal veterans as well as current residents of Niagara Falls about how we would like to commemorate these anniversaries, including how this can tie into current environmental justice advocacy and organizing efforts, and have begun convening a monthly roundtable for planning. If this is an effort you are interested in supporting, please reach out to Bridge.

You may have seen the Governor’s announcement yesterday of a finalized budget deal – but she made this announcement prematurely, and leadership and members of the State Senate and Assembly are MAD. Speaker Heastie in particular spoke out last night to the press, stating at one point that “I don’t care if the budget doesn’t get passed for six months.”
You may have also heard that one of the policy items that is holding up the final budget is that the Governor is pushing to use the budget process to water down the metrics and timelines for the CLCPA, the climate bill passed in 2019. NYRenews is pushing folks to call Speaker Heastie’s office to urge him to hold the line on the CLCPA, as well as some specific funding requests for renewable energy transition. We also urge mentioning Public Power NY’s request for $200 million for NYPA to develop publicly owned renewable projects across the state.
Please take action today!

Thank you everyone who came to our Annual Dinner – it was such a restorative and joyful night! Scroll down to see some of the photos from the evening.

United Food and Commercial Workers are celebrating a huge win – after three weeks, the first big strike in 40 years within the meatpacking industry led to major concessions by JBS

April 28 was Worker’s Memorial Day – click here to watch the recording of the WNYALF’s 2026 memorial at Chestnut Ridge Park.

Marty Gugino, a longtime leader in Buffalo-area peace activism whose injuries at the hands of the Buffalo Police during the 2020 uprising brought international attention, passed away recently at the age of 81. Marty was a personal friend of staff and members of Clean Air and will be missed.

Labor Notes also recently published this reflection on the life and legacy of Tony Mazzocchi, whose work with the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers, including right here in WNY, helped establish the modern environmental-labor alliances that our work is rooted in. A conference reflecting on his work will be held at Rutgers University June 4-5.

Finally, we reflect this month on the four years since the white nationalist attack on the Jefferson Avenue Tops.
Celestine Chaney
Roberta Drury
Andre Mackniel
Katherine Massey
Margus Morrison
Heyward Patterson
Aaron Salter Jr.
Geraldine Talley
Ruth Whitfield
Pearl Young

We will never forget, and will fight in their memory.

Check out this video from Rachel Maddow covering all the successful fights using local controls like zoning or utility access to stop ICE from opening warehouses for mass detainment all across the nation, including in Chester NY, where the proposed concentration camp has been fully cancelled! Project Saltbox continues to track these proposed projects and highlights different methods and tactics that grassroots organizations have successfully utilized in these site fights.