Clean Air yesterday attended the kick-off rally for the boycott of the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Buffalo, called for by Hyatt Workers United.

Below are remarks that Chris made during the press conference at the rally, as well as some photos of the event.

Good morning and thanks to everyone who has come out in this gloomy Monday weather. No Bills win but no loss either to make us sad. Sabres have won 2 in a row though! I would like to thank Hyatt Workers United for inviting us to speak and also their interest in extending solidarity to environmental justice campaigns that are the core of our mission. 

I am Chris Murawski, Executive Director of the Clean Air Coalition of WNY. Our mission is to organize and develop community leaders to run and win Env Justice and public health campaigns. 

As a part of the city of good neighbors, Clean Air is proud to stand with Hyatt Workers United and support the call to boycott the Hyatt Regency Buffalo. Why may an environmental group want to be involved in this you may ask? 

We have a long history of standing in solidarity with labor and many of our members are working class folks that work in the healthcare, trades or service industries. 

Also it is in both our best interests to be united as we both have shared goals of protecting the health and well -being of working people and the planet. We both want a future where economic and environmental policies are designed to benefit working class people. 

We are not just standing up with our words but also actions. Clean Air is a member of NY Energy Democracy Alliance, a statewide coalition of grassroots groups working to fight for a just sustainable energy system in NY.

In August the group was planning to hold an annual conference in Buffalo and had reserved facilities at the Hyatt to host the meeting. At the time they were unaware of any Union busting activity. 

Based on hearing from Luke and Mel and other workers throughout the summer about the situation with the union, we advised EDA to cancel the reservations and postpone the meeting at the Hyatt in solidarity which they did. 

It’s just one example of how the community can stand with workers. We also call on other community groups to join us in solidarity in this boycott. If any groups are involved in the planning or hosting of convenings or conferences, stand with us and reconsider choosing the Hyatt and let them know why. 

Clean Air is also a member of several national coalitions such as US Climate Action Network and Gulf South To Appalachia Convening which both host large conferences every year with over 300 attendees. 

Their policies are to book their meetings at facilities with Union workforces only period. Last conference we were booked at the Westin in Downtown Pittsburgh and we all made a point of telling the workers we appreciated their hospitality and chose the facility because of the union. 

So if we ever want to host any of these groups here in Buffalo and bring those dollars and recognition to our community we will need these Hyatt workers to get a contract. 

So to be clear we will continue to support the boycott of the Hyatt until Douglas Jemal stops Union busting, settles with the union and negotiates a fair contract in good faith. 

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We are thrilled to share that Clean Air is bringing the Midwest Academy to Buffalo January 20-24, 2026!

The Midwest Academy is a 50 year old training school for community organizers based in Chicago, and we utilize the Midwest framework in our campaigns. Learn more about Midwest here.

From January 20-23, Midwest will lead 30 organizers from WNY in the full professional training, and on Saturday January 24 those organizers will then lead a one-day training on the model for the general public. We anticipate the Saturday training will be for ~100.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo, not only is this professional certification training FREE for participants (ordinarily $660-1570 depending on organization budget plus housing/travel), but we also have stipends available for up to three grassroots volunteer organizers who are interested in pursuing organizing as a full time career! Food and support services like interpretation and babysitting are also included.

Participants in the full training need to commit to all four days of the course as well as to lead a break-out group on Saturday the 24th. Seats are limited, so the cohort is limited to three people per organization and is application-based.

If you would like to participate in the full training, please submit your application by October 31 here – https://actionnetwork.org/forms/midwest-academy-buffalo-hub-training-application/

Whether or not you plan to participate in the full course, everyone should mark Saturday January 24, 2026 on your calendar now! The registration page for that date will be published in early December after the full training cohort is selected.

Clean Air will be participating in Climate Week this year!

Join us here in Buffalo at these two events –

• This Solar Panel Fights Fascism – Buffalo for a Solar Powered Equitable Future: Sunday September 21, 1-3pm, Trinity Church (371 Delaware in Buffalo.) Part of the international Sun Day mobilization, we will review the implementation to date of the Build Public Renewables Act, the massive technological advancements in solar energy in recent years, and facilitate a conversation about how we can organize locally for publicly-0wned renewable energy projects. This event is cosponsored by our friends with Third Act Upstate NY and Public Power NY.
• September 2025 General Meeting: Wednesday September 24, 5:30-7pm, hybrid event (in-person at Trinity Church.) Our focus topic this month will be the impacts of recent deregulatory actions at the EPA.
• Additionally, keep an eye out for information on planned actions here in Buffalo on Saturday September 20th for the national Make Billionaires Pay day of action! Clean Air will be in attendance supporting these actions.

You can also join us in NYC on Wednesday September 24 from 10am-1pm at Convene 237 Park for a series of panels hosted by our friends at EarthJustice – Bridge will be speaking on a panel entitled “Powering AI Sustainability: Aligning the Data Boom with a Clean Energy Future” about how data centers are impacting WNY at noon! Space is limited, so if you will be in NYC and would like to attend, please register here.

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Clean Air members and members of peer environmental and climate organizations from local, state, and national groups came together yesterday, August 25, 2025, to rally outside of Governor Hochul’s birthday fundraiser, held at the Powerhouse venue at 140 Lee Street.

Groups included – PUSH Buffalo, SURJ Buffalo, the WNY Peace Center, West Valley Action Network, Seneca Lake Guardian, Food and Water Watch, Public Power NY,  Alliance for Nuclear Free NY, and Nuclear Information and Resource Service.

Our message to the Governor is that we support her actions to protect democracy and resist the MAGA agenda by using NY’s congressional districting process and through coordinated actions with peers in other states and through court challenges, but that she should also similarly be using NY’s energy and macroeconomic policies to this end – specifically, by fully supporting a 15 GW renewable energy build goal for NYPA, and by telling NYISO and the PSC to stop approving energy allocations for data center projects that are not being built with specific public benefit in mind (such as research by public institutions) and that presently largely lack any sort of regulations for environmental justice impacts. The crisis we collectively are fighting requires using all the tools available to us, and NY’s energy and economic policies could be what turns the tide.

In short, “Data Centers Power MAGA but Solar Power Fights Fascism!”

We also urged Governor Hochul to consider the havoc and damage that her former rival Lee Zeldin is causing at the EPA, and to strengthen the NYS DEC in response, giving them greater resources, authority, and onus to take action to hold polluters in NY accountable.

We also worked to raise awareness among rally attendees that Jon Williams, the owner and developer of the Powerhouse venue as well as industrial brownfield sites throughout the region, including the former Tonawanda Coke and American Axle sites, generally prefers to lease his properties to data center operators, specifically cryptocurrency miners, and that he donates significant amounts to MAGA-supportive candidates. During 2020 election cycle, Williams donated over $36,000 to Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, making him Erie County’s largest Trump donor, and as recently as 2023, he donated $2500 to Florida’s Ron DeSantis. We urged attendees to ask Williams about these donations, and to tell him they support solar power development at the former Tonawanda Coke over his proposal for data center operations.

We further rallied to raise awareness of three important public comment periods related to NY’s energy policy that are presently open –

• the NYPA renewables plan
• the DEC’s DGEIS on cryptocurrency mining
• The NYS Energy Plan

Links to quick one-click digital actions for all three can be found at https://linktr.ee/cleanairwny.

Rally participants handed flyers to attendees of the fundraiser, danced and played music, and signed a giant birthday card for the Governor with these messages.

Clean Air’s organizer Bridge Rauch, who had a ticket to attend the fundraiser, then attempted to enter the fundraiser with the signed birthday card. While they were met at the door by state police and were not allowed into the main fundraiser space, they were allowed into the atrium, where they had a productive conversation with Governor Hochul’s staff members.

We look forward to productive continuation of our conversation with the Governor’s team in meetings in the near future.

You can find photos, our flyer, as well as our press release below. If you are interested in joining future similar actions, please contact our staff organizers and inquire about our Rapid Response team or our campaign teams!

Download (PDF, 593KB)

Download (PDF, 162KB)

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has released it’s draft generic environmental impact study on the environmental, climate, public health, and other impacts of cryptocurrency mining, particularly proof-of-work based processes.

You can read the DGEIS by clicking here. More information about this study is available on the DEC’s “Climate Change Statutes, Regulations, And Policies” webpage under the “Cryptocurrency Mining Law” header.

Public comments are being accepted by DEC through September 25 by emailing climatechange@dec.ny.gov with the subject line “Crypto Draft GEIS.”

We have also set up a digital letter campaign that you can use to submit your comments – click here to send a letter using our ActionNetwork tool!

Also don’t forget to submit a comment to the Public Service Commission before this coming Monday July 28 opposing the sale of the Fortistar gas-fired power plant to Digihost – this blog post has guidance for how to submit a comment.

Back in November, EarthJustice won an appeal on the behalf of North Tonawanda residents against the Public Service Commission’s decision to approve the sale of the Fortistar gas power plant without taking the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act into account! This means, though, that the PSC needs to hear from us that we oppose this sale.

The PSC is accepting comments on this until July 28.
>>>>>> click HERE to submit a comment. <<<<<<

We urge pointing out the enormous energy demand, the lack of job creation, the noise pollution, and the predicted increases in air emissions.

Below is a template example comment which you can copy/paste. We strongly urge editing this template to add your personal thoughts.

I write to you as a resident of (place of residence) to request that the N.Y. Public Service Commission reject the Application for the Transfer of Ownership Interests from Fortistar North Tonawanda LLC (FNT) and Digihost International Inc. (Digihost) in a 55 Megawatt Natural Gas-fired Cogeneration Facility Located in North Tonawanda, NY because of the negative impacts on the community and its noncompliance with New York State law.

The power plant, serving a behind-the-meter bitcoin mining operation, has led to enormous increases in:

• Local air pollution
• Greenhouse gas pollution, 
• Noise pollution, and 
• Water pollution,

among other negative impacts. These operations adversely impact our community, and damage vital environmental resources and our health. 

I am also worried that my electricity and water rates will go up because of this facility’s increased operations. In places where other cryptocurrency mines have gone in, electricity prices have skyrocketed for households and small businesses. The Digihost facility uses municipal water and discharges into our public wastewater system, which now needs major upgrades. 

Additionally, I am worried that this facility, and others like it, will prevent the state from meeting its critical climate mandates established under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

The PSC should deny the Application for the Transfer of Ownership Interests to protect the state and the community from the negative impacts from this facility’s operations.

Respectfully submitted,

Name

Please also send this blog post to folks in North Tonawanda specifically who you think would be interested in submitting a comment!

You can also click here to visit the “Matter Master” page and click the “Post Comment” button on the upper right. Submitted public comments are also available for review under the “Public Comments” tab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a related note, the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Study of cryptocurrency mining has been released! We urge taking a moment to read it by clicking here or visiting the DEC’s webpage (scroll down to the “Cryptocurrency Mining Law” header.) Comments are being accepted until September 25 by emailing climatechange@dec.ny.gov. We will be launching a letter campaign later this month, and in the meantime we urge attending one of the online hearings this month listed on the DEC’s webpage.

Click here to subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, and view this month’s edition by clicking the “More” link just below.

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